2016-17 SEASON
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X
Or, Betty Shabazz vs. TheNation
A WORLD PREMIER by Marcus Gardley
Directed by Ian Belknap
The assassination of Malcolm X—both the story we think we
know and illuminating details that have seldom been
shared—is brought to vivid, lyrical life in award-winning
writer Marcus Gardley’s new play. Shakespeare’s Julius
Caesar provides a framework for Gardley to deepen our
understanding of one of America’s most complex,
compelling historical figures and explore the tumultuous
landscape of ideology and activism in the 1960s.
Julius Caesar
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Devin Brain
Tackling essential questions about the balance of ambition,
personal loyalty, and love of country, Shakespeare’s timeless
political masterpiece has never been more relevant.
Through the story of Julius Caesar, a rising political star torn
down by his most trusted allies, audiences witness the art of
persuasion, the ugliness of backroom politics, and the
historical patterns we can’t stop repeating.
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ON TOUR
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January 31 – February 1, 2017
February 2-6
February 10-11
February 15-16
February 18-19
February 21-23
February 24-25
March 2
March 3-7
March 8-9
March 10-11
March 15-26
March 27-28
March 30-31
April 1-2
Phoenix, AZ
Mesa, AZ
Flagstaff, AZ
Lawrence, KS
Columbia, MO
Kansas City, MO
Warrensburg, MO
Baltimore, MD
Towson, MD
Essex, MD
Bowie, MD
New York, NY
Oswego, NY
Syracuse, NY
Clinton, NY
Herberger Theater Center – Center Stage
Mesa Arts Center – Piper Repertory Theater
Northern Arizona Univ. – Clifford E. White Theatre
Univ. of Kansas – Lied Center of Kansas
Univ. of Missouri-Columbia – Rhynsburger Theatre
Univ. of Missouri-Kansas City – Helen F. Spencer Theatre
Univ. of Central Missouri – James L. Highlander Theatre
Morgan State Univ. – Turpin-Lamb Theatre
Towson Univ. Stephens Hall Theatre
Community Coll. Baltimore Co Essex – MainStage Theatre
Bowie State Univ. – MainStage Theatre
The New Victory Theater
SUNY-Oswego – Charlotte Waterman Theatre
Le Moyne Coll. – W. Carroll Coyne Center
Hamilton Coll. – Wellin Hall
For tickets at The New Victory Theater call 646.223.3010 or visit newvictory.org
Design © 2016 Andrew Bannecker
X CURRICULUM GUIDE : 2016-17
Ian Belknap
Artistic Director
Elisa Spencer-Kaplan
Executive Director
X
Or, Betty Shabazz vs. The Nation
By Marcus Gardley
Directed by Ian Belknap
More resources available online:
http://actingcompany.dyndns.org
Login as a guest, password: CaesarX
X CURRICULUM GUIDE : 2016-17
Playwright’s Note
By Marcus Gardley
The 1960’s were probably the
most frightening time to be alive in the modern
era. World and national figures were being
assassinated within years of one another. To
stand out, to lead, to voice one’s opinion was
dangerous, required true courage and leaders
were not easily swayed by popular opinion. My
parents describe it as believing the world was
coming to an end. Since I have always been a
history buff and because my parents were
activists, I am naturally obsessed with this
moment in our history. The period has a
particular significance because of the current
state of affairs. This election year, for the first
time in a long time, many are genuinely afraid
of where the country is headed. I cannot think
of a better time to look at the 1960’s to see
what has changed, what has made resurgence
and what remains the same.
Moreover, as a writer, there are
stories that one writes because you know they
will excite people and there are stories that one
writes because they excite you; and finally
there are those stories that one is simply born
to write. The latter are stories that get into a
writer’s skin and burrow themselves inside their
heart. Malcolm X’s story, his life, his speeches,
his eyes, the cadence of his voice and his brutal
assassination haunts me. His life, for me, feels
only half-told. Yes, there is Spike Lee’s
incredible film and of course the autobiography,
(which is the first book I read with my father,)
but few have written or dramatized how, why
and who really killed him. What if we can better
understand his life if we looked at how he died?
And why has his death been shrouded in so
much mystery?
