By Kristin Wilinkiewicz | Arts and Entertainment Editor
This weekend marked Salve Theater’s run of Sophocles’ Antigone at the Casino Theater in downtown Newport. They presented four audiences with a rendition that held close to its classic roots, though it was the student’s hard work and passion for the production that audiences were presented with.
“Being able to work with student design is so much more rewarding,” said star Morgan Grambo, whose performance as Antigone was the result of her senior thesis. Both the scenic design and lighting were also the work of Salve seniors Olivia Gavriel and Sam Gibbons.
The cast was composed completely of Salve students, namely senior Morgan Grambo as Antigone, and Junior Evan Raiff as Creon. Even a large portion of the team were Freshmen and Sophomores.
“We really are such a mix… Everybody holds their own in this play. You don’t know who’s a senior, who’s a freshman, who’s a theater major and who’s not. It’s just work all around… You’re just seeing hard work.”
The students’ brought colorful set, lighting and costuming along with emotional, memorable performances over the play’s two-hour run. These aspects of the production were only amplified by the audience’s complete silence as the classic tragedy played out on the Casino’s stage.
“We’ve got such eager students, such talented students. They want to be here… This is their work,” said Reggie Phoenix, Artistic Director for the Casino Theater.
It was Phoenix’s conscious decision to set the play in Ancient Greece, “I think it’s a much more resonant as a story of a woman 3500 years ago speaking power to a king, than if it was set in contemporary times… it really was a monumental thing that Antigone did.”
This message, of strength, humility and family still rings true for modern audiences. “That’s why we don’t have to contemporize it… What they’re going through is something that our contemporaries are going through anyway,” said Grambo.
Salve Theater’s Antigone was made possible by students. Their passion for theater and theater production made this weekend an experience for many, both actor and viewer alike.
Their next production at the Casino Theater will be The Fantasticks, a musical. It will feature many of the students that worked so hard to bring this production of Antigone to life.
