Osborn directs boyfriend Walker in ‘Antigone’

It was to promote the Prenzie Players’ “Titus Andronicus,” Shakespeare’s most violent play, wherein the character played by Osborn loses a hand and her tongue and is physically assaulted. Walker, her boyfriend of 3 1/2 years now, was the director.

Twelve months later and the tables have turned. Now it’s Osborn directing Walker in Prenzie’s “Antigone,” which opens next weekend.

“Catie isn’t as awful to me as I was to her,” Walker said. “I’m not getting dismembered or thrown around. Most of my character’s damage is emotional.”

Walker plays Creon, the king of thieves, whose niece Antigone lives with him after the death of her father, Oedipus. Creon’s two sons go to war, and he must choose one to be the hero and another as a traitor to the state. This leads to a heated argument between the uncle and niece.

“ ‘Antigone’ is the show I’ve always wanted to direct,” said Osborn, who recently began work as entertainment manager at the Isle of Capri Casino in Bettendorf.

Osborn became fascinated with “Antigone” about five years ago, during a theater class at St. Ambrose University in Davenport. The version studied then is the same one Prenzie is performing now. It was written by a French playwright in 1942 while the Nazis were occupying France.

“It’s meant to be a modern version of ‘Antigone.’ It’s not Greek masks and togas,” Osborn said, adding that the Prenzie version will be set in the modern day.

Playing the title role is Gini Atwell, a senior at Rockridge High School and one of the players in the band that Walker directs.

“During the day, she’s playing principal flute in my band,” Walker said, “and then we spend most of the night at rehearsals screaming at each other.”

Atwell is one of four newcomers to the Prenzie cast of 11.

“Somewhat of a point of pride for our organization is that we’re in our 11th season. ... close to 30 shows, but we’ve had at least one new person in every single show we’ve ever done,” Walker said.