Tuesday, October 10, 2006
So, I've just filled in a detailed calendar with our schedule as well as that of other recitation sections. Just go into the gmail account and click on "calendar" at the very top of the page (next to "google," "gmail," "spreadsheets" and "other services"). The calendar for the next 2 months will open up and all you have to do is click on the events that pertain to your class to stay on schedule.
committees
PR: Jason Griffiths, Mary, Carson, Jason Steinberg, Kelly, Sarah Novak, Sarah Macausland
Set: Ryan, Endia, Mary
Costume: Katelyn, Lindsay, Kate
Sound: Jason Steinberg
Assistant Directors: Stacie, Ryan
Remember, committee decisions should be all finalized and in production by October 19th
Note for assistant directors: hash out when the class can best meet for dress rehearsals. There should be at least one, and two would be most preferable--one to stop and start people, giving direction, and another that is a full run-thru without interruptions. You all should have the contact list. I will post it in the gmail account as soon as I can.
cate
Set: Ryan, Endia, Mary
Costume: Katelyn, Lindsay, Kate
Sound: Jason Steinberg
Assistant Directors: Stacie, Ryan
Remember, committee decisions should be all finalized and in production by October 19th
Note for assistant directors: hash out when the class can best meet for dress rehearsals. There should be at least one, and two would be most preferable--one to stop and start people, giving direction, and another that is a full run-thru without interruptions. You all should have the contact list. I will post it in the gmail account as soon as I can.
cate
Thursday, September 21, 2006
CAST
just in case people haven't checked the gmail account--here's the cast list
Hecabe: Katelyn Polantz
Talthybius: Luke Liben
Cassandra: Kate Shirilla
Andromache: Titilayo Ogunyale
Chorus: Lindsay Wayman, Sarah MacAusland, Candice Alston, Kelly O'Connell, Endia Vereen
Poseidon: Matt Flaus
Athene: Stacie Skrtich
Menelaus: Jason Griffiths
Helen: Sarah Novak
Trojan Soldiers/Guards: Ryan Murray, Carson Davis, Jason Steinberg, Michael King
Hecabe: Katelyn Polantz
Talthybius: Luke Liben
Cassandra: Kate Shirilla
Andromache: Titilayo Ogunyale
Chorus: Lindsay Wayman, Sarah MacAusland, Candice Alston, Kelly O'Connell, Endia Vereen
Poseidon: Matt Flaus
Athene: Stacie Skrtich
Menelaus: Jason Griffiths
Helen: Sarah Novak
Trojan Soldiers/Guards: Ryan Murray, Carson Davis, Jason Steinberg, Michael King
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Full edits so far
I put all the edits that have been finished into a single document. I have it below and as an attachment on the gmail account
89-90
Poseidon:
I come from the salt depths of the Aegean Sea.
I am Poseidon. Troy and its people were my city.
That ring of walls and towers I and Apollo built –
Squared every stone in it; and my affection has not faded.
Now Troy lies dead under the conquering Argive spear,
Stripped, stacked, and smouldering.
To Athene’s plan that horse pregnant with armed men,
Called by all future ages the Wooden Horse, and sent it
To glide, weighty with hidden death, through the Trojan walls.
The sacred groves are deserted; the temples run with blood;
On Zeus the Protector’s altar-steps Priam lies dead.
Measureless gold and all the loot of Troy goes down
To the Greek ships; and now they wait for a following wind
To make glad, after ten long years, with the sight of their
Wives and children.
The men who sailed from Greece to attack and destroy this town.
Scamandros echoes with endless cries of captured women
Assigned by lottery as slaves to various Greeks.
With them, justly held as a prisoner, is Spartan Helen.
Here by the door, this pitiable prostrate figure, drowned in tears
For a world of sorrows is Hecabe. She does not know
That her daughter Polyxena died just now most pitiably,
An offering slaughtered at Achilles’ grave. Her husband, Priam,
Is dead, so are her sons. Her daughter the prophetess,
Cassandra, whom Apollo himself left virgin – she
Will be taken by force, in contempt of the god and all pious
feeling by King Agamemnon as his concubine.
Farewell, then, city!
Superb masonry, farewell! You had your day of glory.
You would stand firm yet, were it not for Athene, daughter
of Zeus.
100-108
Cassandra:
pg. 101 "To the ritual blessing
Of the Wedded Virgin!
CUT Dancers, come!
. . . . . . . . .
