Gallery image 1
Thumbnail 1
Thumbnail 2
Thumbnail 3
Thumbnail 4
Thumbnail 5
Thumbnail 6
Thumbnail 7
Thumbnail 8
Thumbnail 9
Thumbnail 10
Thumbnail 11
Thumbnail 12

Photos by Gabe Palacio & Tim Lamorte

Photos by Gabe Palacio & Tim Lamorte

Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Adapted by Illana Stein

Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival

March to August 2019

About the Play

This 75-minute production toured upstate New York to middle schools, high schools and then parks and outdoor spaces from March to August 2019

About the Play

This 75-minute production toured upstate New York to middle schools, high schools and then parks and outdoor spaces from March to August 2019

About the Play

This 75-minute production toured upstate New York to middle schools, high schools and then parks and outdoor spaces from March to August 2019

About the Play

This 75-minute production toured upstate New York to middle schools, high schools and then parks and outdoor spaces from March to August 2019

From the Director

The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones. –Julius Caesar, Act III, sc ii Whose side are you on? Loyalties and friendships are tested in this immersive power play of politics. This play takes off like a runaway freight train. After Caesar’s bloody murder, the mob has taken over and who is there to stop them from burning Rome to the ground. In this dystopian setting, Rome feels like it is on the fragile brink of collapse. It is a world of secrecy and fear. The walls have ears. This is further emphasized in the layered costumes where weapons can easily be hidden. Dark hoods cover true identities. Rebellion happens in the shadows of the dead of night. Secret greetings and coded language distinguishes teams of loyalists. Tensions are high. Who can really be trusted? Colors separate the two camps, those chanting for “Caesar!” and those who murmur under their breath, “Down with Caesar!” The line is drawn in the sand. By breaking down the fourth wall, this production challenges the audience to be complicit in the storytelling. Driving-percussive live-foley along with stylized choreography gives a powerful presence to the mob and protestors. Bold flashes of red from both set and costumes viscerally bring to surface the play’s themes: murder, revenge, war, violence, and destruction. We will see blood on the conspirators’ hands, branding themselves murderers as they pour onto the streets proclaiming, “Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!”

Adapter and Director

ILLANA STEIN

Scenic Design

DIGGLE

Costume Design

ANTHONY PAUL-CAVARETTA

Composer and Original Sound Design

TITUS TOMPKINS

Fight/Movement Choreographer

ALEXIS BLACK

Scenic Painter

BUFFY CORDOZA

Production Stage Manager

CHRISTOPHER DENVER