Stage 2: Julius Caesar 2017

Student Matinee Performances: May 8-12, 15-16 2017 | Public Performance: May 13 at 7pm

Carling-Sorenson Theater, Babson College, Wellesley

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Adam Sanders

About Student Matinees

Julius Caesar pulls aside the curtain of rhetoric and image that masks the motivations and consequences of the actions of Rome’s most powerful leaders. Brutus, a Roman politician under Caesar’s leadership, must confront the opposition of political ideals and practical reality while he plans for the future of his nation. Whether it’s for honor, gain, or love, Julius Caesar offers a timely perspective in this election year on how to question the value of political action.

Student matinee performances will be held the following days/times. To inquire about booking or for any questions about student performances, please contact Victoria Townsend at 781-239-5974 or at  vtownsend@commshakes.org 

Monday, May 8 at 10 A.M.
Tuesday, May 9 at 1o A.M.
Wednesday, May 10 at 10 A.M.
Thursday, May 11 at 10 A.M.
Friday, May 12 at 11 A.M.
Monday, May 15 at 10 A.M.
Tuesday, May 16 at 10 A.M.

$8 per person (student or chaperone)
School groups also have the option of staying for a free post-show talk-back with the actors.

There will also be one performance open to the public on Friday, May 13 at 7pm. 

 

Who is Julius Caesar appropriate for?

Our Stage2 programming is recommended for students grades 6-12; however, we encourage each educator and/or parent to read the play being presented and make the best choice for his/her student(s). Please use the information and graphic below to gain a better idea of what to expect from this year’s play.

Our shows are presented using Shakespeare’s original text, cut for length to approximately 1.5 hours without intermission. School groups also have the option of staying for a short post-show talkback with the actors. Our cuts also focus on highlighting the themes, ideas and language that will resonate most for this audience. Our creative team and performers strive to support the play by making choices that serve to illuminate the storytelling for student audiences without “watering down” our source material.

Julius Caesar in particular touches on many themes that should be considered when deciding if this play is appropriate for your student(s).Caesar’s plot contains strong elements of violence and war depicted on stage. Scenes will include: staged-combat, blood, murder/stabbing and suicide. We recommend discussing the context of these scenes with your student(s) before and after you view our production.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About CSC2

CSC’s Stage2 Series productions use Shakespeare’s original text and are performed by our CSC2 Company, a group of young professional actors in residency with us for the year. We focus on themes and stories told by this next generation of actors that will resonate with next generation of theater goers. These productions bring the vibrancy, clarity and immediacy that has been the hallmark of our work on the Boston Common for over twenty years. Stage2 is a perfect supplement for students already reading Shakespeare in their curriculum or as a first-time introduction. We strive to make each play accessible, intelligible and entertaining for all. In addition to our Stage2 productions, we also offer supplemental in-school workshops led by our teaching artists and CSC2 actors.

Cast

Alex Deroo
Metellus/ Plebeian / Lucilius
Alex Deroo
Metellus/ Plebeian / Lucilius

Alex Deroo is thrilled to be working with CSC for yet another epic season of Shakespeare. Alex was part of the 2015 Apprentice Company and at the end of that summer it was his goal to be accepted into CSC2 upon graduating college. He graduated from Salem State University last May with a BFA Degree in Theatre Performance. Alex has a variety of experience performing Shakespeare including Macbeth, Twelfth Night, King Henry IV, Hamlet and The Comedy of Errors.

Adam Ewer
Brutus

Adam Ewer is a recent alum of The Juilliard School drama program. His previous work includes many Shakespeare plays as well as physical theater, short films, and voiceover. He lives in New York City but is proud to have grown up in little Norfolk, Mass.

Cassie Foote
Cassius/ Plebeian
Cassie Foote
Cassius/ Plebeian

Cassie Foote is excited to be back working with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. Previous credits with CSC include Julius Caesar (Cassius) with the CSC2 ensemble and Romeo & Juliet (Ensemble/u/s Lady Capulet). Other Boston credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Arts After Hours). NY credits: The Changeling (West End Theater), Othello, Love’s Labour’s Lost, (Easy Leap Theatre Company) Whaddabloodclot! (Williamstown Theater Festival), Sky Pony: Raptured (The Play Company), The Fourth Grader’s Present an Unnamed Love-Suicide (Dreamstem Productions).