Hymen, mighty god,
Hymen, hear!"
pg. 101 and 102
Chorus: "Control Her--or she'll go dancing down to the Greek
camp!
Hecabe: CUT Hephaestus! In our
. . . . . . .
Of all that I once hoped for."
Cassandra:
pg. 103
"Or siege from their town walls? No!
CUT When a man was
. . . . . . . . . .
A tongue turned to the holy muse of prophecy."
Talthybius
pg. 104
"Were it not that Apollo has unhinged your mind
CUT Your ill-conceived words,
. . . . . . . . .
Can prove itself no wiser than a common clown!"
Cassandra:
ps. 104
"servant! you hear this servant?
CUT He's a herald. What are heralds, then, but creatures universally loathed-
Lackeys and menials and governments and kings?"
105
"Garlands of a god belov'd, dear ritual vestments, now farewell!
CUT Go, his gifts, with the
. . . . . . . . .
Come as one of three Avengers
KEEP Mother, no more tears, farewell!
CUT O my brothers, deep in this dear earth Troy, my father too
Priam, you whose blood we all inherit! You will not be long
Waiting for me."
Hecabe
pg. 106
"Yesterday's and tomorrow's pain. O gods!
CUT The gods, I know
. . . . . . . . . . .
THis tale will edge the piteousness of present grief."
farther down on 106--i'm unsure if we should cut this or keep this...any ideas?
"In my old age shall go to Hellas as a slave.
CUT They will lay on me tasks to
. . . . . . . . . .
to match my skin and mock
My royalty."
Chorus
pg. 107
"To the Daughter of Zeus, Pallas, Lady of Troy!
CUT Then what girl would stay behind?
When even the old men left their chairs
And with the laughing and singing all laid hold
Of that hiden death that had marked them down."
pg. 108
"Where the slaughter of Troy began
CUT Over their happy weariness
. . . . . . . . .
Flickered on sleeping faces its dim gleam of fire."
farther down on 108
"And war went forth.
CUT from his secret lair
. . . . . . . .
Defenceless rolled from the severed neck."
111-115
1) Andromache on Page 111-112:
-I took out a section starting with the sentence starting "First, since a woman...." up untill, and including the sentence "When I was taken, Achilles' son Asked for me as his wife."
-I took out a section starting with sentence "And yet they say..." up untill, and including, the sentence ending "..wanting both voice and rational discourse."
-I took out a section starting with sentence "Hecabe, you weep for dead Polyxena..." untill the end of that speaking part.
2) Hecabe on Page 112-113:
-I took out a section from the start of her speaking part up untill, and including, the sentence ending "...and leave me speechless with dispair."
-I took out a section starting with the sentence "Word grows from word...." untill the end of that speaking part.
3) Talthybius on Page 114:
-I took out a section starting with sentence "You have no possible source of help.." up untill and including sentence ending "...or likely to cause resentment."
4) Andromache on Page 114-115:
-I took out a section starting with sentence "You tug my dress...." up untill, and including, sentence ending "...no charge of Phrygian fighters."
-I took out a section starting with sentence "O the sweet smell of your skin..." up untill, and including, sentence ending with "...and put your lips to mine."
119-124
P.119
-Hecabe “so potent…suffered know.”
P.122
-Hecabe “Both Castor…the stars”
P. 123
-Chorus “Punish your…your enemies”
P.124
-Menelaus “but at…than before”
126-127
Talthybius (126-127)
Hecabe,
Neoptolemus himself has gone; disturbing news
Reached him that Peleus, his grandfather, had been driven
Out of the country by Acastus, Peleas' son.
He at once set sail, and took with him Andromache.
She called on Hector's grave.
She implored Neoptolemus that this child, your grandson,
Who was flung from the city walls and gave up his life,
Might recieve burial.
So now, as soon as you have made him ready, we
Will wrap him in a mound of earth and then hoist sail;
I bathed him in the running stream
And cleaned his wounds. I am going now to break the ground
For a grave. If only you and I both do our best
To waste no time, we'll soon be under way for home.
128-9
Hecabe
Bring the great rounded shield of Hector; lay it here
A sight which should be welcome, but now stabs my eyes.
You achaeans are fine fighters; but where is your pride?
Did you so dread this young boy that you must invent
A new death for him?
If you had fallen in battle for your city,
You would be blessed. But, though you saw and recognized
This wealthy of life which was your heritage,
You had no use of it.
Now through the shattered skull the blood smile,
tempting me
To unseemigly words, Your little hands, how like your fathers!
