The Return of FRIDAY 5 (+1): ANTIGONE at Belmont University

Nashville theater audiences will be treated to a rare treat over the next two weekends as Belmont University Theatre presents the debut engagement of Ara Vito's adaptation of Antigone at the Black Box Theatre on the Belmont Campus. It's a "senior capstone festival production" - all graduating BFA theatre majors at the university must present a Senior Capstone project, which is designed to help students make the successful transition from life and work on campus to the rigors of the real world: professional life as a creative artist.

In Vito's Southern Gothic-inspired treatment of Sophocles' Antigone, the bond between two sisters is challenged by the tragedies of national and familial conflict. Against the backdrop of a decaying home in middle-of-nowhere country, the air is imbued with history and spirits walk the earth. Tragedy is yesterday and tomorrow and now - uncovered by love, betrayal, death, and hope. Summer Shack directs.

Today, Vito and three of the actresses in the production - Amanda Leigh Bell, Brittany Reese and Kate Lackey - take on our Friday 5 (+1) questions to offer some insight about their theatrical backgrounds and to tell us why you should make every effort to see their show.

Welcome back to Friday 5 (+1):

Ara Vito, playwright

What was your first "live onstage" taste of theatre? When I was seven years old, my parents took me to see 42nd Street on Broadway and I was so enthralled by it that I wouldn't stop dancing for the rest of the trip.

What is your favorite pre-show ritual? I always find a quiet, isolated area to warm up and get physically connected to my character. I also really enjoy journaling as my character - it's kind of like improv and I make a lot of new discoveries.

What's your most memorable "the show must go on" moment? When I wrote a show as a capstone for my own senior class and we got the chance to bring it to the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival regional competition, our cast/production team was being observed on everything--including putting up our huge, elaborate set under a time limit. By the time we were done, the actors had about five minutes to get into costume before performing. They did not let the pressure or exhaustion affect their performance and won a national award for their work as an ensemble. I was so proud of them and I will always remember it as an exceptional moment of professionalism.

What is your dream role? Titania from A Midsummer Night's Dream - and Tamora from Titus Andronicus is one I'd love to tackle when I'm older!

Who is your theatrical crush? Dame Maggie Smith. She is everything I aspire to be.

Why should people come see your version of Antigone? It means a lot to me that young people have the opportunity to write and perform new works in Nashville, especially as part of a collegiate experience. Every single person involved with this production has done incredible work breathing life into these words, and as a writer I feel so fortunate to be working with such dedicated, passionate students and faculty. It is my hope that audiences will enjoy this collaborative new take on a classic story.

Brittany Reese

What was your first "live on stage" taste of theatre? I remember being cast in a children's musical called We Like Sheep when I was very young; maybe seven or eight. I don't remember much about the production except my mic pack fell all the way down my pants to my feet mid-performance and I kept getting in trouble for mouthing everyone else's lines. Regardless, I had a blast!

What is your favorite pre-show ritual? I don't have many consistent pre-show rituals because I usually change my routine based on the needs of the show. But, if I can have the luxury, I love meeting with the cast before a performance to breathe and be present in the space together. I've found it's really helpful to have some sort of connection pre-show, rather than meeting on stage mid-performance for the first time all day.

What's your dream role? Can you ever really pick one? Classically speaking, I've always had a soft spot for Puck in Midsummer Night's Dream. More contemporary, I recently fell in love with a play called People, Places, and Things by Duncan McMillan that was just produced on the West End. It will be a little while before I age into that role, but someday I would love to have that opportunity. Funny enough, I also had my eye on Sophocles' Ismene for a few years, so it's incredibly exciting and surreal to get that chance now.

