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Harlem Shakespeare Fes- Tival Welcome to Everyone Visiting Taliesin West to Support SHAKESPEARE HARLEM F E S T I V A L Taliesin West, Scottsdale, AZ | April 19 – 28, 2019 19 APRIL 2019 We would like to extend a warm Harlem Shakespeare Fes- tival welcome to everyone visiting Taliesin West to support Southwest Shakespeare Company’s much anticipated presentation of HARLEM SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL'S ALL-FEMALE OTHELLO, directed by Vanessa Morosco with live cello orchestrations by Chinese cellist Wei Guo. Harlem Shakespeare Festival is dedicated to supporting women, youth and especially classically trained artists of color. We exist primarily to help classical actors of color to realize their full potential. Central to these efforts is the staging of traditional classic works that showcase multi- racial casts. It is our intention to expose the public to the A NOTE FROM THE PRODUCERS THE NOTE FROM A works of these artists as a means of opening up a dialogue of cultural diversity, understanding and unity in the arts. As is our custom we have pulled together a team of ex- traordinary women to help create this wonderful collabora- tion. Four of the cast members are from New York and four are from Arizona. Our director and costume designer are from Harlem Shakespeare and our fight director and stage manager are from Southwest Shakespeare; making this a true collaboration indeed! My producing partner, Voza Rivers, and I are truly grateful to Mary Way and the Southwest Shakespeare Team and Board for partnering with us on this project. And I am in- deed honored to be chosen as Southwest Shake’s Artist-in- Residence for their landmark 25th Anniversary Season. To our audience, we hope you enjoy the performance today and that you will tell others about it. We are proud to bring you our All-female OTHELLO and hope that this project will inspire you to walk away empowered knowing that the sky is the limit! Debra Ann Debra Ann Byrd Founder & Producing Artistic Director HARLEM SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL THE HARLEM NEW HERITAGE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL THEATRE GROUP, INC. DEBRA ANN BYRD - PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR VOZA RIVERS - EXECUTIVE PRODUCER DATHAN B. WILLIAMS - ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR JAMAL JOSEPH - EXECUTIVE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR SOUTHWEST SHAKESPEARE COMPANY BETSY MUGAVERO & QUINN MATTFELD - CO- PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTORS MARY WAY - EXCEUTIVE DIRECTOR PRESENTS WRITTEN BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 90-MINUTE ADAPTATION BY LISA WOLPE FEATURING NATALIE ANDREWS, DEBRA ANN BYRD, AMY DRIESLER*, TROI HALL, RYAN L. JENKINS, MEGAN LINDSAY, ELLA LOUDON* AND KELLYN MASTERS WITH LIVE MUSIC BY COSTUME DESIGN WEI GUO GAIL COOPER-HECHT FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY STAGE MANAGER RACHELLE DART HANNAH STEWART DIRECTED BY VANESSA MOROSCO In 1660, nearly 50 years after Shakespeare’s death, King Charles II declared it legal for women to play female characters on the stage. On December 8th of that year, Margaret Hughes, at the age of 30, stepped onto the English stage and utterly revolu- tionized the theatre of her day by embodying the role of Desdemona in a production of Othello, forev- er transforming an audience's experience of the world's most popular playwright. This occasion was a crucial first step toward gender equity in classical theatre: female performers could now be employed to play female roles. But with Shakespeare, arguably the most influential playwright in the English language, that accounts for a mere 12% of all of his characters. And more than 400 years later, this transformative moment has continued to define the gender-casting A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR DIRECTOR THE NOTE FROM A norm for Shakespeare, creating a ‘corporate ladder’ of casting classical theater that discriminates more than any other business practice in the modern era: 88% job opportunities for males, but for all female-identifying actors only 12%. In Shakespeare’s day, a young male apprentice to a company like the Lord Chamberlain's Men would play female roles and as such, these roles were spe- cifically designed to suit an actor of less experience and skill. This system also allowed a young male Desdemona to develop his talent onstage under the mentorship of a ‘masterful’ Othello. In modern times, all female-identifying prac- titioners have inherited this entry-level position embedded in the structure of Shakespeare’s plays, but today a Desdemona cannot advance in her career to eventually take on the role of Othello. As a leading ‘lady,’ she is forever restrict- ed to the role of an apprentice and is rarely, if ever, given the opportunity to achieve the pinnacle of the acting profession: a leading Shakespearean role. This all-female production aims to dismantle the gender-binary division of roles and give professional female practitioners of Shakespeare the rare chance to play some