On Oct. 20 at the Weber Center for the Performing Arts, the Viterbo Conservatory opened the classic Greek play, Antigone. Written by Sophocles over two thousand years ago, the play still holds relevance today. Many have read it for a class or put on the play themselves. The story follows Antigone, daughter of Oedipus (who was cursed with tragedy), as she defies the king’s orders and buries her slain brother. The play presents themes of justice, civil disobedience, and death.
Benjamin Gonzales, a recently tenured professor in the theatre/music theatre department, directed the Greek tragedy. “Antigone is a foundational play for storytelling as we know it today. It’s been iterated on and influential to two and a half millennia of plays that proceeded it. Thematically, we can still see ourselves in these basic concepts of morality and ethics,” Gonzales emphasized.
While there are many versions of Antigone in the world of published plays, Gonzales and Viterbo’s season selection committee chose a near direct translation from the original text. Gonzales explains his vision for Antigone: “This version of the play stems from both necessity (small chorus), as well as the desire to not try to recreate a replication of Greek performance, to which we can only speculate from the images in pottery and perspectives written far after the event. This version is highly theatrical, honoring the ritual but making it unique to the company we’ve created to tell the story. Shadow and memory, I have not heard of this story being told like we are trying to.”
This vision takes place not only in the cast, but also in the staging. Residing in the Lyche Theatre, the minimalistic set consists of five panels of white fabric, each with a light behind, allowing for detailed shadows to be presented on each.
Not only does this play speak to the ritual of theatre and current events, but, according to Gonzales, it also speaks to Viterbo’s values. He states, “There’s many reasons I could surmise: community, pedagogy, historical perspective… but I think if I was to entice the Viterbo community to see it, this show speaks to the core of our values. What is it to be a leader. What is the balance between our commitment to our beliefs in comparison to what is required of us by the state.”
The show questions the viewers’ integrity and dedication to their own beliefs. It asks the question: Would you follow your beliefs and morals or the laws of the state? Antigone, when faced with this question chose to follow the Greek gods and her morality, paralleling St. Francis of Assisi, who chose God and teaching those who are undervalued in society over the privileges he was born into.
