On the same night that the Jets battled the Hornets in the Island Bowl, the AHS Drama Department offered an alternative conflict, this a political/family struggle set in future Greece called Antigone 3021, an adaptation of the Sophocles’s play from the 5th century BCE. This version was created by Nina Mansfield and superbly directed by Anneka Fagundes.

Every play is a palpable expression of faith. In this case a group of talented and earnest young actors said to an eager and gifted director, in cahoots with a clever playwright, “Yes, we’ll dive into what are the bones of all theater, Greek tragedy, and try to understand these foundational themes and characters with unusual names. And yes, we’ll go along with the idea of this taking place far into the future, and pretend to be holograms and wave our hands and imagine pressing buttons in sync with techno sound effects. And yes, we’ll set aside our normal cool clothes and wear costumes of a style that might be best called Ancient Greece meets Star Trek.” This act of faith does not always work, but here, with this play, and these actors, and their leader, and their support crew, it does work quite well.
The reason the play works, and is powerful and moving, is the acting. This is not to say that the wrapping and packaging are not fun. The primary set designer and stage manager, Sophia Schwab, did a wonderful job of blending classic imagery (columns, murals) with kitschy elements (the talk show set). Devin Crane and their costume crew dressed the actors in clothes suggesting ancient times, but thankfully did not go full toga. The light team leader, Iesett Hansen, and the Sound boss, Logan Desourdy, made fun and effective choices to make it seem like 3021 (not that I’ll ever know for certain). But again, it was the acting that sold the show. My general praise is this: Everyone in the cast, all 22 actors, stood on the stage, engaged with each other, and told their part of the story to the audience with absolute conviction. Bravo to you all. My specific praise is for the four leads in the show.

Callie Yardeni is tasked with playing Chancellor Creah, supreme leader of Thebes and chief antagonist, and she strolls and stomps about the stage with the perfect amount of hubris- enough to annoy us but not so much that we turn away. Ella Edgelow’s Ismene and Preston Graham’s Haemon give parallel performances that are deeply sincere. Their struggles with those things in and out of their control (mostly out) are heartbreaking. But it is Antigone, played by Ameila Forder, who is the engine and magnet of this show. Every time I was about to shake my head at a somewhat too cute production element, Forder would have a scene on stage that would compel me to stop taking notes and just watch. Her anguish over the death and disrespect of her brother, the way she worked the language, pausing, rising, then driving forward, was exceptional. I would have never thought that this actor, who was a good, goofy Pugsley in last year’s The Addams Family, had an Antigone in her. She powerfully, beautifully, did.
Up until now I’ve avoided using the cliche, “It’s Greek to me,” but I just did and need to explain why. Like any modern version of a classic text, it helps to know the source material, and the better you do, the more you can enjoy what the playwright has done with the original. As a Shakespeare guy I love when I see a modern version of a play or even one partly inspired by a familiar plot or character. Yay for me. But I’m not a Greek myths guy, so I know I missed the subtleties of this play. I joked with my seat partner that I should have consulted Wikipedia prior to the performance. You need not do that for the reasons I stated above, this is a fun production of a really serious play performed by remarkable performers. But if it’s been years since you were in middle school and you’ve lost your copy of D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths, it would not hurt to do a little homework before getting your ticket. I kinda wished I had, but still I’m happy and thankful to have seen this terrific high school play.

See the closing weekend of Antigone 3021 on November 15 and 16 at 7 p.m. For more information see the Alameda High School website, and for tickets see the Alameda High School page on GoFan.co.
Gene Kahane is the founder of the Foodbank Players, a lifelong teacher, and former Poet Laureate for the City of Alameda. Reach him at [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Gene-Kahane.