Tim Hackney
Cinna the Poet /Plebeian/ Antony Soldier 1
Tim Hackney
Cinna the Poet /Plebeian/ Antony Soldier 1

Tim Hackney is thrilled to be a member of CSC2 this year. National Tours: Mrs. Bumbrake/Teacher in Peter and the Starcatcher, Robert u/s in The Drowsy Chaperone; NYC: Hudson Guild: Charles Ramsdell in The Whaleship Essex. Regional: Joe Pitt in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (Playhouse on Park); Jason Posner in Wit (Playhouse on Park); Film: The Upcoming Kathryn Bigelow Untitled Detroit Project. Proud graduate of The William Esper Studio in NYC.

Keith Hale
Caska /Plebeian / Pindarus
Keith Hale
Caska /Plebeian / Pindarus

Keith Hale National Tour: Miracle on 34th Street (Capstone Theatricals). New York credits include: Edward III & Twelfth Night (Hudson Shakespeare Company), Tofurkey (Ugly Rhino Productions), The Comedy of Errors (Bergen Shakespeare), and Writopia Lab’s World Wide Plays Festival (Writopia Lab). Keith is a Houston, Texas native with a BFA from Elon University. www.keithjhale.com

Kaci Hamilton
Marc Antony
Kaci Hamilton
Marc Antony

Kaci Hamilton is thrilled to make her Boston debut on the CSC2 stage. A graduate of the William Esper Studio in New York and native of Ocho Rios, Jamaica, she has appeared as Tituba in The Crucible with Perseverance Theater in Juneau, Alaska, and Katherine/Boy with Fairbanks Shakespeare Theater’s (FST) Henry V; she subsequently traveled with FST to Brisbane, Australia, re-staging Henry V at the 12th Annual World Shakespeare Congress.

Jamil Joseph
Cinna the Senator/ Plebeian / Messala
Jamil Joseph
Cinna the Senator/ Plebeian / Messala

Jamil Joseph a Brooklyn, NY native and recent alumnus from CSC’s Apprentice Program, is making his way back to CSC2. He has been in shows such as Spike Heels, Eurydice, Jackie & Me, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Through the Apprentice Program Jamil has had the pleasure of working with one of Boston’s finest Directors Jennie Israel on the show Measure for Measure. Since the Apprentice Program Jamil has been working on two shows in Bethlehem, PA with Allentown Public Theatre and with Mock Turtle Marionette Theatre.

Stephanie King
Calpurnia/ Lepidus/ Plebeian
Stephanie King
Calpurnia/ Lepidus/ Plebeian

Stephanie King is thrilled to be working with CSC2 in Julius Caesar and this summer’s Romeo and Juliet on the Boston Common. A recent MFA Acting graduate from Brooklyn College,favorite roles include Rosemary in William Inge’s Picnic and Thyona in Charles Mee’s Big Love.

Sarah Mass
Decius/ Plebeian/ Tintinius
Sarah Mass
Decius/ Plebeian/ Tintinius

Sarah Mass is delighted to return to Commonwealth Shakespeare Company after appearing in last year’s productions of Fear and Misery in the Third Reich, Julius Caesar (Stage2), and Romeo and Juliet (Free Shakespeare on the Common).on the Boston Common. Sarah is an alumnus of both the CSC2 company and the CSC Apprentice Program. Other local credits include Mame (Greater Boston Stage), Sense and Sensibility and The Winter’s Tale (Maiden Phoenix Theatre Co), A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Henry V (Arts After-hours), Blinders (Flat Earth Theatre), Footfalls (Exiled Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Now!). Sarah received her B.A. in Theatre from Boston College and also studied at the British American Drama Academy in London.

Andrew Prensky
Popilius /Soothsayer / Antony Soldier 2
Andrew Prensky
Popilius /Soothsayer / Antony Soldier 2

Andrew Prensky is a Boston-based writer and actor. His most recent credits include: Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, (Umass Lowell), Elbow in Measure for Measure (Commonwealth Shakespeare Apprentice Program), and Macbeth in Macbeth (Tufts University). He has a BA in Drama and Political Science from Tufts University.

Kai Tshikosi
Caesar /Antony Soldier 3/ Caesar’s Ghost
Kai Tshikosi
Caesar /Antony Soldier 3/ Caesar’s Ghost

Kai Tshikosi is thrilled to be making his Commonwealth Shakespeare Company debut. Other Boston Credits include: The Tempest (Actors’ Shakespeare Project), Franklin (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre), Cymbeline (Brown Box Theatre Project), Colossal (Company One), Julius Caesar (Classic Repertory Company, New Repertory Theater), and Cyclops: A Satyr Play (OBERON New Works Series). Kai earned his BA in Acting and Stage Combat from
Emerson College in 2015 and also works as a teaching artist and fight choreographer in the Boston area. As always, boundless love and praise for the greatest mom to ever walk this earth, and to the mentors who’ve imparted their love of the Bard and the Sword.

