Prof.
Bill Finlay says he has always “felt cheated” that all the
violence in Greek tragedies takes place off stage.
So it shouldn't be surprising that the director of Antigone,
himself a specialist in theater combat choreography, decided to open the
play with a frightening three-minute sword fight that looks and sounds
like the real thing.
The play by Sophocles usually opens with a distraught
Antigone the morning after a battle in which her brothers, Polynieces and
Eteokles, die at each others' hands. But in the version directed by
Finlay, the audience sees what Sophocles had left to the imagination of
the audience as Brian Gould '01 (Polynieces) and Jason Helmer '00
(Eteokles) engage in mortal combat.
Though the edges are dulled so as not to cut the actors,
the swords are long and heavy just like the real thing and can inflict
serious injury, says Finlay, a member of the Society of American Fight
Directors, a union which works to promote the safety of such stage
combats. Finlay carefully choreographed the scene so that each actor knows
what to expect of the other.
Finlay recruited Helmer and Gould from his Movement for
Actors class. Large and athletic, they quickly took to the challenge of
making the scene look as real as possible. Except for a couple of bruises
during rehearsals, there have been no mishaps. But the swords are marked
with hundreds of dents from the weapons hitting each other.
The play is the story of the heroic attempts of a king
to restore order in a city torn by civil war, according to program notes
by Prof. Christina Sorum of classics. Antigone is an heroic woman fighting
against a tyrant who by allying the demands of patriarchal and civic
authority denies the traditional claims of blood ties and religion. To
assert the demands of her kindred dead, a woman must deny her essential
roles as mother and wife as well as her living family.
Besides Devon Ciampa '00 in the lead role, the play
has 18 other cast members. Charles Steckler is scenic designer; John
Miller, lighting and technical director; Patricia Culbert, vocal coach;
Chris Welch, assistant director and stage manager; Alina Samuels '03 and
Julia Maher '03, assistant stage managers; and Suzanne Doraski '01,
sound board operator.
Antigone runs this week
through Sunday, and again next week, Thursday, Nov. 4, through Sunday,
Nov. 7, in the Yulman Theater. Shows start at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees
at 2 p.m. Tickets are $7 ($5 for students and seniors). For information,
call the box office at ext. 6545.
Photo above:
En garde — Brian Gould '01, left, as Polynieces, battles Jason
Helmer '00, as Eteokles, in a rehearsal of their sword fight that opens
the Yulman Theater production of Antigone.
Return to list of stories in this issue
Calendar of events
Through Oct. 31 and Nov. 4 through 7.
Yulman Theater.
Antigone presented by
Performing Arts. Shows at 8 p.m. except Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets
$7 ($5 for students and seniors). For information, call ext. 6545.