Casting / Character Dynamics: For the purposes of this assignment and of life beyond, I am the director for William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello. In this play, a Vice called Iago tricks the Moor Othello into believing that his new bride, Desdemona, has cheated on him with the recently-promoted lieutenant Michael Cassio. Iago is called “honest” eighteen times, a stark element of dramatic irony that’s impossible to miss. Though Iago’s actions are purportedly fueled by jealousy (as he thought that he deserved the promotion over Cassio), any explanation for his behavior is ultimately unnecessary; he is an iteration of Evil, and his archetype is non-dynamic and therefore not interesting to me. Evil is an illusion, a perversion of Good with no ontological value. So who shall I look to instead? Who can we point to as the opposite of Iago? Othello? The titular character is far more intriguing than his corruptor, though there is still something left to be desired from a character so easily and irrevocably swayed against his innocent bride. Therefore, as director, I care most about the casting of Desdemona.
Desdemona is a veritable force. She is bold enough to demand that she go to war with Othello so as to stand by him in a consummated marriage in Act I, scene iii: “So that, dear lords, if I be left behind, / A moth of peace, and he go to the war, / The rites for which I love him are bereft me, / And I a heavy interim shall support / By his dear absence. Let me go with him” (lines 607-11). In my iteration of Othello, I would be immensely careful with my casting of Desdemona, because the play is ultimately about reputation. It is Desdemona’s reputation that is so ultimately corrupted. The actress would need to be young, as befitting the character. Her appearance is less important to me than her acting ability; my Desdemona would need talent more than beauty or physical prowess.
Beyond anything, the actress playing Desdemona would need to be able to create the illusion of being wholeheartedly in love; it is the actress’ skill in which I am most invested. Desdemona is a young woman who fell in love with Othello already, before the play’s action, and the audience misses this pivotal moment. They don’t get to see her falling in love with him, so why should they believe in her honesty and devotedness now? I hope that through Desdemona’s body language and vocal inflections, love is portrayed believably regardless of the absence of revelatory scene. When Othello speaks, she should be physically drawn to him. Conversely, my Desdemona must appear unaware that when she is without Othello she is turned in the direction that he last stood, where he most recently exited. I want magnetism.
Key moments: One of the most consequential moments in the play is Act III, scene iii, the scene in which Iago finally convinces Othello that his young bride is unfaithful. The person who owned my copy of the play before me wrote in the margins of this 2171-line scene that it could be alternatively titled “The Corruption of Othello.” This is crucial to the plot. What I want more than anything is for Othello to become, in this scene, terrifying. He’s a powerful figure with military prowess who has already been confronted/instigated in the play (think of Brabantio’s accusing and trial of Othello in Act I, scene iii). So far, he’s kept his head.
When Iago says “Yet be content,” my Othello will whimper “O blood, blood, blood” in response. I want this moment to be tense and chilling and overall, horrifying. I want my audience to be absolutely frightened of what Othello will do to the meek and young Desdemona, to watch with eyes wide and mouths gaping as she continues to sway towards him in her innocent love. I want Othello to radiate anger in response.
Emilia is killed in Act V, scene ii. While it’s true that she enabled Iago by giving him the found handkerchief, she’s not a bad person, and I think that Emilia can be made more dynamic if her time on stage is well-directed. After Desdemona has been unceremoniously smothered, “A guiltless death I die,” Emilia condemns Othello, calls aloud “Murder! murder!” and bursts forth with the truth flooding from her lips. She is the one to condemn Iago (arguably, the only one who can) and she dies at his hands because of it. Emilia was dishonest once in a play in which honesty is mentioned 45 times, and it becomes a source of character development and a moment of redemption. Perhaps this veers more into the next section, but I would love to highlight Emilia in the play with lighting just as soft as that that will be used on Desdemona. Emilia is, similarly, not at fault for her own death, and my rendition of the play would impart the respect that I have for her.
Setting / Staging: Last semester, Professor Kiefer lectured about the largely un-set stages of Shakespeare’s era; because of the logistics of how long it takes to set a stage piled on top of the fact that most plays were not performed more than once, it would have been a waste of time to create the elaborate sets that we expect in our era. My rendition of Othello would deny modern expectation, relying on era-appropriate colorful costumes and detailed props rather than painted backgrounds or wheeled-in furniture. (We learned in class that in the final scene, as Desdemona is smothered, the boy actor would lay on a simple bench. My play would utilize this simple prop element. My current vision is of a wooden bench elaborately carved on one side, ornate and decadent, with the opposite side carved simply and unassumingly. The former would face the audience during bedroom or private scenes, such as Act III, scene ii or Act IV, scene iii, while the latter would face the audience during outdoor scenes or those set in court, such as Act I, scene ii or Act II, scene i.)
