The Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film announces a special production for the 2019-2020 season, “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare. Performances are Thursday and Friday, Jan. 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. in the Lab Theatre, third floor, Temple Building, 12th & R streets.
Tickets are $10, and are available online at https://unltheatretickets.com/. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door beginning one hour prior to curtain.
This production is directed by Dr. Ian Borden, associate professor of performance/directing and theatre studies at the Carson School. Technical elements are kept to a minimum in this production in order to showcase student actors focusing on the text of one of Shakespeare’s most iconic works.
The lessons to be learned from “Julius Caesar” are as relevant today as they were in the 16th century. The play raises questions of the force of fate in life versus our capacity for free will. Caesar’s rising power is seen as a threat with Cassius and Brutus blaming themselves for their failure to assert themselves. Characters confuse their private selves with their public selves which transforms them into ruthless political machines.
“Julius Caesar” considers the relationship between rhetoric and power. The ability to make things happen by words alone is the most powerful type of authority. The tension in the play comes from the question of whether Caesar’s position in power is ethically acceptable or not, and whether men of good conscience can allow a man like Caesar to hold such power over the Roman citizens.
Johnny Carson School students cast in the production are:
Michael Zavodny as Julius Caesar, Emma Parizek as Marc Antony, Jesse Turos as Brutus, and Mia Hilt as Cassius. Ensemble members playing multiple characters: Kami Cooper, Beck Damron, Daniel Darter, Faye Davis, Caroline Friend, Daniel Hernandez, Shay Jowers, Nadine Rayburn, Francie Traxler, Arin Turnage, Aurora Villareal, and Nadia Ra’Shaun Williams. Malin Hayden is the stage manager.