Electra at the Ennotville Library: Cast and Backstory

The Cast of Electra

• Calista Alison - Chorus: Normally starring in backstage crew roles, Calista is beyond thrilled to be making her stage debut in Electra! She is so grateful to Eric, and Grinder Productions for this opportunity, mentorship and trust. Big thanks to the cast for their kindness and support!
• Gareth Roberts - Orestes: Gareth is a recent graduate of UTM’s Theatre and Drama Studies joint program with Sheridan College, now enjoying taking opportunities to branch out across acting, writing and plenty of new artistic challenges. He hopes you’ll enjoy tonight’s performance, and asks that theatre audiences always continue to push themselves in their engagement with art; being curious, making connections, and of course letting it change them! Credits include Twelfth Night as Sir Toby; The Devised Project: The New Dress and Miss Milan/Ensemble; The Alchemist as Lovewit; The Play that Goes Wrong as Trevor.
• Cassandra Hunt - Farmer, Old Man, Messenger, Clytaemnestra, Castor: Cassandra has recently graduated from the OTM voice acting diploma program in Vancouver BC. Some of their most recent work has been scenes from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), and Bertolt Brecht's The Caucasion Chalk Circle (Grusha). You can also find some of her work as an audiobook narrator at neonblackwood.com.
• Mya Leworthy - Electra: Mya is thrilled to take on the role of Electra in Electra. A graduate of George Brown College’s Advanced Diploma in Classical Theatre, she is an actor, singer, dancer, and theatre creator with a passion for bold storytelling. Mya has performed for audiences across Canada and around the world with DuffleBag Theatre and is an Actor, Stage Manager, Director, Choreographer, and Producer. She is grateful to be sharing this powerful story and hopes you enjoy the performance.
  

Here's what happened before the play began - this information would have been common knowledge to the original audience, as would have been the action of the play itself. But since we're not all citizens of the Agora anymore, this might be helpful to know:

Tyndareus, king of Sparta, and his wife, Leda, had four children, twin boys, Castor and Pollux and twin girls, Clytaemnestra and Helen (aka Helen of Troy, the face who launched a thousand ships, etc). 

But it quickly gets complicated - Castor and Clytaemnestra were fathered by Tyndareus, but Pollux and Helen were fathered by Zeus.

Castor died, but was made an immortal, like his brother Pollux, and they became two stars in the night sky, known today as the constellation Gemini, the Twins. 

Helen married Menelaus, but was then abducted by Paris of Troy, starting the Trojan War. Clytaemnestra married Agamemnon, King of Mycenae and Menelaus' brother, who was chosen as the leader of the Greek forces. But in order to get his army to Troy Agamemnon was forced to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to the gods. When he returned home, ten years later, he was immediately murdered by Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus, who then usurped the throne and ruled as king.  

Agamemnon's son Orestes was banished into exile, but his remaining daughter Electra was forced to stay, and was treated badly by Aegisthus and her mother. 

Several years pass, and that's when our story begins.