JULIUS CAESAR TAG

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.

This project is multiple years in the making, having been initially proposed for the BYU 2020-21 season. Originally, it was going to be my project as a faculty dramaturg. And I began working on a script adaptation that would feature women and build a more gender-neutral world in which both men and women would hold power. The pandemic forced a postponement for a year, and I paused my work on an adaptation.

I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.

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.

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.