
THE IDES OF MARCH ARRIVE IN FEBRUARY THIS YEAR
William Shakespeare’s JULIUS
CAESAR: Our Vision for the Project.
Beware the Ides of March: There are six actors on stage acting out characters
that are playing actors in Shakespeare's Caesar....a play within a play within a
play. The catch is that it's more than "acting" really - it's very nearly
possession. . . inhabitation. . . Because there are only 6 actors and several
armies worth of characters, each actor will be having characters that literally
"jump" in and out of them. More like voodoo. Layers on the layers forcing the
audience to look at this text with brand new eyes.
Forcing the actors to reach into some fascinating new places. There is no
backstage. The 6 actors never leave the stage. Our “Caesar” is a living,
breathing theatrical experience.
There is a great sense of ritual in the assassination of Caesar as filtered
through the words of Shakespeare. The sacrifice of the leader. A small core of
actors creating a unified vision onstage without all the bells and whistles;
without the pretense. This is ritual. This is unfolding. The play must be
enacted and performed - by willing (or as the case may be) unwilling actors
swallowed whole by their characters. We become them that become the play that
becomes us.
Everything live. Everything
visible. Everything in plain sight but overpowering in its raw emotional
context. The primitive, visceral brush strokes of light and shadow; sound and
fury - right there - in the faces of the audience. Armies and battles created by
streaks of light crossing an angry face. Is it live or shadows on the wall of
Plato’s cave? Is Cassius a character or a vampire like virus, sweeping across
the landscape of the play; swallowing anyone and everything with greed, ambition
and jealousy? Once bitten by this force, there is no turning back. And slowly,
it infects and spreads till Caesar wins the lottery and is sacrificed at its
spiritual altar. But what happens when the hunger doesn’t dissipate after the
dogs have fed on their master? It’s Caesar by way of vampires and voodoo? Have
we gone mad?
Probably. But there is method in the madness. Come join us for a look at
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, as you have never seen it before.
JULIUS CAESAR: Staged and
Directed by Bill Fountain
Featuring: Ken Long, Devonric Johnson, Zac Ramsey, Jordan Pokladnik, Jennifer
Obeney, and Robert Shores.
Performance Dates and Locations Coming Soon.