As dramaturg of Othello, I got to do a lot of fun and
interesting things like writing up explanatory notes for the middle and high
school classes who will see the play. But by far the most fun was working with
the actors. Early on in the rehearsal period I spent a couple of hours with the
cast, answering questions and providing background information on the play,
Venice and race in the Italian Renaissance.
Even though it was
the first week, the actors had all obviously spent a lot of time thinking about
their characters and they had tons of questions. They wanted to know all kinds
of things—we talked about whether Shakespeare thought of Othello as purely
African or more Arabian (the word “Moor” was used about both in the time period),
about the system of ranks in the army and whether or not Iago was right to
expect promotion, about Bianca—prostitute or girlfriend and, either way, why
she’s upset about Cassio’s request to copy the handkerchief pattern. I tried to
provide modern day examples because I firmly believe that while the specifics of
behavior have changed, Shakespeare is writing about universal feelings. With
Bianca I said “Imagine you’re in love with a guy, but you aren’t quite sure how
he feels. One day he hands you a cell phone. For a second you think it’s a gift
and then he says “I really like this model and I think they sell it at your
store. Could you pick one up for me?” And then he takes off. Imagine how
crushed you’d feel.”
I love working with
actors because they care passionately about the play—the language and the characters—in
a different way than the scholars I usually work do. Instead of looking for
symbols and themes, actors want to understand motivations and behaviors. They
want to give the characters life and make them rich, three-dimensional people
we all recognize. Being part of process of fleshing out the characters is one
of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had.
