La Fuerza de Antígona
by Tlaloc Rivas
This piece is a new take on the Greek classic Antigone. With the plot the same but with different settings, context, and gravitas, this piece explores the Greek classic through a different lens. Set in a post man, post capitalist world, La Fuerza de Antígona explores the balance between gender and power, and what it means to be overlooked.
For this piece I painted three masks for the chorus, as well as building two versions of Ìxiim’s clothing — one clean, the other heavily distressed.
Production Team
Co-Directors: Dr. Matthieu Chapman, Jenna Sargent
Production Manager: Catherine Doherty
Production Stage Manager: Kiara Vedovino
Costume Designer: Summer Glodstein
Lighting Designer: Martin Benesh
Scenic Designer: Natasha D’Amico
Sound Designer: Kiersten Lamora
Photographer: Ashlie Morrison
The designer wanted to make Ìxiim dress fairly androgynously, as they are nonbinary in the text.
I ended up building two pairs of overalls -- one built from a pair of jeans we knew fit the actor turned into overalls, with the other being a pair of overalls being turned into overalls that looked as if they had once been jeans.
There were lots of patches and patchwork, and it was important to match the patches across both pairs of overalls as they were supposed to look the same.
Then I went in and distressed the second pair, making sure to focus on the areas I knew were "injured". I used acrylic paint and fabric medium to make mock blood and dirt.
The secondary shirt got a similar touchup, as well as being dyed to match the original shirt, and having a new collar put on.
One of my major issues was distressing the clothing enough that it showed in the dim lighting on stage.
I ended up collaborating with Hunter Lypen, who was able to help the blood really pop on stage.
This piece was a return to my roots -- I've been making overalls my entire sewing life, and it was lovely to make it for a piece on stage. Furthermore, with this being our first visually complex piece since COVID-19 started, it was amazing to be a part of this piece.
The masks for the chorus were inspired by masks and face paint worn at Day of the Dead festivals. These pieces were made in conjunction with Hunter Riley and Peter Winkleman.
We started with a paper mache base, then cut it down to size and painted it a base white.
They were then painted in blue, red, black, and green.
They had to be unique so actors could tell their masks apart. but not so unique they looked separate from each other.
Therefore we used a set number of patterns and painted then different colors, so people could remember their individual pieces.
They were worn to signify these actors were playing the Chorus at this time, not their usual roles, as there was double casting.