ANTIGONE By Jean Anouilh Translated by Jeremy Sams Directed by Jim Petosa Scenic Designer Costume Designer Lighting Designer Sound Designer Technical Director Stage Manager Production Manager
Lindsay Fuori AJ Jones Aja Jackson Stephanie Lynn Yackovetsky Billy Balmer Brenna Hull Emily I. Vaughn
CAST Antigone Ismene Nurse Chorus Creon Guard 1 Guard 2 Guard 3 Haemon Polynices
Holly Stewart Gina Fonseca Alyssa Yoffie Danielle Palmer Michael Sultana Daniel Abbes Henry B. Gardner Matthew Salas Rob Kellogg Ben Swimmer
ANTIGONE is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production or distributing recordings on any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author’s rights and actionable under United States copyright law. For more information, please visit: samuelfrench.com/whitepaper
DESIGN & PRODUCTION TEAM Assistant Director Assistant Stage Manager Production Assistant Run Crew
Sophia Ray Lindsey Walko Ellie Ishii Yumao Gao Gisela Rodriguez Rivas Maximillian F. White Yuhran Zhang
Assistant Scenic Designer Paint Charge Assistant Paint Charge Properties Masters
Steven Doucette Samantha Galvao Andrew Kolifrath Saskia Martinez Elizabeth Pattyn Mary Kurenkov School of Theatre Technical Crew
Assistant Technical Director Paints/Scenic Build Crew Assistant Costume Designer Men’s Tailor Women’s Draper First Hand Stitcher Costume Build Crew Wardrobe Head & Assistant to the Designer Wardrobe Crew
Azucena Dominguez Tazzy Cole Amanda Miller Chloe Chafetz Katrina Ibasco School of Theatre Costume Shop Emily J. Keebler
Assistant Lighting Designer Master Electrician Light Board Operator Lighting Crew
Hannah Solomon Carmen Catherine Alfaro Jonas B. Hayes School of Theatre Lighting Dept.
Assistant Sound Designer Sound Board Operator Sound Crew Audience Services Manager Box Office & Front of House
Shannon Lee Carroll Schuyler E. Ross
Kirk Ruby Carey M. Accola-Gavin School of Theatre Sound Dept. Brian Dudley Jacob L. Kreiss Ying Tung Lin Christopher T. Reilly Ireon L. Roach Nolan Patrick Spencer
ANOUILH’S ANTIGONE: A RESISTANCE PLAY The myth of Princess Antigone has served as a cornerstone of drama for centuries. While it began as a Greek tragedy, the princess and her story have traveled far beyond ancient Greece and inspired countless individuals worldwide. Anouilh’s Antigone is an epic in its own right, deconstructing the princess’ story from the inside out and creating a tale of resistance that resonates with audiences today. Antigone first took the stage in Paris, 1944, at the height of Nazi occupation. The Vichy government who collaboratively ruled over France with the Nazis saw the play as one of support, although the message of resistance was heard loud and clear by the general public. The story is so intricate and so well constructed that Antigone’s true alliance was hidden to most audience members allowing them to choose their own view of Antigone. In a French resistance paper, Anouilh’s contemporary, Jean Paul Sartre stated, “Anouilh stirred up a storm of discussion with Antigone, being charged on the one hand with being a Nazi, on the other with being an anarchist.” Although French audiences were divided, when the play transferred to New York in 1946 audiences regarded it only as a resistance play used as a tool to fight against marginalization, brutality, and tyranny in Europe. Perhaps the most interesting view on Antigone’s status as a resistance play is that of the playwright himself, who claims to have known nothing of a resistance movement during the war. Anouilh claims that his heroine is not a symbol of collaboration or resistance but instead completely free of political conduction. He claims that the play is nothing more than an experiment in modernist playwriting techniques, deconstructing the myth into its most basic qualities and then reconstructing it to be a story of necessity instead of circumstance, in which absence of a fourth wall allows the audience to claim responsibility for Antigone’s tragedy. Anouilh’s story gives necessary agency to its protagonist, while paradoxically forcing her through the Antigone myth as a player in a story. Both Antigone herself and the choral character of the Prologue comment on having a part to play in the events, and Antigone seems drawn to the act of burying her brother as something more than just an act of familial loyalty or resistance to her uncle Creon. In creating this duality of character, Anouilh presents an interesting view on resistance movements themselves; Antigone has the choice to lay down arms at any point in time, but sees the act of disobedience as not only valuable in itself but necessary and inevitable to her existence. Anouilh’s Antigone is a story with a difficult past although its empowerment to resistant worldwide is undeniable. The role of the princess as a symbol of civil disobedience and justice is explored by artists worldwide but the legacy of Anouilh’s retelling is more complex than most others and continues to inspire audiences around the globe in times of war and injustice. Antigone’s need to resist is crucial to our present moment creating a story of empowerment to which we can all relate.
DIRECTOR’S NOTES "The likelihood that your acts of resistance cannot stop the injustice does not exempt you from acting in what you sincerely and reflectively hold to be the best interests of your community." -Susan Sontag "Against the unpredictability against the chaotic uncertainty of the future, the remedy lies in the ability to make and keep promises." -Hannah Arendt "I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good." -Martin Luther King, Jr. "Redeem the times! The times are inexpressibly evil...And yet, and yet, the times are inexhaustibly good, solaced by the courage and hope of many." -Daniel Berrigan, S.J.
