By James Straub

DEER ISLE — Breaking a longstanding tradition of producing musicals each fall, Deer Isle-Stonington High School will present “Antigone” Friday, Nov. 5.

A cast of high school students under the direction of Nelson Monteith will perform the Classic Greek tragedy by Sophocles for students in grades six through 12 on Friday afternoon, followed by a community performance at 7 p.m.

Vanessa Grindle as Antigone (left) confides her plans to her sister Ismene played by Leti Douglass. Creon (center) played by Kimberly Grindle receives counsel from Tiresias played by Galen Koch (left) and a Priest played by Desiree Pelletier. The full cast of Antigone performed the chorus part, which was videotaped by students working with The Imagination Project at the Stonington Opera House. The digital video will be played on television screens on stage during the live production. STAFF PHOTO BY JAMES STRAUB

Both performances will be held in the Reach Performing Arts Center at the Deer Isle-Stonington Elementary School. Tickets for the evening performance are $10 and will be sold at the door.

Monteith, director of the Reach Performing Arts Center and theater programs at the high school and elementary school, acknowledges that many will ask why a Greek tragedy opens this season of student productions at the Reach.

“The answer is simple,” he says. “Theater education at some point in time must look to the beginnings of theater, and Greece is where it all happened. Sophocles’ tragedy is a good place to start.”

And, as Monteith tells his students, “Life isn’t a musical”

Though it was written some 2,500 years ago, “Antigone” focuses on themes that are as pertinent today as they were to audiences in ancient Greece.

The Deer Isle-Stonington production also incorporates modern-day technology that likely was not imagined in the days of Sophocles.

The play is set in Thebes where Creon, the king, has forbidden anyone to bury Polynices, a fallen warrior.

Polynices and his brother Eteocles were killed in battle. Creon allows Eteocles to be buried at once with full honors, but he forbids any funeral rites or burial for Polynices, declaring that anyone who disobeys his order will be stoned to death.

Antigone, the sister of the fallen warriors, disobeys Creon and anoints her brother’s corpse.

Antigone’s choice to stand on her own against a male-dominated society and to disobey the king’s worldly decree in order to answer to a higher power suggest themes that are poignant today.

Likewise, Creon’s insolence in pitting his royal word (the law of the state) against divine law and human sentiment can be seen by some as characteristics at work in contemporary political scenes.

“In spite of the orders, I shall give my brother burial,” Antigone confides to her sister Ismene.

“Weak women such as we cannot strive with men; rather were it seemly to bow to those that are stronger than ourselves,” Ismene responds, trying to dissuade her sister from disobeying Creon’s edict.

Monteith said one of the prominent messages in the play is “don’t be a chauvinist.”

He said Creon represents “male-answer syndrome,” a contemporary psychological description of men who think they have an answer for everything.

Also, Creon’s attitude toward women as being weak is countered by the strength of Antigone.

When Antigone’s disobedience is disclosed, Creon sends her to a cave to starve, setting in motion revenge of the gods and the ruin of his family.

“It’s approachable by high school students,” Monteith said of the classic tragedy, “and it’s important they have exposure to the roots of theater.”

The chorus, an integral part of Classic Greek theater, is given a thoroughly modern treatment in this production.

Students from the school’s stage tech program worked with mentors from The Imagination Project, a newly created digital media studio at the Stonington Opera House.

Those students created a digital video of the chorus as it performs its parts throughout the play.

The video will be shown on television screens on stage during appropriate passages during the production.