They're Flipping the Script on Shakespeare
By Jeff Theodore
For the Hudson Shakespeare Company, it's ladies' night all summer.
The compnay a mainstay in Hudson for 17 years, and a producer of more than 80 shows, has handed of the Shakespeare classic, Julius Caesar, to the fairer sex.
And Jennifer Fouche, wo 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 plae, it's emplowering and ridculously fabulous."
Jon Ciccarelli, HSC's artistic director, said the theater company has been eyeing the prospect of putting on a "single gender production" for years.
"We feel that it translates pretty well," Ciccarelli adds, referring to how the all-women cast deals with the play's character interpretation 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 pop culture.
"Pop culture, especially in the 'Oprah' vein, the sexes tend not to be very close," he said. "Having women take on males roles makes it pretty evident that 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, says she is having the best time rehearsing for the show, despite the fact its a physical endurance test.
"We're doing stage combat, which is fun, but the swords and sheilds 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.
Fouches, a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, still works there in the library. She heard about the auditions from her friend, Madeleine James, 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, Fouch 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?
