AGAMEMNON,” a play by ancient Greek tragedian Aeschylus, is the first play in the trilogy of the Oresteia.
The play is the story of a Greek soldier and ruler over a city ten years after the Trojan War who finds that his wife, Clytemnestra, and cousin, Aegisthus, are plotting to kill him and take over the throne.
This production of the play, adapted and directed by Associate Professor of Theatre Daniel Day, will feature multiple first-years involved in their first college play.
These first-years include stage manager Anneka Brannon ‘26 and assistant stage manager Kimi Crouch ‘26, as well as cast members Erin Adams ‘26, Cole Geyer ‘26, Josie Thillet ‘26 and Jack Tope ‘26. Geyer will play title character Agamemnon.
“Since I plan to major in theatre, I think it’ll be good to go into the deep end, so everything past this point feels (easier),” Geyer said. “I’m kind of hopping in the fire and hoping I’ll learn from it.”
“I did theatre at community theaters in high school,” Tope, who will play Essential Worker, said. “I’ve definitely had to shift the way I think about it (since getting to college). It’s been challenging, but a lot of fun.”
“I did theatre only my senior year of high school,” Geyer said. “It was a great experience. (However,) it’s nice to see college theatre taken more seriously and professionally.”
The department began rehearsals at the beginning of the school year, formally announcing the play on its Instagram account, @woffordtheatre, in late September. Preparation for the performance sometimes includes drastic changes in appearance, such as Geyer receiving a radically different haircut.
“Each of the professors has their own approach to theatre,” Geyer said. “I’m in the living-learning community with Day and (Mark) Ferguson.”
Geyer also provided a preview of some events that take place in the play.
“Agamemnon was a soldier who helped start the Trojan war by sacrificing his daughter, Iphigenia, but he did not get any great achievements like Achilles or Odysseus,” Geyer said. “This is the story of a man who murdered his daughter to go to war, coming back to the city he ruled.”
During the play, Agamemnon returns from the war with his legs rendered useless and with a Trojan princess named Cassandra, who will be played by Rachel Johnson ‘24.
Ryan Poole ‘24 has participated in two Pulp Theatre interim plays at Wofford, including last year’s “Fairytale Lives of Russian Women,” and will play Aegisthus in “AGAMEMNON.”
This will be his first college semester-long rehearsal process, which has proved to have many differences from his experience in high school productions.
“Instead of working in the span of not even a month, I’ll be working for two or three months, so I’ll have a lot more time,” Poole said. “I don’t also have to help construct the stage or work in other aspects, I purely focus on my character and my role.”
Poole has also had to practice certain actions and techniques to prepare for his role as a co-conspirator for Agamemnon’s murder.
“Some silly little things that I’ve done to prepare include having a certain walk, like a predatory catwalk,” Poole said. “I also looked up things about psychopathy and narcissistic personality disorders, because he’s had a lot of traumatic things happen when he was really young.”
The play will also contain references to modern things to make it more relatable to today’s audience. An example of this is Day’s incorporation of technology.
“There’s a lot about how technology affects us,” Poole said. “A lot of themes and motifs you’re going to see are about technology. There’s a lot about how power is expressed through technology like social media, and how people can control others through media consumption.”
The play will run in the Jerome Johnson Richardson theater, located on the second floor of the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson arts building, on Nov. 3-5 and 9-12.

Madeline Brewer, managing editor