el Don /SANTA ANA COLLEGE • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2014/eldonnews.org
STYLE
VI
plored in a way that mimics the issues women
face in current society. Politicians scheming
to overthrow Caesar seem more upset about
having a woman in power than being under the
control of a dictator.
“When you see it traditionally you don’t really
make that connection. But, in a context that we
can see and understand, all of a sudden the play
takes on a new life,” Cannon said.
The show opens with documentary-style footage revealing the backstory while setting the
scene. Cast members worked together to create
the characters’ backstory.
Actors and actresses had to keep in mind the
historic context but update their mannerisms
and situations to keep up with modern times. On
stage, their enthusiasm and dedication helps the
characters come to life.
“We’ve gotten a lot of energy, a lot of interest
from the students. I don’t think they’re interested in it because it’s Shakespeare but it’s
Shakespeare with a twist. It’s something we can
identify with,” Cannon said.
The play runs for two weekends starting Oct. 3
to Oct. 4 and again Oct. 10 to Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
ET TU,
BRUTE
?
I AMCONSTANT
AS THE NORTHERN
STAR
BORN FREE
SO WERE YOU
Do-it-yourself is the costume theme for the cast of
Julius Caesar as the cast dons items out of their closets
BY HAIDE HERNANDEZ / el Don
C
armen Munoz, who
plays Julius Caesar in
the gender-bending adaptation, will look more like a
president than an emperor on
opening night.
The Theatre Department
ditched the Ancient Romans’
trademark togas and tanned
goatskin sandals in favor of
denim jeans and shirts direct-
BRUTUS / Danny Gonzalez
HAILHISTORY
The tragedy portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against the Roman dictator, his
assassination and the defeat of the conspirators at the Battle of Philippi
BY MATTHEW SALZER / el Don
T
he Theatre Department’s version of
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is significant
because it switches gender roles while
modernizing the setting, English professor
and Shakespearean expert Kathy Patterson
said.
“I wanted to explore what would happen if
we — America — were in the same situation
as Rome during the time of Julius Caesar,”
said Chris Cannon, director and assistant
drama professor.
The play is thought to be one of the first
performed in Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
in London around the early 1600s.
After a brief revival during the same cen-
tury, it went unperformed for almost two
centuries, Cannon said.
Actor and later Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth appeared in a rendition in 1864
during a tumultuous time in U.S history that
coincided with the revival of the drama,
Patterson says.
Wardrobe in a 1937 Orson Wells-produced
performance was reminiscent of the Nazi
German and Fascist Italy uniforms, and in
a later version Denzel Washington played
Brutus. Marlon Brando played Marc Antony
in a 1953 theatrical release, while three
notable made-for-TV adaptations were
released between the 1970s and 2012, the
last by the Royal Shakespeare Company and
broadcast on BBC, Cannon said.
take
modern
el Don /SANTA ANA COLLEGE • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2014/eldonnews.org
C
rowds of people rush on stage screaming
“Hail Caesar!” in support of the first female
president. Armed soldiers flank her as she
walks on stage. Soon a riot begins.
William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, directed by
Chris Cannon, is a modernized and condensed
version of the original, but with a twist — Caesar
and many of the main characters are women.
Changing the dynamic and the relationships by
adjusting gender roles makes the 400-year-old
drama more relevant today, Cannon said.
“It’s fiction obviously but it’s not so farfetched.
It’s when things are so desperate that people are
willing to accept things they normally wouldn’t
accept. Like giving up their freedom for whatever or whoever gives them food,” Cannon said.
America burns in the wake of a major financial
collapse. A new class system emerges. Those
without money are left with no food, jobs or
basic resources. Caesar is elected to office but
fails to gain the Senate’s support. In a desperate
attempt to improve the economy, the Supreme
Court grants her absolute authority.
With influential figureheads being portrayed
by females, politics and gender roles are ex-
OF MARCH
HOMEMADE
S
hakespearean plays
have long been ripe for
new age adaptations that
range from setting plays in
WWI-torn Britain to inverting gender roles. Here are
just a few:
HENRY V
12TH NIGHT MACBETH
RICHARD III
THE TEMPEST OTHELLO
Kenneth
Branagh stars
and directs
in the 1989
adaptation that
received international acclaim.
The 1996 British
film takes place
in the Victorian
period featuring
Ben Kingsley as
the Shakespearean fool Feste.
The 1995 adaptation starring
Sir Ian McKellan
transposes
Richard III in
war-torn 1930s
United Kingdom.
In 2010, Helen
Mirren inverted
gender roles and
played Prospera,
who wielded
power on the
fantasy isle.
The 1971 Roman Polanske
take retells the
story of the
Highland lord’s
ascent to King
of Scotland.
Laurence Fishburne became
the first black
actor to be cast
as the Moor of
Venice by a major film studio.
FROM LEFT / Christian Sanchez playing Casca, Carmen Munoz as Caesar, Amy Smith playing Marc Antony, and Brittany Gamboa as a plebian. / ADRIAN GO