On Tour: JULIUS CAESAR

artistic director Davis McCallum

managing director Kate Liberman

ON TOUR THIS SUMMER

JULIUS CAESAR

by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE dIREctEd by ILLANA StEIN

Set Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Diggle Costume Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anthony Paul-Cavaretta Movement and Fight Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alexis Black Composer/Sound Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Titus Tompkins Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christopher Denver

this production is supported in part by Sheila and Marty Major

This production is part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

July 23 and August 6 Turn the page for more information! FREE Matinees at the Theater Tent

Men at some time are masters of their fates.

Caesar, Act 1, Scene II

Inspiration

A charismatic war hero on the brink of kingship, Caesar is celebrated by the people of Rome – but mistrusted by some of his closest friends who fear his popularity will throw the country into chaos. In our immersive, 90-minute touring production, audiences will help bring this anachronistic tale of violent betrayal to vivid life, constructing a dystopian world of power and consequence.

Cast

Christopher Robert Ellis Brutus, Cinna the Poet

Starr Kirkland Casca, Portia, Plebian 2, Octavius

Amanda Thickpenny Cassius, Flavius, Plebian 1 Voice and Text Captain

Zoe Goslin Mark Antony, Trebonius, Soothsayer

Susana Montoya Quinchia^ Metellus Cimber, Calphurnia, Messenger, Plebian 4, Titinius Assistant Fight Director

Jovani Zambrano Caesar, Plebian 3, Messala, Pindarus

The CAESAR company during a talkback with students

Free Matinees at the Theater Tent JULIUS CAESAR On Tour

CAESAR will make two stops at HVSF’s Theater Tent for free 2:00pm matinees on Tuesday, July 23 and Tuesday, August 6. Reserve your free tickets at the Box Office or by visiting hvshakespeare.org!

Spring 2019 School Tour

Between March 18 and May 3, JULIUS CAESAR traveled to regional middle and high schools in Annandale, Beacon, Bedford, Bronx, Chappaqua, Cold Spring, Dobbs Ferry, Hartsdale, Hopewell Junction, Jersey City, Nanuet, Newark, New Rochelle, Peekskill, Port Chester, Poughkeepsie, Ridgefield, Sleepy Hollow, Valhalla, Warwick, White Plains, Yonkers, and beyond. Our tours and in-school programming reach over 50,000 students throughout the region annually. Turn to page 48 to learn more.

Summer 2019 Regional Tour

We’re taking JULIUS CAESAR on the road this summer to some of your favorite regional venues. Tickets for these performances are reserved through the host organization.

• Saturday, July 6, 8:00pm Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY • Wednesday, July 10, 7:00pm Crestwood Park, Allendale, NJ (Hosted by Lee Memorial Library) • Thursday, July 11, 7:00pm (Free) Turnure Park, White Plains, NY • Saturday, July 13, 6:00pm Bannerman Island, Beacon, NY • Sunday, July 14, 6:00pm Bannerman Island, Beacon, NY • Saturday, July 20 Lewisboro Department of Parks and Recreation, Lewisboro, NY • Saturday, July 27 Untermyer Park, Yonkers, NY • Saturday, August 3 Mamaroneck Arts Council, Mamaroneck, NY • Sunday, August 4, 2:00pm Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield, CT

“The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones.”

Julius Caesar, Act III, Sc ii

I am thrilled to bring this power play of politics off the page and into schools and venues for an immersive theatrical experience where audiences are encouraged to actively participate. Julius Caesar takes off like a runaway freight train. After Caesar’s murder, the mob has taken over. Who’s there to stop them from burning Rome to the ground? And whose side are you on?

In this dystopian setting, a fragile Rome feels like it is on the brink of collapse. It is a world of secrecy and fear where the walls have ears. Layered costumes allow weapons to be easily hidden and dark hoods cover true identities. Rebellion happens in the dead of night, and secret greetings and coded language distinguish camps. A line is drawn.

By encouraging active participation, this production challenges the audience to be complicit in the storytelling. Driving, percussive live-foley and stylized choreography give a powerful presence to the mob and protestors, while bold flashes of red bring the play’s brutal themes to the surface. The conspirators’ brand themselves murderers as they pour into the streets — red-handed — proclaiming, “Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!”

For me, this story has never been about good versus evil, but about testing our moral convictions. Caesar explores the ambition of power and what this ambition may drive us to do. I began my own investigation of Shakespeare’s text by asking many questions: Who holds power in this world? Who inherits power? And how is Caesar’s world different at the end from when the play began? I invite the audience to ask themselves the same questions as they embark on Caesar’s journey with us.

Director’s Bio

off-broadway: Associate Director: Tamburlaine the Great (dir. Michael Boyd), Pericles (dir. Trevor Nunn) at Theatre for a New Audience. regional: Associate Director: Fingersmith (dir. Bill Rauch) at American Repertory Theatre. assisting: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Signature Theatre, Yale Rep, Pearl Theatre, Hangar Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse and over 20 productions at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. She won an Overall Award for Excellence in directing for or what she will by Charly Evon Simpson (FringeNYC ‘12), was the recipient of a 2018 Drama League First Stage Residency, and was a member of the 2012 Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab. illanastein.com

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Each year donors like you make grants to Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival to enrich programming, enhance facilities and ensure its future.

THRU JUNE 23 Hello, Neighbor A collaborative, immersive art experience AUGUST 17–18 Riverside Crafts Fair—50th Anniversary on Garrison’s Landing AUGUST 10–SEPTEMBER 15 Zachary Skinner sculpture, paintings Susan Walsh painting, works on paper SEPTEMBER 21 –NOVEMBER 10 Henry Klimowicz, Visiting Artist sculpture, installation

Find out how your neighbors have supported their favorite causes for 50 years. CommunityFoundationsHV.org | 845.452.3077

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