You made me a promise once,
'Grandmother when you die I will cut off
A long curl of my hair for you, and bring my friends
With me to grace your tomb with gifts and holy words'.
You broke your promise
I, an old, homeless, childless woman, bury you.
Now, though you lose your father's heritage, you shall have
His broad, bronze-fronted shield to make your earthy bed.
(to the chorus) Come, bring whatever robes our
poverty can find
To drape his body, Rigorous Fate does not allow
The handsome gift; from what I have, these shall be
yours.
Those forces which
Control our fortunes are as unpredictable
As capering idiots. Happiness does not exist.
89-90
Poseidon:
I come from the salt depths of the Aegean Sea.
I am Poseidon. Troy and its people were my city.
That ring of walls and towers I and Apollo built –
Squared every stone in it; and my affection has not faded.
Now Troy lies dead under the conquering Argive spear,
Stripped, stacked, and smouldering.
To Athene’s plan that horse pregnant with armed men,
Called by all future ages the Wooden Horse, and sent it
To glide, weighty with hidden death, through the Trojan walls.
The sacred groves are deserted; the temples run with blood;
On Zeus the Protector’s altar-steps Priam lies dead.
Measureless gold and all the loot of Troy goes down
To the Greek ships; and now they wait for a following wind
To make glad, after ten long years, with the sight of their
Wives and children.
The men who sailed from Greece to attack and destroy this town.
Scamandros echoes with endless cries of captured women
Assigned by lottery as slaves to various Greeks.
With them, justly held as a prisoner, is Spartan Helen.
Here by the door, this pitiable prostrate figure, drowned in tears
For a world of sorrows is Hecabe. She does not know
That her daughter Polyxena died just now most pitiably,
An offering slaughtered at Achilles’ grave. Her husband, Priam,
Is dead, so are her sons. Her daughter the prophetess,
Cassandra, whom Apollo himself left virgin – she
Will be taken by force, in contempt of the god and all pious
feeling by King Agamemnon as his concubine.
Farewell, then, city!
Superb masonry, farewell! You had your day of glory.
You would stand firm yet, were it not for Athene, daughter
of Zeus.
100-108
Cassandra:
pg. 101 "To the ritual blessing
Of the Wedded Virgin!
CUT Dancers, come!
. . . . . . . . .
Hymen, mighty god,
Hymen, hear!"
pg. 101 and 102
Chorus: "Control Her--or she'll go dancing down to the Greek
camp!
Hecabe: CUT Hephaestus! In our
. . . . . . .
Of all that I once hoped for."
Cassandra:
pg. 103
"Or siege from their town walls? No!
CUT When a man was
. . . . . . . . . .
A tongue turned to the holy muse of prophecy."
Talthybius
pg. 104
"Were it not that Apollo has unhinged your mind
CUT Your ill-conceived words,
. . . . . . . . .
Can prove itself no wiser than a common clown!"
Cassandra:
ps. 104
"servant! you hear this servant?
CUT He's a herald. What are heralds, then, but creatures universally loathed-
Lackeys and menials and governments and kings?"
105
"Garlands of a god belov'd, dear ritual vestments, now farewell!
CUT Go, his gifts, with the
. . . . . . . . .
Come as one of three Avengers
KEEP Mother, no more tears, farewell!
CUT O my brothers, deep in this dear earth Troy, my father too
Priam, you whose blood we all inherit! You will not be long
Waiting for me."
Hecabe
pg. 106
"Yesterday's and tomorrow's pain. O gods!
CUT The gods, I know
. . . . . . . . . . .
THis tale will edge the piteousness of present grief."
farther down on 106--i'm unsure if we should cut this or keep this...any ideas?
"In my old age shall go to Hellas as a slave.
CUT They will lay on me tasks to
. . . . . . . . . .
to match my skin and mock
My royalty."
Chorus
pg. 107
"To the Daughter of Zeus, Pallas, Lady of Troy!
CUT Then what girl would stay behind?
When even the old men left their chairs
And with the laughing and singing all laid hold
Of that hiden death that had marked them down."
pg. 108
"Where the slaughter of Troy began
CUT Over their happy weariness
. . . . . . . . .
Flickered on sleeping faces its dim gleam of fire."
farther down on 108
"And war went forth.
CUT from his secret lair
. . . . . . . .
Defenceless rolled from the severed neck."
