The legend: authoress, poet, playwright, essayist, critic, historian of theater, translator. With more than 300 publications to her name, Dr. McDonald is a living legend. Students of theater and film have the good fortune of hearing her lectures during courses at U.C.S.D. She travels extensively to adoring international audiences. A student herself of Buddhism, she also plays the piano and harp and even has a black belt in karate.
Professor Marianne McDonald was trained in classics and music, taught for many years at the University of California, Irvine, and is now Professor of Classics and Theatre at the University of California, San Diego. She is most well-known for her work on ancient Greek drama, mythology, and modern versions of ancient classics in film, plays and opera, but her poems, plays, and translations have also been widely published. Her latest books include Sing Sorrow: Classics in Opera, and Amid Our Troubles: Irish Versions of Greek Tragedy.
Professor Marianne McDonald was honored recently with her induction into the San Diego Women's Hall of Fame at the San Diego Women's History Museum and Educational Center her plays have been performed at the Old Globe, and she is a legendary influence in San Diego’s theatres. She is also Founder of the Scripps McDonald Center.
How do you choose which classics to translate and bring to the stage?
McDonald: I am often commissioned: for instance, a director says he wants to direct a certain play, so I provide the translation. Jack O’Brien approached me in 1999 for a version of “Trojan Women” because he wanted a play that advocated peace to usher in the millennium.