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feminist shakespeare | Shakespeare in the Ruff

Jan 08
0
Eva Barrie in a Midsummer Night's Dream

We Doubled Our Leadership!

By | Announcements

Shakespeare in the Ruff is happy to appoint Eva Barrie as our Co-Artistic Director! Eva, who has been the Associate Artistic Director for two years, will join Kaitlyn Riordan at the helm.

The “Old Ruffians”, Troy Sarju, Sienna Singh and Jahnelle Jones-Williams

We asked three Ruff experts to interview Eva about this new role: Sienna Singh, Jahnelle Jones-Williams and Troy Sarju – graduates of the Young Ruffian Program, who became our Young Ruffian Chorus in Portia’s Julius Caesar. As emerging artists and future leaders themselves, they interviewed Eva and gave her some advice.

Sienna: What excites you most about this new role? What do you think will be the biggest challenge?

What I’m most excited about are the challenges! One of which will inevitably be fielding the question of “who really calls the shots?” (aka “who has the last call?” or “who wears the pants” [at the time of writing, both Kaitlyn and I are wearing skirts]). I’m collaborative in my art-making, so naturally, I’m collaborative in my leadership style. Kaitlyn and I have worked together closely, and most major decisions were made together. Now the financial and organizational structure of the company match how we best work. So, we aren’t really splitting leadership, we’re doubling it. That opens up a lot of exciting possibilities.

Eva and Kaitlyn rehearsing a pre-show speech (it definitely required a bit more rehearsal…)

This doesn’t mean we don’t disagree – we do, and that’s great. Conflict is a necessary part of theatre. I have a deep respect for Kaitlyn, and we both have a deep respect for the power of theatre. At the end of the day, what’s best for our community guides our decisions. The challenges that comes from disagreement – having to articulate, having to listen, and having to put your ego aside – help us grow as artists.

A second, ever-present challenge is that I love Shakespeare… sometimes. As a biracial feminist, it’s pretty tough for me to approach the work without cringing. There’s a lot about Shakespeare that’s connected to colonialism, white supremacy, and patriarchal structures, and I spend long swaths of time wondering if/how I’m reinforcing those systems by presenting Shakespeare (you know, your regular Sunday brunch thoughts). I’m excited to truly grapple with this conflict. You can’t wrestle something if you’re watching from the sidelines, you’ve got to get in the ring. I don’t expect an easy answer – I’m not looking for easy anyway. Sienna, text me in a few years and I’ll let you know what I’ve mulled over.

Sienna: If you could swap bodies with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Beyoncé. Any other answer is a waste of a magical swap.

Jahnelle: Why do you like working with Ruff?

The people. I’ve surrounded myself by some pretty stellar hearts. From the Danforth barista that knows my usual, to the artists that open their hearts to the park, to the ever-supportive Board of Directors, to my drum-beating rock star Old Ruffians, I couldn’t ask for a better community.

I’m especially grateful for my work-wife, Kaitlyn. When we first chatted about my joining the company two years ago, I shared the fact that I hadn’t always felt welcomed into Shakespeare, and that despite it being so “universal”, I never saw families that looked or sounded like mine, and that was something I wanted to change. She’s never made assumptions, she’s never been afraid to ask questions, and she’s always listened with an open heart. She’s a true partner, and I couldn’t ask for better.

Jahnelle: What is your favourite dish? And why? (ex.bowl, plate)

Little ceramic ramekins. I think people make souffles in them (I once warmed nacho cheese in one). They can be so hot and so cool: my life goal.

Troy: If there is anything my time with Ruff has taught me, it is that community is very important. How is implementation of inclusive performances (such as partnering with Autism Ontario, live captions, etc) important to community-building?

It’s important because it’s okay if you don’t understand someone. It’s okay if their lived experiences are different than yours. It’s okay if they are fighting different fights than you. We tend to feel safe with people similar to us, and afraid when someone challenges what we understand as “normal.” If we get stuck on certain ideas of “normal,” then we are limiting our possibilities. Sameness breeds sameness (as President Michelle Obama says). Vibrant communities need to be challenged and need different and diverse voices in order to grow. Otherwise, what are we all doing here?

Troy: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

To be able to body-swap with Beyoncé.

Advice from the Old Ruffians

Sienna:
My advice to Eva is to trust the company and it’s history over the past 7 years. Remember the love, hard work, and spirit that has gone into each and every show, and the community that has been created around them. And remember, Jack and Diane will always be there for you!

Jahnelle:
Always remember:
1. To drink your water because the sun is no joke.
2. There is not limit on how many times you can make the cast do something ‘uno mas’.

Troy:
Getting an everything bagel is normally a great choice but sometimes everything can be too much and that’s okay too. Get the bagel that you need and be present with your bagel.