111-115
1) Andromache on Page 111-112:
-I took out a section starting with the sentence starting "First, since a woman...." up untill, and including the sentence "When I was taken, Achilles' son Asked for me as his wife."
-I took out a section starting with sentence "And yet they say..." up untill, and including, the sentence ending "..wanting both voice and rational discourse."
-I took out a section starting with sentence "Hecabe, you weep for dead Polyxena..." untill the end of that speaking part.
2) Hecabe on Page 112-113:
-I took out a section from the start of her speaking part up untill, and including, the sentence ending "...and leave me speechless with dispair."
-I took out a section starting with the sentence "Word grows from word...." untill the end of that speaking part.
3) Talthybius on Page 114:
-I took out a section starting with sentence "You have no possible source of help.." up untill and including sentence ending "...or likely to cause resentment."
4) Andromache on Page 114-115:
-I took out a section starting with sentence "You tug my dress...." up untill, and including, sentence ending "...no charge of Phrygian fighters."
-I took out a section starting with sentence "O the sweet smell of your skin..." up untill, and including, sentence ending with "...and put your lips to mine."
119-124
P.119
-Hecabe “so potent…suffered know.”
P.122
-Hecabe “Both Castor…the stars”
P. 123
-Chorus “Punish your…your enemies”
P.124
-Menelaus “but at…than before”
126-127
Talthybius (126-127)
Hecabe,
Neoptolemus himself has gone; disturbing news
Reached him that Peleus, his grandfather, had been driven
Out of the country by Acastus, Peleas' son.
He at once set sail, and took with him Andromache.
She called on Hector's grave.
She implored Neoptolemus that this child, your grandson,
Who was flung from the city walls and gave up his life,
Might recieve burial.
So now, as soon as you have made him ready, we
Will wrap him in a mound of earth and then hoist sail;
I bathed him in the running stream
And cleaned his wounds. I am going now to break the ground
For a grave. If only you and I both do our best
To waste no time, we'll soon be under way for home.
128-9
Hecabe
Bring the great rounded shield of Hector; lay it here
A sight which should be welcome, but now stabs my eyes.
You achaeans are fine fighters; but where is your pride?
Did you so dread this young boy that you must invent
A new death for him?
If you had fallen in battle for your city,
You would be blessed. But, though you saw and recognized
This wealthy of life which was your heritage,
You had no use of it.
Now through the shattered skull the blood smile,
tempting me
To unseemigly words, Your little hands, how like your fathers!
You made me a promise once,
'Grandmother when you die I will cut off
A long curl of my hair for you, and bring my friends
With me to grace your tomb with gifts and holy words'.
You broke your promise
I, an old, homeless, childless woman, bury you.
Now, though you lose your father's heritage, you shall have
His broad, bronze-fronted shield to make your earthy bed.
(to the chorus) Come, bring whatever robes our
poverty can find
To drape his body, Rigorous Fate does not allow
The handsome gift; from what I have, these shall be
yours.
Those forces which
Control our fortunes are as unpredictable
As capering idiots. Happiness does not exist.
more edits
from sarah mcausland:
pg. 127 Hecabe
Bring the great rounded shield of Hector; lay it here
A sight which should be welcome, but now stabs my eyes.
You achaeans are fine fighters; but where is your pride?
Did you so dread this young boy that you must invent
A new death for him?
If you had fallen in battle for your city,
You would be blessed. But, though you saw and recognized
This wealthy of life which was your heritage,
You had no use of it.
Now through the shattered skull the blood smile,
tempting me
To unseemigly words, Your little hands, how like your fathers!
You made me a promise once,
'Grandmother when you die I will cut off
A long curl of my hair for you, and bring my friends
With me to grace your tomb with gifts and holy words'.
You broke your promise
I, an old, homeless, childless woman, bury you.
Now, though you lose your father's heritage, you shall have
His broad, bronze-fronted shield to make your earthy bed.
(to the chorus) Come, bring whatever robes our
poverty can find
To drape his body, Rigorous Fate does not allow
The handsome gift; from what I have, these shall be
yours.
Those forces which
Control our fortunes are as unpredictable
As capering idiots. Happiness does not exist.
pg. 127 Hecabe
Bring the great rounded shield of Hector; lay it here
A sight which should be welcome, but now stabs my eyes.
You achaeans are fine fighters; but where is your pride?
Did you so dread this young boy that you must invent
A new death for him?
If you had fallen in battle for your city,
You would be blessed. But, though you saw and recognized
This wealthy of life which was your heritage,
You had no use of it.