Joey Tyler
Cicero/ Octavius/ Plebeian
Joey Tyler
Cicero/ Octavius/ Plebeian

Joey Tyler is very excited to be returning to work with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. Last summer he completed CSC’s Apprentice Program where he played The Queen in a genderbent showcase production of Cymbeline and understudied Dull in Love’s Labour’s Lost on the Boston Common. He has most recently been touring with Boston Theatre Company in their productions of Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream to give students exposure to Shakespeare in schools around Massachusetts.

Creative Team

Adam Sanders
Director

Adam Sanders is the Associate Artistic Director at CSC. He serves as director of the Apprentice Program, and is the director and originator of CSC2, a cohort of early-career actors. Directing credits for CSC include: Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar (CSC2 Company), Symphonic Shakespeare, (in collaboration with Boston Landmarks Orchestra at the Boston Hatch Shell); co-director: Kiss Me Kate, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Boys From Syracuse (also BLO/Hatch Shell collaborations), co-director/dramaturg: Shakespeare and Leadership (2013 – 2017), and CSCs unprecedented Shakespeare at Fenway performance in 2014; director: Shakespeare and the Law (2017).

William Shakespeare
Playwright

William Shakespeare was a renowned English poet, playwright, and actor born in 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon. His birthday is most commonly celebrated on 23 April, which is also believed to be the date on which he died in 1616. Shakespeare was a prolific writer during the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages of British theatre (sometimes referred to as the English Renaissance or the Early Modern Period). Shakespeare’s plays are perhaps his most enduring legacy, but they are not the only things he wrote. Shakespeare’s poetry has also remained popular to this day.

Shakespeare’s work includes 38 plays, 2 narrative poems, a collection of 154 sonnets, and other poems as well. No original manuscripts of Shakespeare’s plays are known to exist today, and about half of Shakespeare’s plays are only available to us because a group of actors in his company collected them for publication after his death. These writings were brought together in what is known as the First Folio (‘Folio’ refers to the size of the paper used). It contained 36 of his plays, and none of his poetry. Shakespeare’s legacy is as rich and diverse as his work; his plays have spawned countless adaptations across multiple genres and cultures, and his plays have had an enduring presence on stage and film.

His writings have been compiled in various iterations of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by different entities, which usually include all of his plays, his sonnets, and his other poems. From Stratford to London and beyond, William Shakespeare was and is one of the most important literary figures of the English language.

 

Daniel Prosky
Scenic Design
Daniel Prosky
Scenic Design

Daniel Prosky has designed and constructed over a dozen sets including Little Murders, The Pillowman, and Antigonick (The Loeb Drama Center) and Carousel (Oberon), Lighting design credits include Mother Courage and Her Children (Farkas Hall), Trailblazers, Grassroots (Laurie Beechman Theatre), and 1969: The Second Man (Ars Nova).

Jeff Adelberg
Lighting Design
Jeff Adelberg
Lighting Design

Jeff Adelberg returns to CSC after designing Death and the Maiden and Macbeth last season. Other recent work: Trouble in Tahiti and Arias and Barcarolles (Boston Lyric Opera); Gloria, The Night of the Iguana, As You Like It (The Gamm Theatre, RI); Beckett Women: Ceremonies of Departure (Poets’ Theatre at the MAC Belfast, Northern Ireland); Being Earnest, The Legend of Georgia McBride (Greater Boston Stage Co.); Frankenstein, Constellations (Underground Railway Theatre); The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Hand to God (SpeakEasy Stage Company); Man of La Mancha (New Repertory Theatre); Rhinoceros (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre); Edward II, God’s Ear (Actors’ Shakespeare Project);Finish Line (Boston Theatre Co.); and Boston’s Christmas Revels since 2010. A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Jeff teaches at Boston College and Brandeis University. Member of United Scenic Artists 829. www.jeffadelberg.com

Miranda Giurleo
Costume Design
Miranda Giurleo
Costume Design

Miranda Kau Giurleo has previously designed Macbeth, Julius Caesar and Midsummer Night’s Dream for CSC’s Second Stage.  Regional credits include: Native Gardens, The Heath, The Royale, A Christmas Carol, Chill  (Merrimack Repertory Theatre), Allegiance, The Scottsboro Boys (SpeakEasy Stage Company), Dry Land, Shockheaded Peter, She Kills Monsters, Neighbors (Company One), Richard III, Measure for Measure, As You Like It (Actor’s Shakespeare Project), The Convert, Matchless & The Happy Prince, Roots of Liberty (Underground Railway Theatre), True West, Dancing at Lughnasa, The Effect, The New Electric Ballroom, Totalitarians (Gloucester Stage Company).  Miranda is also on the faculty at Bridgewater State University where designs include Gypsy, Assassins, and Young Frankenstein.

