 |
"Once you enter, the imagery
and power of Blood Line – if for no other reason than
the sight of Antigone walking out its doors into the night
amid a hailstorm of rocks – wraps itself around you
like a boa constrictor and refuses to let go."
- Gay Chicago Magazine More
Press |
|
| |
The Chorus, as the plague descends on
Thebes and “women give birth to stillborn children.”
|
|
| |
Teiresias (Katie Taber) overcome during
a prophecy to Creon (Mark Ulrich, left) when she sees the
dead Oedipus (James Stanley) appear next to him in the throne,
echoing Creon's denials with his own from the first act.
|
|
| |
Photography by Brad Odom |
|
|
|
|
BLOOD LINE: The Oedipus/Antigone Story
|
Two plays by Sophocles
Premiere Translations by Nicholas Rudall
Directed by Joanna Settle
The Viaduct, Chicago
March – May 1999
About
the Text:
Fed by her continuing interest in classic texts, Artistic
Director Joanna Settle began to consider presenting
Sophocles' Oedipus the King and Antigone (both written
in 5th Century BC) in a single two-act production.
She approached scholar/translator Nicholas Rudall
with a list of detailed questions about the scripts
as written in the original ancient Greek.
They discussed
Antigone’s choice to forego a future of marriage
and family to be a good citizen, and how this decision
could be best understood in the context of her childhood
and parentage. Settle also expressed her interest
in presenting these texts in a non-traditional location,
one that could suggest a variety of public spaces,
a location that the production could define as Thebes.
Settle and
Rudall soon recognized that their conversations were
the beginning of a dynamic collaboration. Rudall offered
to translate the texts himself, and they were ultimately
performed (with edits) in just under three hours as
BLOOD LINE: The Oedipus/Antigone Story.
|
|
Antigone (Anne DeAcetis) exits to
her death. The doors of the theatre were opened to
reveal the 10 member chorus singing around barrels
of fire as she walked past them into the dark Chicago
night.
|
About the Production:
Rudall’s texts revealed a citizenry (chorus) defined
by its rulers: treated as individuals by Oedipus in Act I,
and as a political-machine under Creon in Act II. The production
examined the rule of law as it passed from one ruler to another,
and this transition became the conceptual center of the production.
BLOOD LINE rehearsed for 10 weeks, with a two-week period
dsedicated to choral development. With Antigone’s story
so closely following that of her father, several characters
from Act I returned to haunt her in Act II: her father, her
mother Jocasta, and even her younger self.
Division 13 Productions chose the present BLOOD LINE at The
Viaduct, a 6,000 square foot converted warehouse located under
a causeway on Chicago’s west side. Recently acquired
by new owners working to create a multi-space performance
venue, BLOOD LINE inaugurated The Viaduct's largest space.
This huge, open warehouse with vaulted silver ceilings was
reminiscent of a small airplane hangar and features two enormous
wooden doors that swing open into a back alley. (It was through
these doors that Antigone walked to her death — past
barrels of fire and a stone-throwing mob — and disappeared
into the Chicago night.)
The performance area was defined by carpeting and four large
doorframe/stepladder units. Set designer Michael Downs created
a custom floor pattern for the main square of Thebes, and
surrounded it with over 20 tons of gravel. Upon arriving
at the space, audience members crunched to their seats, which
lined three sides of the playing space.
The sound design for the production was the most ambitious
Division 13 Productions had attempted. Mark Messing of Maestro
Matic (a post-production sound company for film) led a team
of five designers and composers to generate a body of ambient
sounds, textures, and specific cues. Sound system designer
Seth Green devised a 23-speaker system, placing speakers above
and below the audience, in the corners of the space, and on
the walls, making it possible for sound to chase through the
room.
BLOOD LINE marked a new level of exposure and recognition
for Division 13 Productions. Settle and members of the cast
were invited to speak at the 1999 Sophocles Convention hosted
by the University of Chicago Classics Department, which also
sent a large group of attendees to see BLOOD LINE. Critical
acclaim and sold-out performances were followed by two After
Dark Awards for “Outstanding Production” and “Best
New Translation.”
|
|
|
Program Information:
Set Design: Michael E. Downs
Costume Design: Jana Stauffer
Lighting Design: David Neville
Original Music and Sound Design: Maestro Matic
Stage Manager: Alex Blunt
Production Manager: Ruth Helms
Production
Staff:
Technical Director: Hadwin Kingsley
Publicity Director: Karin McKie
Graphic Design:
Lisa Cargill
Dramaturg: Emily Stone
Assistant Dramaturg: Sabrina Lloyd
First Assistant Director: Kelly Cooper
Second Assistant Director/Assistant Dramaturg: Janel Winter
Assistant Stage Manager: Justin Bremen
Assistant Stage Manager: Jennifer Henderson
Assistant Set Designer: Susan Kaip
Assistant Costume Designer: Michelle Lynette Bush
Assistant Lighting Designer: Cameron Zetty
Light Board Operator: Marc Pietro
Sound Board Operator: Mark Canfield
Master Electricians: Patrick Hudson and Dan Merriman
Vocal Coach: Tanera Marshall
House Management: Tom Heine, Greg Berlowitz, Andrea Swanson
Technical Crew: Stephanie Arnold, Greg Berlowitz, Edward
Cook, Mike Frank, Patrick Hudson, David Schwartz, Tiffany
Scott, David Sohl, Patrick Washington, David Van Wort
|
 |
| Euridice hears of the
death of her son Haimon. The messenger's speech
to her was delivered most intimately into a
microphone behind her ear, while the chorus
bowed away in respect. |
|
Cast:
Eve Alexander (Young Ismene)
Gabrielle Brite (Eurydice, Chorus)
Antionette Broderick (Chorus)
Chris Conry (Chorus)
Anne DeAcetis (Antigone)
Maggie Doyle (Jocasta)
Harry Eddleman (Chorus)
Patricia Finn-Morris (Chorus)
Miranda Gonzalez (Chorus)
Stacey Griffin (Haimon)
Deborah King (Ismene)
Eamonn McDonagh (Messenger)
Mark Reisman (Herdsman/Watchman)
Megan Rodgers (Chorus)
Alex Douglas (Boy)
Benjamin Sprunger (Chorus)
James Stanley (Oedipus)
Katie Taber (Teiresias)
Ema Tuennerman (Young Antigone)
Mark Ulrich (Creon)
Jan Wiesorek (Chorus)
Jody Wilson (Chorus)
|
|
|
|
