Posted December 22, 2018
We’re proud to announce our 2019 Education Tour, an immersive, 90-minute production of JULIUS CAESAR directed by Illana Stein, winner of the 2018 Drama League First Draft Residency and member of the Directing Company of New York Madness. Shakespeare’s iconic story of power and consequence will make initial stops at middle and high schools throughout the tri-state region between March 18 and May 3, 2019 and will be remounted in the summer for a brief tour of area venues and community spaces, including two free matinee performances at the HVSF Theater Tent.
Stein, who has an extensive background in directing Shakespeare and the classics on tour and at major regional institutions, hopes to right the wrongs of her own first experience with CAESAR. “What I love about this play is it’s a chance for students to use their critical thinking skills and find power in their own voice to participate in political dialogue,” she explained. “I first learned about JULIUS CAESAR in my high school AP English class, and was assigned to memorize Antony’s famous “Friends, Romans, Countrymen…” speech. Individually, my classmates and I stood up to recite it, and points were taken off for wrong words, mispronunciation, wrong punctuation… there was no passion or emotional connection, no chance to examine the meaning of the speech.”
