By Brian Watko
In an email sent out earlier this week, Associate Director of Student Activities Dominique Waldron announced that Spring Fling headliner CupcakKe would be making a special appearance in Bard’s student production of Electra.
“We’re very fortunate to feature an artist who is both a critically acclaimed rapper and an avowed enthusiast of ancient Greek drama,” wrote Waldron. “When CupcakKe learned that students were staging Sophocles’ late tragedy on the Blithewood porch, she immediately contacted us to find out if there was any way she could get involved. You couldn’t ask for better timing.”
Born Elizabeth Eden Harris, the Chicago-based rapper and songwriter has been candid about her admiration for classical Greek theatre—she cites Aristophanes’ comedy Lysistrata, first performed in 411 BCE, as a major influence on her 2016 mixtape S.T.D., and she has stated that her song “Doggy Style” was written in the voice of Myrrhine, a secondary character from the play.
CupcakKe is set to appear as Chrysothemis, Electra’s sister who chooses not to seek revenge for the murder of their father Agamemnon. While many Bard students have responded positively to this news, some have given voice to their reservations. “I don’t think CupcakKe should do this show,” said Gabriel Nussbaum, a junior Classics major. “Bennington did a big production of the Oresteia for their Spring Fling last year and she played Clytemnestra. All three parts of the trilogy with CupcakKe as one of the most important female roles in the Western theatrical canon. It was riveting. She makes the verse come alive. All I’m saying is, having CupcakKe do this glorified walk-on seems like a flagrant waste of talent.”
The creative team behind Electra are currently planning a production of Euripides’ Medea for the spring of 2020 featuring Khia in the titular role.
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