This past fall, Southside Theater produced its annual fall drama, Iphigenia in Tauris. This is a Greek play that follows Iphegenia, daughter of Agamemnon, and her escape from the island of Tauris. After being sacrificed to Artemis, Iphigenia was sent to Tauris. Her purpose is to kill any foreigner who comes to the island, until her brother shows up on the shores of Tauris. It is a tale about family, loyalty, and sacrifice. 

The play itself was written by Euripides, but adapted by Alexis Kozak, our drama teacher and director here at South. We asked him how it felt directing a show he wrote from the ground up, he said: “I’ll tell you what was interesting was I did a lot of putting it into my own words, which I think very valuable in terms of understanding a piece from the outside in… because it literally is passed through your body as you’re putting it onto paper.”  

While there are many Greek plays out there, it is uncommon to see a high school theatre perform one, and even rarer to see one performed successfully. Mr. Kozak did it all. When asked, “Why a Greek play? Why Iphegenia?” He responded with: “ I’ve always wanted to do a Greek play. I go every summer to Greece and see tragedies, and so it’s been 20 years of preparation for this moment. [Iphegenia] is lesser known… people who know Greek mythology are less familiar  with this story.” 

The show was led by sophomore Emily Ommerborn, who said, “It was the first time I’ve ever done an original show, something that no one else has ever done before.” The role was complex and a hard task for anyone to take on. But Ommerborn pulled it off perfectly. 

While Iphegenia In Tauris is over, you can expect much more from the Theatre Arts Club in the next few months.  Their spring musical, Guys and Dolls, will run March 12th, 13th, and 14th.