I’ve always been compelled by the story of
I’ve always been compelled by
the story of Malcolm X. When I was young, my
brother and I snuck into the local movie theater
to watch Spike Lee’s movie, called X. I’ll never
forget it, it was the first time I saw my older
brother weep during a film. In fact, he was so
moved; we watched it twice. It turns out that it
was the death of Malcolm that upset him the
most. He couldn’t rationalize why his own
people, (brothers from the Nation of Islam)
would kill him. He was surprised by that
discovery and it opened his mind to what it
means to truly trust someone. It also made him
hate and love the film. I was inspired by his
critique and have been obsessed with Malcolm
X ever since.
I knew that there was something
about this story, about this man, that I would
revisit later in my life. After graduate school at
Yale, I moved to Harlem and I’ll never forget
walking on Lennox Avenue and 125th St, where
Malcolm X often gave his speeches. I suddenly
felt a sense of completion. The film, my brother
and the journey to move to Harlem was
flooding over me but more profoundly the ache
to write about Malcolm began to stir inside me.
This is why I am writing this drama.
Marcus Gardley is a Bay Area-born awardwinning playwright, he holds an MFA in
Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama.
X CURRICULUM GUIDE : 2016-17
Playwright’s Note
By Marcus Gardley
I also want to
enlighten audiences on who Malcolm X was.
There are many aspects about his life that are
not public knowledge. For example, in the latter
part of his life, he altered his message to
embrace peace, love, and brotherhood among all
people. His pilgrimage to Mecca and visits to the
Middle East and Africa showed him that the
believers of Islam were of different races and
nationalities peacefully worshiping together.
Upon his return to America, he started speaking
about this unity. Most people also don’t know
that he was secretly meeting with Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. to form the Coalition of Afro
American Unity. I want to share the truth about
their bond and shed more light on his character.
In regards to Shakespeare’s Julius
Caesar, there are aspects about Malcolm’s life
that are parallel to Caesar’s. I think the epic
nature and the political content of Caesar are
excellent in terms of analyzing the plot of how
Malcolm was murdered. Both dramas
(Shakespeare’s and mine) are as much about the
assassination of character as they are about the
murder of a body. Both stories have
premonitions; tense political climates and they
are both based upon the lives of real leaders. My
play will be a re-telling, a loose adaptation of
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar story using the life of
Malcolm X. If you don’t know Caesar, it won’t
affect your understanding of my play but if you
do, there will be numerous parallels and allusions
to the Shakespeare.
This project is the most exciting
drama that I have worked on in ages. Whereas
one time I was haunted by how to write about
Malcolm, now I wake up daily, elated to write
about his final days and to resurrect the man
while putting to bed the myths.
Marcus Gardley, playwright
4
X CURRICULUM GUIDE : 2016-17
X
Or, Betty Shabazz vs. The Nation
by marcus gardley
PERSONÆ
MALCOLM X also known as EL-HAJJ MALIK EL-SHABAZZ, the prophet.
BETTY SHABAZZ, his wife. The prosecution.
LOUIS X, head of The N.O.I. The defense.
ELIJAH MOHAMMAD, former head of The Nation of Islam.
BROTHER EUGENE, a friend.
WILBERT X, Malcolm’s bro.
MUHAMMAD THE FIRST, son of Elijah.
BAILIFF, security.
BENJAMIN 2X
THE JUDGE, Islamic woman.
STENOGRAPHER, courtroom reporter.
KHADIJAH, Eugene’s wife
JOHN ALI
HALIM
BOOTBLACK/SOOTHSAYER
DOCTOR
FBI AGENT 1 & 2
REPORTER
NEWS ANCHOR
SECRETARY 1, 2, & 3
MYSTERY MAN 1, 2, & 3
DR. KING
BILLIE HOLIDAY
PLACES
Wall Street, A courtroom, Chicago, Arizona, Harlem, and places in between.
PERIOD
1963 - 1965 and time unknown.
PLAYING SPACE
The set is a rotunda in the style of a roman senate with audiences on risers, on both sides of the playing space.
There is also a shoeshine stand center, that will morph into a pulpit, a bench, dining set, etc.. The action
moves swiftly like a well-oiled machine. This play is a Trial. Actors address audiences seated on stage, they
take sides throughout the play, and can adlib and shout in support of their arguments and allies. The Jury (the
audience) sits in the risers. The Judge sits in the rear on a high bench. This drama is more of an interactive
event than a traditional play, and audiences are encouraged to call out to the actors, laugh, sing and even
snap their fingers when they agree with something being said. There is no need to hide any of the theatrical
magic.
