Yesterday afternoon at Aliso Niguel High School, family and friends of student thespians were wowed by a student adaptation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. With minimal sets and late 18th Century France costuming, this adaptation was a fresh take on the old adage, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
There is still time tonight to see the show, it starts at 7:00 pm. Tickets are available at the High School or online at:
Julius Caesar info:
Dates- Feb. 16th @ 3:30pm & Feb. 17th @ 7:00pm
Student- $10, General Admission- $15
Click here to buy Julius Caesar tickets!
From the Student Director:
Julius Caesar is a fictional adaptation of the life and death of Roman politician Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare in 1599. One of Shakespeare’s most prominent tragedies, it follows the downfall of Caesar and the subsequent collapse of the roman empire. I have had the opportunity not only to direct, but to also provide my own abridgment of the text. Plays by The Bard generally have to be cut down to be performable; Julius Caesar on it’s own is at least a three hour play, I have reduced it to something more manageable while still retaining the verse and plot.
Even with this abridgment, putting this show together was still a challenge on all fronts. Although I had cut many scenes and characters, we still had about thirty characters to deal with, many who only appeared in one scene or spoke a few lines but were still needed for purposes of plot. Because of this, many of our cast is playing up to three different minor roles. Apart from this, the entirety of Julius Caesar is written in verse, requiring actors to provide full scansion of their lines for purposes of comprehension of meter and other poetic and literary facets.
In my readings of the script, I could see parallels of the conflict in Rome with the conflict in France during the Reign of Terror after the execution of Louis XVI in 1793. These two times were ones of mass panic and fear, as well as death and overthrow of tyranny in their own respected sense. Each started with a corrupt ruler or monarch (Caesar, Louis) who were overthrown by another member of government (Robespierre,Brutus) who were then in turn overrun by an opposing authority (Napoleon, Mark Antony). Although my parallel does not match entirely, (Napoleon more took advantage of the crippling state of France then actively engaging in it) it still stands to show that history is in a constant cycle of repetition. When people do not learn from the mistakes of past empires and civilizations they will make the same errors. It is only by recognizing and avoiding those mistakes that we can grow as a people and society. If not we are doomed to spiral on and on and never progress.
I am very proud of my cast and what we have been able to accomplish together these past few months. We have all grown so much and I wish them all the best as I finish up my high school career. Thank you all so much and I hope you enjoy the show!
Brigitte Rose
Entertainment Editor
Aliso Laguna News/ Green Local News
