by Emme Corbett, dramaturg
As a senior student studying history at BYU. One of the first concepts you learn as a history major is that when you study history, it is vital that you do not bring your modern-day biases with you. As strange as some past behaviors or occurrences may be to our modern eyes, understanding the reality of what life was like in historical societies allows for a more authentic and rich study of the past. It also becomes evident fairly quickly that no matter what point in time you’re studying or where you are in the world, there will be commonalities across many cultures. The shared similarity of the human experience allows these connections to occur, so it is no surprise that researching various time periods could be related back to Caesar in Ancient Rome.It was necessary in our dramaturgical research to explore three major time periods that are encompassed within this play in one way or another. These time periods are first, 49 B.C. Rome, when Julius Caesar first became a dictator of Ancient Rome, and the setting for the original script. Second, 1599 England, when William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar was first performed, most likely at the Globe Theatre. And third, 1919 Italy, when Italy was recovering from participating in the First World War, and the setting for our performance at BYU. This weakened state created a situation where authoritarianism could ensue.It was an interesting experience to be able to connect the culture of Ancient Rome to that of Italy in the early 20th century. The reason for choosing this production of Julius Caesar to take place in 1919 Italy is not random. The significance of that time period is to draw upon the reality that history repeats itself. An aspect of history that is repeatedly detrimental to countless societies is when a group of people finds itself weak and vulnerable--whether that is due to lack of resources, a change in leadership, exiting a war, or simply evolving generations--and a power vacuum is created. This moment in time when desperation allows for someone to assume leadership (based purely on the need to rely on anybody) and provide temporary relief is often too quickly turned into an authoritarian government. The third time period that we also had to account for in this production was the time of Shakespeare in 1599 England. Some of the questions we had to ask ourselves were: Why Julius Caesar? What elements from the story of Caesar’s assassination did Shakespeare feel would resonate with his audience? From these questions and further research on the Elizabethan period, we discovered that, like in 1919 Italy, there was a concern with the succession to the Crown. Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne at the time and created conflict among the people beyond her just being a woman in power. Queen Elizabeth never married and subsequently never bore any children, thus failing to secure a successor who was in her direct line. Another element of the play that related to Shakespeare’s audience was the role of the plebeians. Their behavior in the play could symbolize how the lower class in the Elizabethan Era, while uneducated and changeable, contribute largely to the success of their society.
While music has always been an integral part of many cultures, for Native Americans dance and music are very special to their culture. From healing dances such as the Jingle Dress dance to spiritual ones like the Eagle Dance to more fun PowWow style dances such as the Fancy Dances, their culture is very connected to the Heavenly Spirit in many ways. So we invited some people who were Native American to come and speak to the cast and crew. We were able to invite Cheyanne Elton, a dancer with Living Legends in the Native American section who’s also minoring in American Indian Studies, and we invited Naabaahii Tsosie, a Native American dancer who travels the world and shows off his culture. Cheyanne was able to talk with us a lot about their culture, and Naabaahii was able to talk with us and show us some of the things behind dance in his culture.
Being a white woman, I have no place to make commentary on Native American/Indigenous People’s lives and their culture. So work on this production was very hard to approach because we needed the points of view that the characters strive for in the play but we needed actual resources. Through The Tribe of Many Feathers and some other connections, I was able to find Cheyanne Elton who is of Navajo descent, dancing in the Living Legends Native American Section (with a minor in American Indian Studies), and Naabaahii Tsosie who is also of Navajo descent. He is the previous President of the Tribe of Many Feathers at BYU, and he also travels the world dancing Native American dance. Both were able to come and were willing to talk with the cast about their families and their connections with the culture. After the cast did some research and sent me questions for the special guests, Cheyanne and Naabaahii were prepared to share their perspectives. They both have connections with the Navajo tribe and were very willing to talk about their experiences as well as their families’ experiences, jobs on reservations, experiences they’ve had with racism, and their thoughts on representation. They answered many hard questions.
