Open Forum

I've set Much Ado About Nothing in the Vaudeville/silent film era, and done The Tempest in Space in order to make classic works relevant.  I would appreciate some input from those who have put a spin on a classic piece, as well as those who happen to be fans of both theatre and super heroes.  

I would like to do Antigone next year at my school, but have it inspired by Marvel's Civil War saga.  I can see Eteocles and Polyneices being inspired by Captain America and Iron Man, respectively.  One person already suggested to me that I use those Marvel characters instead with Antigone and Ismene.  I even wonder if Vision could, ironically, inspire Tiresias?  With the use of masks, and the two sides of the conflict, I think a chorus of heroes would work nicely.  

Thoughts and input are welcome.  Thanks!

------------------------------
Benjamin Sims
Theatre Arts Teacher
Union County Public Schools
Indian Trail NC

Author of Before Dorothy, based on the characters of L. Frank Baum.
------------------------------

I'm wondering why you want to make the play "relevant"? I feel like you need to trust the play and be honest to the play. Antigone is a good play, it's been around a while so it has the passed the test of time. You could stage it in neutral rehearsal clothes and it would still work. Trust the play and trust your audience to relate to the play and it's message. I think it's very relevant as written.

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-11-2018 08:59
From: Benjamin Sims
Subject: Antigone

I've set Much Ado About Nothing in the Vaudeville/silent film era, and done The Tempest in Space in order to make classic works relevant.  I would appreciate some input from those who have put a spin on a classic piece, as well as those who happen to be fans of both theatre and super heroes.

I would like to do Antigone next year at my school, but have it inspired by Marvel's Civil War saga.  I can see Eteocles and Polyneices being inspired by Captain America and Iron Man, respectively.  One person already suggested to me that I use those Marvel characters instead with Antigone and Ismene.  I even wonder if Vision could, ironically, inspire Tiresias?  With the use of masks, and the two sides of the conflict, I think a chorus of heroes would work nicely.

Thoughts and input are welcome.  Thanks!

------------------------------
Benjamin Sims
Theatre Arts Teacher
Union County Public Schools
Indian Trail NC

Author of Before Dorothy, based on the characters of L. Frank Baum.
------------------------------

Original Message------

I've set Much Ado About Nothing in the Vaudeville/silent film era, and done The Tempest in Space in order to make classic works relevant.  I would appreciate some input from those who have put a spin on a classic piece, as well as those who happen to be fans of both theatre and super heroes.  

I would like to do Antigone next year at my school, but have it inspired by Marvel's Civil War saga.  I can see Eteocles and Polyneices being inspired by Captain America and Iron Man, respectively.  One person already suggested to me that I use those Marvel characters instead with Antigone and Ismene.  I even wonder if Vision could, ironically, inspire Tiresias?  With the use of masks, and the two sides of the conflict, I think a chorus of heroes would work nicely.  

Thoughts and input are welcome.  Thanks!

------------------------------
Benjamin Sims
Theatre Arts Teacher
Union County Public Schools
Indian Trail NC

Author of Before Dorothy, based on the characters of L. Frank Baum.
------------------------------

​I love the purity of Antigone. And I agree that you would have a copyright issue.

------------------------------
Crit Fisher
Lighting/Sound Designer
New Albany High School
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-12-2018 13:08
From: Billy Houck
Subject: Antigone

I am quite fond of both Antigone and Marvel Comics, but I don't see this working.

There is the problem of all of the characters in Marvel being copyrighted. You'll need to check with Marvel/Disney to make sure this is ok.

I changed the title of my play "Hulk Hands" to "Huge Hands" in order to avoid the use of a copyrighted character.

If you are really interested in "relevance" I suggest you tie the play to something actually happening in the lives of your students. Are there any real life examples of a fearless young woman standing up to a tyrant that you can draw on?

Billy Houck

recently retired

Original Message------

I've set Much Ado About Nothing in the Vaudeville/silent film era, and done The Tempest in Space in order to make classic works relevant.  I would appreciate some input from those who have put a spin on a classic piece, as well as those who happen to be fans of both theatre and super heroes.

I would like to do Antigone next year at my school, but have it inspired by Marvel's Civil War saga.  I can see Eteocles and Polyneices being inspired by Captain America and Iron Man, respectively.  One person already suggested to me that I use those Marvel characters instead with Antigone and Ismene.  I even wonder if Vision could, ironically, inspire Tiresias?  With the use of masks, and the two sides of the conflict, I think a chorus of heroes would work nicely.

