Students Bring the Bard to All Corners of the Campus in this Two-Day Event
April 15, 2019
Earlier this month, I sat down with the creative team behind SPQR—For the Senate and the People of Rome, a site-specific Shakespeare performance happening at (in, around) SDSU in May. I was immediately struck by the intense enthusiasm and excitement that the team of student producers, directors, and actors feel for this project. It was clear they felt they were doing something momentous.
SPQR will be a two-day event, featuring a site-specific and immersive performance of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar May 4th and Antony and Cleopatra on May 5th. This project was inspired in large part by new faculty member Jesca Prudencio’s “Site-Specific Shakespeare” class taught for the first time at SDSU last fall. Professor Prudencio is the faculty advisor and consulting producer on this project. It also builds on previous explorations into site-specific Shakespeare by dramaturg Tom Block and producer Matt Tornero. For a behind-the-scenes look at the process of this production, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_Y9I-CBnOM.
For those not familiar with the terms, “site-specific” refers to theatre that takes place in non-traditional spaces and incorporates the features of the environment directly into the staging. “Immersive” refers to theatre that surrounds the audience and allows for some degree of interaction and participation. The most well-known example of this in current theatre history is the production Sleep No More presented by PunchDrunk in New York City, where audiences experience an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth that sprawls over 100 rooms in 5 floors of a hotel. For SPQR, the site is the SDSU campus. The performance will range over several areas, including the quad in the student union, the footbridges, and the Engineering quad. Guides will lead audiences from area to area, accompanied by music played on wireless speakers.
I was curious to know why Shakespeare, and why these plays? Producer and dramaturg Tom Block had a ready answer. Like many, he was troubled by the course of the 2016 presidential election, and the extent to which sexism appeared to be a determining factor. The situation reminded him strongly of the themes and action of Julius Caesar, and it struck him that casting a woman in the role of Caesar would bring out undertones relevant to the current political climate. The relationship of gender and politics is also a driving factor in Antony and Cleopatra, and the team decided it would be more impactful to show the various viewpoints in these two plays rather than focusing on just one.
Theatre artists often utilize Shakespeare and the work of other classic playwrights in order to comment on issues in the present. According to Block, the fact that the themes from a play several centuries old still resonate today is significant. He hopes that audiences will connect the historical events to those of their own time. He says, “If you want to make a change you need to be able to show what’s wrong. Theatre does that.”
In speaking to director Adam Robinson, I saw that the enthusiasm, intelligence, and depth of exploration that the students are bringing to these texts is of the highest caliber. Robinson’s eyes absolutely shone as he told me about a discovery they had made in a rehearsal of Antony and Cleopatra that brought out the subtext of the play in a way that thrust their own concept to the fore (I will spare the details so as not to spoil the surprise for audiences). The level of critical analysis and the team’s strong creative concept will no doubt result in an exciting and memorable weekend of theatre. This speaks to the significant academic value of this undertaking; participants are learning everything from the nuts and bolts of large-scale production to how to struggle through complex Shakespearean texts.
I asked the team what audiences can expect from a site-specific, immersive production of the two plays. Janelle Miller, assistant director of Antony and Cleopatra and actor in the project, could barely contain her excitement as she described things such as the Ancient Roman party that audiences will participate in at the end of Act 2 of Antony and Cleopatra. Patrons will be given food and drink and be encouraged to join the other revelers. Scenes from the act will happen all around them. There will also be exciting bouts of theatrical sword fighting that will range over large spaces. Other smaller details will complete the immersive sense of the show, such as maps created for the event by student Angie Farrela. SPQR uses every opportunity to place the audience in the center of the action, so that the plays unfold around them, not just in front of them.
SPQR is a massive undertaking, involving students of all skill levels and various majors, as well as faculty, campus organizations, and community partners. The cross-campus excitement is apparent in the team gaining financial and in-kind support from the School of Theatre, Television, and Film, Arts Alive, and Common Experience. Faculty outside of the Theatre department, such as philosophy chair Mark Wheeler, are also lending their support. The producers are thrilled to be generating so much interest and cross-campus collaboration.
Admission for this event is free. Those interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP at the production’s Facebook page, facebook.com/spqrsdsu. Julius Caesar will begin at 5pm on May 4th on the Campanile walkway (just look for the Saturnalia), and Antony and Cleopatra will commence at the Aztec Lanes bowling alley on May 5th. For questions or for more information, email can be sent to [email protected]
SPQR Cast and Crew
Jesca Prudencio—Faculty Advisor; TTF Head of Directing
Ali Schultz—Production Manager
Matt Tornero—Producer; University Relations; Documentarian
Thomas Block—Producer; Artistic Director; Fight Choreography
Jill Jones—Director, Julius Caesar
Dillon Hoban—Director, Julius Caesar
Adam Robinson—Director, Antony and Cleopatra
Janelle Miller—Assistant Director, Antony and Cleopatra
Lauren Haughton—Assistant Director, Music Consultant
Maya Aizenman—Stage Manager; Prop Master; Assistant to Music Director + [bass/percussion]
Kian Kline-Chilton—Stage Manager
Emily Munz—Costuming
Lauren Ochoa—Documentarian
Alli Thiss—Fight Choreography (Julius Caesar)
Nikki Herrington—Assistant to Music Director + [voice/percussion]
Cast Name Julius Caesar Role / Antony and Cleopatra Role
Liam Sullivan Mark Antony / Mark Antony
Jonathan Esquer Casca & Octavius Caesar / Octavius Caesar
Claire Kiersky Julius Caesar / Octavia
John Michel Brutus / Dolabella
Chloé Verbestel Cassius / Menecrates
Annie Klups Cinna the Poet / Cleopatra
Catie Morris Portia / Iras
Lexi Vierra Titinius / Alexas
Tina Atrin Soothsayer / Charmian
Richard Whipple Cinna / Enobarbus
Isaac Lutbak Trebonius / Agrippa
Hunter Katz Cimber / Pompey
Angie Farella Lucius / Menas
Janelle Miller Lepidus / Lepidus
Nikki Herrington Calpurnia & Pindarus / Eros & Seleucus
Emma Evangelista Cicero / Fortune Teller & Euphronius
Justin Linvill Decius Brutus / Thyreus
With Ben Breitenstein as the Clown
The content within this article has been edited by Lizbeth Persons.
