Antigone -Chorus/Prologue Speech (learning lines)

19 March 2017

Here I've compiled all of the recordings that I've made over the past few months whilst learning the Prologue monologue in the very front of  Antigone, the play I have been studying by Jean Anouilh. I was given the part of the "Chorus", who is basically the narrator of this version of Antigone. I may have referred to this speech throughout my blogs as "the long Chorus speech", "Chorus monologue", or anything of similar wording. Basically, it's just a really long monologue that introduces the cast and the plot of the play.

It's an incredibly important part of Antigone because it sets the whole mood for the rest of the play, constantly mentioning the play itself and the fact that there is a cast list being drawn up, and everyone's destiny within the play has been predetermined. It's a brilliant usage of spoken meta theatre, making the intentions of  the cast list and the role of the characters within Antigone clear from the very start. Honestly, I think that without this monologue at the very beginning the play would not have the feel that it does now. The obvious meta drama usage makes the play itself, so much more realistic and ritualistic. The idea that I, as the Chorus, have the power to cast -in theory- anyone I please as whomever I please, gives me and the play so much power and advertently makes the audience believe our story more thoroughly.

Our audience will not be able to avoid the reality of meta theatre through the speeches made by the Chorus; I think that's incredibly affective because who can deny that they are going into an existential crisis when watching this go down. It's incredibly philosophical which makes me so very happy - all about destiny and death.

I've tried to put all of these recordings perfectly in order from the beginning of when I started to learn this speech to the most recent recording. I have done this simply to show you my progression throughout learning this speech. Overall, the speech tends to take around 7mins, 30 seconds, but some recordings are only parts of the whole. Enjoy:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2_vk4eoUKnuMUZ1eHZ3eVlOOHc/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2_vk4eoUKnuS0Y1NnJmVm5GMWM/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2_vk4eoUKnuNGhIZGJWQ1BQa1hIc2hvRVk5V2ZiQUtOZ1J3/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2_vk4eoUKnuM1dEeWdCNU1xM3M/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2_vk4eoUKnudVhVblhnQmNwV1k/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2_vk4eoUKnuM253RUdwZWh4X0k/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2_vk4eoUKnua3dWTk1wdWx5VWs/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2_vk4eoUKnuWUJwZlhmMXpFWGs/view?usp=sharing

(I even got my dad to read a bit of this speech out for me and recorded it because I was told to lower my voice) Here's that recording: thanks dad ;)