Julius Caesar – Kristina Tollefson

Produced by Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Prague Shakespeare, Shakespeare & Co. March 19 -­‐ April 20, 2014

“I have seen tempests, when the scolding winds Have rived the knotty oaks, and I have seen The ambitious ocean swell and rage and foam, To be exalted with the threatening clouds: But never till to-night, never till now, Did I go through a tempest dropping fire.”

Julius Caesar Act I Scene III

There is a tempest brewing on the eve of the Ides of March—a raging storm that foretells and reflects the civil battle wrought by man. And like the storm, this strife affects us all: whether man or woman, king or slave, none can escape its wrath.

The social commentary of Julius Caesar remains wildly and immediately relevant today. Our production, directed by Tina Packer and collaboratively produced by the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Prague Shakespeare, and Shakespeare and Company, evolved in three divergent spaces as it traveled from company to company across the country and around the world. In each iteration it required the audience to engage their imaginations as the seven actors set the scene through their fluid movements and costuming, providing physical commentary on the action as it unfolded.

The suggestion of a Roman silhouette was created by pieces made of wintry white and steely blue raw silk that helped identify allegiances throughout. The looks were supplemented with infinity scarves which could be used to shield the head from the elements or serve as symbolic baldric as the soldiers faced the unrelenting army. The dichotomy of the breeziness of these pieces and the sternness of the militaristic base costumes provided the actors with flexibility of attitude and personality and allowed them to transform as quickly as the developing the storm front

Costume Design by Kristina Tollefson
Scenic Design by Ryan McGettigan
Lighting Design by Eric T. Haugen
Sound Design by Brit Sandusky