Tonight’s the night! No Exit Theatre Collective presents ANTIGONE, directed by Ben Natan
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Sophocles’ Antigone, directed by Ben Natan, will be performed today, December 18 at 7 p.m. on the No Exit Theatre Collective Facebook page. All shows in our Fortnightly Reading Series are abridged to run less than 90 minutes, with a Q&A with the artists to follow.
Sophocles’ Antigone is directed by Ben Natan, and adapted by Christopher Scott.
Grace Ahlin is Antigone. Ryanne Salzano is Ismene/Teiresias/Eurydice. Anja Avsharian, Chorus. Heidi Tolson, Chorus. Anita Okoye, Chorus. RJ Christian is Creon. Noah Barson is The Watchman/Haimon/The Boy/Messenger. Kassandra Perez is our Swing. Technical directed by Daisy Phillips.
Director’s note, by Ben Natan
At the heart of tragedy lies the failures of our best intentions. In theatre, trusting the characters we’re playing is often crucial to communicate how things truly go wrong.
In Antigone, people are on opposite sides of an issue, but they argue in good faith. Their orthodoxy and commitment to ideology is commendable but also part of their downfall.
It feels strange to tell these stories right now when it’s hard to see the good faith in the leaders that fail us. Especially when their failures are so disastrous.
My intention with this piece is not to humanize those currently in power, but to partially imagine a world where sense, duty and honor are at the core of leadership instead of corruption, rancor and bigotry.
We are not dealing with perfect characters in Antigone. Nothing close. But they are human, and refreshingly so.
Honoring the activist roots of theatre and our artists is at the core of No Exit Theatre Collective. We seek to affect change with our work. With each production we put on, the creative team selects a social justice organization to support. Our support comes from our virtual tip jar, which is on Venmo @NoExit-TC.
The director for each show selects an activist organization to support. This week, we’re supporting the Equal Justice Initiative.
Ben Natan, directing:
Antigone is a play about law and justice. Two concepts that feel synonymous, but often run up against each other. It only feels right to support and highlight the work of the Equal Justice Initiative while we work on this play.
Only a few days ago, the federal government executed a man, Brandon Bernard, convicted of felony murder. Felony murder means that Bernard was simply present and “legally” liable for a death he was not personally responsible for. The death penalty is a barbaric, archaic institution by itself, but somehow made even more heinous in the instance of Bernard’s murder by the state.
Once again, we are forced to consider how law and justice are in conflict.
EJI works tirelessly with people on death row to get their sentences commuted. Important work to mitigate the harm of our carceral state and prevent the government from murdering any more people. We are proud to support them and feel it appropriate alongside Antigone.
20 percent of donations received will go to this organization. The remaining 80 percent will be split evenly between this show’s contributing artists. You can support our art, our artists, and this organization by donating to our tip jar, @NoExit-TC on Venmo.
Grace Ahlin is so excited to read for Antigone in her first production with NETC! She is a sophomore at Brandeis University and has performed with the Gallery Players of Brooklyn and the New York Renaissance Faire among others. A huge thank you to everyone involved in Antigone for making this show possible!
Ryanne Salzano is a writer and editor who recently graduated from Eugene Lang College at The New School with a BA in Journalism + Design. She is the editorial director at No Exit. Her previous credits with No Exit include Malcolm (Macbeth) and Woman (Lysistrata). She is thoroughly enjoying her return to acting.
Anja Avsharian is thrilled to return to the digital stage in another No Exit Theatre Collective production! Anja is currently focusing her efforts on screen as a recurring cast member of the new reality based TV show ‘Spooky Babes’. Notable past credits include Hedda in “Hedda Gabler,” Beauty in “Beauty and the Beast,” Malka Silber in “The Argentinian Prostitute Play,” and Baba Yaga in “Baba Yaga and the Federal Trade Commission.”
Heidi Tolson (Chorus) is a NYC based actor-singer from Annapolis, Maryland who is ecstatic to be a part of this production! Heidi graduated in 2018 with her BFA in Acting from West Virginia University, her recent works include performing in the “Serving You Sondheim” series at The Green Room 42, Lanie Robertson’s The Trial of Mrs. Surratt (Anna Surratt) with The Wandering Theatre Co., A Hatful of Rain (Putski) with West Virginia Public Theatre, and A Christmas Carol (Belle Crawford) with The Heights Players. Heidi is incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to work with this incredible ensemble of artists and get to create something wonderful during such a strange and uncertain time.
A health to the company.
Anita Okoye is a freelance editor. She's been working in book publishing for five years. In her free time, she writes plays.
RJ Christian is a senior at NYU studying Musical Theatre Voice at Steinhardt. His musical TikToks have been featured on Rolling Stone, Broadway World, Playbill Vulture, and Daily Mail, and will be featured in the Ratatouille the Musical Concert. (TikTok @RJtheComposer) He has served as Composer/Lyricist in five different productions including The Link, Mea Culpa, On a Wing and a Chair, Airlock: The Musical, and RedBeard as well as MD on The Wives of Henry the Eighth (Bossy Collective) and Wildfire: Before the Bloom (No Exit Theatre Collective) RJ was a finalist for Taylor Louderman’s Write Out Loud song competition with his song “Up There” As an actor, some of his favorite roles have been Donkey (Shrek the Musical), Callahan (Legally Blonde), and Beast (Beauty and the Beast). RJ was also a cast member of the 2018 and 2019 NYU Reality Show.
Noah Barson (Haimon/Messenger/Watchman/The Boy) is very excited to be part of his third show with NETC. He was previously seen in NETC’s Much Ado About Nothing (Claudio) and Iphigenia in Aulis (Achilles). Professional credits include Paw Patrol Live: The Great Pirate Adventure (Chase) with VStar Entertainment and The Good Time (Glenn) at Hersheypark with RWS Entertainment. Educational credits include Working (Frank Decker/Trucker), Urinetown (Hot Blades Harry/Bobby Strong u/s), and Titanic (Frederick Fleet) at Emerson College, as well as Next to Normal (Gabe) and Spring Awakening (Georg) at Harvard University. Emerson College BFA Musical Theatre class of 2019. Special thanks to Mom, Dad, Molly, and Jeremy for all of their love and support.
Kassandra Pérez is an actor, creator, writer and applied theatre practitioner. She has participated in various No Exit Theatre Collective shows before as an actor and director and is excited to be a part of one of her favorite Greek plays.