ANTIGONE PROJECT
by Chiori Miyagawa, Lynn Nottage, Karen Hartman, Caridad Svich and Tanya Barfield
WP Theater, NYC
Rep Stage, Baltimore
Readings at the Public Theater, Second Stage and Classic Stage Company
Playwright Chiori Miyagawa and I cnceived of The Antigone Project as an opportunity for contemporary women theater artists to examine the struggle of one of the most heroic women in dramatic history: Antigone. We began by commissioning playwrights Lynn Nottage, Karen Hartman and Caridad Svich. In Lynn's A Stone's Throw, set in contemporary Africa, Antigone is an unwed mother stoned to death by her community. In Karen's Hang Ten, Antigone and Ismene sunbathe on a beach, discussing their family's incestuous history while they admire Haemon surfing the waves. Caridad's visually and linguistically rich Antigone Arkhe conjures up various Antigones—one digital, one a living statue, one just a voice—to retell her story. Chiori's intimate Red Again imagines Antigone and Haemon reunited after death in an underworld, surrounded by books that tell the unfinished story of her life. I directed readings at The Public Theater, Second Stage and Classic Stage Company. A fifth play by Tanya Barfield completed the Women’s Project Production, which was directed by several different directors. The play was subsequently produced by Rep Stage in Baltimore, directed by Joseph W. Ritsch.
CONCEIVED by Chiori Miyagawa and Sabrina Peck | Readings DIRECTED by Sabrina Peck | Morgan Jenness,, Dramaturg. Production at WP Theater DIRECTED by Annie Dorsen, Dana I. Harrel, Anne Kauffman, Barbara Rubin & Liesl Tommy | Cast: Joey Collins, Angel Desai, Jeanine Serralles, Desean Terry, April Yvette Thompson and Tracie Thoms. Sets by Rachel Hauck | Costumes by Elizabeth Hope Clancy | Lighting by Sarah Sidman | Production at Rep Stage in Baltimore DIRECTED by Joseph W. Ritsch. Photos with projections above by Sarah Tundermann (Lighting and Projection Designer for Rep Stage production). Both photos of two actors: WP Theater.
"Sophocles' Antigone may have been born in 442 B.C., but, as "The Antigone Project'' demonstrates, she readily lends herself to reincarnation."
—The New York Times