Greek tragedies don’t come around often, but for the Ashland University Theatre Department, they cycle around about every four years with the last production being The Trojan Women in 2017.

This year, the play chosen for the fall lineup is the Greek tragedy, Antigone written by Sophocles. The play was chosen to fit the theme of “strong women standing up and standing out.”

The play is traditionally set in Athens, Greece, however, Ashley Snider, director of last year’s Bat Boy production, has decided to put a new twist to a beloved classic. She has chosen to modernize the play by setting it into the near future of 2032.

According to Snider, the classic story is quite relevant to the modern world which merits this change.

“It’s about a man making laws about what people can or cannot do with their bodies. In particular, a woman standing up to those laws and facing penalties for that,” Snider said. “It is also about the laws of the land going against what is natural. I feel like we are in this unprecedented place in America where we can relate to this story more than we have been able to in decades.”

Junior Mattie Vermilya, while she is a veteran on the stage, is stepping into her first leading role as the namesake of the play, Antigone.

“It’s a very heavy role and my goal is to portray it all correctly. There’s a lot of conflict and pressure in the play to which Antigone is unrelenting,” Vermilya said. “She fights and is willing to die for what she believes in. I hope I can fully portray the emotion that encompasses her and lead the audience through the stages of grief that she experiences.”

Beyond standing strong through hardship, Vermilya stresses the key themes of honor and virtue that drive the characters to the lengths of death.

In the play, great honor is obtained through determination and integrity despite injustice. Antigone, as a woman, is deprived of these qualities by society and battles to obtain them while attempting to bury her brother at the same time.

In a play that is over a thousand years old, what can the modern audience hope to grasp?

Dr. Theresa Durbin-Ames, director and chair of the Ashland Theatre Department, says, “We look at the conflict in the play and to Antigone who is standing up for her beliefs in the face of adversity. She’s an example. She’s going against the system. What are we willing to stand up for when we encounter hardship like Antigone?”

When asked why people should attend, Snider states “Come see it because it is a rollercoaster ride. The cast is phenomenal, its short and sweet being 90 minutes long and is a fun, entertaining, wild ride.”

“If you want to laugh your head off, this show is for you. If you want a deeply emotional story, where you can cry your eyes out, this is for you and if you want a scary story that will get your heart pounding, this is also for you, if you can believe that,” she added.

AU Theatre’s Antigone is set to premier Thursday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the campus Studio Theatre and will run until Sunday, Nov. 6. Tickets are available for purchase online or in person at the AU bookstore. Students can purchase $2 tickets with their student discount.