Theatre 1331--Jon Egging

1. Collaboration Project
Intro to Theatre 1331
Dr. Jon Egging
IDENE HADJIZAMANI
HYUN SOO KIM
VAN NGUYEN
JONATHAN PARK

2. Julius Caesar
BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
1599

3. Director Role
By Idene Hadjizamani

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7.  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

8. 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

9. 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.

10. The Directional Concept (Cont.)
 Concept and Purpose
1. Straightforward concept, not a scheme superimposed from outside

11. Casting
Julius Caesar………………….Liam Neeson
Brutus……………………....Dwayne Johnson
Cassius……………………..Wentworth Miller
Antony…………………………..Matthew Fox
Octavius……………..........Chris Hemsworth

12. SET DESIGN
VAN NGUYEN

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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

16. STAGE LAYOUT
Door Door
Parthenon Front
with Steps
Stage
Statue Statue
Audience
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.

17. STAGE LAYOUT continued…
Door Parthenon Door
Chairs
Statue Statue
Stage
Audience
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.

18. 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.

19. 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’s
actions.

20. 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.

21. 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)

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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

30.  COSTUME DESIGN
Hyun Soo Kim

31.  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.

32.  Major characters
 Brutus/Julius
Caesar/Octavius/Antony/C
assius
 Minor characters
 Carpulnia/Portia/Flavius
etc..

33.  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

34.  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

36. 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.

37.  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.