Nathan Leigh
Sound Design
Nathan Leigh
Sound Design

Nathan Leigh has designed sound and composed original music for over 300 plays at theatres including New York Theatre Workshop (Nat Turner In Jerusalem), Red Bull Theatre (The Duchess of Malfi),Huntington Theatre (Skeleton Crew), American Repertory Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Group, The Debate Society (Gothamist: Best Sound Design 2007 for The Eaten Heart), Stoneham Theatre (IRNE Best Sound Design 2009 for Strangers On A Train), and Central Square Theatre (IRNE Best Sound Design 2010 for The Hound of the Baskervilles). With Kyle Jarrow, Nathan co-created the musicals Big Money (WTF Boris Segall Fellowship 2008) and The Consequences (World Premiere 2012 at WHAT). With the Liars and Believers ensemble, Nathan Leigh composed scores for adaptations of Song of Songs and Icarus. With Megan Sass, he is the composer and lyricist for The Mad Scientist’s Guide (NYC Fringe 2015). Nathan’s latest solo album is “Ordinary Eternal Machinery”.

Margaret Clark
Assistant Director/ Fight Choreographer
Margaret Clark
Assistant Director/ Fight Choreographer

Margaret Clark returns to CSC after appearing as Hermia in CSC2’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Other credits include Carol in Oleanna (Umbrella Arts), Miss Plum in Trumpet of the Swan (Wheelock Family Theatre), Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew (Brown Box Theatre), Annie in Spinning (Solas Nua), and The Silver Lining, Translations (Bad Habit). She received her BFA in Acting from Emerson College and additional training at Shakespeare & Company and The American Shakespeare Center.

Geena M. Forristall
Stage Manager

Geena M. Forristall Credits include Dinner Detective Boston (Dinner Detective), Kultar’s Mime Mehr Kaur (Sikh Research Center), Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare Now!), The Winter’s Tale (Bay Colony Productions), and Sleep No More (Punchdrunk NYC/Emursive).

Bryant Cyr
Production Manager
Bryant Cyr
Production Manager

Bryant Cyr Credits include A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live on Stage! (Head of Electrics-Gershwin Entertainment), Our Town (Technical Director-A>R.T. Institute for Advanced Theater Training, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Scenic Designer/Master Carpenter-Palace Theatre), and The Body Politick (Technical Director/Assistant Scenic Designer-Juventas New Music Ensemble).

Carling-Sorenson Theater
19 College Drive Babson College
231 Forest Street
Babson Park (Wellesley), MA 02457

Driving Directions to Babson College/Sorenson Center for the Arts

From the east: Take the Massachusetts Turnpike to Exit 15 (Interstate 95/Route 128). After the tolls, follow signs to Route 95/128 South to Exit 21 (Route 16 Newton/Wellesley) …

From the west: Take the Massachusetts Turnpike to Exit 14 (Interstate 95/Route 128). After the tolls, follow signs to Route 95/128 South to Exit 21 (Route 16 Newton/Wellesley) … From the south: Follow Route 95/128 North to Exit 21 (Route 16 Newton/Wellesley) …

From the north: Follow Route 95/128 South to Exit 21 (Route 16 Newton/Wellesley) …

Then … At end of the off ramp, follow signs for Route 16 West (Washington Street). Continue on Route 16 West for 2 miles through Newton Lower Falls and Wellesley Hills. Turn left onto Forest Street and follow for 1 mile to Babson College; the main entrance is on the right. Turn left onto Map Hill Drive and park in the Trim Parking Lot. The theater is a short walk away, on College Drive.

Trim Parking Lot is the best place to park when attending events at the Sorenson Center for the Arts.  As you enter on Forest Street, make a left at the first stop sign unto Map Hill Drive.  On your right will be a smaller lot, Hollister Lot. If there is space available, patrons may park there.  However, Trim Parking Lot is preferred which will be on the left hand side after you pass the Hollister lot.  To walk to the theater, walk back towards the stop sign and make a left at the Hollister building.  Continue walking straight past Reynolds Campus Center and the Sorenson Center for the Arts will be the next building.

Handicap parking is available in the Hollister Lot, on Map Hill Drive.  We also recommend that patrons with mobility issues be dropped off in front of the theater before your party finds parking in Hollister or Trim lot for your convenience. 

