The Whitworthian

Issue date: 10/16/07 Last Updated: 10/17/07

Media Credit: Erica Nesbitt The Elders strike their final pose at the end of a dance sequence. The chorus of Elders add movement and narration to "Antigone." The members of the chorus are senior Jeannie Sibbett, junior Lexi Scamehorn, sophomore Becky Davis, freshman Tobin Eyestone and senior Matt Park. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Nate Chute Antigone - Behind the Scenes

Media Credit: Erica Nesbitt Antigone (Gilham) holds a knife to the guard's throat. The guard, played by junior Alex Smith, has just caught Antigone making a grave for her brother. After a daring fight scene, Antigone holds the guard's life in her hands. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Erica Nesbitt Antigone, played by senior Lisa Gilham, chastises her younger sister Ismene, played by junior Julie Kimball. Ismene has just told Antigone not to make a grave for their deceased brother, Polynices. [Click to enlarge]

For those of you whose tastes weren't suited to "Antigone" when you read it for Core 250, don't let that stop you from seeing Whitworth Theatre's most recent production of this dynamic classic: "Antigone" is twice as interesting when acted out.

Director Brooke Kiener said one of the reasons she chose "Antigone" was because she wanted to do something about war.

"In Greek theater when the stakes are really high, we call that life and death stakes, and it really gives the actors a lot to work with," Kiener explained.

At the center of Sophocles' original play is the need to reconcile personal beliefs with the needs of society. Thus, adaptations of "Antigone" have often risen during times of national conflict; two different versions were written during WWI.

The adaptation Whitworth Theatre is using was written by Bertolt Brecht during WWII.

Traditionally, "Antigone" includes more women than men. That fact worked in the Whitworth Theatre department's favor because men are often in short supply for theatre productions.

While 35 women auditioned for the part of Antigone, the number could have dwindled to half that size had any of them known what they would be wearing onstage.

With a neckline racy for Whitworth protocol, Antigone's costume is reminiscent of Queen Gorgo's dress in the recent film "300."

"Tonight I looked down and was like, am I still in it?" said senior Lisa Gilham of her plunging neckline. "The idea is the fact that Antigone is really emotionally exposed and raw the whole time, and it translates that she is 'naked' on stage."

Character to traditional Greek theatre, "Antigone" incorporates a group of elders who illustrate the play's physical and emotional flow via fluid movement and dialogue.

"The chorus represents the voice of the people in the show and how 'the people' respond to Kreon," senior Amy Bernard said, referring to the evil tyrant king played by sophomore Mark Frazier. "The chorus reflects democracy and also addresses the audience."

Throughout "Antigone" we see the chorus side with and against Kreon, embodying the fact that people are the democracy but can change dramatically. Ultimately, "Antigone" holds many questions about humanity, human nature and democracy.

Even more impressive is the chorus's ability to speak in unison while moving together in a graceful and complicated choreography - a highly difficult feat that demonstratively draws the audience in to the emotional pulse of every scene.

"We got to the point where we were always in a group mentality," chorus member and senior Matt Park said. "We've even screwed up together in unison."

Two out of five in the chorus are men, and both prove that gaucho pants aren't just for girls.

"They're pretty comfortable," Park said. "Silky goodness."

Park said that he and the other male chorus member (freshman Tobin Eyestone) were also given stage makeup highlights to define their abdominal muscles.

"They are glorious," Park said.

The play introduces an eclectic mix of costumes varying from clashing time periods. At one point King Kreon, the father-in-law from Hell, trades his breastplate in for a business suit.

"When our director told me that she was going to have me wear a suit jacket, I wasn't surprised," Frazier said. "She had said at the start that we were going to be breaking the Greek setting all over the place - like how the soldiers are all wearing camouflage pants and army boots. The Greeks didn't have those, and they didn't have suit jackets either."

By the end of the play the cursed king looks more like a suicidal Wall Street banker than a tyrant on the edge.

"Our director was aiming to create a kind of economic perspective in the show," Bernard said. "Brecht wanted to jar the audience so that they're constantly thinking along with the play. That's why there's a lot of costume variation."

Bernard, who plays a messenger, said the play should jar the audience in order to remove the viewers from the cathartic value of the play and make them look at what everything means in terms of the universal.

This particular version of "Antigone" concurs with the jarring concept. This adaptation meshes classical and modern aesthetics and combines realistic and presentational styles, according to the show's program.

"Our costumes are so beautiful," Bernard said. "The dresses are supposed to incorporate the aesthetic Greek appeal, and let's be honest, Greeks were pretty. So the beautiful dresses are meant to be jarred against the harsher costumes."

Comic relief is provided by junior Alex Smith, the bumbling guard who impressively manages not to trip on any props despite the fact that his helmet is much too large for his head.

"It's nice to do something that's a revival of one of the ancient plays that still has something applicable today," Smith said. "Bumbling idiots are still around today."

Smith explained that his onstage fight with Antigone is actually a modern interpretation. Greek theater is traditionally without dead bodies or fights and relies heavily on dialogue and narration.

"I kept worrying, Oh geez, I'm gonna step on her dress and screw up everything,'" Smith said of his brawl with Antigone.

While Bernard described Smith as a comedy genius, Smith said he was happy to get the part.

"Our director described the guard as having an oversized helmet and too much crap on his armor, and I thought to myself , O.K., that's a part I can play," Smith said.

A seer named Tiresius, who gives Kreon a gloomy forewarning, also puts in a commanding performance. Played by sophomore Jarvis Lunalo, Tiresius's surprise entrance from the back of the auditorium and his eloquent speech provides oratory delight.

"With help from an outstanding director, Brooke Kiener, the show will blow away the minds of many," Lunalo said.

A definite highlight of the play is the chorus' artistic storytelling, particularly the scene where they synchronize as a hypnotizing silhouette against a screen of changing colors.

Powerful and provocative, "Antigone" poses a question relevant to every generation as it transcends the ages: "What is the right thing to do when one's personal beliefs conflict with the rules of state?"

"Antigone" can be seen in Cowles Memorial Auditorium on Oct. 19 or Oct. 20 starting at 8 p.m. The house opens at 7:30 p.m. both nights. Tickets are available from the theatre department office or at the door. General admission tickets are $7. Student and senior citizen tickets are available for $5.

Contact Blair Tellers at blair.tellers@whitworthian.com.

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