An exciting forum for the reinterpretation of classical theater, the Villa Theater Lab series features new translations of Greek and Roman plays as well as contemporary works inspired by ancient literature. Tickets are only $7.

All performances take place in the Auditorium at the Getty Villa.

The latest work in progress by this ambitious experimental-theater ensemble explores ancient myths of the faithful wife who descends to the realm of the dead. Under the direction of Nancy Keystone, the play takes its name from the Greek heroine Alcestis, a queen and mother who volunteers to die in place of her husband. Drawing on a long history of interpretation by dramatists, poets, and composers of opera, Keystone and Critical Mass Performance Group present the first draft of their mythic research.

In 1894, the reported discovery of a large cache of exquisite poetry by an ancient Greek courtesan electrified the world of Classical studies. The author was Bilitis, described as an intimate friend and contemporary of the poet Sappho. So sensuous and moving were these poems that they were immediately hailed as classics of ancient erotic literature and began to appear across Europe in sensationally illustrated "private editions." More than a decade later, the poems were unmasked as an elaborate literary hoax, fabricated by an obscure and impoverished French novelist, Pierre Louys—a comrade of the author Andre Gide and composer Claude Debussy, among others. How a flamboyantly heterosexual Parisian avant-gardist came to successfully impersonate a Sapphic Greek poet is the subject of this new work by the acclaimed Los Angeles mask and puppet troupe Rogue Artists Ensemble. This performance features erotic imagery and nudity and is therefore recommended for adult audiences only.

Troubadour Theater Company Presents For the Birds,
Adapted from the Play by Aristophanes
June 9–12, 2011
The Troubies, as the Troubadour Theater Company is known, are renowned for their deliriously satiric adaptations of theatrical and literary classics set to pop musical scores. Set in the mythical CloudCuckooLand and floating halfway between heaven and earth, the Troubies' newest work is based on Aristophanes' feathery utopian comedy.

Not Man Apart Physical Theatre Ensemble Presents
The Madness of Hercules by Seneca
May 20–22, 2011
Considered one of the finest tragedies of the Roman philosopher and playwright Seneca, Hercules Furens portrays one of the most bitter and grotesque legends of this half-mortal son of Zeus―Hercules' maddened slaughter of his own innocent wife and children. Seneca's play asks, how does a man survive his own unforgivable crimes?

Poor Dog Group Presents Satyr Atlas
February 4 and 5, 2011
Half-man and half-horse, the wild and badly behaved Satyrs were legendary companions of Dionysus, the ancient Greek god of wine and theater. In their latest work in progress, Poor Dog Group, rising stars of L.A.'s experimental-theater scene, immersed themselves in ancient satyr drama, imagery, and lore to reinvent the term satyr play.

Go behind the scenes as the group rehearses the work and hear from director Jesse Bonnell on the creative process on the Iris.

The Center for New Performance at CalArts and the CalArts School of Theater: Piedra de Sol (Sunstone)
May 14–16, 2010
Conceived, adapted and staged by Mexican director Maria Morett, this multimedia work for the stage is inspired by the surrealist love poem of the same name by the late Nobel laureate Octavio Paz. Considered one of the poet's greatest works, Piedra de Sol (Sunstone) is a circular poem based on the circular calendar of the Aztecs (or sun stone,) and overflows with images both modern and historical. This original staging is performed in an aural tapestry of English, Spanish and Nahuatl.

Big Dance Theater: Euripides' Alkestis
February 19–21, 2010
Two acclaimed creative forces—renowned translator Anne Carson and the daring, experimental Big Dance Theater—joined in the creation of a new movement-theater version of Alkestis. Euripides' genre-defying play, in which Herakles wrestles Death for the soul of an ideal woman, is one of the playwright's strangest and most beautiful works.

The SITI Company: Antigone
May 15–17, 2009
Director Anne Bogart and the members of her New York City-based ensemble brought to the Villa the first public presentations of their latest project, an adaptation of Sophocles' Antigone by Irish dramaturge and translator Jocelyn Clarke.

Troubadour Theater Company: Oedipus: The King, Mama!
April 17–19, 2009
Los Angeles-based Troubadour Theater Company, a freewheeling, no-holds-barred, commedia dell'arte-flavored ensemble of actors, musicians, and comedians, tackled the ancient Greek tragedy.

Ghost Road: Orestes
February 20–22, 2009
Orestes is the third part of Home Siege Home, a trilogy of new plays based on The Oresteia and devised by Ghost Road, one of California's most ambitious experimental multimedia theater ensembles.