“Antigone & Letters to Soldiers Lost”
Meet Our Talented Team of Designers
In the creation of a theatre production the person who decides what the performers will wear, what kind of environment they will inhabit, and the objects or props with which they engage, are called theatre designers. The goal of a designer is to enhance the experience the audience can have at a performance.
For our upcoming production of “Antigone & Letters from Soldiers Lost,” director Bob Frame turned to veteran designers Virginia Fennessy (Set), Barbara Murphy (Costumes), and Terri Fox (Props). They bring not only experience but a lot of expertise with them to this project. Let’s meet them…
VIRGINIA FENNESSY (Set Designer): Virginia has been an Auburn Player for more than 30 years. She holds a BA in acting and directing from the University of Buffalo but found that dabbling in all areas of theater is what keeps life interesting. Retired for 5 years from teaching English, she is now working on filling her time with theater, work on movies (The Shed), and substitute teaching. Over the years she has worked for Merry-Go-Round Playhouse as a set designer, recently for Harlequin Productions as a costume designer for Jill Trent, Science Sleuth, and for the Auburn Players as Lady Montague in Romeo and Juliet. A little bit of everything. She’s grateful that the Auburn Players have given her the opportunity to do what she loves.
Her Design: The rendition of Antigone and Letter to Soldiers Lost by Al Schnupp has been performed a few times, with input from the writer. It was his idea to incorporate iconic Greek columns with the art of Picasso’s Guernica, to combine the old-world ideas of war with a more modern interpretation. Fennessy sought to honor that idea by combining some of Picasso’s classic drawings of war and weeping women with the emotions evoked by the Vietnam War Memorial.
“When I traveled to D.C. to visit the memorial, I was surprised by how descending the slight incline towards the center of the monument affected me. At the outskirts, I read a few names, slowly read more and more, until by the center of the monument, the names were towering over me, overwhelming my sight with glossy black marble, with far too many names. Unlike any other war memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial captured the senseless helplessness faced by those who had no choice to fight. Some DID choose to go, but most were unprepared for how different that environment was from their home turf,” said Fennessy. She wanted to echo that feeling in the set of Antigone.
Bob Frame, the director, liked the idea, but suggested the Auburn Players could make it more personal to our area by actually writing the names of the men who perished in that war from Auburn and surrounding areas, so those are the names found on the set. The soldiers’ named are those who perished from Auburn, Cato, Weedsport, Ithaca, Camillus, Seneca Falls and Port Byron.
Picasso’s drawings reminded Fennessy of classic Greek art, filled with emotion, but simple. Only one image is from Guernica. The women on the ends of the set are two examples of Picasso’s weeping women series, and the rest are sketches he made prior to being commissioned to create Guernica. War has occupied much of Picasso’s art, as it has affected all art lovers opposed to war.
BARBARA MURPHY (Costume Designer): Barbara has been involved in school and community theatre for over 50 years; in those years, she has costumed over 200 shows. She went to see an Auburn Players show the day she moved to Auburn in 1972, joined immediately, and served on the Board for nearly 30 years. For the past ten years, she has worked as Costume Designer for Wells College, and has received TANYS (Theatre Association of New York State) Excellence Awards in Design and Execution for the Wells productions of Eurydice, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Miss Valentine. This production is particularly meaningful to her, as one fourth of her senior class served in Vietnam. Charlie and Roy, Panel 19E, Lines 54 and 97. RIP.
Her Design: Director Bob Frame did not want the traditional look of a Greek chorus for the ensemble. But we both wanted them to be a single unit, indistinguishable. I made all ten of theirs from the same fabric-simple muslin, but each from a slightly different pattern. The leads are in bold colors of purple and gold, signifying royalty.
TERRI FOX (Props Designer): Terri has designed shows for The Auburn Players, Harlequin Players at Cayuga Community College, Auburn Public Theater and Glee Musical Theatre Camp She has served on the Auburn Players Board of Directors and has worked deck crew and as a dresser at The REV Theater and stage crew for the Absolute Dance Company.
As the Props Designer, she is responsible for obtaining all props needed for the production. She also works with the Stage Manager in gathering appropriate rehearsal props early in the rehearsal process and is often responsible to help the Scene Designer dress the set.
ANTIGONE & LETTERS TO SOLDIERS LOST
Adapted by Al Schnupp
Play by Sophocles with letters from the Vietnam Memorial Wall
Directed by Bob Frame
The show will be presented on the back lawn of the PERC Presbyterian Event Retreat Center, (former Case Mansion), 108 South St in Auburn on Sept 18 & 19 at 6 PM and Sept 20 at 2 PM. Performances are free and students are encouraged to attend. Please contact The Auburn Players at (315) 702-7832 for more information.
Bring a lawn chair! All performances will be outside. Masks required while entering & exiting area. Social distancing protocols will be followed.
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