Antigone Response #1

26 September 2016

Task 1 was to “enter a space of rehearsal” and preparation before a play; we were embodying a paradox of us as actors, playing actors, that were preparing to play characters in an unnamed play. Mr. Chipp then instructed us to take on specific emotions, as we did this, that reflected our lives outside the acting world (being the actors). I personally tried to portray the emotions associated with a contented exhaustion…so, I was happy but, tired. Mr. Chipp also noticed after a few minutes of doing this task that we were not interacting with each other even though we were supposedly in the same space as each other. We were further instructed to slowly add physical interaction between our characters -the actors- and some dialogue as well.

I think that the purpose of us doing this task was for us to start thinking outside the box and questioning ‘what is real?’. This task forced us to contemplate how the audience would react to seeing actors essentially, playing themselves. I think that the audience could feel a sense of confusion because it’s not something typically common. However, after talking it through with the class, we decided that this could create a sense of exclusiveness with the audience and make the play seem more personal. Additionally, this task was basically a prefix to us exploring the prologue from the play Antigone.

Jean Anouilh’s play, Antigone, is a tragedy inspired by Greek mythology and the original play: Antigone, that is believed to have been written around 441 b.c. by the Greek tragedian, Sophocles. The original version was written and produced in Greece, whilst Jean Anouilh’s Antigone was first performed on February 6, 1944 in French. Jean Anouilh’s Antigone was written in the height of Nazi occupation in Paris -the protagonist, Antigone, is said to metaphorically depict the struggles of the French people at that time.