'Antigone' Addresses Ancient Questions of Law, Morality
Conscience and law collide when Alma College Theatre presents its first show of the 2011-12 season.
“Antigone” by Sophocles opens at the Remick Heritage Center at Alma College at 8 p.m. Thursday Oct. 13th, with subsequent shows at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14 and Saturday, Oct. 15 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors 62 and up, and free for Alma College staff, students, and youth 18 and under. Call (989) 463-7304 for ticket information.
“Antigone” tells the story of ancient Thebes in a time when its people are recovering from a bloody civil war. The play emphasizes the conflict between following conventional standards of right and wrong, and adhering to more fundamental and divine codes of morality.
This struggle speaks to people across all ages, says Joe Jezewski, faculty director.
“This play highlights that difficulty of seeing someone else’s view, instead of looking at what someone else is doing and calling it black or white,” says Jezewski. “A price is always paid in war — what it does to the human psyche and the environment. Because of the war, decisions are made that put these people into conflict.”
Acting in this play is an eye-opening experience, says sophomore Graham Morgan.
“Creon, the character I play, is a man who believes in law and order and in citizens doing their part to keep it,” says Morgan. “He’s a believer in obedience to man-made laws, because he believes law is the basis for justice. As the play progresses, this ideal gets more and more diluted and difficult to uphold.”
The inability to empathize with another is the source of conflict in “Antigone,” and from it arises questions about the nature of law, justice and how the two are related.
“Creon and Antigone have very different views — neither of which are right or wrong,” says sophomore Emily Roberge. “Antigone’s allegiance is to the gods, not to the state.”
Connection, between both individuals and the gods, is the emotional undercurrent that drives the play.
“Part of the goal of a religious ritual is to put you in contact with forces greater than yourself,” says Jezewski. “Theatre grew out of religious ritual. The energy of the theatre taps into the human need to connect and experience.”
Posted: Sat, October 1st, 2011 at 11:17AM
