Collaboration ProjectIntro to Theatre 1331

Dr. Jon Egging

IDENE HADJIZAMANI

HYUN SOO KIM

VAN NGUYEN

JONATHAN PARK

Julius CaesarBY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

1599

Director RoleBy Idene Hadjizamani

Choosing A Script

The first job of the director of a play

is to choose a script.

The director whether chooses the

script or directs it by a playwright or

producer. He must have an

understanding and appreciation

for the script.

Julius Caesar has an old and well

known script. As the director of this

play, I would be analyzing

Shakespeare’s original script and

prepare it for the production.

Choosing A Script (Cont.)

After choosing the script, individual directors adopt their own personal

approach in preparing a production.

The first task towards understanding the script is to determine the “spine” of

the play.

Second is to find the style in which the play is to be presented.

The Spine of the Play

The “spine” of the drama, also

called the main action, is

determined by the goal of the

scenes.

Different directors may find

different spines for a multi-sided

play like Julius Caesar.

One spine is Antony and

Octavius seeking revenge for

Caesar's assassination.

Another is Brutus and Antony’s

attempt to make Rome a better

place by figuring out who is the

right king.

Style: The way a play is presented

The style in Julius Caesar: Realism, middle

ground between naturalism and heightened

Heightened drama, rich in language and

literature

The Directorial Concept

Concept and Period: The period and location on which the play is

produced.

1. Period: 45BC- 44 BC, after Julius Caesar’s return from defeating Pompei

2. Location: Rome

The Directorial Concept (Cont.)

Concept and Central Image

1. Who is a better ruler

2. Modest set design, picturing outdoors where the battles and funerals take

place, with a tribune for the town meetings.

The Directional Concept (Cont.)

Concept and Purpose

1. Straightforward concept, not a scheme superimposed from outside

Casting

Julius Caesar………………….Liam Neeson

Brutus……………………....Dwayne Johnson

Cassius……………………..Wentworth Miller

Antony…………………………..Matthew Fox

Octavius……………..........Chris Hemsworth

SET DESIGNVAN NGUYEN

SETTING: ROME 44 B.C.After Caesar’s death, the Roman Republic became an empire. Why? Their territory grew faster than the political system of checks and balance can adapt. Besides, communication between senators of each area would take too long since they have no phones or can enable FaceTime with each other.

ROMAN ARCHITECTURE SIGNIFIES MOOD

• Their most basic style that is inherited from the Greeks includes white, rectangular buildings with many poles to hold.

• These buildings, like the white house today, gives off a serious mood.

DESIGN CONCEPT

• The design stresses realism and naturalism to portray the true events that occurred in Rome’s history—Caesar’s assassination.

• Roman architectural buildings and art are used to communicate the time period and place of the play’s events.

• Buildings and structures are worn down to emphasize the chaotic political state of Rome in the play.

Parthenon

STAGE LAYOUT

Audience

Stage

Parthenon Front with Steps

Door Door

Statue Statue

Statues are closer in the first scene to clearly show the audience the details.

Two doors are needed to set the pretense of characters, like Cassius, coming on the scene to spy stealthily while the other characters are exiting. The different doors tells the audience that there are two groups of characters in the play—either on Caesar’s side or in the conspiracy

The steps represent elevation of power likewise with Caesar’s growing power.

STAGE LAYOUT continued…

Audience

Stage

ParthenonDoor Door

Chairs

StatueStatue

Statues are moved back to allow more room in the front for later scenes.

Chairs are added for the scene where Brutus finds a note and the scenes where the senators meet.

PROPS INCLUDE MIRRORS AS A CENTRAL IMAGE

• This is important because Cassias uses a mirror to flatter Brutus and it symbolizes the many things the characters see and does not see. For example, the omens that warns Caesar of his fall, but he does not believe it. These omens also represents the future political state of Rome: war and chaos.

• More examples include Cassius not being able to see how he should act to earn Caesar’s favor instead of conspiring to kill him out of jealousy or Brutus not being able to see the motives of the other conspirators.

STATUES

• In Act I Scene I, the statues are important it because it allows the audience to recognize the time period and place by who the statue is depicting—Julius Caesar.

• Defacing the statues allows the audience to understand the tension of the political state--there are people jealous of Caesar’s growing influence.

• This scene also reveals that the common people of Rome are fickle.

• The audience also learns (and feel the injustice) that not all people of Rome are equal even though they are proud republic from Flavius’s and Murellus’sactions.

