BETWEEN TWO WORLDS: REPRESENTING DUALITY IN THE COSTUMES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSERVATORY THEATRE‘S PRODUCTION OF SEAMUS HEANEY‘S THE BURIAL AT THEBES: A VERSION OF SOPHOCLES’ ANTIGONE by GRACE LORRAINE TRIMBLE B.A. Luther College, 2008 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in the Department of Theatre in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2011 ABSTRACT The costume design for the University of Central Florida Conservatory Theatre‘s production of Seamus Heaney‘s The Burial at Thebes: A Version of Sophocles’ Antigone took an ancient Greek classic by Sophocles and infused it with influences from avant-garde theatre. This thesis documents the process of designing the costumes from academic, artistic, and technical aspects. Through this process, I explored how to communicate abstract ideas about humanity into actual costumes and how multiple cultural heritages can be intertwined in a united visual which pushes the audience to think more critically about the story. The recurring themes of duality are central to the final costume design: silk chiffon chitons draped over seemingly nude tattooed bodies, representing the ever-present competing allegiances to the will of the gods or to the law of man. Working backwards through the process, this thesis discusses the avant-garde aims of the production and how they were achieved in design. The historical and cultural research, and how it directly influenced the costume design, is discussed for both Seamus Heaney and The Burial at Thebes, as well as for Sophocles and Antigone. Moving through a thorough script analysis and text-to-text comparison of Antigone and The Burial at Thebes illuminates the character and situation traits that are expressed in the design. Script-to-script comparisons reveal the heightened political language Heaney has created to make a story readily accessible to modern audiences. This gives Creon more humanity, thus magnifying the conflict, which is analyzed using conflict theory. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would sincerely like to thank Vandy Wood, Dr. Julia Listengarten, Kristina Tollefson, Huaixiang Tan, Daniel Jones, Kyla Kazuschyk, Janie Taylor, and Dr. Tod Trimble for their continued support and guidance. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ vii INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 AN AVANT-GARDE DESIGN ..................................................................................................... 4 The Design ............................................................................................................................................................................. 8 SOPHOCLES AND ANTIGONE ................................................................................................. 15 SEAMUS HEANEY ..................................................................................................................... 19 THE BURIAL AT THEBES ........................................................................................................... 22 SCRIPT ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................... 26 When are they? .................................................................................................................................................................. 26 Where are they? ................................................................................................................................................................ 27 Who are they? .................................................................................................................................................................... 28 What kind of dialogue do the characters speak? ................................................................................................. 29 What happens before Antigone/The Burial at Thebes? ..................................................................................... 30 A Brief Summary of Oedipus Rex ................................................................................................................................ 31 A Brief Summary of Oedipus at Colonus .................................................................................................................. 33 What happens during Antigone/The Burial at Thebes? .................................................................................... 35 What is the role of each Character? .......................................................................................................................... 38 Antigone .......................................................................................................................................................................... 38 Creon ................................................................................................................................................................................ 39 Tiresias ............................................................................................................................................................................ 41 Ismene ............................................................................................................................................................................. 42 Haemon ........................................................................................................................................................................... 42 Eurydice .......................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Guard ................................................................................................................................................................................ 43 Messenger ...................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Boy .................................................................................................................................................................................... 44 The Chorus ..................................................................................................................................................................... 44 What are the themes of the play? .............................................................................................................................. 45 THE BURIAL AT THEBES AND CONFLICT ............................................................................. 48 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 55 APPENDIX A: CAST AND CREW ............................................................................................ 57 APPENDIX B: TIMELINE .......................................................................................................... 60 APPENDIX C: JOURNAL OF DESIGN PROCESS ................................................................... 63 Prior to Design Meetings ............................................................................................................................................... 64 iv Concept Meeting ............................................................................................................................................................... 65 Research and Inspiration .............................................................................................................................................. 66 Symbols ................................................................................................................................................................................ 68 Lighting ................................................................................................................................................................................. 69 Color....................................................................................................................................................................................... 69 Masks ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 71 Footwear .............................................................................................................................................................................. 71 Hair ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 72 APPENDIX D: JOURNAL OF BUILD PROCESS ..................................................................... 73