Studies in Empathy

Studies in Empathy is a dance-theater adaptation of Sophocles’ play, Antigone. Directed by Deborah Goffe and constructed in collaboration with Damon Honeycutt, Hanna Kivioja-Honeycutt and Sarah Weiss, it draws on the texts of Sophocles, Jean Anouilh and recent presidential speeches. These texts become an aural quilt through which the story of Antigone and Creon unfold. Cloaked in the modern armor of a three piece suit, and wielding a sword, Creon exploits seductive political power to control and win the favor of the nation, yet finds himself facing three unexpected opponents. Wholly “feminine” in billowing layers of white crinoline, Antigone thinking, Antigone feeling, and Antigone doing, labor to integrate all facets and communicate one cohesive identity. Audiences enter a moving landscape of internal dialogue, public discourse, satirical debates, and physical prowess. They leave having seen through another’s eyes.