SAMANTHA TROUP | staff writer

Antigone's cast outs an emotional hole into each heart brave enough to watch.

A hush falls over the crowd as King Creon, played by senior theater major Joe Barone begins his first powerful speech, declaring that Polynices should remain unburied after his death in a duel with his now buried brother Eteocles. Moments later the brothers’ sisters Antigone and Ismene, played by senior theater arts major Rae Henderson and alumna Alenoosh Aslanian, move onto stage as Antigone tries to convince Ismene to help her bury her brothers’ body.

Antigone makes the brave decision to honor her brother by burying him in a fine layer of dust, sealing her fate and starting the landslide of events that lead to the eventual tragedy of Antigone.

As the play progresses, the series of tragic events continues with Antigone’s fiancé Haemon, played by sophomore theater major Kevin Shewey, fighting for Antigone’s release from prison, where she has been sentenced to starve to death.

As the city state of Thebes starts to burn, Queen Eurydice, played by sophomore psychology major Katie Elsaesser, calls for her son Haemon and husband King Creon. She is unaware of the events of the day, and unaware of the tragedy that will answer her questions.

Director Dr. Rachel Tracie chose to use Hasenclevers translation of Antigone, which blends the modern elements of German expressionism and the classic universal themes of Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, all for a performance in 2007.

“I had a vision in my head after I read [Antigone] of hands in dirt, which is the poster for it, and to me that resembles common humanity, or love for one another, so it’s a recurring image in the play and I hope that people will take away that idea of loving your neighbor” Tracie said.

The actor’s performances were moving, causing Tracie’s eyes to well up with tears. Everything from the opening scene to Haemon and Antigone’s final farewell overflows with passion.

“I wanted to pick something challenging to the students first of all, something that was different than what they maybe had encountered. Antigone is a brilliant story,” Tracie said. “I just wanted to give the students something they could sink their teeth into.”

There were a lot of challenges in adapting to characters in the play. Sophomore theater and CBA major Jennifer Hall, who plays a citizen, said that her biggest challenge was “learning to adapt to a male persona,” because all citizens are males.

Henderson said that her biggest challenge was the “ridiculously long monologues” that she had to memorize.

“The cast has really stepped it up to work in a style that is totally unfamiliar to them and I asked them to just really be encouraged and take a risk, and they have,” Tracie said.

The main characters convictions culminate in one moving display of human error, emotion ,and the consequences of the quest for honor and glory.

The costumes were made from design to finish Henderson, who also plays the lead, Antigone.

“Except for a few rings, bracelets and a pair of pants, I made everything,” she said.

The unique, elaborate masks were created specifically for the show by Claire Goodfellow, were a part of Tracie’s vision from the start.

“The masks were something I saw right away. I knew that I wanted her to make them. I couldn’t be happier with the way that they came out,” Tracie said.

The stage, consisting of several large pillars and an implied palace, hints at the scale of the tragedy and the grandeur of the Oedipus trilogy, of which Antigone is the third and final.

Everything from its beautiful costumes and masks to the intensity of the acting stands out as one of the most notable theatrical accomplishments this semester.

Antigone’s timeless story partnered with director Tracie’s vision is a must-see.