Thoughts and input are welcome.  Thanks!

------------------------------
Benjamin Sims
Theatre Arts Teacher
Union County Public Schools
Indian Trail NC

Author of Before Dorothy, based on the characters of L. Frank Baum.
------------------------------

I'm a big fam of Marvel and Antigone both, and I see connections between the Marvel characters and ancient Greek lit in terms of characterization.  Aside from the copyright issues though, it seems like the pervasive optimism of the Marvel universe (we all know there's a part 2 coming to Infinity War, so...) is at odds with Antigone... though I'd kind of love to see what happened to the plot if she were a badass super-hero instead of a badass regular human.  (Wins, puts Creon in his place, leaves weak sister and boyfriend behind to rule together (ew, no kids though) while working through her inner darkness in the form of international crime fighting...) In any case, it's hard to imagine Antigone and Ismene portrayed as powerful male superheroes without deeply changing the meaning of the story.  Maybe that's just my read on both texts though -- I'd love to be able to see what you came up with, if you went this way!  

A few years ago I co-directed a high school Antigone that used a 20th century/post-apocolyptic war reimagining -- the kids called it "Antigone in Dystopia," and the mood was almost the opposite of the empowered MARVEL-verse.  There were lots of Army surplus costume choices, lots of chunks of cement and dejection.   

Have fun with whatever you decide to do!

------------------------------
Josie Tierney-Fife
English Teacher/Theater Director
Gorham, Maine
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-12-2018 21:20
From: Crit Fisher
Subject: Antigone

​I love the purity of Antigone. And I agree that you would have a copyright issue.

------------------------------
Crit Fisher
Lighting/Sound Designer
New Albany High School

Original Message:
Sent: 06-12-2018 13:08
From: Billy Houck
Subject: Antigone

I am quite fond of both Antigone and Marvel Comics, but I don't see this working.

There is the problem of all of the characters in Marvel being copyrighted. You'll need to check with Marvel/Disney to make sure this is ok.

I changed the title of my play "Hulk Hands" to "Huge Hands" in order to avoid the use of a copyrighted character.

If you are really interested in "relevance" I suggest you tie the play to something actually happening in the lives of your students. Are there any real life examples of a fearless young woman standing up to a tyrant that you can draw on?

Billy Houck

recently retired

Original Message------

I've set Much Ado About Nothing in the Vaudeville/silent film era, and done The Tempest in Space in order to make classic works relevant.  I would appreciate some input from those who have put a spin on a classic piece, as well as those who happen to be fans of both theatre and super heroes.

I would like to do Antigone next year at my school, but have it inspired by Marvel's Civil War saga.  I can see Eteocles and Polyneices being inspired by Captain America and Iron Man, respectively.  One person already suggested to me that I use those Marvel characters instead with Antigone and Ismene.  I even wonder if Vision could, ironically, inspire Tiresias?  With the use of masks, and the two sides of the conflict, I think a chorus of heroes would work nicely.

Thoughts and input are welcome.  Thanks!

------------------------------
Benjamin Sims
Theatre Arts Teacher
Union County Public Schools
Indian Trail NC

Author of Before Dorothy, based on the characters of L. Frank Baum.
------------------------------

I'll rephrase....
I intend to keep the classic story in tact, as well as the dialogue.  I'm not going to try to tell the story of Antigone with Marvel characters.  I only intend to use Marvel characters as inspiration to create the look of the play with the sets, props and costumes, and I want the strongest connections possible.  

To put in perspective, when we did The Tempest in Space, Prospero's look and actions was heavily inspired by several Jedi masters, most notably, Obi-Wan Kenobi, but we never called him that or addressed it. We simply let the audience use what they knew to fill in the blanks.

Thanks for the input.

------------------------------
Benjamin Sims
Theatre Arts Teacher
Union County Public Schools
Indian Trail NC

Author of Before Dorothy, based on the characters of L. Frank Baum.
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-11-2018 08:59
From: Benjamin Sims
Subject: Antigone

I've set Much Ado About Nothing in the Vaudeville/silent film era, and done The Tempest in Space in order to make classic works relevant.  I would appreciate some input from those who have put a spin on a classic piece, as well as those who happen to be fans of both theatre and super heroes.

I would like to do Antigone next year at my school, but have it inspired by Marvel's Civil War saga.  I can see Eteocles and Polyneices being inspired by Captain America and Iron Man, respectively.  One person already suggested to me that I use those Marvel characters instead with Antigone and Ismene.  I even wonder if Vision could, ironically, inspire Tiresias?  With the use of masks, and the two sides of the conflict, I think a chorus of heroes would work nicely.

