Outline:
Act I
Scene
1: Exposition
·
Meet
the Andrews Family
o
Learn
about the bar they own, Crescent City Bar
o
Meet
the children
·
Meet
Bud Weiser
·
Notice
of the Hurricane
o
Find
out the storm’s intensity
o
Learn
the sides the characters take on taking precautions on the Hurricane
·
Antigone
begins hurricane preparations
Scene
2: Point of Attack
·
Storm
approaches
o
New
report is heard saying the storm is serious
·
Tension
builds between Creon and Antigone about preparation/evacuation disagreements
·
Antigone
struggles to secure the bar for serious storm
o
Creon
ignores warnings and does nothing to help
Scene
3: Rising Action
·
Antigone
shops for supplies needed for after the storm
·
Meet
Nanny
o
Find
out relationship between Nanny and Antigone
·
Nanny
and Antigone discuss the of the storm, evacuation/shelter limitations,
potential flooding and their families
·
Find
out when the storm makes landfall
Scene
4: Rising Action
·
The
day of Hurricane Katrina
·
Scene
done in sound effects
·
Audience
hears serious rain, thunder claps, trees falling, windows breaking, screams of
the characters, crying children
Act II
Scene 1: Rising Action
·
The
bar is destroyed
o
Windows
are broken, no electricity, no food no water
·
Sound
of chaos on the streets outside
o
Creon
is injured
o
Yelling,
gunshots
Scene
2: Climax
·
Antigone
goes outside to the salvage what she can
·
Finds
Nanny
o
Nanny
has lost everything
o
Antigone
takes her in
·
Antigone
and Nanny get held at gun point
·
Fight
scene occurs between a man with a gun and Antigone
o
Antigone
prevails and winds up getting the gun
o
Shoots
in self defense
Scene
3: Falling Action
·
Antigone
and Nanny return to the bar
·
Bud
has helped Creon
·
Bud
and Creon attempt clean up
·
Antigone
shares with everyone the mugging
o
Creon
is upset and anxious as Antigone recounts the killing
o
Antigone
blames Craig for what has happened because of his ignorance
o
She
argues she did what was right
Scene 4: Falling
Action
·
Antigone
finds out she has to go to trial
·
Nanny
and Antigone are alone
o
Nanny
is consoling Antigone, reassuring her that what she did was not wrong, it was morally
correct in spite of the circumstances
·
Nanny’s
strength and faith in God help put the matter at hand in perspective
·
Antigone
doesn’t think the bar will be able to be re-opened due to the amount of damages
and the social stigma that she killed a man
Scene 5:
Resolution
·
Bud
goes into a narration explaining that Antigone was tried for murder but was
found not guilty because it was self-defense.
·
Bud
goes on, telling the audience its now 6 months after the storm and the bar is
open and running smoothly
In this adaption of Antigone, some of the names of the characters remain the same as
the original version by Sophocles; however their relationships with one another
are completely changed. The themes of pride, the
position of women, and the conflicts that arise from the idea that there is a
level of justice which transcend society’s laws are kept in this adaptation
also. The setting and time period has also changed, this adaption is now set in
New Orleans during the time of Hurricane Katrina. This adaptation does not retain
the way which Sophocles wrote his orignal piece. This adaption is much more current
in present-day English using slang and colloqialisms.
Characters:
Antigone Thebes:
A woman in her 30s who is tenacious and stubborn. She was born in New Orleans
and was raised in a privileged life style. She married for love to a man that
her parents found undesirable. As a result, she was disinherited and disowned.
She is the mother of two twin children, a boy a girl, eight years old. She is
co-owner with her husband and work as the manager of the Crescent City Bar
located off Bourbon Street in the French Quarter.
Creon Thebes:
Antigone’s husband also in his 30s. He has worked hard to earn a living his
whole life. With Antigone’s savings, he was able to purchase the Crescent City
Bar. He is the father of their two children. He wants them to have everything
in their lives that he was not able to have. He is fun-loving and easy-going.
He tends to make light of serious situations. He sees things as either right or
wrong and there is nothing in between. He controls the “front of the house”
during the day. He is well known in the community and is involved in community
efforts to improve the French Quarter.