of the juiciest classical roles to which their male counterparts have long had access. While women have always been allowed to play the most fa- mous victim of domestic violence in literary history (Desdemona), I believe they should now be given the chance to play characters who are driven by vicious jealousy (Iago), have a crippling sense of honor and duty (Othello), or take de- structive pride in their reputations (Cassio). By dismantling the long-standing gender barriers in the casting tradition of Othello, the pervasive themes that appear in this play – loyalty, pride, jealousy, betrayal, sex – can reemerge as not exclusively ‘male’ or ‘female,’ but as eternal human forces. And I trust that our audiences deserve access to the humanness of Shakespeare. Finally, I am certain that as an astute business person and artist of great vision, if Shakespeare could see this dynamic and diverse all-female company tell his story with such skill and ingenuity tonight, the next play he penned would be just for them. THROUGH THE YEARS Richard Burbage was the first actor to ever portray Othello c.1604 UK | Edmund Kean 1833 UK | Ira Aldridge 1883 UK | Tommaso Salvini 1856 UK | Edwin Booth 1880 USA | Paul Robeson 1943 USA | Orson Well 1952 | Richard Burton 1953 USA | James Earl Jones 1955 USA | John Neville 1956 UK | Sir John Gielgud 1961 UK | Laurence Olivier 1965 | Antony Hopkins 1970 USA | Raúl Juliá 1979 USA | Avery Brooks 1985 USA | Ben Kings- ley 1985 UK | Laurence Fishburne USA1995 | Chiwetel Ejiofor 2008 UK | Debra Ann Byrd 2015 Harlem, USA ABOUT THE PLAY THE TIME Late 16th Century THE ACTION OF THE PLAY TAKES PLACE ON The Isle of Cyprus d of sighs THE PERSONS OF THE PLAY Debra Ann Byrd .. OTHELLO, General in the Venetian military Ella Loudon* .. IAGO, Othello's jealous Ensign Amy Driesler* .. CASSIO, Othello's most loved Lieutenant Natalie Andrews .. DESDEMONA, Othello's wife Megan Lindsay .. EMILIA, Iago's wife / Desdemona's maidservant Troi Hall .. BIANCA, Cassio's lover Ryan L. Jenkins .. RODERIGO, Venetian, in love with Desdemona Kellyn Masters .. MONTANO, Venetian Governor of Cyprus SAILORS / HERALD Troi Hall & Ryan L. Jenkins THE HISTORY First Performed 1604. "By the King's Majesty's Players. Hallowmas Day, being the first of November, a play in the banqueting house at Whitehall called The Moor of Venice." 90 MINUTE PEFORMANCE NO INTERMISSION THE SYNOPSIS One name is at the center of every conversation: Othello. He has recently promoted Cassio to Lieutenant- a title Iago had been coveting. News has reached Brabantio, via Iago, his daughter, Desdemona, has secretly eloped with Othello. This news infuriates Brabantio and devastates Roderigo who is desperately in love with Desde- mona. Brabantio is convinced Othello used witchcraft to woo Desdemona until she arrives and professes her love. Iago and Roderigo join forces to seek revenge against Othello. We set sail for Cyprus: Iago with Desdemona, Othello with a fleet to prepare for battle against the Turks. Othello is still at sea for battle; news arrives that the Turkish fleet has wrecked. Meanwhile, Iago lands in Cyprus with Desdemona where they are greeted with great affection by Cassio, an affluent gesture that en- rages and inspires Iago. Iago convinces Roderigo to confront Cassio with being in love with Desdemona. Othello arrives and throws a party to celebrate his marriage and the demise of the Turks. Iago convinces Cassio, who has a drinking problem, to get drunk. Cassio causes a scene and is disgraced by Othello. Iago then convinces Cassio to plead forgiveness through Desdemona; he plots to make Othello see the Cassio and Desdemona together. Othello walks in on Cassio and Desdemona talk- ing. Cassio leaves with haste and Desdemona takes to pleading to Othello on behalf of Cassio. These actions, fueled by Iago's sinister advice, takes hold and Othello becomes suspicious of Desdemona's fidelity. Emilia, Iago's wife, steals the handker- chief Othello gave to Desdemona so Iago can place it in Cassio's room to further the deception. Othello demands proof of the affair. First Iago claims that Cassio, while sleepwalking, passionately embraced him thinking Iago was Desdemona, but Othel- lo doesn't bite. He then says he saw Cassio wipe his beard with Desdemona's hand- kerchief. This works. Desdemona presses Othello to speak with Cassio. Othello demands the handkerchief; she can't produce it. Iago sets up Othello to hear Cassio speaking candidly about his "affair" with Desdemona and does so by tricking Cassio into talking openly about his real relationship with Bianca. Othello is over the edge and seeks to murder Desdemona for revenge; Iago feeds that fire. Word comes that Othello must away and Cassio is to be put in charge in Cyprus. Roderigo confronts Iago about not delivering gifts to Desdemona on his behalf as promised. Iago spins this into convincing Roderigo that what needs to happen is Cassio being murdered. Desdemona, now full of fear, confides in Emilia. Roderigo and Cassio fight; Roderi- go is injured. Running to his "aide," Iago takes the opportunity to kill Roderigo.
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