Othello – William Shakespeare

Catherine Weidner Director	Dan Bilodeau Set Designer	Kathleen Payton Brown Costume Designer	Matthew Adelson*** Lighting Designer
Rew Tippin Sound Designer	Leighton Samuels Fight Director	Melissa Nathan* Stage Manager	Ingrid Pierson* Assistant Stage Manager
Katie Moshier Assistant Stage Manager

Cast (In order of appearance)

Ryan Vincent Anderson* Iago	Josh Carpenter* Roderigo	Mark S. Cartier* Brabantio	Kelsey Burke Desdemona
Wardell Julius Clark Othello	James Noel Hoban* Duke of Venice	Brad Wilson Cassio	Travis Johnson Lodovico
Maggie Thompson Emilia	Lucy Lavely* Bianca	J.P. Guimont* Montano	Mackenzie Shaw Ensemble
Emery Lawrence Ensemble	Ben Shaw Ensemble	CJ Stewart Ensemble

*Member of Actor’s Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

*** Member of United Scenic Artists, the union of professional theatrical designers in the United States

From the Director

The whole world is in this play Othello; considered Shakespeare’s domestic tragedy, as it doesn’t deal in the realm of kings and queens. This is a story of assumptions, misread signals, reputation, honor, and betrayal; a story of marriage, friendship, and loyalty.

The play begins in Venice, and travels to Cyprus. Shakespeare often used the lens of a foreign country to examine how we respond when encountering something different than ourselves. Before the play begins, Brabantio has welcomed Othello into his home, hosted him for elaborate dinners at which the Moor (a Muslim who has converted to Christianity) shared his tales of valor without realizing the romantic effect it has on Desdemona. The Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner contradictions emerge once Othello and Desdemona elope, and when the Duke of Venice is called on to judge, he expounds on the content of Othello’s character, not the color of his skin.

Underlying every theme and subplot in this play is the need for control—to manipulate what we see; to be what we believe. Othello, Roderigo, and Bianca all fall victim to “ocular proof,” and pay a high price for the choices they make. Iago, Emilia, Cassio, and Desdemona are driven by wanting to claim their power and independence, though their strategies range from the Machiavellian to the naïve.

We are, gratefully, living in a time when inclusion and race are at the forefront of our artistic decisions, be they season selection or casting choices, and this production asks questions of the play, and makes demands on the artists who create it. Shakespeare’s story leaves us thinking hard about assimilation, status, gender, and race in profound human ways. Like any good play, it doesn’t provide easy answers.