PALETTE
Characters wear dark clothing in the play save Malcolm’s final entrance and the Mecca scene. There should be
minimal color besides black, whites and grays to emphasize the past, like a black and white photo. The
present day of the play is unknown or the fictitious, recent past. Or let’s just call it ambiguously the 60’s.
5
Author’s Note: These characters are not meant to be realistic portrayals of actual people. The names are
borrowed but the personas are fictitious.
X CURRICULUM GUIDE : 2016-17
Casting Scheme & Synopsis:
X: Or, Betty Shabazz vs. The Nation
PERSONÆ
MALCOLM X also known as EL HAJJ MALIK SHABAZZ, the prophet.
BETTY SHABAZZ, his wife. The prosecution. Same actor is SECRETARY 2.
ELIJAH MUHAMMAD, former head of The Nation of Islam. Same actor is
BOOTBLACK/SOOTHSAYER and DOCTOR.
BROTHER EUGENE, friend of Malcolm. Same actor is HALIM & DR. KING.
WILBERT X, Malcolm’s bro. Same actor is MYSTERY MAN 2.
MUHAMMAD THE FIRST, son of Elijah. Same actor is FBI AGENT 1 and MYSTERY MAN 1.
BAILIFF, security. Same actor is JOHN ALI, REPORTER, FBI AGENT 2 & BENJAMIN 2X.
THE JUDGE, Islamic woman. Same actor is SECRETARY 3.
STENOGRAPHER, courtroom reporter. Same actor is KHADIJAH, NEWS ANCHOR,
SECRETARY 1 and BILLIE HOLIDAY.
PROLOGUE
ACT ONE: “He wasn’t your traitor; he was our traitor.” – Louis Farrakhan
ACT TWO: “When I first saw him, he was galloping as though he was going someplace much more
important than the podium." - Betty Shabazz
ACT THREE: “A black person who takes a black leader and weaves his way into his confidence then
betrays him, is decidedly beneath contempt.” Bill Tatum (Amsterdam News) speaking about Gene
Roberts
INTERMISSION
INTERLUDE
ACT FOUR: “Reviling a Muslim is disobedience to God, and fighting with him is infidelity.” The
Honorable Elijah Muhammad
ACT FIVE: “When I am dead—they are going to identify me with "hate". This is how they will truly
kill me. They will say that I was a symbol of hatred. And that will keep most people from seeing
my truth. All I did was hold up a mirror to reflect, to show, the history of unspeakable crimes that
was committed against my race. But no one will remember this.” Malcolm X.
6
X CURRICULUM GUIDE : 2016-17
The Life of Malcolm X from The Malcolm X Project at Columbia University
Malcolm X’s childhood, “Detroit Red,” and Islam in Black America.
If one had to select one historical personality within the period 1940 to 1975 who best
represented and reflected black urban life, politics, and culture in the United States, it would be
extremely difficult to find someone more central than the charismatic figure of Malcolm X/El-Hajj
Malik El-Shabazz. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1925, and growing up in the Midwest, young
Malcolm Little was the child of political activists who supported the militant black nationalist
movement of Marcus Garvey. After his father’s violent death and his mother’s subsequent
institutionalization due to mental illness, Little was placed in foster care and for a time in a youth
detention facility. At age sixteen he left school, relocating to Boston upon the invitation of his
older half-sister, Ella Little. During World War II, the zoot-suited “Detroit Red” became a smalltime hustler, burglar, and narcotics dealer in Harlem and Roxbury.
The Prison Years and Early Ministry: 1946-55
In January 1946, Little was arrested for burglary and weapons possession charges, and received a
ten-year sentence in the Massachusetts prison system. While incarcerated, Little’s siblings
introduced him to the Nation of Islam, a tiny black nationalist-oriented religious movement led
by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Converting to the NOI’s version of Islam, Little experienced
a spiritual and intellectual epiphany behind bars. Emerging from prison in August 1952, as
Malcolm X, the talented and articulate young convert was soon the assistant minister of the
NOI’s Detroit Temple No. 1. . In 1954, Malcolm X was named minister of Harlem’s Temple No. 7,
which he led for just short of a decade. As an itinerant spokesman for black nationalism, Malcolm
X traveled constantly across the country, winning thousands of new converts to the NOI.