What's your most memorable "the show must go on" moment? I was once in a show that had very little rehearsal time and on opening night the cast somehow got mixed up with the script and skipped three pages of (really important) text. We realized what we had done and tried to go back and add in the pertinent information, but ended up getting so lost that we almost completely stalled out. Somehow we made it through, but the show ran thirty extra minutes that night. We found out later that the director almost stopped the show and told everyone to go home, but by an actual miracle all our friends in the audience said they had no idea! Funny to look back on now, but it was completely miserable at the time.

Who is your theatrical crush? That's probably harder than picking a dream role! Of course there are "big names" I admire, like Judi Dench, Denise Gough, Helen George, etc, but most recently I have been so inspired by the people I get to work with day in and day out. The energy, support, and love of the craft that every peer and professor brings into the room is truly what inspires me most. This particular ensemble has been an absolute joy and honor to work with. So, I guess it's less of a "crush", per se, but I am so filled with love, appreciation, and admiration for them all.

Why should people come see Antigone? Ara Vito's words bring to life a reimagining of an old story told in a way that is current and relevant to this time. It's a new, devised work with heavy movement elements that is unlike a lot of what you can find in Nashville right now.

Kate Lackey

What was your first "live onstage" taste of theatre? Growing up in Atlanta, my family always went to the Fox Theater. My earliest memory of live theatre was when I saw Cats when I was six. I had nightmares for weeks.

What is your favorite pre-show ritual? I always listen to "I See Fire" by Ed SHeeran. No matter the show, it always gets me into character.

What's your most memorable "the show must go on" moment? My most memorable "the show must go on" moment was during Julius Caesar when a blood pack exploded across my face when I stabbed Caesar. It had never done that before, so I had to finish the rest of the first act with blood in my eye and nose.

What's your dream role? My dream role on stage would be Lady Macbeth. For film, it would be Poison Ivy in a Batman film.

Who is your theatrical crush? Tom Hiddleston!!

Why should people come see Antigone? People should come see this show because it's a beautiful tragedy. It shows the truth of war and how it has affected a family. It shows that in times of war there are no villains or heroes, just survivors. Ara Vito has really outdone herself.

Amanda Leigh Bell

What was your first "live onstage" taste of theatre? I think my first true taste of live theatre came when I was about 10 or 11 years old. There had been a lot of changes at home that kind of put me in a shell, and my mom was trying to find a good way to pull me back out. So, she stuck me in an acting camp. A couple weeks of work and an Alice in Wonderland monologue later, and the rest is history.

What is your favorite pre-show ritual? A lot of what I do physically and vocally pre-show changes depending the specifics of the project, but I've always had this superstitious ritual of brushing my teeth 5 minutes before places. I couldn't tell you how that started.

What's your most memorable "the show must go on" moment? I did remapping of projections for Ara Vito's ALICE last year when Belmont took it to KCACTF in Charleston, and the final projection of the show - stars which solidified the climax and falling action - just disappeared from the system. I couldn't fix it in our time crunch and we had to open. But when we got around to that final moment, the stars appeared like magic. And I cried. And was reminded just how extraordinary what we get to do really is.

What's your dream role? Ironically, Antigone has been a dream role of mine for about six years now - so working with her and making her my own in the context of this new world Ara created has been an absolute dream come true. As for other roles, I would kill to work on Desdemona from OTHELLO and, down the road, Marianne from Nick Payne's CONSTELLATIONS. And I've recently been pretty obsessed with Sarah DeLappe's THE WOLVES - but I could go on and on!

Who is your theatrical crush? Literally everyone in this ensemble is my theatrical crush; I have to pinch myself daily because it doesn't seem real that I get to work with such beautiful, curious, giving, inspiring artists. (But of course, Meryl Streep, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Nashville's Kim Bretton are other theatrical crushes... hard to pick just one!!)

Why should people come see Antigone? NEW WORK IS IMPORTANT!!! If you haven't heard Ara Vito's name yet, I guarantee you will. She is brilliant - her creativity and depth and storytelling will absolutely move you. Also, I am very, very excited for people in Nashville to be exposed to more movement theatre.

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