The Lake Michigan College Visual & Performing Arts Department has announced performance dates and the cast, production team, and crew for its fall production of “Antigonick” directed by Dr. Patrick King, LMC Instructor of Theatre.
Performances will be staged at 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 17-19, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20 in the LMC Mendel Center Hanson Theatre on the Benton Harbor Campus.
“Antigonick” adapts one of the earliest tragedies in theatre in Anne Carson’s playful, bittersweet, and profoundly poetic translation. Sophocles’ play, “Antigone,” is one of the earliest pieces of theatre for which the text survives. It begins in the wake of a decree from King Kreon forbidding the burial of Polynikes, the son of Oedipus, after his death in a bloody civil war that has torn Thebes apart. When Antigone, Polynikes’ sister, defies the edict and puts her brother to rest, all of Thebes witnesses the brutality of the law as it tears the royal family apart and undoes the hard-won peace Kreon sought to protect.
Carson’s adaptation breaks the play open, breaks down the fourth wall, and revels in its messiness and complications. “Antigonick,” which began its life as essentially a comic book adaptation of the play, combines a lean, focused translation faithful to Sophocles’ original text with a playful self-awareness that explores the play’s legacy.
When asked why “Antigonick” was selected as the fall theatre production, King cited this translation’s ability to connect with audiences at a human level.
“There’s a reason ‘Antigone’ is so often restaged: the characters’ righteous conviction in the face of an oppressive government has made it an obvious favorite for artists in the modern era, starting with Bertolt Brecht’s production during World War II in which Kreon’s rule was explicitly analogized to the Nazi regime,” said King. “That perpetual sense of timeliness can lead to a lot of self-satisfied cliches, but the beauty of Carson’s translation, pitting one woman’s anguished moral act against a cold law-and-order government, is that it retains that political urgency but never forgets that these characters are all human.”
He adds that the characters speak to the audience as collaborators. Their language gets goofy and awkward at times. Characters are principled one moment and petty the next. They wrestle with uncertainty, crack jokes, and sing. It’s a compact, dense piece of theater, but also messy and human and, in parts, fun.
Cast members are Shay Beeson as Antigone, Sierra Loughrin as Ismene, Jakob Prillwitz as Kreon, Connor Farr as Haimon, Sam Moyle as Eurydike, Larry Underwood as Teiresias, Tyena Taylor as Guard, Sam Garrison as Messenger, Sabra Shelton as Nick, and Max Babcock, Einra Leie Baker, Evan Cook, Ne’sha Heard-Bettison, Kyle McAndrew, Emma Stoppenbach as Chorus.
Design team members are Andrew Quinones, assistant director; Dani Baldwin and Amber Case, stage managers; John Taylor, scenic; Matt “Dolphy” Clark, lighting; Tam Greene, costume; and Alan Selvidge, sound. The build and run crew are Rye Tacke, Schalen Blackman-Bennett, Joanna Blue, Aaron Rennhack, Nick Longden
“Over the first few weeks of rehearsal, I’ve been thrilled to have this cast bringing their ideas to the stage as we explore the shape of this play,” King said. “There’s no reason to do a classic like “Antigone” if it doesn’t feel like our version could only exist right here and right now.”
“The cast and design team are all bringing their full hearts and powers of invention to the project,” Kind added. “I think our students have a unique sense of connection to Antigone’s moral urgency and to the desperate desire for peace that runs throughout this play. I’ve been bowled over by their thoughtful work throughout the process.”
Tickets are $18 for adults, $12 for seniors, and students are admitted free. They are on sale now at www.TheMendelCenter.com/events, by calling 269-927-8700, option 1, or by visiting the Mendel Center box office in person. The box office, located in the Grand Upton Hall Lobby, is open weekdays from 10 am to 6 pm, and one hour before events. The play contains descriptions of violence and some gore. Parental guidance is advised.