Ismene and
Polynices Thebes: 8-year-old twins of Creon and Antigone Andrews. They are
fun-loving, vivacious and curious children. They go to school in the French
Quarter. They walk to the bar after school where they are supposed to do their
homework in the back office until their mother can finish for the day and take
them home. Sometimes they sneak away and roam the streets.
Nanny Carolyn: A
woman in her late 60s who was Antigone’s nanny while she was growing up.
Nanny’s husband drowned in the aftermath of the Hurricane. She lost her home
and all her possessions. After reconnecting with Antigone, she is a guiding
light and strength to Antigone as they fight for survival.
Bud Weiser: The
night bar keep at the Crescent City Bar, plays the role of the Chorus. He
frames the play with a prologue and epilogue. He appears at pivotal moments to
comment as well as intercedes and interacts with the characters attempting to
provide the voice of reason. Plays the
role of the “Reporter Voice.”
Mugger: A young
man in his mid 20s. He is a bigger man, muscular. Dressed in dark baggy
clothes.
Setting:
New Orleans,
Louisiana. The Crescent City Bar. August 2005, before and after Hurricane
Katarina. The bar in both acts is set in a recognizable austere environment.
Scene: Act I, Scene II
Early in the morning, August 28, 2005, at
the Crescent Bar. Creon is sipping on a drink of some sort; Antigone is still
trying to do as much as she can to secure the bar without Creon's help. She is
making lists, packing valuables, backing up the computer, securing files. She is anxious and frustrated.
Heard on a television at the bar.
News
Reporter: The National Hurricane Center
has now issued a hurricane warning from Morgan City, Louisiana to the
Alabama-Florida border, an area that includes New Orleans. This warning means that hurricane conditions
are expected within the next 24 hours.
All residents in low-lying areas must evacuate. Time is running out! All highways leading out of New Orleans are
filled with bumper-to-bumper traffic. Several
major interstates are converted now into one-way routes away from the city . .
. *
Antigone: Creon,
did you hear that? Are you going to start taking this more seriously now? This is going to be bad . . . where are the
children? Can you help pack the
glasses? Come on Creon; let’s not wait
until it’s too late . . .
Creon: Honey
please, those news reporters are just being dramatic, you’ve been here during
hurricanes before; they like to just hype things up. I’m on it—I’m just waiting to hear from Bud. He’ll be here soon and he’ll help. I saw the kids hanging out a couple minutes
ago; I thought you had them.
Antigone: You’re
kidding me, right? We’re talking direct
hit here! We weren’t even born when we
had the last direct hit. You don’t even
know what you’re talkin’ about. We were
lucky with Georges. That hurricane
almost caused a breach in the levy with the storm surge. This is a huge storm and you don’t pay any
attention to any of it. You don’t even
know where your kids are. If they’ve run
off again, you better get out there and find them. I’m sick and tired of them going off on
their own without letting me know where they’re going. Besides, I’ve got to get these records backed
up and secured, find the insurance paper work, get the shopping done—I just
know it’s going to be a madhouse out there—you need to get the shutters up
before the weather turns—help me move this box, will ya?
Creon: Don’t
pack up those glasses just yet; I want to keep the bar open as long as
possible. Hey we can advertise a
hurricane party!! No one else will be
open! Time to make some money, I’d
say. Let’s keep it going as long as the
liquor lasts. When the going gets tough,
the tough party . . . .
Antigone: This
is ridiculous, why are you taking this storm so lightly?!
Creon: Ah,
Antigone, lighten up. It’s not going to
be that bad. Besides a Captain never
leaves his ship. I’m staying here to
protect what we have worked hard for and no storm is going to scare me into
leaving it. If you’re so worried, go
ahead and take the kids and leave. As a
matter fact, why don’t you do that? Go
sit in the traffic with everyone else and try to get out. And just where do you think you’re going to
go? You don’t have any place to go! You’re much safer here with me and you know
it. So quit bein’ all uppity. We’re gonna be fine. Stop worryin’ about stuff you have no control
over.
Antigone: You’re such an ass! You know everything. Well, Mr. Captain of the Ship, it’s too late
to leave! I’m not getting caught in this
storm on the road ways and I’m not taking the kids to a shelter. So now that you’ve gotten your own way and
what you want, just friggin’ help me secure what we’ve got left—and NO, we are
not having a God damn hurricane party.
Jeez, who do you think you are Humphrey Bogart or something? You’re an idiot.