The Lost and the Found: The Nation of Islam, 1955-1960.
Between 1955 and 1961, Malcolm X was personally responsible for establishing more than one
hundred Muslim temples or mosques throughout the U.S. As the chief public spokesperson for
Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm built the NOI from a marginal sect to a spiritual organization of over
one hundred thousand. By the early 1960s, Malcolm X was a widely celebrated (and feared)
public speaker and debater at universities and in the national media. The Federal Bureau of
Investigation’s efforts to discredit the Nation and its leaders led the agency to engage in illegal
acts of wiretapping, surveillance, disruption, and harassment.
The National Spokesman, 1960-1962.
In 1960 Malcolm X established the newspaper Muhammad Speaks, which by the end of the
decade would have a national circulation of 600,000, the most widely-read black-owned
newspaper in the country. However, by this time, serious divisions developed between Malcolm X
and the NOI’s patriarch, Elijah Muhammad, and his coterie of organizational leaders based in
Chicago, over a number of issues. Malcolm X was personally dismayed when it was publicly
revealed that Muhammad had fathered a number of children out of wedlock. He also chafed
under the NOI’s political conservatism and its refusal to support civil rights protests.
7
X CURRICULUM GUIDE : 2016-17
Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and the Civil Rights Movement.
In reaching out to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., James Farmer, and other civil rights leaders,
Malcolm X proposed a broad coalition of black activist organizations, working in concert to
achieve social justice.
The Silencing, Muhammad Ali, and Out: December, 1963 – April 1964.
In March, 1964, Malcolm X announced publicly his break from the NOI. He soon created two new
organizations, the Muslim Mosque, Inc., designed for former NOI members as a spiritually-based
group, and the secular-oriented Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU).
A New Vision? The Epiphany of Mecca.
Converting to traditional Islam, Malcolm X completed his spiritual hajj to Mecca in April, 1964,
and returned to the United States the next month as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.
African Sojourner, 1964.
During his two extended journeys through Africa and the Middle East in 1964, Malcolm X gained
new insights into the problem of racism. In his Autobiography, he later wrote: “I was no less angry
than I had been, but at the same time the true brotherhood I had seen had influenced me to
recognize that anger can blind human vision.” He now believed that race war was not inevitable,
and felt that “America is the first country … that can actually have a bloodless revolution.”
Malcolm X’s new political strategy called for building black community empowerment, through
tools such as voter registration and education, economic self-sufficiency, and the development
of independent politics. He called upon African Americans to transform the civil rights movement
into a struggle for international human rights.
1965: The Final Months.
Malcolm X emphasized the parallels between the African-American struggle for equality and the
Asian, Latino, and African campaigns against European colonialism. Malcolm X also drew
attention for criticizing the growing U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.
Upon Malcolm X’s return to the United States in November 1964, death threats escalated against
him and his family. in the early morning hours of February 14, 1965, his home in Elmhurst,
Queens, was firebombed.
February 21, 1965: The Assassination and Aftermath.
On Sunday afternoon, February 21, 1965, just before delivering an address at the Audubon
Ballroom, Malcolm X/El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz was assassinated before a crowd of hundreds of
people, including his pregnant wife Betty Shabazz and three of their four children.
The profound religious and political sojourn of Malcolm X was hardly noticed in the immediate
aftermath of his assassination. The New York Times editorialized that Malcolm was “an
irresponsible demagogue” and “an extraordinary and twisted man,” who had utilized his “true
gifts to evil purpose.” Time magazine declared that the dead leader was “an unashamed
demagogue” whose “gospel was hatred.” But others saw Malcolm X more clearly. President
Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana sent a telegram of condolence to Malcolm’s widow, saying that “your
husband lived a life of dedication for human equality and dignity so that the Afro-American and
8
people of color everywhere may live as man. His work in the cause of freedom will not be in vain
…”
X CURRICULUM GUIDE : 2016-17
About the Playwright
Marcus Gardley
Marcus Gardley is a Bay Area-born playwright who
is the recent recipient of the 2015 Glickman Award
for his play The House That Will Not Stand. It was
commissioned and produced by Berkeley Rep and
had subsequent productions at Yale Rep and the
Tricycle Theater in London and was a finalist for
the 2015 Kennedy Prize. It is now being written as
a film directed by Lee Daniels. Gardley was the
2013 USA James Baldwin Fellow and the 2011 PEN
Laura Pels award winner for Mid- Career
Playwright.
