Concept Statements:

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The First and The Last:

The First and The Last is a straight play that focuses on not being able to save everyone. Thus, the sound design is meant to represent Kendra’s feelings of helplessness and regret through the course of the story. First, the only noise present is comforting and familiar - a fireplace crackling. Kendra hears of her brother’s actions and is determined to save him.

After visiting Wanda’s apartment and finding Keith there, her uncertainty grows. When a policeman walks up, all hell breaks loose. The next sound is Chopin’s Nocturne, coming in abruptly and setting a tense mood. This is the only transition with music, and it seeks to throw the audience off and keep them guessing.

After Wanda and Keith kill themselves, a fireplace noise fades up. This is meant to confront the rage one feels at the world for continuing on after someone they love dies. This is what Kendra walks into. The world outside was normal, and she walked in determined to give the couple good news. Once she finds the letter he wrote, she shuts down. She’s startled by a clock ticking and subsequently chiming. This is an on the nose metaphor for life, but especially Keith’s. Kendra was fighting a losing battle trying to reason with his emotional outburst. She either throws the note in the fire or doesn’t, and storms out.

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Antigone Now:

Antigone Now is a retelling of the Greek tragedy Antigone written by Sophocles, only with a modern take. It follows the same basic plot of Antione burying her brother and being killed for it, but it seeks to better connect with today’s audience by being in a contemporary setting.

The intermission music is 2000’s grunge and punk, setting the audience up to expect a modern play, but also to help get a feel for Antigone as a character before the show starts. After the blackout, a radio blares in, switching stations to represent Antigone’s chaotic state of mind. The next song used is Just a Girl by No Doubt, being played in Ismene’s headphones. This contrasts heavily with the heavy mood set by the previous scene, showing Ismene’s unwillingness to face what’s going on in her city.

After Antigone is seized, the first- and only-time transition music is used happens. The song is Going Under by Evanescence, showing that Antione hasn’t lost her nerve. After she’s killed, Ismene has a short monologue underscored by city ambiance. Cars, jackhammers, and construction go off behind her, but she now embraces it, realizing she was wrong to try and hide from reality. She ends the play with, “I can’t resist life.”