Of Men and Monsters Iago famously warns Othello, O, beware, my lord, of jealousy. It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on. Othello soon suffers the beast’s deadly bite. What makes a monster? Referring to himself in Act IV, Scene 1, Othello calls attention to a physical deformity: "A horned man’s a monster and a beast.” (Why the horns? Othello fears himself a cuckold, and the wronged husband proverbially wore horns.)
OTHELLO
So you can tell some monsters by their horns. They show themselves monsters. How fitting, then, that the Latin word, monstrare, means “to show.” Shakespeare knew his Latin and would have made the connection. He seems to have had it in mind when he wrote Act III, Scene 3. Iago artfully hesitates to accuse Cassio: ...as if there were some monster in his thought Too hideous to be shown. Othello then enjoins him: If thou dost love me, Show me thy thoughts.” Yes, some monsters show themselves, yet others go unseen. They hide, horns and all, in those very thoughts. Iago represents another kind of monster. Looking no different from the next man, he nevertheless hides a deformity in his temperament. Trusted by all, he weaves a web of lies to catch his intended victims, Othello, Desdemona, and Cassio. (Others, like his own wife, are merely collateral damage to him.) The carnage comes about for reasons evident and hidden: Iago harbors allconsuming hatred and perhaps unspeakable desire. The two are sometimes rapacious bedfellows. Can a place make a monster? And is Iago the only one in Cyprus? He claims “civil monster[s]” lurk in many cities, and Shakespeare’s men fit the description. Drunk on wine, the well-bred Cassio grows savage. Consumed by jealousy, the loving Othello commits murder. It’s not a matter of place; “warlike” Cyprus has not aroused these beasts. With the right provocation, they rear their ugly heads anywhere.
Thursday, January 19 at 4PM Friday, January 20 at 4PM and 8PM Saturday, January 21 at 4PM Iseman Theater, 1156 Chapel Street
—GAVIN WHITEHEAD, PRODUCTION DRAMATURG
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The Studio Series productions are designed to be learning experiences that complement classroom work, providing a medium for students at Yale School of Drama to combine their individual talents and energies toward the staging of collaboratively created works. Your attendance meaningfully completes this process.
2016–17 SEASON
JANUARY 19–21, 2017 YALE SCHOOL OF DRAMA James Bundy, Dean Victoria Nolan, Deputy Dean Joan Channick, Associate Dean Chantal Rodriguez, Assistant Dean
PRESENTS
OTHELLO WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Directed by RORY PELSUE
By
CREATIVE TEAM
CAST
ARTISTIC STAFF
ADMINISTRATION
Assistant Lighting Designer
Associate Managing Director FLO LOW
in alphabetical order
Scenic Designer RYAN EMENS Costume Designer KATIE TOUART Lighting Designer SAMUEL KWAN CHI CHAN Sound Designer IAN SCOT Production Dramaturg GAVIN WHITEHEAD Stage Manager JOHN CARLIN
Bianca STELLA BAKER
KRISTA SMITH
Assistant Managing Director SYLVIA XIAOMENG ZHANG
Desdemona BAIZE BUZAN
Assistant Sound Designer and
Technician MATTHEW CONWAY
IAN HANNAN
Management Assistant JAMIE TOTTI
Cassio ESTON J. FUNG
PRODUCTION STAFF
House Manager JASON NAJJOUM
Montano BARBARO GUZMAN Iago STEVEN LEE JOHNSON Lodovico, Soldier JAKE RYAN LOZANO Emelia FRANCESCA FERNANDEZ McKENZIE Othello JAMES UDOM Roderigo CURTIS WILLAMS
Engineer
Associate Production Manager MATT DAVIS Technical Director AUSTIN BYRD Assistant Technical Director KIRK KEEN Master Electrician BRYANNA KIM Supervisor Stage Managers PAULA R. CLARKSON HELEN IRENE MULLER Military Advisor THOMAS BURKE Crew SHADI GHAHERI RAVI (RIW) RAKKULCHON CATHERINE MARÍA RODRÍGUEZ HALEY WOLF
Yale School of Drama productions are supported by the work of more than 200 faculty and staff members throughout the year.