The New Yorker describes Gardley as “the heir to
Garcia Lorca, Pirandello and Tennessee Williams.”
He is an ensemble member playwright at Victory
Gardens Theater where his play The Gospel of
Loving Kindness was produced in March and won
the 2014 BTAA award for best play/playwright.
His play Every Tongue Confess, starring Phylicia
Rashad and directed by Kenny Leon, was
nominated for the Steinberg New Play Award, the
Charles MacArthur Award for Best Play and was
the recipient of the Edgerton New
Play Award.
in Bay Area Theater. The latter was nominated for
the National
Critics Steinberg New Play Award. He has had six
other plays produced including: dance of the holy
ghosts at Center Stage in Baltimore and the Yale
Repertory Theatre, (L)imitations of Life at the
Empty Space in Seattle, WA, like sun fallin’ in the
mouth at the National Black Theatre Festival.
He is the recipient of the 2013 Mellon Playwright
Residency, 2011 Aetna New Voice Fellowship at
Hartford Stage, the Hellen Merrill Award, a
Kellsering Honor, a Gerbode Emerging Playwright
Award, a National Alliance for Musical Theatre
Award, a Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation Grant, a
NEA/TCG Playwriting Participant Residency, the
Eugene O’Neill Memorial Scholarship, and an
ASCAP Cole Porter Prize.
He holds an MFA in Playwriting from the Yale
Drama School and is a member of New
Dramatists, The Dramatists Guild, and the Lark
Play Development Center. Gardley lives in
Harlem.
His musical, On The Levee, premiered at Lincoln
Center and was nominated for 11 Audelco Awards
including outstanding playwright. His critically
acclaimed epic And Jesus Moonwalks the
Mississippi was produced at the Cutting Ball
Theater and received the SF Bay Area Theater
Critics circle Award nomination for outstanding
new play and had two sold-out extensions, while
his Black Odyssey premiered at the Denver
Center Theatre and opened to rave reviews. In
2014, his saga The Road Weeps, the Well Runs Dry
had a national tour and was a finalist for the 2014
Kennedy Prize. His plays This World in a Woman’s
Hands (October 2009) and Love is a Dream House
in Lorin (March 2007) have been hailed as the best
9
Design © 2011 Scott McKowen
JULIUS CAESAR CURRICULUM GUIDE : 2016-17
Ian Belknap
Artistic Director
Elisa Spencer-Kaplan
Executive Director
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Devin Brain
More resources available online:
http://actingcompany.dyndns.org
Login as a guest, password: CaesarX
JULIUS CAESAR CURRICULUM GUIDE : 2016-17
Director’s Note
By Devin Brain
With all of Shakespeare’s plays there are lines
that stick with us, haunting our thoughts long
after we see or read the play. The best of them
actually change how we think. In Caesar there is
one such exchange that still jumps out at me:
: CASSIUS
How many ages hence
Shall this our lofty scene be acted over
In states unborn and accents yet unknown!
: BRUTUS
How many times shall Caesar bleed in
sport,
In those lines two men discuss the historic
nature of their deed, and certainly the death of
Julius Caesar has resounded through the
centuries. Each age and author views this
moment differently: James Wilkes Booth saw it
as a courageous act of patriotism while Dante
saw it as the ultimate betrayal.
In those lines above we can see that
Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar,
is set apart from other accounts because it
challenges the audience to consider the same
question that characters in the play are grappling
with again and again:
Is Julius Caesar a tyrant or a martyr?
In that simple question lies the heart of this play,
as the answer determines whether or not the
murder of Caesar was a noble act or patriotism
or a vile murder. In this play there are no clear
heroes or villains, instead, this is a world
populated with pragmatic politicians, soldiers,
and idealists, each striving to reconcile their
selfish needs, political ideals, and moral
obligations. Yet the result of the struggles
between these idealistic men is a horrifying
public murder, a riot that kills innocents, a
violent coup supported by state-sanctioned
murder of elected officials, and a civil war
involving almost 40 roman legions (200,000
soldiers), and ultimately the death knell of a
Republic and the foundation of an Empire.
