Antigone
RESEARCH/MOOD BOARD
In the fall of 2025 The Clemson Players (Clemson University’s theatre troupe) produced Antigone, translated by Don Taylor. The director, Kailey Potter, wanted the play to explore a central question: Are we obligated to follow a law that conflicts with our own morality? Additionally, Potter wanted to emphasize the war that had just ended in Antigone’s world; King Creon’s authoritarian regime loomed large in the audience’s mind while watching the play. Because of this, as well as the scenic design, I was drawn to austere necklines, a limited color palette, a lack of pattern, and strict adherence to gender roles for the royal family.
Additionally, we felt that Antigone needed to stand out against her family members. Potter loved the idea of her being in red, as the colors of Thebes are blue. She stood in stark opposition to the rest of the cast and set, instead coordinating with her Betrothed, Haemon.
Military presence is constant in a fascist state such as our Thebes, and inspiration from brutalist scenic design led me to mirror certain aspects of a WWII era Soviet uniform.
Norblin, Sébastien. Antigone donnant la sépulture à Polynice 1825
For the color scheme, I used this painting and the color dropper on my phone to find colors that went well together and expressed what I wanted to say. I knew I wanted the chorus in neutrals, to seem like a cohesive group. Additionally, I chose blue and gray for those opposing Antigone, and red for her and Haemon.
GALLERY
ADDITIONAL PROCESS NOTES
Initially, my idea was to create a stencil and paint on the eagle symbol, designed by our scenic designer Jenni Baldwin. However, I learned that there were embroidery machines available to us for free in the University library. Because the show was in a black box theater, the audience would be able to tell embroidery from paint, and embroidery reads more realistic for a military armband. The process was fast and yielded good results.
Paper armband model created as an example for the creative team.
Swatches from the initial paint idea on the armband material.
I wanted military insignia that would not be recognized and questioned by the audience, so I used our campus 3D Printers to create medals that the military would theoretically wear, such as the eagle, the Trojan mask, and the spear and Greek key designs, as a nod to the original setting, as well as the script’s references to the ancient Greek gods. I do wish my designs had been cleaner, but the small size of the medals is forgiving. I painted them with different coats of metallic paint.
Here, I combined the eagle and Hermes symbol for the messenger, because Hermes is the messenger god. In Antigone’s universe, I believe religion and nationalism are closely intertwined.
I shopped most of the show, so I had a lot of fun arranging garments from stock, as well as borrowed pieces, for the chorus. Because of the direction the show took design-wise, as well as most of the flowy clothes being in limited sizing, I ended up creating more common silhouettes for the final look. Here are some pictures of that process.
A rough rendering of the Soldier. Initially I wanted her in a tactical vest of some sort, but because of budgeting reasons, I decided to cut it. We did try a black vest, but she looked like a Star Wars character, and the costume looked complete without it.
The Guard uniform did not change much from this rendering other than the hat, which ended up being a Beret with an eagle pin.
All production photos courtesy of Ken Scar
Antigone, produced by The Clemson Players
Directed by Kailey Potter
Scenic Design by Jenni Baldwin
Lighting Design by Colin Moroney