Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Prologue and Section One edits by Lindsey:

Antigone: Come, Ismene, my own dear sister, come! There is no sorrow left,
no single shame, no pain, no tragedy, which does not hound us, you and me,
towards our end. Do you know? Have you heard? Or are you sheltered from
the news that deals a death blow to our dearest?
Ismene: Our Dearest, Antigone? I've heard no news either good or bad, ever
since we two were stripped of two brothers in a single day, Each
dismissing each by each other's hand. And since that Argive army fled last
night, I've heard no more-either glad or sad.
Antigone: That's what I thought, that's why I've brought you here beyond
the gates that you may hear my news alone.
Ismene: What mischief are you hinting at?
Antigone: I think you know...Our two dear brothers: Creon is burying one
to desecrate the other. Eteocles, they say, he has dispatched with proper
rites as one judged fit to pass in glory to the shades. But Polyneices,
killed as piteously, an interdict forbids that anyone should bury him or
even mourn. That's what they say our good and no ble Creon plans: plans
for you and me, yes, me; And now he's coming here to publish it and make
it plain to those who haven't heard. Anyone who disobeys will pay no
trifling penalty but die by stoning before the city walls. There's your
chance to prove your worth, or else a sad degeneracy.
Ismene: You firebrand! Could I do a thing to change the situation as it is?
Antigone: You could. Are you willing to share danger and suffering and...
Ismene: Danger? What are you scheming at?
Antigone:...take this hand of mine to bury the dead?
Ismene: What! Bury him and flout the interdict?
Antigone: He is my brother, still, and yours; though you would have it
otherwise, but I shall not abandon him.
Ismene: What! Challenge Creon to his face?
Antigone: He has no right to keep me from my own.
Ismene: SIster, please, please! Remeber how our father died: hated, in
disgrace, self-dismantled in horror of himself, his own hand stabbing out
his sight. And how his mother-wife in one twisted off her earthly days
with cord; And thirdly how our two brothers in a single day each achieved
for each a suicidal nemesis. And now, we two are left. Think how much
worse our end will be than all the rest if we defy our sovereign's edict
and his power. Remind ourselves that we are women and as such are not made
to fight with men.
Antigone: I will not press you anymore. I would not want you as a partner
if you asked. Go to what you please. I go to bury him. How beautiful to
die in such a pursuit! To rest loved by him whom I have loved, sinner of a
holy sin, With longer time to charm the dead than those who live, for I
shall abide forever there.
Ismene: You know I don't do that. I'm just not made to war against the state.
Antigone: Make your apologies! I go to raise a tomb above my dearest brother.
Ismene: You foolhardy thing! You fighten me.
Antigone: Don't fear me. Be anxious for yourself.
Ismene: At least tell no one what you do, but keep it dark, and I shall
keep it secret too.
Antigone: Oh, tell it, tell it, shout it out! I'd hate your silencemore
than if you told the world.
Ismene: So fiery-in a business that chills!
Antigone: Perhaps, but I am doing what I must.
Ismene: Yes, more than must. And you are doomed to fail.
Antigone: Why, then, I'll fail, but not give up before.
Ismene: Don't plunge me into such a hopefuless enterprise.
Antigone: Urge me so, and I shall hate you soon. He, the dead, will justly
hate you too. Say that I'm mad, and madly let me risk. The worst that I
can suffer and the best: A death that martyrdom can render blest.
Ismene: Go then, if you must toward your end: Fool, wonderful fool, and
loyal friend.

Antistrophe II
Chorus: Now that this triumph, the loudest of triumphs, Oh joy'bearing
triumph! has come to our Thebes The proud city of chariots, why now let us
chase the memory far away of the wars that are blessedly past. Come call
on the gods with song and with dance all through the night at the groves
and the shrines, and Bacchus shall led the round- shouting and shaking all
Thebes with his revels.
Leader: But look who comes, the lucky Son of Menoeceus: The man of gods
have made our king. What new vicissitudes of state Vex him now? Why has he
sent A herald to our summons?