The setting would remain just as similarly traditional. I cannot stand the conventions of modernism inserted, unneeded, in antiquated texts; it’s one thing to translate Beowulf into modern English for comprehensibility, but it’s another thing altogether to translate Shakespeare into emojis. My Othello would take no liberties in dialogue (Iago will not have a Brooklyn accent, and Emilia will not say “like” between her lines as filler).
In the same realm of strangeness as Hamlet translated to “ghost emoji, knife emoji, crazy emoji” is the convention of modern film and theatre of all ‘foreign’ actors having English accents; it’s whitewashing. Though the text itself is in English and not Italian, my ideal rendition of Othello would at least feature Italian actors, in a setting plain and loyal to the original. (If I veer further than Shakespeare ever would have, it would be in the hiring of women: production, marketing, acting, et alia. My play would be performed more than once, the actors would be paid for their rehearsal times, and modernity would allow me to market it on social media.)
Misc. details: This play is most notably about reputation, but it would be irresponsible of me to not recognize that this play is also about racism. Othello is called a Moor at least 53 times throughout the play. In my studies with Professor Kiefer, I learned that this name is indicative of a follower of Islam, though Othello would have had to be Christian in order to lead the Venetian army. Rather, the term Moor points out his blackness, and is ultimately not meant as an insult, yet actors playing Othello have been in blackface as recently as 1965 (perhaps even later). The internal effects of true racial prejudice are something that I could never fully comprehend because I am white, and so I would not be able to direct the actor playing Othello on how to subtly exhibit the tensions inherent in that particular prejudice. Obviously, staging a play as famous as Othello is no small task, and I would bring on other people to direct and produce the play with me. I would hope to have a team of actors and backstage hands as diverse as possible, to include and recognize other insights.
Resources: Kiefer, Frederick. “Othello.” English 373B, Spring 2018. University of Arizona English Department, 2018, Tucson, Arizona.
Hannah Isaac
ReplyDeleteDirectorial Assignment
Othello
Casting / Character Dynamics:
For the purposes of this assignment and of life beyond, I am the director for William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello. In this play, a Vice called Iago tricks the Moor Othello into believing that his new bride, Desdemona, has cheated on him with the recently-promoted lieutenant Michael Cassio. Iago is called “honest” eighteen times, a stark element of dramatic irony that’s impossible to miss. Though Iago’s actions are purportedly fueled by jealousy (as he thought that he deserved the promotion over Cassio), any explanation for his behavior is ultimately unnecessary; he is an iteration of Evil, and his archetype is non-dynamic and therefore not interesting to me. Evil is an illusion, a perversion of Good with no ontological value. So who shall I look to instead? Who can we point to as the opposite of Iago? Othello? The titular character is far more intriguing than his corruptor, though there is still something left to be desired from a character so easily and irrevocably swayed against his innocent bride. Therefore, as director, I care most about the casting of Desdemona.
Desdemona is a veritable force. She is bold enough to demand that she go to war with Othello so as to stand by him in a consummated marriage in Act I, scene iii: “So that, dear lords, if I be left behind, / A moth of peace, and he go to the war, / The rites for which I love him are bereft me, / And I a heavy interim shall support / By his dear absence. Let me go with him” (lines 607-11). In my iteration of Othello, I would be immensely careful with my casting of Desdemona, because the play is ultimately about reputation. It is Desdemona’s reputation that is so ultimately corrupted. The actress would need to be young, as befitting the character. Her appearance is less important to me than her acting ability; my Desdemona would need talent more than beauty or physical prowess.
Beyond anything, the actress playing Desdemona would need to be able to create the illusion of being wholeheartedly in love; it is the actress’ skill in which I am most invested. Desdemona is a young woman who fell in love with Othello already, before the play’s action, and the audience misses this pivotal moment. They don’t get to see her falling in love with him, so why should they believe in her honesty and devotedness now? I hope that through Desdemona’s body language and vocal inflections, love is portrayed believably regardless of the absence of revelatory scene. When Othello speaks, she should be physically drawn to him. Conversely, my Desdemona must appear unaware that when she is without Othello she is turned in the direction that he last stood, where he most recently exited. I want magnetism.
