As if learning all the lines to play Oedipus isn't enough, add a role in a second play, and the responsibilities for everything from driver to set or light person to teacher.
Such duties make up a typical day for the 12 members of the National Players, a traveling troupe that left its base in Olney, Md., in mid-September and have journeyed across the country since.
On its 56th annual tour, the troupe will stop in Augusta to perform The Oedipus Cycle, which opens at 2:30 p.m. today at Augusta State University's Grover C. Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre. The Players, made up of 22- to 25-year-old recent college graduates, will perform Romeo and Juliet on Friday and Saturday.
"It's been quite an adventure. You get to perform for thousands of people all across America by the time the tour's finished. That's pretty neat," said Ryan Mills, the company manager, who also plays Oedipus in addition to Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet.
Sleep schedules are unpredictable on such a demanding tour.
"Usually our days are very, very full, but usually at the end of the night we find a few hours to refuel," said Mr. Mills, 24. "Between acting in shows, we take care of transportation from one place to another, we set up the entire set, lights and sound system, plus we do workshops for schools in some communities and for local citizens on a variety of different topics related to theater."
The challenge is to "keep the people involved and engaged" in a character such as Oedipus because "everyone knows him so well and knows how it ends."
"You just have to focus on each moment in the play, you can't think about what'll happen in the end," he explained. "You, the actor, have to make the audience believe that this is happening in the moment. The stakes are so big in that play; there's nothing mundane about it. Every question is life or death. It's not kitchen-sink drama."
Caleb Probst, 22, who plays Romeo and has four roles in Oedipus, said the productions are enjoyable because they are nontraditional stagings. Oedipus, he said, is "classic with a slight hint of modern," with baggy pants worn underneath togas.
"It's not your boring Shakespeare with men running around in tights. It has a very modern look," he said. "And the language, although intact, is made, by the extra design elements, to not feel as if it's a dead play. We're really trying to bring out the timeless element of a love story, which is still as applicable today as when it was written."
Reach C. Samantha McKevie at (706) 823-3552 or samantha.mckevie@augustachronicle.com.
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