3. CASTING
❖Brutus – Denzel Washington
❖Julius Caesar – Leonardo DiCaprio
❖Antony – Ralph Fiennes
❖Octavius – Neil Patrick Harris
❖Cassius – Ian McKellan
❖Casca – Gerard Butler
4. CASTING (CONT’D)
❖Calpurnia – Anne Hathaway
❖Portia – Natalie Portman
❖Cicero – Al Pacino
❖Flavius – Matthew Broderick
❖Lepidus – Laurence Fishburne
❖Decius – Joseph Gordon-Levitt
5. SPINE
❖The inner struggles of Brutus – loyalty to his friend vs. loyalty to his
country – that eventually lead to his own personal demise.
❖Brutus acts on public wishes and neglects his personal feelings
towards Caesar.
6. THEMES
❖Bloodshed is caused by the unwillingness to compromise.
❖Power grabs during times of political strife lead to betrayals and
dirty politics.
❖Fate is a force that is stronger than man.
❖Neglect of personal feelings for widely held public opinions.
7. STYLE
❖A realistic approach will be taken to perform Julius Caesar (i.e., the
play will try to be as historically accurate and believable as possible,
from garb to speech), however, Julius Caesar and Brutus will be given
soliloquies to express their internal struggles.
8. SYMBOLISM
❖This play will be used as an allegory for the cut-throat behavior seen
in modern political arenas.
❖This play will also symbolize the abandonment of privacy and
personal opinions in modern society in exchange for social
networking and celebrity.
9. MOTIFS
❖The stabbing scene of Caesar on the “Ides of March” will take place
underneath a starry sky. The last thing Caesar will see before he dies will
be the stars in the sky, representing the fate that has fallen upon him. The
same starry sky will be used when Cassius and Brutus commit suicide.
10. MOTIFS (CONT’D)
❖Large, bloody dagger present on stage during the entirety of the play. The blood
will not only represent the bloodshed that occurs throughout the play, it will also
represent Caesar’s mortality (that he never fully accepted).
❖The blades will be used to represent betrayal and the “back-stabbing” of Caesar
by the conspirators, as well as the fate that is destined for many of the characters.
13. SETTING THE SCENE
❖Thrust Stage
❖Antirealism
❖The year is 44 B.C. The scenes in the orchard and field take place in
the same area on stage. The scenes inside Brutus’ home will be on the
opposite side of the stage where some chairs and a table will be
placed. Lighting will draw attention away from the other areas on
stage and only focus on the one in which the characters are acting.
The main setting for the play is the Capitol.
15. THRUST STAGE
❖The thrust stage is used to engage the audience in what is occurring
❖The audience should feel as if they are witnesses to the events that
are happening- as if they are the Roman senate making judgments on
what is occurring
16. THRUST STAGE
❖The stage will significantly be the main focal point in certain scenes
in order to depict the emotion, violence, and pathos present.
• There will be a raised level of the stage above the audience, created
by a raised wooden platform. This set design will be very important
in Act III.
• The speeches will be addressed to the audience directly, involving
them in what will feel like a political rally which will engage them in
the play even further
17. SET ELEMENTS
❖Set is presented to have the audience focus on the characters and be
in tune with their emotions
❖The set will include greenery, raised platforms to add levels to the
stage, and columns
• The platforms will be created from wooden structures
18. SET PROPS
❖Columns
❖Plants and bushes
❖Ledgers
❖Lamps
❖Fake blood for assassination
19. HAND PROPS
❖8 daggers
❖Umbrellas for the storm scene
❖Briefcases
❖Wine bottle and glasses
❖Letters and envelopes
❖Maps for the battle scene
❖Whiskey bottle and glasses
20. ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
❖Lines - straight lines are used to portray an elegant and clean feel
❖Mass and composition – Large columns on stage provide dominance to the actors but
their neutral tone makes them blend into the background to give light to the actors
❖Texture - The design is a very architecturally smooth look with the roman columns
being the main focal piece
❖Color - the set is neutral cream toned with simple greenery to reflect simplicity and
purity, while the evil characters are in darker colors to reflect their harsh motives
❖Movement - There is much movement between the scenes as acts happen in different
areas on stage in different locations as set in the play.
23. MEN VS. WOMEN
❖Men - Togas
The toga is a distinctive garment famous in
ancient Rome worn over a tunic.
