In my senior year at UW-Parkside many years ago, I took a class that was dedicated solely to works of Greek tragedy. “Antigone” was one of the pieces that we read, and although I love literature, sadly, I can’t say that that particular play stands out as a favorite of mine. However, “Antigone” and I would cross paths again, as the second production slated for the Lakeside Players’ thirty-sixth season was an adaptation of the original. Setting aside the lukewarm feelings I had about the piece and eager to see the show, I was happy to give it another chance and see how it would be performed.

Antigone (played by Mackenzie Renner) is young, in love and engaged to a prince. When civil unrest breaks out and her brothers are killed, the new king, her uncle Creon (Jay Rattle), orders that one of the brothers be left unburied to set an example for those who might dare to challenge his power. Although she knows that defying Creon’s edict means that she’ll be put to death, Antigone decides that it’s worth risking in order to do what’s fundamentally right. As the play progresses though, the audience has to reconcile some things in their own minds: is it as simple as deeming Antigone a martyr and Creon a tyrant, or are there nuances of grey beneath what at first appears to be a case of clear-cut right and wrong?

The set was appropriately sparse in this production, making way for the stand out cast. Jim Selovich, as The Chorus, gave audience members insight into the plot and background information about each of the characters. He appeared at various points throughout the play, and while normally I’d find breaks in the action distracting, in this case I found it to be helpful, paired with his great delivery. Both Renner and Rattle gave excellent performances, especially during an impassioned exchange between Antigone and Creon regarding the choices each of them have made. The scene helped to add more depth to their characters, giving the audience pause and perhaps making them reconsider how they’d perceived each character to that point. Janel A. Johnson is new to the Lakeside Players, but I was impressed with her commanding stage presence as she brought Antigone’s sister Ismene to life. Likewise, Justin Frieman infused the character of Haemon, Antigone’s future husband, with passion. Even in challenging scenes in which the action is pantomimed, Frieman was emotional and expressive.

Helping to bring a little bit of comic relief to the (literal) tragedy were Nancy Davis as the Nurse and Eric Houghton as Jonas. Both actors had the theater echoing with laughter, and Greg Carpenter as Binns and Brian Barbour as Snout only added to the jollity. Compliments to Ken Kirby (as the Messenger), Kelly Tiemeir (as Eurydice) and Tabitha Houghton (as Creon’s dutiful page) too, for delivering great performances and rounding out a fabulous cast.

While I respect the original version of “Antigone” for the classical work that it is in its own right, thanks to director Tom Amacher, the cast and crew of the Lakeside Players’ production for giving me a new perspective and appreciation of it. Congratulations to all of them for theater that not only entertains, but also provokes and inspires.

Lakeside Players Presents “Antigone”
Time(s): Fri.-Sat. 7:30 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m.
Location: Rhode Center for the Arts, 514 - 56th St.
Phone: (262) 657-PLAY (7529)
Website: www.rhodeopera.org

Presented by

Tuesday, November 3, 2009
9:00am - 12:00 Noon
Civil War Museum | 5400 First Avenue, Kenosha

Advance Registration is Required
To register, go to the Wisconsin Arts Board web site at www.artsboard.wisconsin.gov
or call (608) 266-0190

Hosted by the Arts & Humanities Alliance of Kenosha and the Racine Arts Council

The Wisconsin Arts Board is the state agency which nurtures creativity, cultivates expression, promotes the arts, supports the arts in education, stimulates community and economic development and serves as a resource for people of every culture and heritage. Since 1973, the Arts Board has supported artists and arts organizations with funds from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Arts & Humanities Alliance of Kenosha works to build awareness of the arts in our community. It fosters collaboration between artists, cultural organizations, educational institutions, businesses, and the public through cooperative planning and development of activities and events.

The Racine Arts Council is a private, nonprofit organization whose function is to coordinate and promote Racine area arts programs. RAC advocates for decisions and legislation by local, state and federal authorities that will favor arts and arts education. RAC acts as a catalyst for community development, aiding and initiating projects that involve arts and enrich our community.

What is NaNoWriMo?

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and—when the thing is done—the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.

In 2008, we had over 120,000 participants. More than 20,000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

So, to recap:

What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month’s time.

Who: You! We can’t do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let’s write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together.

Why: The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era’s most enchanting art forms! To write without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from our novels at parties. To be able to mock real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to produce their work.

When: You can sign up anytime to add your name to the roster and browse the forums. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.

Still confused? Just visit the How NaNoWriMo Works page!

More than a decade ago, five artists sat around a table thinking it would be “cool” if they exhibited together, so Lemon Street Gallery & ArtSpace opened in Kenosha in November 1999. Located in southeast Wisconsin, just blocks from Lake Michigan, the gallery celebrates its ten-year anniversary on November 14th.

The gallery gets its name from the street it sits on. Located at the corner of Sheridan Road and 46th Street, the latter was named Lemon Street when the brick building went up in 1919. Melanie Hovey, the gallery’s director and one of its founders, calls the gallery “a refreshingly different art gallery experience!” It is a nonprofit artist’s collective featuring original artwork in all media by over 60 local and regional artists. (more…)