Ancient and Modern

By all accounts, I was a fairly typical teenager. My extracurricular interests included hanging out at the mall, rock music, babysitting, and Greek tragedy. Huh? Yes, somehow that last one doesn't quite fit, but despite the required can of AquaNet in my purse, I became an avid reader of Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides in high school. While I appreciated all of the plays I encountered, reading Antigone in my senior year left an indelible mark on me. So it's quite exciting that the local theater group, Theaterwork, is performing Jean Anouilh's adaptation of Sophocles's masterpiece. Written in and based on Nazi-occupied France, it is both an update of Antigone and a confirmation that the themes it explores are timeless and universal.

Rather than staging the production in a typical performance space, Antigone will be at the former Tino Griego pool in the same building as the Oliver La Farge Branch Library. The pool itself is the stage, and the audience will sit on the sides. In addition to Theaterwork's core troupe, members of the community have been brought in to perform, design and decorate the set, and compose original music and poetry. The production promises to be as memorable as reading the original in high school for the first time.

Antigone will run from April 7th to the 17th: Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 pm, Sunday at 2 pm. The former Tino Griego pool is located at 1730 Llano St. Ticket prices are $15 general admission; $14 for Seniors; $10 for teens. You can make reservations by calling 505-471-1799. It's open to all ages, and you might just want to convince the teenager in your life that you're never too young for Greek Tragedy.