That is what terrifies me about this play, that its
lack of villains is paralleled in its nearly
unimaginable carnage. This is not a play about
politics, it is a play about the moment when
political principals are chosen over the value of a
human life. It is about the moment when men
of power choose to forgo the law, leash violence
to their will, and force the world to conform to
their sense of right and wrong. It is an important
play because with each moment, the audience is
forced to constantly analyze, questioning the
morality and necessity of each event. Every time
I have read or seen this play I have struggled to
pick a side, struggled to decide whom I think is in
the right. I hope that you do the same.
Do you think Julius Caesar a tyrant or a martyr?
Is Brutus a revolutionary or a murderer? Is
Antony a righteous avenger or a murderous
despot? Shakespeare’s brilliance lies in the fact
that we learn more by asking the question of
ourselves than by being given an answer.
Death Knell /’deTH ,nel/
The tolling of a bell to mark someone’s death;
used to refer to the imminent destruction
11 or
failure of something.
JULIUS CAESAR CURRICULUM GUIDE : 2016-17
Synopsis
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
By William Shakespeare
Act I:
Shakespeare’s play begins on the Festival of Lupercal as Julius
Caesar and his forces return to Rome after defeating the armies of
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, known as Pompey, Caesar’s primary
political rival. While Rome is celebrating his triumph, some
senators are worried that Caesar is on the path to becoming a
dictator.
Gaius Cassius, a powerful senator, approaches fellow senator
Marcus Brutus, a close friend of Caesar, to elicit support of a conspiracy against Caesar. The discussion
becomes more urgent as Mark Antony is offers the crown of King to Caesar three times. They part
promising to meet soon and discuss concrete plans.
Act II:
That night a terrible storm descends on the city; observers describe rains of fire, beasts and dead warriors
walking the streets. Under the storm’s cover, the Conspirators gather and make plans to murder Caesar the
following day on his way to address the Senate. Brutus is recruited as their leader and spokesmen, despite
his qualms.
Act III:
After a sleepless night, the senators meet Caesar in the morning to ensure he makes his way to the Senate.
They find Caesar already awake, checking the auguries and trying to assuage his wife’s concern for his
safety. As Caesar enters the senate, the Conspirators distract Mark Antony while Caska leads them to
gather around and stab Caesar. Mark Antony finds them with bloodied hands and arranges to accompany
Caesar’s body, see to his honorable burial and address the gathered funeral crowd. The Conspirators
reluctantly agree, after they leave Mark Antony vows to Caesar’s corpse that his death will be avenged.
Act IV:
At the funeral Brutus speaks first, he assures the crowd of the noble intent behind the assassination and
placates the crowd. After Brutus leaves, Mark Antony speaks to the crowd and persuades them that Caesar
was a generous leader who brought wealth and glory to Rome. The crowd’s resulting rage is so intense
that they immediately riot, hunting down the Conspirators, burning their homes, and murdering innocents.
In the aftermath, Mark Antony, Lepidus, and Octavius Caesar form a new triumvirate and seize control of
the city. In the process they murder and execute a large number of the Conspirators as Brutus and Cassius
escape to Greece to gather their armed forces.
Act V:
Months later Brutus and Cassius have taken control of Greece and amassed a significant army; Octavius
and Mark Antony set out to confront them. Both sides struggle with distrust and division amongst their
leaders, but overcome it in the face of the larger battle. In Phillipi, the armies meet and in two decisive
battles, first Cassius and then Brutus are defeated. Brutus and Cassius each decide to commit suicide rather
than accept defeat, and Mark Antony and Octavius return to Rome victorious.
12
JULIUS CAESAR CURRICULUM GUIDE : 2016-17
Characters in Julius Caesar
Shakespeare’s uncut text includes over 45 speaking roles (not including Messengers, Servants,
Senators, Attendants, and Plebeians). Below are some of the main roles in The Acting
Company’s production of Julius Caesar.
