Angela Moser

History has not always been kind to women. Because of the hierarchy of sexes, women haven’t always found their way into the history books. Imagine all the incredible stories and personalities we have missed because of that. In our world, men are often seen as strong, hard-working, and never ruled by emotions, while women are gentle, highly emotional, and ruled by men. Many of Shakespeare’s plays deconstruct gender norms and allow for fluidity, not caring too much for strict gender roles. He has shown this with a few of his plays, such as Twelfth Night and As You Like It. Although the original Julius Caesar does not play with gender-swapping, we’d like to think Shakespeare would have been on board with this BYU production.

I love working as a dramaturg. I love studying, researching, and learning new things, and being able to treasure new knowledge in my life. Being part of the Julius Caesar production team has been a great and revealing experience. I quickly found out that as an Italian native who now lives in the United States, I have a lot of bias when it comes to my culture. First and foremost, Caesar is never the “bad guy” in my eyes, and I would dare to say he is not the bad guy in the eyes of most Italians as well. Scholars have debated about whether Caesar was a tyrant, would have been a tyrant, or if he would have been just, bringing serenity to a fractioned country. The truth is we will never know because he was murdered before he could become what he had envisioned himself to be.

by Laynie Calderwood and Angela Moser, dramaturgs If you'd like to spend a little more time with the study guide for this production, we're providing a link here. This is the complete study guide, as it is found within the program for our production. MFDC Study Guide Also, below you will find the attributions for the photographs and artwork included in the study guide, and links to other works referenced. Thanks for reading!

by Angela Moser, dramaturg

Peter Pan might have refused to grow up, but Wendy Darling has certainly grown and changed since she made her appearance in J.M. Barrie’s novel. Set in the Victorian era, Wendy Darling was created to perfectly fit the values of that society. The “cult of the little child” became a true literary trend of the time, which mirrored the Victorian attitude toward life. Many writers of the time, including Barrie, were fascinated with the childish status and even envied the innocence and purity that belongs to the little ones. Books written through the eyes of children for an adult audience became a way to escape everyday life.