Creon: Well, you’re not Katherine Hepburn . . . that’s
for sure. I’m going out and look for the
kids and check out what’s going on. Bud’ll
be here soon. You’re being so bitchy, I
need some fresh air.
Creon Exits.
Antigone: Shouting
as Creon leaves. You’ll get fresh
air all right; I hope your fresh air blows you all the way to Hell. Get back here as soon as you find Ismene and
Polynices. You’re just as irresponsible
as they are! Grow up and act your age
and not your shoe size. Captain of the
ship, my ass!
Switches open sign to closed.
Antigone returns to the bar and packing
up the glasses. The television is reporting another update.
News Reporter: For the first time ever in New Orleans
history, a solemn Mayor Ray Nagin ordered mandatory evacuations today as his
city faces its worst fear—a direct hit from Hurricane Katrina. The latest update shows Katrina as a Category
5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 175 mph. It is expected to make landfall Monday
morning. A Cat 5 storm is the most
intense category on the Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity. Mayor Nagin warned that Katrina’s expected
storm surge could to 28 feet and would likely topple the levies. Nagin said he doesn’t want to create panic,
but that the citizens must understand that this is a very serious storm. People need to be prepared with enough food,
water and supplies to last for several days . . . *
Bud enters.
Bud: Hey Antigone, you ready for some rockin’ and
rollin’ with the super storm? Did ya see
the front page of the paper? The levees
may not hold up in this storm—hope that don’t happen or this ol’ soup bowl is
history.
Antigone: Just shut up!
Bud: Whoa—look who’s got her panties in a knot.
Antigone: Ya know, you’re just like Creon! Don’t you understand the severity of all
this. My mind is racing a mile a minute
on what still needs to be done, how we are going to survive, do we have enough
supplies to last until power comes back.
We should’ve gotten a generator years ago. And what happens if we get flooded? Then what?
Where do we go? What do we
do? I’m thinkin’ survival and you’re
thinkin’ only in the moment. It’s so
typical.
Bud: Where’s Creon? Thought he’d be here.
Antigone: Nah.
He was—the twins are off on one of their escapades and he went lookin’
for ‘em. They think Katrina is an
adventure. They think it’s great school
is closed. They haven’t a clue. And neither does Creon for that matter. Here, give me a hand with this . . . I’m
thinking the safest place if it floods is to move these boxes to the
attic. But then again, the roof could
blow off . . . Christ almighty . . .
what do you think?
Bud: What I think is that you’re driving yourself
to drink. Let me make you a Bloody
Mary. You’re just spinning your wheels
here. Calm down, get your act together
first. Let’s talk about this.
Antigone: You’re right. I need a plan. Lesson learned . . . have the plan ready
BEFORE hurricane season. I’m making an
executive decision here . . . we’ll move
the boxes to the second floor. We’ll
clear the first floor, store on the second floor. I’ll start filling the freezer with water
bags. We have power now, right? Might as well freeze water. Where the heck are Creon and the kids. Maybe he’ll think to stop and see what’s left
at the grocer. I’ve got some stuff, but
not a lot . . .
Bud: Whoa lady, slow down. One step at a time. We need to get the shutters up. The weather is going to get bad and we don’t
have much time to work outside . . .
Creon enters with Ismene and Polynicies
who are carrying a pinwheel and a kite.
Creon flips the switch to open.
Creon: Dude, this is “THE BIG ONE” we’ve all been
waiting for!
Bud: Creon!
Great, just in time to help me put up the shutters—we will start at the
second floor—where’s the extension ladder?
Antigone: Really Creon.
You take the kids to fly kites?
Creon: Great kite flying weather!
Polynices: Super cool!
My kite just took off like a rocket.
To infinity and beyond!
Ismene: Giggling.
Antigone: You kids come with me, we’ve got work to do
and you can help.
Antigone and children exit.
Creon: Antigone!
You okay? Come on—don’t be
mad. We’re going to be fine, I
promise. He turns to leave with Bud, flips the sign to closed.
Creon and Bud exit.
News Reporter: The National Weather Service has issued a
special hurricane warning. In the event
of a category 4 or 5 hit, most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks,
perhaps longer. Predictions are that at
least one-half of well-constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail, leaving those
homes severely damaged or destroyed.
Power outages will last for weeks . . . water shortages will make human
suffering incredible by modern standards . . . [*]
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