"The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates

Boston Access Documentaries

The Project:

Public Television has decided to produce the recent Lincoln Center production of Sophocles' Antigone. As an introduction to the play (which will be shown during their fund drive and therefore is meant to attract the largest possible audience), Public Television would like to offer a half hour documentary addressing the time period Sophocles wrote the play and Greek theater itself. They are hoping that placing the play in its historical context will help the audience enjoy the presentation. You will be gathering information to present to the team of possible directors and writers who will be ultimately responsible for the final script and shooting of the documentary. If you do a good job, you may be chosen to work as associate producer for the final product. Essentially, if you do this right, you will be making a permanent career advancement.

Boston Access will be farming this very job out to several teams of our top researchers. You are expected to compete and come up with the presentation that most impresses our prospective directors and writers. Keep in mind that the directors and writers may not necessarily know the subject area very well and the more groundwork you can present to them, the more likely you are to be chosen as associate producer. Make the presentations informative and interesting to look at. Catch their attention! Use multimedia if possible.

You will team up with at least one other researcher from the talent pool (and no more than two other researchers). Use the links that I have provided, but you are by no means limited to what I provide. Go to it. Advancement at Boston Access Documentaries is survival of the fittest in the real world.

Back to Top

Research Sites:

 Aristotle's Poetics

Translated by S. H. Butcher

Chronological History of Greece in the Vth and IVth centuries B. C.

These pages provide background historical information on Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries B. C., the time and place Socrates and Plato lived in.

Ancient Greek (Hellenic) Links

This page contains dozens of links to sites about ancient Greece, its mythology, and its art and theater.

J. Moyr Smith's Ancient Greek Female Costume

Fashion of ancient Greece.

Rivendell's Drama Page

Good source for information about drama and Sophocles in particular.

Ancient Greek Theater

A very good link that will give you information about the culture, the theater and the playwrights.

Images of Greek Theater, Segesta, Sicily.

 Greek Tragedy

An early history of the Greek tragedy with a discussion of Sophocles.

Greek Tragedy Topics, Assignments, Notes

Barbara F. McManus's syllabus on her course in Greek tragedy. There are more than a dozen articles and links to sites covering Sophocles, Greek theater and Aristotle.

Back to Top

Evaluation:

Team Spokesperson:

The team spokesperson will make a two to five minute introduction of the material and describe the most interesting features about the time period, Greek drama and Sophocles. The spokesman is limited in time, so he or she has to grab the attention of the evaluators.

Between 0 and 35 points. Individual evaluators will grade presenters.
 

Aesthetics:

The presentation, both in the method and its look, should be attractive and attention getting. Whether you decide to use a web page, a power point presentation, video, presentation boards or other method, the final product must look good to the evaluators.

Between 0 and 25 points. Individual evaluators will grade presenters.
 

Research:

The credibility of Boston Access Documentaries is riding on your work. Your information must be reliable and annotated. Make sure you have an extensive bibliography and use citations for all images, ideas and facts that you need to substantiate. Do this work now and our editors will not have to bill us overtime later. Make sure you have enough material to inspire our creative personnel to make an interesting half hour presentation. There is no such thing as overkill in this area. We would rather have too much material than too little.

Between 0 and 40 points. I will evaluate this portion of the project.

Back to Top