CAESAR’S SUPPORTERS:
JULIUS CAESAR, Tribune and Dictator of Rome
CALPURNIA, Wife of Julius Caesar
OCTAVIUS CAESAR, Adopted son of Julius
MARK ANTONY, General and Friend of Caesar
LEPIDUS, Triumvir after Caesar’s Death
BRUTUS HOUSEHOLD:
MARCUS BRUTUS, Senator and Conspirator against Caesar
PORTIA, Wife of Brutus
LUCIUS, Brutus’ Servant and Officer in Brutus’ Army
THE CONSPIRATORS: Senators and Conspirators against Caesar
CAIUS CASSIUS
DECIUS BRUTUS
CASKA
METELLUS CIMBER
CINNA
TREBONIUS
THE LIBERATION’S ARMY: Officers in Brutus’ Army
TITINIUS
LUCILIUS
PINDARUS
MESSALA
THE PEOPLE:
SOOTHSAYER
CINNA the POET
CAESAR’S SERVANT
COBBLER and CARPENTER
CITIZENS ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR
MURRELLUS and FLAVIUS, Tribunes of Rome
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JULIUS CAESAR CURRICULUM GUIDE : 2016-17
Casting Scheme
The Acting Company 2016-17 Production
Even with the reduced cast list above, the Acting Company is not touring with 29+ actors, so most of our
ensemble with be playing multiple roles. Not uncommon, Shakespeare’s company at the Globe is
generally considered to have been only a little bit larger than our ten-person ensemble. Shakespeare’s
company would have used boys to play all of the women’s roles.
Determining how the doubling will work is one of the biggest choices a Director will make in
Shakespeare. Why does this doubling works the way it does?
Below is the Character List from The Acting Company’s rehearsal draft. Each number represents an
actor, and to the right are all the roles that he / she will play.
ONE:
(male)
TWO:
THREE:
(flexible)
(male)
FOUR:
(male)
FIVE:
(flexible)
SIX:
(male)
SEVEN:
(female)
EIGHT:
(flexible)
NINE:
(flexible)
SINGER:
(female)
JULIUS CAESAR
The Dead: Soldiers, Plebeians, Etc.
MARK ANTONY, General and Friend of Caesar
MARCUS BRUTUS, conspirator against Caesar
The Dead: Soldiers, Plebeians, Etc.
CAIUS CASSIUS, conspirator against Caesar
The Dead: Soldiers, Plebeians, Etc.
OCTAVIUS CAESAR, adopted son of Julius
DECIUS BRUTUS, conspirator against Caesar
CITIZEN FOUR
The Dead: Soldiers, Plebeians, etc.
CASKA, conspirator against Caesar (TREBONIUS)
CITIZEN FIVE
TITINIUS, officer in Brutus’ Army
The Dead: Soldiers, Plebeians, etc.
PORTIA, wife of Brutus
METELLUS CIMBER, conspirator against Caesar
CITIZEN TWO
LUCIUS, Brutus’ Servant and Officer in Brutus’ Army
The Dead: Soldiers, Plebeians, etc.
CALPURNIA, wife of Julius Caesar
CINNA, conspirator against Caesar
CITIZEN ONE
LUCILIUS, officer in Brutus’ Army
The Dead: Soldiers, Plebeians, etc.
SOOTHSAYER / POET
CAESAR’S SERVANT
CITIZEN SIX
PINDARUS, officer in Brutus’ Army
The Dead: Soldiers, Plebeians, etc.
various small roles: The Dead, Soldiers, Plebeians, etc.
TREBONIUS, conspirator against Caesar
LEPIDUS, Triumvir after Caesar’s Death
MESSALA, officer in Brutus’ Army
14
Reinventing Our Tour
a model of innovation on the road
_________________________________________________________
Touring professional theater in American communities –
produced and performed by our nation’s best artists –
makes an essential difference. Through The Acting
Company, countless audience members across the
country have gained an appreciation for the classics and
had the transformative experience of attending live
theater. Even more, some of the industry’s finest young
artists have developed their talents with us and launched
remarkable careers. Having reached more than 4 million
audience members, our impact is beyond question. And
now, building on this legacy, we are excited to adapt our
approach to embrace the new challenges and
opportunities presented by America’s changing cultural
landscape.
“By deepening and expanding our interaction
with a given region over 3 years, The Acting
Company is now uniquely positioned to become
truly of the community, rather than simply in
it.” – Ian Belknap, Artistic Director
With our extended presence at our consortium
sites and the implementation of this innovative
new business model, the Company can now
access new funding sources in our partnership
regions that goes directly toward our work in
those communities and enables us to raise
further support at the national level. This creates
a financial benefit for both the Company and our
partners, as well as a pathway to a sustainable
future for our touring efforts.