BIOGRAPHIES Jim Petosa (Director) has been the artistic and educational leader of Boston University School of Theatre since 2002, and has served as Artistic Director of New Repertory Theatre in Watertown, Massachusetts, since March 2012. He also serves as one of three artistic leaders of PTP/NYC. He has directed many plays and operas, most recently Kate Cayley’s The Bakelite Masterpiece (New Rep), Steven Dietz’s Lonely Planet and Aaron Loeb’s Ideation (BCAP/New Rep. Billy Balmer (Technical Director) is a second year MFA Technical Production student. In fall 2017, he was TD for Cabaret. Before BU, he was the Assistant Technical Director at Albright College, his alma mater. He also has a background in home renovation. He would like to thank his wife, Robin, for all her support/love. Lindsay Fuori (Scenic Designer) is a senior about to earn her BFA in Scenic Design magna cum laude. Her design credits include Miss Havisham's Wedding Night and The Beautiful Bridegroom (MetroWest Opera), Albert Herring (BU Opera Institute), La Llorona (Fresh Ink Theatre Company), Every Piece of Me (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre), The Cherry Orchard (BU) and In the Heart of America (BU). Lindsay’s next project is Urinetown with the Lost Nation Theatre. Currently, Lindsay serves as the Ben and A. Jess Shenson Artist in Residence at the BU Medial Campus Arts|Lab. This summer, Lindsay is excited to take on the position of Scenic Design Fellow at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York. lindsayfuori.com Brenna Hull (Stage Manager) is a senior stage manager here at BU. Her credits include Melancholy Play (Stage Manager, BU), Three Sisters (House Manager, Apollinaire Theatre), Femina Shakes' Richard III (Stage Manager, BU), Othello and To Kill a Mockingbird (ASM/SM, Classic Repertory Company), Sweets by Kate (SM, BU Opera Institute), and Legally Blonde (ASM, Boston Children’s Theatre).
Aja M. Jackson (Lighting Designer) is an MFA candidate in Lighting Design at BU who graduated from University of Nebraska—Lincoln with a BFA in Lighting Design. Most recently, Aja designed Shakespeare in Love (Omaha Playhouse), The Last Wife (WAM Theatre Company), and Hear Word! with The American Repertory Theatre. She has had the opportunity to work with the Santa Fe Opera, The Public Theater (NYC), The Lighting Design Group (NYC), Huntington Theatre Company, and Boston Lyric Opera. As a lighting designer, some of Aja’s favorite projects include Wit at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts (Boston Center for American Performance), the midwest tour of the original work What the Wind Taught Me, and the Biomorphic Dance Festival in NYC. Holly Stewart (Antigone) completes her last show at BU with a heavy, but very full, heart. Her recent past roles at BU include the title role in Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice and Gloucester in Richard III. After receiving her BFA in Acting in May, Holly plans to move to New York City to pursue physical theatre and a life in the arts. Emily I. Vaughn (Production Manager) is a second-year MFA Production Management student at BU. This is her seventh production with BU. Her previous experience ranges from Freelance Stage Management in the greater Los Angeles Area to box office management. She has worked with Berkeley Repertory, South Coast Repertory, and the Theatre department at California State University—San Bernardino, her alma mater. She hails from San Bernardino, CA, and holds her BA in Technical and Design with an emphasis in Stage Management. Stephanie Lynn Yackovetsky (Sound Designer) is excited to be designing Antigone. Prior to coming to BU, she was a theater teaching fellow and Resident Sound Designer at The Cambridge School of Weston. She received her undergraduate in Theater Studies from Suffolk University (BA, 2015) where she designed, acted, and wrote. Favorite design credits include: City of Angels, Children of Herakles, Metamorphoses, Spelling Bee, RE-EvaluationLand, The Saint Plays, and Radium Girls. When she isn’t designing, you can find her writing plays, snuggling with her kittens Pierogi & Cider, or crocheting fuzzy things. Thanks to D. Remedios for this opportunity. Much love to family, wonderful friends, & delightful roommates. Alyssa Yoffie (Nurse) is thrilled to be performing her final show at BU in the new Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre. Some of her favorite roles to date have been Holly in Uncommon Women and Others (BU) and the title role in Hamlet (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art). Thank you to the entire team of Antigone for such a wonderful creative process! alyssayoffie.com
BOSTON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS Established in 1954, Boston University College of Fine Arts (CFA) is a community of artist-scholars and scholar-artists who are passionate about the fine and performing arts, committed to diversity and inclusion, and determined to improve the lives of others through art. With programs in Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts, CFA prepares students for a meaningful creative life by developing their intellectual capacity to create art, shift perspective, think broadly, and master essential 21st century skills. CFA offers a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs, as well as a range of online degrees and certificates. Learn more at bu.edu/cfa.
JOAN & EDGAR BOOTH THEATRE Opened in December 2017, this bold, state-of-the-art structure encourages innovation, conversation, and collaboration. The flexible design of Booth Theatre allows for inventive evolution of performances and deep engagement with audiences. Research is at the core of Boston University, and the College of Fine Arts practices it every day. Creative experimentation is CFA’s research. Booth Theatre and the adjacent CFA Production Center are laboratories in the pursuit of creative research, and in every detail, these spaces are purpose-built for discovery. Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre is funded in part by a $10 million gift from BU Trustee Stephen M. Zide (LAW’86), who named the venue in honor of his wife’s parents, who shared their passion for the dramatic arts with him and his family. Learn more at bu.edu/booth.
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