Directorial Assignment Part 1: Othello

Key Moments:
·      Iago’s manipulations are a central plot point to Shakespeare’s Othello. They are the main motivation of the play and are overall what keeps the story moving. Because of this, I would choose to focus mainly on these scenes and the consequences of Iago’s actions and schemes. I would keep every one of Iago's manipulation, but tone down the overdramatic flair. For example, replace the handkerchief with something that is more reasonable to be angry about.

• Act 1: Iago’s manipulation of Roderigo by convincing him to tell Brabantio of Desdemona and Othello’s marriage.
•  Act 2: Iago’s manipulation of Iago of Roderigo to make Cassio look hotheaded and unstable. This is, in turn, used to make him look less-than in Othello’s eyes. Also in act two, he manipulates Desdemona into helping Cassio get his position restored which plants the idea of their affair into Othello’s head
• Act 3: Iago begins to further the work he started Desdemona on by officially bringing up the idea of the affair with Othello and providing possible ways it started/continued to happen without his notice.
• Act 4: Here, Iago put the whole handkerchief ordeal into play as further proof of the affair. In this manipulation, he uses his wife, messes with Othello, and sets up Cassio. Then, similarly to how he manipulated Cassio in act 2, Iago convinces Lodovico that Othello is unstable which is backed up by his previous manipulation which led to Othello harming Desdemona. Then, when Roderigo confronts Iago about his actions, Iago sucks him back in with yet another manipulation.
• Act 5: Iago has convinced Roderigo to attack and kill Cassio, which he knows won’t end in his favor. He then maims Cassio from behind, blames it on Roderigo and then stabs r in the heart to punish him. After that, he tries to blame Bianca for Roderigo’s actions and tries to convince everyone that Cassio killed Roderigo.

·      The other scenes that I find very important are those that take a closer look at Othello’s skin color. These scenes that focus on race, in my opinion, are very integral to the play overall but especially for acts one and two. They give Brabantio a purpose as a sort of villain figure and can be seen as a sort of motivating factor behind the start of Iago’s manipulations. Using the theme of race creates a very interesting dynamic both in Shakespeare’s day and still today. By giving these scenes more attention, I think it would really bring a lot of depth to the play that Shakespeare was trying to get at.

• Act 1: Brabantio’s reaction to Othello and Desdemona’s marriage is a visceral one. While he claims it is due to Othello’s class (and most likely is) I also feel it is due to his skin color. This is something I would bring more to the forefront in my version.
• The subtle stereotypes thrown in throughout the play would also play a bigger part in my version, as explained later.
• Iago originally sets out to take Cassio’s position but, in the end, also aims to take down Othello. This is not given much explanation, but considering the many racist remarks Iago makes, I believe it to be a race issue.

·      Awe-inspiring Scene

• Act Five Scene Two is an amazing scene and one of my favorites. Emilia’s cunning thinking and fearless actions really gave the play and ending that saved it from being just an unnecessarily dramatic tragedy about some greedy man. And the fact that a woman was the one to see Iago’s schemes and put the pieces together makes me beyond happy. And the way she told off her husband in front of everyone and threw the social conventions of the time out the window is an inspiring and empowering moment. I’d really like to emphasize this scene in my version.

Setting:
·      My version of Othello would have a modern-day setting, in a big city somewhere in America. I think it would be really interesting to focus on the theme of race already present in this play and make it more central.

• To do this I would have the Venetian nobles and military become the different ranks of a modern police force. Brabantio, Lodovico, and co. would be higher up detectives while Othello, Cassio, and Iago are beat cop types.
• Othello would be the up-and-coming, best of his class officer who just so happens to be the only black policeman on the squad. Closeted racism would be a major theme within the detectives and while they respect Othello, they would never allow him to rise to a higher position, thereby mirroring Barbantio's reaction to Desdemona's marriage.
• The Turks that are the cause for Shakespeare’s change of setting from Venice to Cyprus would become a gang causing a conflict that is easily resolved like in the original but sparks the main conflict of the play itself i.e. Iago’s manipulations and racism.
• The main plot points would all stay the same just with this change in setting to a more relevant time and topic.

Characters:
·      First of all, the only thing that’s really going to change in terms of the history of casting in Othello, is that the women will be played by women and Othello will be played by an actual man of color—not someone in blackface.
·      Names: Unlike most adaptations of Shakespeare with major setting changes, I would probably keep the original names. I would try to keep my version as close to the original plot as possible despite the time change and so don’t really see the point in coming up with similar yet different names.
·      Personality: Similarly to the names, most of the characters' characteristics would stay the same. Iago’s two-facedness, Emilia’s strength, Desdemona’s devotion and so on. I would probably tone down Othello’s tendency to be overdramatic though because at some points it gets a bit annoying. As I said before I would make Brabantio and Iago’s racist tendencies more obvious and a bigger cause of their actions.

Staging:
·      Set Design: While Othello was traditionally staged with bare sets and few locations, I would probably do the complete opposite of that. I think that if I am going to put this in modern day America, it is going to need a bit more set design than originally intended. Reading Othello, they don’t give much indication of where they are in each scene, and that is something that would definitely have to change. There would be Brabantio’s house, a police department or two (Venice and Cyprus), and some of the fights that happen in the courtyard would most likely change over to a parking lot or alleyway.
·      Costume Design: Costumes would be pretty typical for 2018 fashion. Those playing detectives would wear casual suits, police officers would be in regular uniforms and the women would be dressed in everyday clothing based on their financial status.
·      The only sound effects I can see being used would most likely be gunshots for the fights that were originally down with swords, maybe some punches thrown in there for excitement.

Extras
·      The Drama: One thing that I would definitely not keep in my version of Othello would be the tendency for the melodramatic. As much as I love a good villainous monologue I don’t really think Iago needs to give three of them. And Othello can take things a little out of proportion when he is mad at Desdemona so that would also be toned down.
·      Emilia: My favorite character by far is Emilia. She is the most impressive in my eyes, and I really think it would be fun to see more of her throughout the beginning of the play if possible. I really like seeing the character development she has here; going from following every order her husband gives her to telling him off is an amazing subplot and character arc.