MAT premieres Greek tragedy ‘Antigone’ Friday

MAT premieres Greek tragedy 'Antigone' Friday

Havre's own acting troupe is bringing a mix of old and new to the stage this week, with Montana Actors' Theatre production of Sophocles' "Antigone" mixing the style and characters of the ancient script with modern language and lighting for a new presentation, its director said.

"It was quite challenging and fun," Director Casey Pratt said. "It was a thrill to work with this."

The play tells the story of the aftermath of two brothers' deaths in a war, fighting each other for the rule of the Greek city state of Thebes.

Their sister Antigone breaks the law by performing a burial ceremony for her brother who attacked the city — city law says he cannot be buried — her uncle, Creon, now the king of Thebes, must decide whether to judge her by the laws of man or the laws of the Greek gods.

"The show was written 2,500 years ago, give or take a few years, and is still dealing with issues we deal with today," Pratt said.

The style is radically different than modern theater — originally all of the characters were played by three actors, changing masks for different characters — and is heavily dialogue-driven, he said. That made putting the story onto the modern stage a challenge, although Pratt said a good translation by Robert Fagles helped with that.

The actors — a mix of MAT veterans and newcomers — have done well interpreting the script, he added.

Antigone is played by Kristiny Lorett and Patrick Ulano is playing Creon. Other actors in the production are Dave Searcy, Matt Twedt, Bill Thackeray, Michael Sloan, Angela Pratt, Cassie Solomon and Cody Solomon.

The chorus and royal attendants are played by Dennis Teigeler, Davis Teigeler, Martin Holt, Luke Pratt, Jelea Pratt, Whitney Preston, Joshua Borrego and Jordyn Borrego.

Pratt and the MAT production crew also have mixed the stage, Pratt said. The sets are of ruins, to help illustrate the age of the story, and the costuming is stylized ancient clothing. Lighting was used to help illustrate the story, with heavy use of shadows and other effects helping set the mood for the audience.

"To put a modern interpretation on the play and keep the flow going was really challenging," he said.

The play runs Friday and Saturday this week in the theater in Cowan Hall on the Montana State University-Northern campus. The doors and the backstage lounge open at 7:30 p.m. with the show starting at 8 p.m.

Productions continue on Dec. 9-10 and 16-18.

The admission cost is $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors.

Havre's own acting troupe is bringing a mix of old and new to the stage this week, with Montana Actors' Theatre production of Sophocles' "Antigone" mixing the style and characters of the ancient script with modern language and lighting for a new presentation, its director said.

"It was quite challenging and fun," Director Casey Pratt said. "It was a thrill to work with this."

The play tells the story of the aftermath of two brothers' deaths in a war, fighting each other for the rule of the Greek city state of Thebes.

Their sister Antigone breaks the law by performing a burial ceremony for her brother who attacked the city — city law says he cannot be buried — her uncle, Creon, now the king of Thebes, must decide whether to judge her by the laws of man or the laws of the Greek gods.

"The show was written 2,500 years ago, give or take a few years, and is still dealing with issues we deal with today," Pratt said.

The style is radically different than modern theater — originally all of the characters were played by three actors, changing masks for different characters — and is heavily dialogue-driven, he said. That made putting the story onto the modern stage a challenge, although Pratt said a good translation by Robert Fagles helped with that.

The actors — a mix of MAT veterans and newcomers — have done well interpreting the script, he added.

Antigone is played by Kristiny Lorett and Patrick Ulano is playing Creon. Other actors in the production are Dave Searcy, Matt Twedt, Bill Thackeray, Michael Sloan, Angela Pratt, Cassie Solomon and Cody Solomon.

The chorus and royal attendants are played by Dennis Teigeler, Davis Teigeler, Martin Holt, Luke Pratt, Jelea Pratt, Whitney Preston, Joshua Borrego and Jordyn Borrego.

Pratt and the MAT production crew also have mixed the stage, Pratt said. The sets are of ruins, to help illustrate the age of the story, and the costuming is stylized ancient clothing. Lighting was used to help illustrate the story, with heavy use of shadows and other effects helping set the mood for the audience.

"To put a modern interpretation on the play and keep the flow going was really challenging," he said.

The play runs Friday and Saturday this week in the theater in Cowan Hall on the Montana State University-Northern campus. The doors and the backstage lounge open at 7:30 p.m. with the show starting at 8 p.m.

Productions continue on Dec. 9-10 and 16-18.

The admission cost is $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors.