Student cast members in the Central Kitsap Performing Arts Center portrayed “Antigone Now” on May 1, 2025. The play is a modernized rendition of the original written by Sophocles, a renowned tragedian from Athens, Greece. It introduces various profound emotions and themes centered on the tension between government laws and one’s morality.
Melissa Cooper wrote the performance, which was set in the city of Thebes, Greece, during the post-war period. The plot of “Antigone Now” follows two sisters, Ismene and Antigone. Ismene acts as a voice of reason, and Antigone, a rebel. After their brothers wind up killing each other, one gets buried, and the other lies to rot in the streets.
Their uncle, Creon, who attains the position of king over Thebes, prohibits anyone from burying the other brother, with a penalty of death for those who do. This causes Antigone major distress, as she must decide between death and disrespecting her brother, which would’ve left her with regret for a lifetime. Ismene then attempts to spare Antigone’s life by convincing her to obey the law; however, she couldn’t just leave her brother in the street.
The leading cast for CK’s adaptation was Hannah Baugh as Antigone, Jenna Hernandez as Ismene, and Henry Koski as Creon. Baugh’s role as Antigone explores the intense conflict of a character who stands up for her beliefs, even if it means disobeying the authorities.
“It’s not really a role that I normally play,” Baugh said. “And so, this one is fun because it’s a lot different, and you get a lot of emotions with it.”
In previous performances, Baugh has played more ingénue characters, though, for the last show of her senior year, she’s been able to act out a complex character that’s tested her acting skills.
“I’m a senior, so I’ve done lots and lots of plays,” Baugh said. “This has inspired me to do more complex characters, and I just got to play with the depth of the character, which was fun.”
There are many underlying messages and themes hidden beyond the surface of “Antigone Now.” Antigone has a prevailing sense of justice and stubbornness, and she rebels against what she believes isn’t honorable.
“The interesting thing is that no one really believes themselves to be the bad guy,” Baugh said. “Everyone is doing what they think is right. I just think that’s really cool, how it can be interpreted in many different ways by whoever’s watching it.”
Along with the thematic qualities of the play, it couldn’t proceed without the technical and stage crew in the background. Gwen Kassler is part of the technical crew, and she helps control the background visuals for the show. With seven years of theater experience, Kassler decided to step out of her comfort zone and interact with the technical aspects of the program.
“I am doing the digital video backgrounds, so whenever you see the big TV screen in the background of the show changing, that’s me,” Kassler said. “It’s like operating a giant slideshow.”
Kassler takes contentment from selecting backdrop images for performances and specified her desire to experiment with the different tech crew tools. On top of that, she’s intrigued about the modernized vision of “Antigone Now.”
“It’s a Greek tragedy, but it’s modernized,” Kassler said. “It’s even more interesting when you take something from way back when and put it in a more modern concept.”
On the flip side, Finley Koski operated on the sound design for “Antigone Now,” as she believes the technical components of theater are her most cherished elements of working on set.
“Hopefully I’m gonna try out for all the other plays, but we’ll see,” Koski said. “Otherwise, I’ll probably be in tech again, because [it’s] awesome.”
Koski stressed that more people should join whichever role they audition for in theater to experience the unique opportunities behind the stage.
“I think [people] should [join] because it’s the best and it’s so much fun, and you can make a million new friends,” Koski said. “It’s awesome.”
The original play consisted of justice, loyalty, the war of consciences, corruption, greed, and clashing societal rules, each of which is still present in today’s society. “Antigone Now” is a modernized feature, which encourages the audience to relate to it more. It shares the setting of the present world, which allows listeners to reflect on issues society possesses today.
“The adaptation of it is really nice because it’s not over-complicated,” Baugh said. “But I really like it, and I think that the message is really relevant always.”
