They're flipping the script on 'Caesar'
Friday, July 25, 2008
For the Hudson Shakespeare Company, it's ladies' night all summer.
The company, a mainstay in Hudson for 17 years, and a producer of more than 80 shows, has handed off the Shakespeare classic "Julius Caesar" to the fairer sex.
And Jennifer Fourche, who will portray Brutus in the HSC production, is
giddier than a high school girl in love about it.
"Doing this feels powerful and beautiful," Fouche said in an almost breathless fashion in a phone interview. "Shakespeare's language is gorgeous. To be able to say the words written for such huge circumstances that really took place, it's empowering and ridiculously fabulous."
Jon Ciccarelli, HSC's artistic director, said the theater company had been eyeing the prospect of putting on a "single gender production" for years.
"We feel that it translates pretty well," Ciccarelli said, referring to how the all-women casts deals with the play's character interpretations and fight scenes. "'Caesar,' I think, is very neutral. And we're not doing caricatures or male interpretations, either."
Ciccarelli, however, is presenting the show as fodder to show it mirrors the state of pop culture.
"Pop culture, especially in the 'Oprah' vein, the sexes tend to be much closer," he said. "Having women take on male roles, makes it pretty evident. A woman can become drunk on power as easily as a man."
Fouche, a professional singer who now views herself as an actress who sings, said she's having the best time rehearsing for the show, despite the fact that it's a physical endurance test.
"We're doing stage combat, which is fun, but the swords and shields are really heavy," she said. "I like to think I stay in pretty good shape. However, this makes you very aware of that time period and what it was like to do battle. As a cast, I think we're holding up. Nobody is falling down panting."
Fouche, a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, still works there in its library. She heard about the auditions from her friend Madeleine Parmik, a fellow student at the academy who will portray Cassius in the "Caesar" production.
"When Madeleine first told me about it I was auditioning for something else," Fouche said. "Later, she told me again that they were still looking for Caesar. So, she put in a word for me with Jon, the director. After I auditioned, Jon offered me the role of Brutus. From day one, I thought any role in this would be fine. How many times in my life will I have a chance to portray a character like this in a play that I adore?"
The biggest challenge, Fouche said, has been keeping on top of identifying the characters during rehearsals.
"Luckily, I learn dialogue pretty quickly," she said. "However, it is quite hard because we have people playing multiple roles. It's tough at times to keep things straight. And who wants to be responsible for screwing up Shakespeare in any context?"