❖Women - Stolas
The stola is a distinctive garment famous in ancient Rome
for women similar to the toga. It was used to distinguish
prostitutes from the higher class women. Prostitutes would
wear togas)
24. THE COMMONERS
They will wear informal plain outfits made of
cotton or some low quality fabric. They will
wear dull colors like gray/olive to signify their
low status.
❖The Commoner that claims he is a cobbler
will have a dirtier shirt with black spots to
reflect he is in the labor class.
25. SIMILAR CHARACTERS
❖ Marullus, Flavius, Octavius
❖ They will wear toga’s to separate them from the
commoners.
❖ Their toga’s will be plain white with no detailed
embroidery to rank them lower than characters
like Caesar.
❖ Togas will be made out of bed sheets.
26. CAESAR
❖Caesar is one of the main characters in the play along with Brutus
❖His costume should depict a rich higher class than the other individuals in the society.
❖He too will wear a toga over his costume, however it will be a different color and more
detailed in stitching and will contain gold thread.
❖His maroon toga will be made from a scarf with a ribbon to tie around the waist.
❖Scene 2/Opening Scene: He will wear a crown on his head to symbolize his defeat of Pompey
in battle.
❖His consistent costume throughout the play will be symbolic of his powerful status and the
idea that his power role is constant and eternal.
28. CALPURNIA/PORTIA
❖They will wear multiple-layered white stolas (also
made from bedsheets).
❖The pure white stolas will signify their purity.
❖Their hair will be in a braided up do
❖Calpurnia will have a green leaf headband similar
to Caesar’s crown in the opening scene to help the
audience identify her as his wife.
29. OTHER CHARACTERS
❖Anthony – He will wear a toga without a tunic to signify he battles.
This will help show his body portraying a more manlier appeal.
❖Soothsayer – He will wear a cotton t-shirt/ratchet clothes with
tangled hair to reflect the his poor status.
❖Cicero, Lepidus - They will wear the standard white togas similar to
Flavius and Octavius.
30. CASSIUS/CASCA/DECIUS
❖They will wear toga’s similar to Marullus and Flavius.
❖The color of their togas will be a darker color –
black/dark grey to signify their dark intentions throughout
the play.
❖This will help the audience distinguish their motives and
easily identify them as negative characters.
31. BRUTUS
❖He is the tragic hero of the play.
❖He will also wear a toga similar to the other
characters.
❖His toga color however will change as the play
progresses.
• He will wear a pure white toga in the
beginning and then he will wear a darker
color once he has mixed emotions about
Caesar’s ruling ( ACT II SCENE 1).
33. VISIBILITY
❖Selects what should be seen and not seen at any point in the play.
Or, in other words, exemplifying some important visual in the play.
❖An example would be having the spotlight on Caesar’s dead body
when it was being presented to the crowd.
34. TIME AND PLACE
❖The time of day, season, places (forest, house, etc.)
❖An example would be brighter lights in the morning, dimmer lights
at night, sunnier in the spring, and a bit grayer/gloomier in the winter.
❖An example would be the bright lights (sun) in the setting for the
Battle of Philippi.
35. MOOD
❖Different lightings can show and affect the mood of the scene.
❖Gloomy lights for gloomier things; red, more intense lights for
suspenseful moments.
❖An example would be passionate purple lighting for when Caesar
says, “Et tu, Brutus?”
36. REINFORCE STYLE
❖This means that you make it feel like the lights come from “real”
sources.
❖An example would be having the lights act as the sun or the stars,
becoming brighter or dimmer depending on the setting of the scene.
37. VISUAL RHYTHM/MOVEMENT
❖This basically means the transitioning from scene to scene.
❖In our rendition of Julius Caesar, we would use a total blackout for
changing scenes, or shift the lighting to a different part of the stage.
38. SHAPES AND FORMS
❖This is where the light is on stage. There is selective visibility, and
specific spotlights on certain people.
❖An example would be when Brutus stabs Caesar. A spotlight on
them would increase the tension between them.
39. CENTRAL VISUAL IMAGE
❖This means that there is lighting on parts of scenes that are not
explained or said, but rather shown.
❖An example would be when Brutus is included into the conspiring
senators that wanted to kill Caesar.
40. ONSTAGE FOCUS/VISUAL COMPOSITIONS
❖This is where the focus of the scene has the most lighting.
❖An example would be when Brutus commits suicide.