SPECIAL THANKS Yaara Bar
JANUARY 19–21, 2017 YALE SCHOOL OF DRAMA James Bundy, Dean Victoria Nolan, Deputy Dean Joan Channick, Associate Dean Chantal Rodriguez, Assistant Dean
PRESENTS
OTHELLO WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Directed by RORY PELSUE
By
CREATIVE TEAM
CAST
ARTISTIC STAFF
ADMINISTRATION
Assistant Lighting Designer
Associate Managing Director FLO LOW
in alphabetical order
Scenic Designer RYAN EMENS Costume Designer KATIE TOUART Lighting Designer SAMUEL KWAN CHI CHAN Sound Designer IAN SCOT Production Dramaturg GAVIN WHITEHEAD Stage Manager JOHN CARLIN
Bianca STELLA BAKER
KRISTA SMITH
Assistant Managing Director SYLVIA XIAOMENG ZHANG
Desdemona BAIZE BUZAN
Assistant Sound Designer and
Technician MATTHEW CONWAY
IAN HANNAN
Management Assistant JAMIE TOTTI
Cassio ESTON J. FUNG
PRODUCTION STAFF
House Manager JASON NAJJOUM
Montano BARBARO GUZMAN Iago STEVEN LEE JOHNSON Lodovico, Soldier JAKE RYAN LOZANO Emelia FRANCESCA FERNANDEZ McKENZIE Othello JAMES UDOM Roderigo CURTIS WILLAMS
Engineer
Associate Production Manager MATT DAVIS Technical Director AUSTIN BYRD Assistant Technical Director KIRK KEEN Master Electrician BRYANNA KIM Supervisor Stage Managers PAULA R. CLARKSON HELEN IRENE MULLER Military Advisor THOMAS BURKE Crew SHADI GHAHERI RAVI (RIW) RAKKULCHON CATHERINE MARÍA RODRÍGUEZ HALEY WOLF
Yale School of Drama productions are supported by the work of more than 200 faculty and staff members throughout the year.
SPECIAL THANKS Yaara Bar
Of Men and Monsters Iago famously warns Othello, O, beware, my lord, of jealousy. It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on. Othello soon suffers the beast’s deadly bite. What makes a monster? Referring to himself in Act IV, Scene 1, Othello calls attention to a physical deformity: "A horned man’s a monster and a beast.” (Why the horns? Othello fears himself a cuckold, and the wronged husband proverbially wore horns.)
OTHELLO
So you can tell some monsters by their horns. They show themselves monsters. How fitting, then, that the Latin word, monstrare, means “to show.” Shakespeare knew his Latin and would have made the connection. He seems to have had it in mind when he wrote Act III, Scene 3. Iago artfully hesitates to accuse Cassio: ...as if there were some monster in his thought Too hideous to be shown. Othello then enjoins him: If thou dost love me, Show me thy thoughts.” Yes, some monsters show themselves, yet others go unseen. They hide, horns and all, in those very thoughts. Iago represents another kind of monster. Looking no different from the next man, he nevertheless hides a deformity in his temperament. Trusted by all, he weaves a web of lies to catch his intended victims, Othello, Desdemona, and Cassio. (Others, like his own wife, are merely collateral damage to him.) The carnage comes about for reasons evident and hidden: Iago harbors allconsuming hatred and perhaps unspeakable desire. The two are sometimes rapacious bedfellows. Can a place make a monster? And is Iago the only one in Cyprus? He claims “civil monster[s]” lurk in many cities, and Shakespeare’s men fit the description. Drunk on wine, the well-bred Cassio grows savage. Consumed by jealousy, the loving Othello commits murder. It’s not a matter of place; “warlike” Cyprus has not aroused these beasts. With the right provocation, they rear their ugly heads anywhere.
Thursday, January 19 at 4PM Friday, January 20 at 4PM and 8PM Saturday, January 21 at 4PM Iseman Theater, 1156 Chapel Street
—GAVIN WHITEHEAD, PRODUCTION DRAMATURG
<<0>>
The Studio Series productions are designed to be learning experiences that complement classroom work, providing a medium for students at Yale School of Drama to combine their individual talents and energies toward the staging of collaboratively created works. Your attendance meaningfully completes this process.
2016–17 SEASON