Now through the shattered skull the blood smile,
tempting me
To unseemigly words, Your little hands, how like your fathers!
You made me a promise once,
'Grandmother when you die I will cut off
A long curl of my hair for you, and bring my friends
With me to grace your tomb with gifts and holy words'.
You broke your promise
I, an old, homeless, childless woman, bury you.
Now, though you lose your father's heritage, you shall have
His broad, bronze-fronted shield to make your earthy bed.
(to the chorus) Come, bring whatever robes our
poverty can find
To drape his body, Rigorous Fate does not allow
The handsome gift; from what I have, these shall be
yours.
Those forces which
Control our fortunes are as unpredictable
As capering idiots. Happiness does not exist.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
A bunch of announcements
First: GET YOUR EDITS MARKED IN YOUR BOOKS BEFORE THURSDAY
Seriously. I am not effing around. Tuesday's recitation decided to be lax about it and I nearly had to beat some children.
Second: Cast list should be up by tomorrow.
Third: New musings about questions in lecture and Socrates/Plato on the gmail account
Seriously. I am not effing around. Tuesday's recitation decided to be lax about it and I nearly had to beat some children.
Second: Cast list should be up by tomorrow.
Third: New musings about questions in lecture and Socrates/Plato on the gmail account
Monday, September 18, 2006
Lecture thoughts
Because we are too pressed for time to talk in depth about some of the issues presented in the lecture, from time to time I'm going to put up my thoughts connecting the productions to the lectures.
To find them, go to the gmail account. Remember, go to www.gmail.com and put in the user name and password that I've handed out to everyone.
This week, I talk about the sophistic notion of truth and tie it to a scene in the Women of Troy.
Stay tuned for next week: Socrates in the Symposium and in the Clouds.
Cate
To find them, go to the gmail account. Remember, go to www.gmail.com and put in the user name and password that I've handed out to everyone.
This week, I talk about the sophistic notion of truth and tie it to a scene in the Women of Troy.
Stay tuned for next week: Socrates in the Symposium and in the Clouds.
Cate
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Play schedule
ok guys, the early plays are going to be REALLY early. this is due to thanksgiving and the national communication association conference in the middle-end of November. tough turkey.
Bacchae: Tuesday, Nov. 7
Trojan Women: Thurs, Nov 9
The Frogs: Tues, Nov. 14
Antigone: Tu, Nov 28
Philoctetes: Th, Nov 30
Clouds: Tu, Dec 5
Thucydides: Th, Dec 7
Symposium: Wed, Dec 13, 4-5:50 (exam period)
Bacchae: Tuesday, Nov. 7
Trojan Women: Thurs, Nov 9
The Frogs: Tues, Nov. 14
Antigone: Tu, Nov 28
Philoctetes: Th, Nov 30
Clouds: Tu, Dec 5
Thucydides: Th, Dec 7
Symposium: Wed, Dec 13, 4-5:50 (exam period)
Friday, September 08, 2006
Audition dialogue
Here are the pieces of dialogue I want you to use when auditioning. Notice I haven't typed it all out. Rather, i've given you the page number and then the first and last lines of the block of text. If there are other people speaking in the selection (and there are in most because I want to see how you react to other characters speaking to you), I will read the other lines during the audition.
Keep in mind that I want everyone to audition for a speaking part. You may end up with a silent role, but i still want to see what everyone has. Hell, you might be a big bag of awesome and not even know it.
Poseidon
(91) "Welcome Athene."..."Why this leaping at random between hate and love?"
Athene
(91) "You are a great god honoured by Gods"... "homeward voyage disaterous for the Greeks."
Hecabe
(95) "The Argive crews muster and grip their oars" ... "With horror I could not sleep."
Chorus
(95)"I came to ask for news"..."Far, far from Troy!"
Talythbius
(97) "Hecabe, my frequent journeys here to Troy"...."She is to be his concubine"
Cassandra
(102) "Mother, wreathe a triumphal garland round my head"..."Who was not plundered from him, but went willingly"
Andromache
(111-112) "It is over now."..."In the house of the very man who struck my husband dead" [middle of her long speech]
Menelaus
(118) "How glorious the sun shines on this happy day!"..."Then all we need is a fair wind, and we'll have her home."
Helen
"Menelaus, is this meant to frighten me?"..."And refused to kill his child" [in middle of her long speech answering Menelaus]
Keep in mind that I want everyone to audition for a speaking part. You may end up with a silent role, but i still want to see what everyone has. Hell, you might be a big bag of awesome and not even know it.