Thoughts and input are welcome.  Thanks!

------------------------------
Benjamin Sims
Theatre Arts Teacher
Union County Public Schools
Indian Trail NC

Author of Before Dorothy, based on the characters of L. Frank Baum.
------------------------------

I am certainly not opposed to setting classical works in different time periods to help high school audiences feel their relevance.  When choosing a time period in which to set a classical play, I always look at the themes of the play as I look for a good fit.  For instance, we decided the early 1960s was the absolute latest we could set Romeo and Juliet, because after the Summer of Love and all that followed their worry about the parents would seem a bit silly.

My gut level response to any association of super-hero characters with Antigone is that it goes against the idea of the Greek tragic hero being a human being.  Better than most of us in some way, but still very much human.

Jean Anouilh wrote an adaptation of Antigone in 1944 France, during the Nazi occupation.  The theme of a single person standing up to what she thinks is an immoral governmental mandate resonated then, because the French Resistance was made up of Antigones.




------------------------------
C. J. Breland
Asheville High School
Asheville NC
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-13-2018 12:14
From: Benjamin Sims
Subject: Antigone

I'll rephrase....
I intend to keep the classic story in tact, as well as the dialogue.  I'm not going to try to tell the story of Antigone with Marvel characters.  I only intend to use Marvel characters as inspiration to create the look of the play with the sets, props and costumes, and I want the strongest connections possible.

To put in perspective, when we did The Tempest in Space, Prospero's look and actions was heavily inspired by several Jedi masters, most notably, Obi-Wan Kenobi, but we never called him that or addressed it. We simply let the audience use what they knew to fill in the blanks.

Thanks for the input.

------------------------------
Benjamin Sims
Theatre Arts Teacher
Union County Public Schools
Indian Trail NC

Author of Before Dorothy, based on the characters of L. Frank Baum.

Original Message:
Sent: 06-11-2018 08:59
From: Benjamin Sims
Subject: Antigone

I've set Much Ado About Nothing in the Vaudeville/silent film era, and done The Tempest in Space in order to make classic works relevant.  I would appreciate some input from those who have put a spin on a classic piece, as well as those who happen to be fans of both theatre and super heroes.

I would like to do Antigone next year at my school, but have it inspired by Marvel's Civil War saga.  I can see Eteocles and Polyneices being inspired by Captain America and Iron Man, respectively.  One person already suggested to me that I use those Marvel characters instead with Antigone and Ismene.  I even wonder if Vision could, ironically, inspire Tiresias?  With the use of masks, and the two sides of the conflict, I think a chorus of heroes would work nicely.

Thoughts and input are welcome.  Thanks!

------------------------------
Benjamin Sims
Theatre Arts Teacher
Union County Public Schools
Indian Trail NC

Author of Before Dorothy, based on the characters of L. Frank Baum.
------------------------------

I am all for re-framing classic texts, and I think Antigone can benefit from fresh thinking. For example, when the National Theater set the play in an underground bunker and the chorus were the government employees, they were giving us a new way of understanding that play while also using the play to help us examine a contemporary issue. 

It is essential that the device you choose brings the audience closer to the material. I personally do not see how  Marvel would do that- I think it would be fun but actually create a barrier to the material.

------------------------------
William Addis
Chair of Visual and Performing Arts
Westtown School
West Chester PA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-11-2018 08:59
From: Benjamin Sims
Subject: Antigone

I've set Much Ado About Nothing in the Vaudeville/silent film era, and done The Tempest in Space in order to make classic works relevant.  I would appreciate some input from those who have put a spin on a classic piece, as well as those who happen to be fans of both theatre and super heroes.

I would like to do Antigone next year at my school, but have it inspired by Marvel's Civil War saga.  I can see Eteocles and Polyneices being inspired by Captain America and Iron Man, respectively.  One person already suggested to me that I use those Marvel characters instead with Antigone and Ismene.  I even wonder if Vision could, ironically, inspire Tiresias?  With the use of masks, and the two sides of the conflict, I think a chorus of heroes would work nicely.

Thoughts and input are welcome.  Thanks!

------------------------------
Benjamin Sims
Theatre Arts Teacher
Union County Public Schools
Indian Trail NC

Author of Before Dorothy, based on the characters of L. Frank Baum.
------------------------------