BLOOD, DAGGERS, AND SWORDS

• Blood will be needed to stress the realism concept of Caesar’s murder and the deaths of the war and emphasize the realism of the event. The blood spattering murder should be gruesome like real murder to stress that the conspirators themselves are gruesome.

• Small daggers is a must since the conspirators are trying to hide their motives before killing Caesar.

• Larger swords carried by the characters later to depict the idea of war taking place.

CITATIONS

1. http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~rauhn/roman_places.htm#if (Roman Architecture)

2. http://www.objectlessons.org/health-and-beauty-romans/hand-mirror-pompeii-ancient-rome-replica/s69/a251/ (Mirror)

3. http://darkside.hubpages.com/hub/augustus (Statue)

4. http://gardek.deviantart.com/art/Caesar-statue-179904689 (Statue)

5. http://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php (Map)

6. http://lostfort.blogspot.com/2009/01/roman-weapons.html (Roman swords)

ACT I

Act I a lot of the scenes are lighted

It is the day and people shout for Caesar with joy

It then changes outside for the most part

When Casca and Cicero meet it is very dark and the lighting of Dark Blue will

make the mood very gloomy and fearful

ACT II

More on the dark side for this act

Because it is a lot of secretive activity, small

spotlights with a background of a dark setting will

bring the emphasis of the scenes

ACT III

Caesar Dies

The stage will be lit up because it is a senate meeting

When the assassination occurs and Brutus stabs Caesar, a spotlight on just them two

will emphasize the importance of the script with a slight shade of red for the blood that

is spilled

For the speeches made the stage will be lit and when the people cry for Caesar it will

slowly become a bit more dim the the gloomy mood that the death brings

ACT IV

Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus are main for Act IV making the scene lit around a table

There is an unstable mood that is backed up by not too light, but not too dark setting

Kind of like this stage lighting

ACT V

For the scenes in Act V there is fog to bring more of a mysterious mood

It is not too dark, but it is still in a slightly gloomy time

The Wars start with a lot of fog in the wood making the scenes half lit and

half dark

The play ends slowly fading the lights and making the stage darker and

darker with a spotlight that turns off on Antony

It would be good for the light to fade more and more to the back and

reflect off of something that represents death

OVERALL

The lighting in this play in my opinion is very simple because the setting of the scenes do not change

too often

The lighting does not change too often from scene to scene

CITATIONS

• http://tonydallastheatrereviews.blogspot.com/2013/05/julius-caesar_2.html

• http://berkshireonstage.com/2010/05/18/julius-caesar-to-open-shakespeare-company-season/

• http://folgertheatre.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/sneak-peek-of-jim-hunters-lighting-design-for-

julius-caesar/

• http://www.ethansteimel.com/julius-caesar.html

• http://molepolightingdesign.weebly.com/national-work.html

COSTUME DESIGNHyun Soo Kim

Julius Caesar takes place

in ancient Rome in 44 B.C.

Julius Caesar is also

remembered as one of the

greatest brave military in

history for the Roman

Empire.

Major characters

Brutus/Julius

Caesar/Octavius/Antony/C

assius

Minor characters

Carpulnia/Portia/Flavius

etc..

Brutus-Friend of Caesar ,vote of senator. Has a honor of Caesar

Julius Caesar- great general roman senator. Brave and powerful.

Anthony- Friend of Caesar who speak operation at funeral. Has desire of authority power.

Octavius - Caesar’s adopted son and appointed successor.

Calpurnia - Caesar’s wife, has great authority

Cassius - A talented general who helped Caesar. Lack of integrity

Brutus truly believes that Caesar’s death will help Rome. Unlike Caesar, Brutus is able to separate his public life from his private life.

Caesar is unable to discern his public life from his private life.

Antony engages rhetoric eloquence to win the crowd to chase out the conspirators.

Cassius has no passion about the way the political world works

Octavius follows his adopted father’s and start to look like an authoritative character

Ancient Rome used wool, silk, and cotton to

make clothes.

It is was easy to wear but sometimes it was

difficult because people usually wear a lot of

clothes on the inside. It is pretty easy to perform

with this costume because it was only scarf

looking outfit.

Much of Roman clothing was designed to show the social status of its wearer, especially for freeborn men. In most cases, Roman fashion, the more distinguished the wearer, the more his or her dress were distinctively remarkable, On the other hand, the lowest class design was not distinguished or remarkable.