The Old Ruffians on Eva

Keeping it serious with Christine Horne at the “Portia’s Julius Caesar” photoshoot

Sienna:
Eva will be an amazing Artistic Director for Ruff because of her true love of the work, the company, and the people involved. Seeing her get excited about the work (or even just a silly joke) is so fun and intoxicating. She has such innate leadership qualities, knowing when to step in, and when to step back. Her brain is full of ideas, and I can’t wait to see which ones she will bring to the company! Best of luck Eva!

Jahnelle:
Eva brings her heart and her smarts to her work and I know that she will make sure to fight for innovative shows, accessibility, and diverse casts, only enhancing all the great things about Shakespeare in the Ruff.

Troy:
Eva will be a great Artistic Director of Ruff because she allows every single individual to blossom in any creative space she is a part of. She is a very capable leader. I am so happy for Ruff and looking forward to all of the great things the company will accomplish, now with TWO astounding women leading the artistic charge.

Jul 30
1

Rewriting Shakespeare…because, why not?

By | Events, original practices, Outdoor theatre, Portia's Julius Caesar, Shakespeare
Christine Horne as Portia, Concept & Design by Michael Barker

Christine Horne as Portia, Concept & Design by Michael Barker for Shakespeare in the Ruff, 2018

 

I believe that Shakespeare wrote many compelling female roles, and Portia, in Julius Caesar, is one of them. Her brief time on stage belies a rich and fascinating off-stage life that surfaces in unforgettable flashes: a self-inflicted wound to prove her metal, an a-typical devotedness between her and her husband, and the act of taking her life by ‘swallowing fire’.  Some argue that she actually swallowed hot coals…who does that?

These flashes spark my imagination, but don’t satisfy my desire to really know this woman. And Calpurnia, the only other female character in the play, is even more elusive – a part that’s as thankless as it is brief. In considering this epic moment in Roman History, when the governance of their society changed forever, I quickly began to wonder what other women might have played a role in these events, and how they were affected by the assassination of their leader.

And there was born the idea for Portia’s Julius Caesar (PJC), which is a version of the story told from a female perspective. Portia and Calpurnia are best of friends, both grappling with different stages of motherhood.  A new character, Servilia, is a key player too, maneuvering from behind the scenes, spurring on her son Brutus and her son-in-law Cassius to stop Caesar. Cleopatra, who is in Rome at the time of Caesars’s assassination, living lavishly as his Mistress, is caring for their new baby boy. Shakespeare doesn’t include her in his Caesar, clearly imagining a bigger role for her later, but come on, what a missed opportunity, Bill! Both the Soothsayer and Casca, now a Courtesan, are re-imagined as women in this version, and we also meet four Washer Women, whose stories intertwine with the fates of those who own them.

I’ve taken some liberties with historical timelines and filled in many blanks myself, as very little is known about the lives of women in that time (much to no one’s surprise). But as Shakespearean scholar, Stephen Greenblatt writes in his book, Tyrant, when it came to History, “Shakespeare felt comfortable trimming and making changes whenever it suited him…in order to produce more compelling and pointed stories.”

The plot of PJC still focuses on the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar and the inevitable fall-out, but tells it from a different perspective. In re-framing this story, I wanted to keep certain scenes from Shakespeare’s Caesar that I felt were vital – the bones of the play, so to speak, that would be fleshed out with new or borrowed writing. Those were the scenes that included the women (3 of 18 scenes), the Funeral scene (having once played Marc Antony, in an all-female production of Julius Caesar, I knew first hand the power of this writing, thank you, I’ll take that), and the tent scene between Brutus & Cassius (at least part of it…why is that scene so long?!). Others have also made the cut, been re-attributed, or scavenged for their plot points and reassigned to other characters.

Once the arch of these characters felt solid, I began imagining the scenes between them. As I wrote my own text in verse, I called upon Shakespeare’s writing to help me: long passages, single lines, and images have all been pilfered from Shakespeare’s works to enrich my own using text from 17 of his plays, 4 sonnets, and 1 poem. There’s not a ton of Shakespearean writing about getting your period, the difficulty of breast feeding, or being ‘the other woman’, but the themes of loss, isolation, and betrayal are everywhere, and were easily re-contextualized in those moments.

Now let me be clear, I’m not advocating for re-writing all of Shakespeare, but I am advocating for taking liberties, reimagining, and audaciously shaking things up. His plays don’t always reflect a world that I feel good about putting on a stage, in a public space, in Toronto, because perpetuating an archaic status quo does no one any good.

But I have to give credit where credit is due, Will’s been a great collaborator, and in the end, contributed to about half of the play. The other half is my nine month exploration of writing in iambic pentameter. It’s nowhere as complex, poetic, or inventive as Shakespeare’s, but it accomplishes what I set out to do: explore the agency of the women behind Shakespeare’s greatest political thriller and the effect of those choices on their lives. After all, if Portia – this strong, brave, and compelling character – did in fact swallow fire, then I want to go on that journey with her and discover why.

-Kaitlyn Riordan

*The link below is a scene from Portia’s Julius Caesar that shows how Shakespeare’s writing is interwoven with new text

Excerpt from Portia’s Julius Caesar