About

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Page and Stage is a most necessary addition to the library’s many fine services. Thank you for taking the initiative to present this program. Well done. — County of Los Angeles Public Library, Lancaster Regional Branch

PAGE and STAGE: Theater, Tradition, and Culture in America

An in-depth partnership between the library and the theater. This program is linking public libraries and performing arts centers across America, focusing on the power of the Iliad today.

Page and Stage places live theatrical events, reading groups and lectures in public libraries to inspire people to come together and read, see, and think about classical literature and how it continues to influence and invigorate American cultural life. Aquila Theatre, the Urban Libraries Council, the American Philological Association, and the Center for Ancient Studies at New York University are guiding this program that is forging a unique partnership between 16 public libraries and their local performing arts centers.

4 Ways to Get Involved

Reading Groups

Discover and discuss the impact of Homer with a leading scholar

Performances

Come see NY’s Aquila Theatre perform Homer’s Iliad: Book One and join in a post-performance discussion

Workshops

Participate in a Classical Theatre Workshop with actors from Aquila Theatre

Public Lectures

Attend exciting talks given by expert scholars

The programming is linked together by four thematic units:
Know Thyself: Issues of Identity
Nothing in Excess: Crossing Boundaries
The Trojan War: History or Myth?
From Homer to Hip-Hop: Reinventing the Classics.

Based Around Homer’s Iliad

Homer’s epic story of Achilles and the Trojan War is one of the greatest works in literature. The Iliad has had a profound influence on every generation since it was first performed by ancient Greek bards in the Mediterranean over 2,500 years ago. Nine years after the start of the Trojan War, the Greeks are still unable to defeat their enemy. Agamemnon, the commander, clashes with the best warrior, Achilles, over the division of war-prizes and is forced to give back the girl Chryseis to her father after Apollo sends a terrible plague. Agamemnon claims Achilles’ war-prize Briseis to save face and the furious Achilles withdraws from the fighting and asks the gods to turn the war against the Greeks.