FIRST EPSIODE

Creon: Gentlemen, the gods have graciously steadied our ship of state,
which storms have terribly toseed. And now I have called you here
privately because of course I know your loyalty to the House of Laius.
Now, naturally, there is no way to tell the character and mettle of a man
until you've seen him govern. Nevertheless I want to make it plain: I am
the kind of man who can't and never could abide the tounge-tied ruler who
through fear backs away from sound advice. ANd I find intolerable the man
who puts his country second to his friends. For insatnce, if I saw ruin
and danger heading for the state, I would speak out. Never could I make my
country's enemy my private friend, knowing as I do. she is the good ship
that bears us safe. So there you have my principles by which I govern. You
see the kind of man I am! You'll not catch me putting traitors up on
pedestals beside the loyal and true.
Leader: Your disposition is quite clear, Son of Menoeceus, Creon, touching
friend or enemy of this city our city. We know you have the power, too, to
wreak your will upon the living and the dead.
Creon: Then see to it my injunctions are performed.
Leader: Put the burden on some younger men.
Creon: No. Sentries are already posted on the corpse.
Leader: Then what exactly do you want us to do?
Creon: Merely see there's no infringments of the law.
Leader: No man is mad enough to welcome the dead.
Creon: And death it is. But greed of gain has often made men fools.
Sentry: King, I won't pretend I come at breakneck speed, all out of
breath. I kept on stopping in my tracks...to think...and turning back. So
I've come scurrying at a snail's pace by the long shortcut, the "forward"
voice in charge. Are 'ere I am, with a tale to tell that makes no sense,
which any'ow I'll tell, cos I do believe nothing bad can 'appen that isn't
on one's ticket.
Creon: Come to the point, man! What are you dithering about?
Sentry: First, sir, if I may slip in a word about meself. It in't me that
done it, and I dunno who darned done it neither; so it in't fair to make
me take the rap.
Creon: Done it? Done it? You're a great marksman-hit the target the first
time! You must have something very odd to say.
Sentry: It's awfully off-putting, sir, to bring bad news-especially to
you, sir.
Creon: Then get on with it and go.
Sentry: Right! I'll tell you straight. The body-it's buried like. I mean
someone's just gorne and sprinkled dust on it-right proper thirsty dust-
and gorne...done the ritual, sir, you see.
Creon: What are you saying, man? Who would have dared?
Sentry: Don't ask me, Sir! There ain't no mark of pick of mattock,
ground's all 'ard, unbroken, no wheel tracks neither: Not a sign of 'uman
'hands. When the sentry of the morning wacth pointed to it, there it was
at dawn, the corpse, as ungly mystery that struck us dumb. T'weren't
exactly buried, just sprinkled with earth, ritual like as if someone
wanted to set it free. No marks of dog of jackal neither-not a scratch.
Then we flew at one another, guard accusing guard. It came near to blows.
There weren't no clue to end the quarrel. Any one of us coulda done it.
See! No evidence to disprove any one of us-not a shred. So 'ere I am,
unwelcome I can tell, and un'appy too. For there ain't no one likes the
bringer of bad news.
Leader: Sire, I've had misgivings from the first: could this be more than
purely natural work.
Creon: Enough! You make me furious with such senile doddering remarks.
It;s quite insufferable. You really think they give a damn, the gods,
about this corpse? Next you'll say they make it a priority to bury him in
state, and thank him for his burning down their altars, sacking shrines,
scouting laws, and raping all the land. Or are the gods these days
considerate to criminals? Far from it! These are the ones, I'll warrant,
who have suborned my guards with bribes. You there! Get this straight: I
swear by almighty Zeus whom I revere and serve, that either you find the
man who did this burial and stand him here before my eyes, or Hades
himself will be too good for you until you've first confessed to
everything-yes hanging from a cross.
Sentry: Am I allowed a word, sir? Or do I just go?
Creon: Can't you see your very voice gets on my nerves?
Sentry: Hurts your ears, does it sir? Or kinda you conscience?
Creon: What business of yours is it to diagnose my pain?
Sentry: Because I only affect your ears; the culprit, your brain.
Creon: By God, what a born chatterer you are!
Sentry: Maybe, but it weren't me that did the burying. Well, let's hope
he's found. But caught or not (and only chance can tell), one thing's for
sure: you won't catch me coming back again. It's a miracle I got out of
'ere alive.

Antistrophe I

The light-balanced light -headed birds he snares; wild beasts of every
kind. In his nets the deep-sea fish are caught. Oh, mastery of man! The
free forest animal he herds; the roaming upland deer. The shaggy horse he
breaks to yoke the unflagging mountain bull.

Strophe II

Training his agile thoughts volatile as air he's civilized the world of
words and wit and law. With a roof against the sky, the javelin crystal
frosts the arrow-lancing rains; he's fertile in resource provident for
all, healing all disease: all but death, and death-death he never cures.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

CAST

Antigone: Brooke Neifert

Ismene: Jessica Zamiska

Leader: Elyssa Gerst

Creon: Dave Pickering

Haemon: Neal Schubert

Sentry: Bill Brown

Eurydice: Chrissy Colalillo

Chorus: Adrienne Pellegrini, Alyse Popp, Katie Mulkern, Emily Irwin, Stephen Branch

Tiresias: Tia Azzara

Boy: Lindsey Barringer

Ladies in waiting: Zaneta Johnson, Christina Fumo, Dana Petry

Guards: John Hurley, Steve Laboon

The edits are way too long for me to post up here, so you have to go to the gmail account. remember, it's www.gmail.com and enter in our username (rhetprocess2006) and the password i handed out to everyone.