From the Amtrak Terminal at South Station

You have two options:

1) Take the Framingham/Worcester Commuter rail to Wellesley Hills. From South Station, take the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail to Wellesley Hills. Depending on the time of day, regularly scheduled trains leave South Station at ½ to 2-hour intervals (Monday-Friday), and 1-to 3-hour intervals (Saturday and Sunday). The trip takes approximately 30 minutes. Purchase your ticket in the station. Then, call a taxi from Wellesley Hills. (See Area Taxis, below.)

2) Take the “T.” From South Station, take the MBTA subway Red Line inbound two stops to Park Street. Walk upstairs and take the Green Line outbound Riverside D train to Woodland, the next to last stop on the D line. Allow an hour for the trip. Then, take a taxi from Woodland to Babson. (See Area Taxis, below.)

For complete information about Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) services, including specific maps, schedules, and fares for trains, buses, and subways, please visit the MBTA web site.

By Taxi

Veteran’s Taxi (781) 449-8294 Wellesley Transportation (781) 235-2200 The Babson campus is handicap accessible.

What is the running time of the production?

The performance runs approximately under 2 hours without intermission.

For student matinees, each performance is followed by a talk back with the cast which will last no more than an additional half hour. Schools may choose to be dismissed before or after the talk back and can indicate this preference when booking.

What ages is the production appropriate for?

Our Stage2 programming is recommended for students grades 6-12; however, we encourage each educator and/or parent to read the play being presented and make the best choice for his/her student(s). Please use the information and graphic below to gain a better idea of what to expect from this year’s play.

Our shows are presented using Shakespeare’s original text, cut for length to approximately 1.5 hours without intermission. School groups also have the option of staying for a short post-show talkback with the actors. Our cuts also focus on highlighting the themes, ideas and language that will resonate most for this audience. Our creative team and performers strive to support the play by making choices that serve to illuminate the storytelling for student audiences without “watering down” our source material.

Julius Caesar in particular touches on many themes that should be considered when deciding if this play is appropriate for your student(s).Caesar’s plot contains strong elements of violence and war depicted on stage. Scenes will include: staged-combat, blood, murder/stabbing and suicide. We recommend discussing the context of these scenes with your student(s) before and after you view our production.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is there handicap seating available?

Yes, there are several locations in the theater to accommodate wheelchairs.  For evening performances, call the box office at the Sorenson Center for the Arts to purchase these locations at 781-239-5880.

For student matinees, please indicate any seating needs during booking.

Are assisted listening devices available?

Yes, visit the box office for assisted listening devices.

When should I arrive?

The theater will open for seating roughly a half hour before curtain time.

We advise you give yourself plenty of time for parking and walking to the theater.

Where should I park?/How do I get to the theater after parking?

Trim Parking Lot is the best place to park when attending events at the Sorenson Center for the Arts.  As you enter on Forest Street, make a left at the first stop sign unto Map Hill Drive.  On your right will be a smaller lot, Hollister Lot. If there is space available, patrons may park there.  However, Trim Parking Lot is preferred which will be on the left hand side after you pass the Hollister lot.  To walk to the theater, walk back towards the stop sign and make a left at the Hollister building.  Continue walking straight past Reynolds Campus Center and the Sorenson Center for the Arts will be the next building.

For student matinees, buses may drop off and pickup directly in front of the theater. Arrival/dismissal instructions will be sent with your booking confirmation.

Are concessions available?

Although there is no food or drink permitted in the theater, food and drink are available for purchase in the Reynolds Campus Center next to the Sorenson Center for the arts.

For student matinees, students may bring bagged lunches to store under their seats for the duration of the show. No food or drink is to be consumed in the theater during the performance. If your school group would like to secure a space for students to eat in after the performance, please let us know at time of booking.

Are shows delayed or canceled for weather?

Audience and actor safety is our main concern.  In cases of heavy snow or extreme weather, we will cancel and try to reseat patrons into an alternative performance date.  Weather updates can be found on the homepage of our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

For student matinees, a member of our Audience Services team will be in touch with school group’s lead chaperone should there be any changes or cancellations to the performance.

If I miss the show, what are my options?

To reschedule for evening performances, call the box office at the Sorenson Center for the Arts at 781-239-5880 at least one business day before your reservation.  We will make our best efforts to seat you in another performance.  Seating will be based on availability.  It is not our policy to refund tickets but we are happy to reseat you on another date.  If you miss a production altogether, we will reseat you in an alternative production of your choice based on availability.

Can I take photos or video?

The taking of photos or video is strictly prohibited.

How can I support Commonwealth Shakespeare Company?

To make a donation or call 617-426-0863.  Click on the Ways To Give tab on our website to learn more about upcoming fundraising events and ways to get involved.

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