FRONT PAGE:

LEBANESE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

School of Arts and Sciences
Arts & Communication Department

Lysistrata

Written by: Aristophanes

Translated by Douglass Parker, with additions from a translation by Alan H.
Sommerstein

Directed by: Yasmin Agha

Monday April 7, 2008 at 6:00 pm

Gulbenkian Theatre – LAU Beirut
INSIDE:

About the playwright

Aristophanes, known as the Father of Comedy, is a Classic Greek writer who achieved
brilliant success in the Theater of Dionysus in the 420s BCE. He wrote forty plays, eleven
of which survive; his plays are the only surviving complete examples of Ancient Greek
Comedy. His work was often political and most of his plays satirized the Peloponnesian
War between Sparta and Athens.

About the play

“Lysistrata”, is loosely translated as “she who disbands armies”. Written in 411 BC, the
Greek comedy is one of the first feminist works in the history of theatrical literature,
portraying a female mortal hero for the first time. The play tells the story of Lysistrata, a
female who leads the women of Greece to barricade the public funds building and
withhold sex from their husbands in an attempt to end the Peloponnesian War and secure
peace. The timeless piece, which seems to apply as much to a modern audience as it did
to an Ancient Greek audience, uses comedy and sexuality to point towards the absurdity
of war.

Director’s Word
From a figment of my imagination to the stage; we have worked to create a piece that
touched the Lysistrata in each of us.

Cast
In order of appearance

Lysistrata
Maliki Ghossaini

Kleonike
Bissar Sleiman

Myrrhine
Shireen Sebaiti

Lampito / Spartan Herald

Mohamad Karim Bourayou

Koryphaios of Men
Mazen Abdallah

Kinesias
Dana Burton

Chorus of Men
Ahmed Mahfouz (also Spartan Delegation)
Mazen Salameh

Koryphaios of Women
Milia Ayache

Spartan Delegation
Rami Arbid

Peace
Eleena Korban

Musicians
Drummer
Dana Fakhoury

Production Staff
Director
Yasmin Agha

Technical Director
Alaa Minawi

Assistant Technical Director

Dania Jarakji

Stage Manager
Aya Nabulsi

Assistant Stage Manager

Remi Itani

Set Designer
Issa Kandil

Props Designer & Assistant Set Designer

Mahdi Yehya
Light Designer
Hani Khashfeh

Sound Designer & Operator

Carine Mneimneh

Costume Designer
Elie Awad

Make-Up Designer
Joy Televizian

Assistant Make-Up Designer

Rana Abi Abdallah

Hair Designer
Ahmed Mahfouz

Poster Designer
Vassili Kassab

Publicity Managers
Assil Ayyash
Raouf Khelifa

House Manager
Hanouf Bin Meaither

Technical Supervisors
Milad Karkour
Georges Chdid

Production Manager
Hala Masri

Academic Supervisor
Dr. Mona Knio

Production Crew
Set Construction Crew
Ali Akel
Hanouf Bin Meaither
Sameera El Aseer
Jenny Merhej
Rami Saidi

Light Operator
Farah F. Naboulsi

Light Crew
Charbel Fares
Farah Nabulsi
Shakib Akoum
Adib Mufty
Mahmoud Jabban

Make-Up Crew
Sara Daher

Special Thanks
Mohsen and Azar Agha
Sharif Abdunnur

April 3, 2008
Dear XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX,

The Arts and Communication Department of The Lebanese American University

cordially invites you to the student theater production of “Lysistrata”, directed by
Yasmin Agha, on Monday, April 7th, 2008 in Gulbenkian Theatre at 6:00 pm.

Written by Aristophanes and translated by Douglass Parker, the Classic Greek text lends
itself to our chaotic times. The production uses comedy and sexuality to point towards the
absurdity of war, transmitting a powerful message of peace.

For confirmation please contact Ms. Hanuf Bin Meaither on 03-841959 or 03-907137

Your presence would be highly appreciated.

Sincerely yours,

Yasmin Agha