The Acting Company’s new approach to touring fosters
long-term relationships in communities across the country
that begin with the individual needs of our local partners
and culminate in the presentation of our two-show
repertory. Each consortium is a 3-year collaboration with
highly engaged colleges and universities, high schools and
civic organizations within a single geographic region. With
this new model, drama students learn from top Acting
Company artists on their campus, bolstering their
professional development; university students from
multiple academic disciplines rigorously explore the
themes within our repertory; communities generate
meaningful conversations about our work through
activities such as gallery exhibitions and panel discussions;
and, perhaps most importantly, audiences continue to see
the best young American actors tell great stories.
By 2018, The Acting Company will have developed
partnerships with over 100 institutions in small
and large cities, giving our young classical actors
120 performances a year—extending our mission
to build a discerning national audience for the
theater while developing the next generation of
classical actors.
Engaging Communities
through sustainable relationships
________________________________________________________
At a time when American society is evolving in ways
that are simultaneously painful and promising, we
believe theater practitioners can and should be a
catalyst for engaging communities with some of
today’s most difficult and complex issues. The
establishment of regional partnerships aims to
strengthen each community’s cultural and creative
assets, while also fueling cultural opportunity,
broad-based public participation and diverse
audience development across the region.
"This repertory
tells stories that I
hope will charge
audiences to look
at the past with an
eye to take action
in the present."
-- Ian Belknap,
Artistic Director
Live performance drives engagement with audience
members from area colleges, high schools and
surrounding communities in conversations about
contemporary societal issues that are raised in The
Acting Company’s 2017 repertory of William
Shakespeare’s JULIUS CAESAR and the world
premiere play X by Marcus Gardley. Theater and
the humanities grapple with life's most important
questions and challenges – those posed by death,
destruction, and loss, and also those inspired by
hope and regeneration found in the human
experience.
Diverse and knowledgeable facilitators lead
constructive conversations about issues of
immediate importance to the community. Given the
current vigorous regional and national conversations
about race, power and privilege, bringing together
students and community members from across
America to grapple with these issues through the arts
is a significant contribution to the national dialogue.
To carry out this work, we are developing and
implementing the following community outreach
strategies, among many others:
• Public Panel Discussions & Workshops:
Community forums for extended conversations
around ideas from X and JULIUS CAESAR and
theater practice.
• Art gallery exhibitions showing works of art and
photography related to the Nation of Islam.
• Free performances of X in West Baltimore.
• Post-performance discussions: Professional, live
performances of X and JULIUS CAESAR will
include guided discussions after the performance
with community scholars and cast.
• Media/radio interview on public radio such as
WRVO, 89.9FM & WEEA, 88.9FM: Radio
interview/podcast with students, scholars and
artists to present various dimensions and
perspectives of the project.
• Publications: Background guides and essays give
support to conversations at public panels, postperformance discussions and in-class curriculum
connections.
• Free scripts for the 9-12 schools attending
performances.
Founded in 1972 by John Houseman and Margot Harley
Ian Belknap – Artistic Director
Elisa Spencer-Kaplan – Executive Director
_______________________________________________________
Founded 44 years ago by legendary theater impresario John
Houseman and longtime producer Margot Harley, The Acting
Company strives to cultivate a discerning national audience for
classically based theater, while nurturing the next generation of
great American theater artists. Since its inception with members
of the first graduating class of the Drama Division of the Juilliard
School The Acting Company has been honored with numerous
awards and is the recipient of a 2003 Tony Award for Excellence
in Theater.
The Acting Company:
• Builds a discerning national
audience for the theater
by playing exceptional
productions on tour nationwide
for diverse audiences.
• Develops the best young
American actors by giving
them an opportunity to practice
their craft in a repertory
of classic plays and new works.
• Educates by engaging students
in under-served and disadvantaged
communities, which have
little or no access to the arts
and have been hardest hit by
cuts in arts education.
The Acting Company has performed 143 productions for millions
of people across America and has ignited the careers of some of
our finest artists, among them Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone, Rainn
Wilson, Jeffrey Wright and 400 more of the country’s finest
classically-trained actors. Company alumni continuously
populate stages in New York and nationally, appear regularly on
film and in television, lead regional theaters and head some of
our top theater conservatories. The Company’s celebrated
educational programs – master classes, workshops and artistic
residencies – reach over 15,000 students yearly, particularly
those with no other access to arts education and live
performances.
Phone 212.258.3111
Fax 212.258.3299
[email protected]
P.O. Box 898
New York, NY 10108-0898
www.theactingcompany.org