THE EDITS MUST BE MARKED IN YOUR BOOKS FOR TOMORROW

Here's the cast

Antigone: Brooke Neifert
Ismene: Jessica Zamiska
Leader of the Chorus: Elyssa Gerst
Creon: Dave Pickering
Haemon: Neal Schubert
Sentry: Bill Brown
Eurydice: Chrissy Colalillo
Chorus: Adrienne Pellegrini, Alyse Popp, Katie Mulkern, Emily Irwin, Stephen Branch
Tiresias: Tia Azzara

Tiresias’ young companion: Lindsey Barringer
Ladies in waiting: Zaneta Johnson, Christina Fumo, Dana Petry
Guards: John Hurley, Steve Laboon

Monday, September 18, 2006

Lecture thoughts:

Because we are too pressed for time to talk in depth about some of the issues presented in the lecture, from time to time I'm going to put up my thoughts connecting the productions to the lectures.

To find them, go to the gmail account. Remember, go to www.gmail.com and put in the user name and password that I've handed out to everyone.

This week, I talk about the sophistic notion of truth and tie it to a scene in the Women of Troy.

Stay tuned for next week: Socrates in the Symposium and in the Clouds.

Cate

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Play Schedule

ok guys, the early plays are going to be REALLY early. this is due to thanksgiving and the national communication association conference in the middle-end of November. tough turkey.

Bacchae: Tuesday, Nov. 7
Trojan Women: Thurs, Nov 9
The Frogs: Tues, Nov. 14
Antigone: Tu, Nov 28
Philoctetes: Th, Nov 30
Clouds: Tu, Dec 5
Thucydides: Th, Dec 7
Symposium: Wed, Dec 13, 4-5:50 (exam period)

Friday, September 08, 2006

Here are the pieces of dialogue I want you to use when auditioning. Notice I haven't typed it all out. Rather, i've given you the page number and then the first and last lines of the block of text. If there are other people speaking in the selection (and there are in most because I want to see how you react to other characters speaking to you), I will read the other lines during the audition.

There are 9 independent characters and the larger body of the chorus. You may audition for a part as a chorus member. EVERYONE MUST AUDITION FOR ONE OF THE PARTS BELOW.

Antigone:
(372, and in the middle of one of her speeches, not at the beginning) "So taken, so I am lead away...[all the way down to]...for reverencing the rights of man

Creon
(359-60) "Not a thing, by God!....No woman while I am alive shall govern me."

Ismene:
(361) "I did it too. If she'll allow my claim....But now we share an equal share of blame"

Leader of the Chorus:
(378) "There's fire and slaughter for you, King!...The gods, provoked, never wait to mow men down."

Chorus member:
(356) "What visitation do I see from heaven?....coming from the house, and just in time."

Haemon:
(367-368)"I speak for you, for me, and for the holy spirits of the dead...I commit you raving to your chosen friends."

Sentry:
(p. 351) King, I won't pretend I come at breakneck speed, all out of breath.......I mean, someone's just gorne and sprinkled dust on it--right proper thirsty dust--and gorne....done the ritual sir.

Tiresias
(377-378) "Majesty? Yes, thanks to me you are the savior of Thebes....He'll learn a little modesty in time, a little meekness soon.

Messenger
(380-1) "Men of the House of Cadmus, and of Antiphon....Make of it what you will"

Eurydice
(381) Yes, good citizens, all of you, I heard:...I am no stranger to the voice of sorrow.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

REMINDER

by either late today (thursday) or early tomorrow i will have the snippets of dialogue for each speaking part. I want everyone to audition for a speaking part, even if you don't end up getting one.

i'll post the dialogue here and in the gmail account

cate

Wednesday, September 06, 2006






Here are some different production pictures--as you can see there are a lot of different interpretations

Yay! Blogger is working again!

Here's a site from the Rice production of Antigone--it looks really nice:

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~players/Antigone/index.htm



more


hey y'all,

sorry. blogger is kicking my ass today for some reason. let's try this again

Here are some pictures from Chowan University's production of Antigone. I like the way they integrate Greek masks, in such a way to make them seem cool rather than old and in the way. It looks like the major characters, rather than wearing masks, wore makeup to simulate a mask.