Pierce College’s performing arts professor JP Evans brings together a cast and crew that understood their vision, conveying that through performances worthy of praise.
“Is this the beginning or is this the end?”
A question asked throughout the tale of Antigone, posed before her birth with her father, Oedipus, where this play begins. A cursed lineage, he is banished at birth, foretold of evil deeds, is saved and grows to complete the path laid before him: Unknowingly murdering his true father and marrying his birth mother, fathering children of his own and becoming king. Learning of the truth of his deeds, Oedipus blinds himself and disappears, never to be seen again.
Without a king, the land is cast into chaos. Now grown, the two sons fight for power, dying in each other’s arms, one given a king’s burial while the other is left to rot, by word of the new King Creon (Meagan Truxal). Forbidden a burial, Antigone (Olivia Espinoza) struggles with her new purpose, conveying her torment to her sister, Ismene (Melinda Birke), who wrestles with the idea of betraying the king’s order.
Set to marry the King’s son, Haemon (Elias Ruiz), Antigone must choose between ignoring the indecencies of human laws for her own happiness or put an end to the mistreatment of her brother and humankind.
Evans has chosen to bring this play not to modern day, but to Los Angeles in the year 2156, where dystopia is home and kings have returned.
With a backdrop of browns, blacks, and abstract shapes giving the feel of a foreign graffiti builds an atmosphere that feels lived in with a backstory of its own. The environment’s simplicity is welcome, never distracting, and allows the Dow Arena Theatre, smaller in size, seating roughly 70 people, to be properly used.
Actors come from every angle, crawling from the theater’s balconies, running in from every opening available to the production. Hectic in nature, choruses are chanting, breathing life from the walls, surrounding your senses, but never reductive to the central actions.
A futuristic take could have been distracting, but it’s downplayed, emphasizing the unwavering price of silence. That is where the performances of everyone involved deserves an ovation-a standing ovation-because nothing is lost in their dance.
Synchronized from beginning to end, cues hit but never telegraphed, shows a professionalism and ambition that the actors strive for. With a runtime of about an hour and a half, “Antigone” chews up every second of it and guides the audience through the ripples of time with a splash.
“Antigone” will run until April 6, with showtimes for Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. To purchase tickets, or find additional information, call (818) 719-6488, or visit LAPCtheatre.org.
