Bloody Bard of Avon play bashes conventions

Dismemberment, blood and combat splash across the stage of Philaletheis' newest production. Shakespeare's more obscure and most violent tragedy, "Titus Andronicus," will be staged in the Shiva Theater from April 16 to 18 at 8 p.m., along with a 2 p.m. matinée performance on April 18.

When the curtain goes up in the Shiva, audience members will not encounter a traditionally divided Shakespearean tragedy. Instead, they will face a technically original interpretation of arguably the goriest revenge tragedy that the Bard of Avon ever wrote.
"I was saddened that it has an anemic production history," said Director Charlie O'Malley '11 of his choice to put on "Titus." He explained that he wanted to share the play with Vassar students.

Though it is true that "Titus" is not produced as frequently as many of Shakespeare's other works, the play definitely does not lack a solid plot. The titular character, played in this production by Ben Morrow '11, returns to Rome after defeating the Roman wartime enemy, the Goths. Titus brings the captured Gothic Queen Tamora, played by Mary Goodwin '09, and her family to Rome.

By enacting the ritualized sacrifice of Tamora's firstborn son, Titus initiates a cycle of revenge and violence that drives the action of the play. However, O'Malley stated that referring to the play as "simply a revenge tragedy" would not be fair.

"There comes a point where there's a realization of the absurdity of the situation," Morrow commented on the play's plot.

O'Malley cited grief as another theme—each character in the play experiences emotional pain differently. That pain leads to yet another theme: the effects of war on a nation's citizens, which will resonate with modern audiences. The Roman society had East Germanic tribes; American society has Iraq and Afghanistan.

The actors, with these themes in mind, are focusing on their characters' tremendous emotional and sometimes physical burdens. "What does this character bring with them?" asked Jamie Watkins '10, who will perform the role of Aaron.

Margaret Dwyer '09, who plays the role of Titus' daughter Lavinia, must perform most of the play in silence because of her character's oral mutilation. "The audience will understand that she's raped, and you don't need to re-emphasize it," she said.

Dwyer and Morrow discussed the challenges of their roles; particularly, the actors had never experienced their characters' traumas. According to the actors, this lack of connection with their characters is a good thing, given the amount of harrowing violence that the play contains.

Besides the unique content of the play, Philaletheis' production will also incorporate several unorthodox techniques. The director chose to screen some pre-recorded scenes during the play by projecting them onto the stage, which will have been painted white.

The scenes were recorded by two videographers, Kelley Van Dilla '12 and Alex Levy '12, and will be projected by projection designer Aaron Green '12. "[Levy] and I decided which scenes were to be filmed, and then we worked together to assemble a production team and get everything in order," O'Malley explained regarding the footage, the content of which he is keeping a secret until opening night. As the play goes on and the violence of the action escalates, the stage becomes smothered with a water- and paint-based "blood."

"The empty stage tells the story [the audience has] just seen," O'Malley explained.

Furthermore, and perhaps most distinctly, the casting for the play was done in both a race- and gender-blind fashion. All of the characters will wear the same costumes, with slight alterations to denote the gender of the role. Notably, the casting of the characters Saturninus and Aaron may shock those familiar with the play by casting actors who wouldn't normally play those roles. Levy, who is a Moor in the original play, is being played by Watkins, who is white, while the Roman Emperor Saturninus is played by Deadria Harrington '10, an African-American female. Watkins said that the unique casting aimed at "capturing the essence of the story."

It very well might. After all, people consider neither "Titus Andronicus" nor Vassar College traditional or ordinary. So could a combination of the two be anything but a faithful progeny of its parents? Viewers might be surprised that what they see is Shakespeare.