Key moments:
ReplyDeleteOne of the most consequential moments in the play is Act III, scene iii, the scene in which Iago finally convinces Othello that his young bride is unfaithful. The person who owned my copy of the play before me wrote in the margins of this 2171-line scene that it could be alternatively titled “The Corruption of Othello.” This is crucial to the plot. What I want more than anything is for Othello to become, in this scene, terrifying. He’s a powerful figure with military prowess who has already been confronted/instigated in the play (think of Brabantio’s accusing and trial of Othello in Act I, scene iii). So far, he’s kept his head.
When Iago says “Yet be content,” my Othello will whimper “O blood, blood, blood” in response. I want this moment to be tense and chilling and overall, horrifying. I want my audience to be absolutely frightened of what Othello will do to the meek and young Desdemona, to watch with eyes wide and mouths gaping as she continues to sway towards him in her innocent love. I want Othello to radiate anger in response.
Emilia is killed in Act V, scene ii. While it’s true that she enabled Iago by giving him the found handkerchief, she’s not a bad person, and I think that Emilia can be made more dynamic if her time on stage is well-directed. After Desdemona has been unceremoniously smothered, “A guiltless death I die,” Emilia condemns Othello, calls aloud “Murder! murder!” and bursts forth with the truth flooding from her lips. She is the one to condemn Iago (arguably, the only one who can) and she dies at his hands because of it. Emilia was dishonest once in a play in which honesty is mentioned 45 times, and it becomes a source of character development and a moment of redemption. Perhaps this veers more into the next section, but I would love to highlight Emilia in the play with lighting just as soft as that that will be used on Desdemona. Emilia is, similarly, not at fault for her own death, and my rendition of the play would impart the respect that I have for her.
Setting / Staging:
ReplyDeleteLast semester, Professor Kiefer lectured about the largely un-set stages of Shakespeare’s era; because of the logistics of how long it takes to set a stage piled on top of the fact that most plays were not performed more than once, it would have been a waste of time to create the elaborate sets that we expect in our era. My rendition of Othello would deny modern expectation, relying on era-appropriate colorful costumes and detailed props rather than painted backgrounds or wheeled-in furniture. (We learned in class that in the final scene, as Desdemona is smothered, the boy actor would lay on a simple bench. My play would utilize this simple prop element. My current vision is of a wooden bench elaborately carved on one side, ornate and decadent, with the opposite side carved simply and unassumingly. The former would face the audience during bedroom or private scenes, such as Act III, scene ii or Act IV, scene iii, while the latter would face the audience during outdoor scenes or those set in court, such as Act I, scene ii or Act II, scene i.)
The setting would remain just as similarly traditional. I cannot stand the conventions of modernism inserted, unneeded, in antiquated texts; it’s one thing to translate Beowulf into modern English for comprehensibility, but it’s another thing altogether to translate Shakespeare into emojis. My Othello would take no liberties in dialogue (Iago will not have a Brooklyn accent, and Emilia will not say “like” between her lines as filler).
In the same realm of strangeness as Hamlet translated to “ghost emoji, knife emoji, crazy emoji” is the convention of modern film and theatre of all ‘foreign’ actors having English accents; it’s whitewashing. Though the text itself is in English and not Italian, my ideal rendition of Othello would at least feature Italian actors, in a setting plain and loyal to the original. (If I veer further than Shakespeare ever would have, it would be in the hiring of women: production, marketing, acting, et alia. My play would be performed more than once, the actors would be paid for their rehearsal times, and modernity would allow me to market it on social media.)
Misc. details:
ReplyDeleteThis play is most notably about reputation, but it would be irresponsible of me to not recognize that this play is also about racism. Othello is called a Moor at least 53 times throughout the play. In my studies with Professor Kiefer, I learned that this name is indicative of a follower of Islam, though Othello would have had to be Christian in order to lead the Venetian army. Rather, the term Moor points out his blackness, and is ultimately not meant as an insult, yet actors playing Othello have been in blackface as recently as 1965 (perhaps even later). The internal effects of true racial prejudice are something that I could never fully comprehend because I am white, and so I would not be able to direct the actor playing Othello on how to subtly exhibit the tensions inherent in that particular prejudice. Obviously, staging a play as famous as Othello is no small task, and I would bring on other people to direct and produce the play with me. I would hope to have a team of actors and backstage hands as diverse as possible, to include and recognize other insights.
Resources:
Kiefer, Frederick. “Othello.” English 373B, Spring 2018. University of Arizona English Department, 2018, Tucson, Arizona.