Poseidon
(91) "Welcome Athene."..."Why this leaping at random between hate and love?"
Athene
(91) "You are a great god honoured by Gods"... "homeward voyage disaterous for the Greeks."
Hecabe
(95) "The Argive crews muster and grip their oars" ... "With horror I could not sleep."
Chorus
(95)"I came to ask for news"..."Far, far from Troy!"
Talythbius
(97) "Hecabe, my frequent journeys here to Troy"...."She is to be his concubine"
Cassandra
(102) "Mother, wreathe a triumphal garland round my head"..."Who was not plundered from him, but went willingly"
Andromache
(111-112) "It is over now."..."In the house of the very man who struck my husband dead" [middle of her long speech]
Menelaus
(118) "How glorious the sun shines on this happy day!"..."Then all we need is a fair wind, and we'll have her home."
Helen
"Menelaus, is this meant to frighten me?"..."And refused to kill his child" [in middle of her long speech answering Menelaus]
I HATE BOOKS
so women (and men) of troy, i have had a long day. not wanting to deprive you of your own books, i figured that my friendly local bookstore would have a copy for me, so i could parse out dialogue for everyone. this turns out to be false. other used bookstores in the neighborhood also failed me. after at least a mile and a half of wandering, i am still empty-handed. so, i have several avenues to fix this, but it's going to take a while. stay tuned....
i have, however, been marinating on the idea of common analogues to the issues raising in the play. these are just some things that came to mind as i trekked up and down the south side, so feel free to come up with your own and share it with us.
1) probably most obvious, the war in iraq, especially in a day and age when our government is attempting to rid itself of obligations set forth in the Geneva Conventions (there were four all together) regarding treatment of prisoners of war and the treatment of civilians. http://www.genevaconventions.org/
2) we discussed its relation to genocide. but, let's think about one of the less-famous acts of genocide--those committed during the war in the former yugoslavia. there was a common practice (mainly blamed on serbs, but really used by both sides) of paramilitary groups attacking villages, killing all the men and then rounding up the women. some would be killed, while those left would be taken to camps and kept as sex slaves. yet, the aim was not just for rape, it was for pregnancy. the rational for systematic militarized rape was that once these women became pregnant with serb or croat babies, they would no longer be a member of their communities, and their children most certainly would not be. thus the capturing and impregnating of women (think about cassandra and others being taken as concubines) was just another tool of ethnic cleansing. rape was also used as the mos overwhelming symbol of control and destruction of a population. http://www.icc-cpi.int/library/organs/otp/050620_Chile_presentation.pdf
3) the experience of black america--i don't have as nuanced a treatment of this idea as the one above (which was my old affirmative when i debated in college), but it seems to me that the play might have a lot to say about a society in which a disproportionately large percentage of black men are or have been incarcerated while women are popularly portrayed as little more than sex objects. http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/may25/inequality-052505.html
i have, however, been marinating on the idea of common analogues to the issues raising in the play. these are just some things that came to mind as i trekked up and down the south side, so feel free to come up with your own and share it with us.
1) probably most obvious, the war in iraq, especially in a day and age when our government is attempting to rid itself of obligations set forth in the Geneva Conventions (there were four all together) regarding treatment of prisoners of war and the treatment of civilians. http://www.genevaconventions.org/
2) we discussed its relation to genocide. but, let's think about one of the less-famous acts of genocide--those committed during the war in the former yugoslavia. there was a common practice (mainly blamed on serbs, but really used by both sides) of paramilitary groups attacking villages, killing all the men and then rounding up the women. some would be killed, while those left would be taken to camps and kept as sex slaves. yet, the aim was not just for rape, it was for pregnancy. the rational for systematic militarized rape was that once these women became pregnant with serb or croat babies, they would no longer be a member of their communities, and their children most certainly would not be. thus the capturing and impregnating of women (think about cassandra and others being taken as concubines) was just another tool of ethnic cleansing. rape was also used as the mos overwhelming symbol of control and destruction of a population. http://www.icc-cpi.int/library/organs/otp/050620_Chile_presentation.pdf
3) the experience of black america--i don't have as nuanced a treatment of this idea as the one above (which was my old affirmative when i debated in college), but it seems to me that the play might have a lot to say about a society in which a disproportionately large percentage of black men are or have been incarcerated while women are popularly portrayed as little more than sex objects. http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/may25/inequality-052505.html