Welcome to the 4th WALL

by Janine Sobeck, BYU Dramaturgy Specialist As a dramaturg, one of the best parts of the the job is when you get to open up the world of the production to the audience. Whether its historical context, insider information from the rehearsal room, or conversations with the creative team (and so much more), we love to give you everything you need to have a fully enriched - and extremely enjoyable - evening at the theatre. Here at Brigham Young University, the dramaturgs are exploring all the possible ways to do this very thing. While you may have already seen us in the program study guides or moderating post show discussions, we are now happy take it one step forward by introducing "The 4th Wall: the TMA dramaturgY project." Here on the 4th Wall you will see posts from dramaturgs, playwrights, production team members and more. The goal is simple: to provide new insights, perspectives and information about the theatre productions on the BYU stage. Whether you are interested in one particular show or want to learn about the whole season, we invite you to follow along as we take you inside the world of each and every production. So to all our audience members (and any other interested parties), we say, "Welcome to the 4th Wall." It's going to be a grand journey.

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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.

Welcome to the 4th WALL

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