Hilary Vandenbark
Communicator

SFCC’s drama department brought a new and refreshing Antigone to the Spartan Theatre.

Antigone is the sequel to Oedipus, which follows-up on Oedipus’s daughter. Antigone and Oedipus were written by Sophocles, one of the four Greek playwrights. Antigone is very stubborn. When her brother dies after attempting to wage a civil war, Creon, the king decrees that no one should bury him. Antigone decides to bury her brother; something for which she must suffer the consequences. Antigone is portrayed by Rachel Chung, who brought her fiery character to the stage.

Antigone director, Sara Edlin- Marlowe wanted to fine a translation that got away from the excessive use of gods’ names to allow her to set it in another era, one where she could incorporate dance, and music into the play. Her hard work was evident in the quality of the performance.

Using the Fitts and Fitzgerald translation appeared to be a good choice, especially since no god’s name was mentioned in the performance, which allowed the audience to see it in the Napoleonic period (circa 1800) instead of Ancient Greece.

The incorporation of dancing into the chorus gave enjoyable visual art to the performance. The dancing was in sync and well-choreographed by Kimberly Kromholtz. It illustrated parts of the play that didn’t lend itself to being acted out on the set.

The dancing proved better than the music. The volume was somewhat cumbersome to following the plot because in some of the chorus’s it overpowered the voices. The compositions put together by Melissa Drumm fit Antigone well, and in the beginning it set the suspenseful tone for the opening fight scene.

All the acting was very good. The chorus actors would always follow one another on cue. Erik Ellstad in particular gave a powerful performance to his character Creon. He suffers from a severe case of megalomania and paranoia throughout the play, a stark contrast to his good nature in Oedipus, but Ellstad pulled it off well.

The costumes by William Marlowe were mainly of rich purples and bright yellows to denote who was royalty. Browns, greens and pinks were reserved for citizens. The costume designs were very apropos to the period and the bright colors didn’t clash against the set.

The set had a wide variety of colors, the city and palace walls were a neutral green with stunningly colorful designs on the doors and the stained glass window. While most of the pieces used in the set have appeared in previous productions, Renae Meredith, Pat White and the Stagecrafts Class once again designed and produced an excellent stage.

Antigone provided an enjoyable experience. The atmosphere was pleasant and the play was very good.

You can contact the writer at staffwriter@spokanefalls.edu