Iphigenia Crash Land Falls on the Neon Shell that was Once Her Heart

(a rave fable)

Designed by Isy Kessler

Directed by Wes Grantom

Scale: 3/16” = 1’-0”

Iphigenia Crash Land Falls is a modern adaptation of Iphigenia in Aulis. With the play being set in modern day, it feels startling and brings to light the horrific atrocities still happening in Ciudad Juárez. This type of violence against women, supported or at least tolerated by the powers at be, seem like something from a bygone time. However, violence against women is something seen in all areas of the world and is not just an isolated incident in Ciudad Juarez. To this end, the set must be something starkly modern, something that seems to pulse with the call of the city’s nightlife but has an undercurrent of something much older and much darker. The theme of the play that really stuck out to me was voyeurism.  One thing that cannot be denied is we are constantly bombarded by videos and news reports which obsess over the family's distress and ultimately Iphigenia’s death. We see pain and suffering as a commodity, something that can be sold and enjoyed for pleasure. When convenience or pleasure becomes more valuable than human life, we see we are no more than meat for the grinder. The play takes place in three distinct locations. The aircraft hangar is meant to feel open and immense, a place where Iphigenia can be forgotten in the neon glow. Meanwhile the garden is it’s opposite. The garden feels small, a place where she is in the public eye and is aware of the fate of her past journeys. The last location, the field, should feel barren of the technology we are used to seeing so that our focus is on the lovers, who are unaware of our gaze.