What’s Gained in Translation: 'With Fates Driving' Reimagines an Epic

“I sing of arms and a man,” begins Virgil’s “Aeneid,” an epic poem chronicling Aeneas’s journey to found Rome. In a student-written, contemporary reimagining of this story, however, the man in question is not Aeneas.

Jules (Jacob D. Rienstra ’17), a modern-day version of Aeneas’s son, Ascanius, takes center stage in Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club’s production of “With Fates Driving,” an original play by Alona Bach ’16. The production will run from Oct. 9 to 11 at the Loeb Experimental Theater.

“Ascanius really stands out as the anomaly; there’s no real background on him,” director Sean K. Hardy ’16 says. “We’ve had to create this entire character around him.”

Although Jules does interact with ancient Roman goddesses, he speaks and acts as an individual firmly rooted in the modern world. “[These words] are words you’ve said to people before, you know, whether you’re breaking up with someone or talking to a parent,” Hardy says. “It’s very much language you can identify with.”

Transitioning between the classical and contemporary components of the play happened organically, Bach says.  “I was writing a scene where Creusa was visiting Ascanius in a dream, and all of a sudden—I think I must have been writing pretty late at night or something— she was like, ‘I brought you hot chocolate.’ And I was like, ‘That’s a weird thing that just happened.’”

The play grapples with the tensions between agency and predestination. “We’re trying to figure out who’s really running the show. Is it fate? Is it destiny that’s pushing this stuff to happen? Or is it something else?” producer and active Crimson editor Joule P. Voelz ’17 says.

In an effort to highlight a variety of art forms, the play also features an original score composed by Eric R. Corcoran ’16 and movement designed by Julia K. Cataldo ’15. In addition, the Classics Department will be hosting a discussion about the historical and literary traditions surrounding the “Aeneid” at Oct.10 show.

“This is going kind of to be an unprecedented celebration of the arts and theater,” producer Madi L. Taylor ’16 says. “We’re bringing all of these elements together in a really amazing and new way that I think people are going to love.”