'Othello:' The Bard goes hip hop
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor
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| Honolulu Theatre for Youth's revamping of "Othello" features, from left: DJ Jedi as the disc jockey, Nara Springer as Desdemona, Charles Timtim as Othello, and BullDog as Iago. The production isolates key characters and scenes from the Shakespeare work, and employs contemporary touches such as rap to reach its young audience.
Photos courtesy of Brad Goda |
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| Desdemona and Othello are two of just four characters Honolulu Theatre for Youth adapted from the original "Othello."
'Othello' A Honolulu Theatre for Youth production of the Shakespeare classic, adapted by Y York 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and March 16 and 23 Tenney Theatre, St. Andrew's Cathedral $10, $7.50, $5 839-9885 Also: Performances on the Big Island — 7:30 p.m. March 15 at the Aloha Theatre, Kainaliu, $10, $7.50, $5, (808) 322-2323; and 6:30 p.m. March 17 at the Palace Theatre, Hilo, $10, $8, (808) 949-7010. |
It plays to family and public audiences for three weekends at Tenney Theatre starting Saturday, but it's also been traveling the school campus circuit for the past few weeks, literally as a suitcase theater that unpacks and repacks for each locale.
The show retains the essence of Shakespearean language amid here-and-now street dynamics, using devices like rapping to communicate with youths. And it's been a roller-coaster ride, with high thrills and some moments of despair for all concerned.
For the director, Mark Lutwak, "Othello" has been a grueling adventure. "I get a lot of requests from teachers for a Shakespearean play, but too often adaptations for young people's theater are always tremendously disappointing. The trick is to try to relay clarity, of characters and of the language."
Compounding the challenge, he said, is that all the world is not necessarily a stage — cafetoriums often lack proper lighting or good acoustics, for example — and that has opened his eyes about the state of some performing facilities in the school system.
For playwright Y York, who is Mrs. Lutwak, adapting The Bard for adolescent consumption was a daunting task because her works often skew toward grade-school levels. "This was my first time writing for a high-school audience, but this was so full of pleasure, as humbling as it was joyful," York said. "The biggest challenge was to make this story be told by four characters."
She tweaked the classic to isolate characters, scenes and events, employing conventions such as rap to convert soliloquies that would hook teen audiences. Where words were oblique, she did some modest text-doctoring while retaining the underlying theme of the original tale: The rumor mill kills.
For actors BullDog (as Iago) and Charles Timtim (as Othello), the production became a matter of focus and fortitude because the show has been staged in a variety of spots, from cavernous cafetoriums to corridors where young and old walk by. "We've had to battle the school bells going off, the intercom messages from the office, the lawnmower outside, and we've smelled the lunches being prepared in the cafeteria," BullDog said.
"It's been a real stretch trying to focus on a story about gender relations while kids walk around us in a library setting, or kids are watching from cafeteria tables," Timtim said. "Where Shakespeare had 2 1/2 hours and 15 characters for a traditional staging, we have 70 minutes and a cast of four ... and only in a rare instance we're in a real theater."
Much of this was expected as part of the rigors and rituals of an abbreviated, traveling "Othello."
But Lutwak said there has been frustration about bringing the show to the audience, rather than having theÊÊÊ audience come to the show.
"We are, frankly, playing in many substandard situations," he said of some state facilities. "Sometimes it's a huge barn with fluorescent lights, while there's construction going on outside."
A matter of trust
Lutwak banked on the overriding theme of "Othello" — the matter of jealously and trust and gender relationships — to connect with youths.
"Othello will believe his best male friend over his wife, something we have not transcended in life," Lutwak said. "Boys won't talk to their girlfriends, preferring to believe the rumors from their (male) buddies instead. Intimate relationships don't guarantee maximum trust."
That theme was explored in a movie last year based on "Othello" called "O," set in the present, with a racial undercurrent (white girlfriend, black boyfriend) focusing on a wayward hanky. It borrows from the traditional "Othello," where Desdemona cannot produce a handkerchief once given to her by Othello, thanks to Iago's scheming ways, with the evidence found among Cassio's belongings. Result: bursts of jealousy, rage and death.
Why "Othello" for HTY?
"Not all plays are suitable (for youths)," Lutwak said. "We found relevance and issues in 'Othello' that kids could relate to. We went to Y (York) to see what devices we could use to relay this story."
Streamlining Shakespeare was no easy task for York, who changed circumstances to allow the story to unfold with fewer complications. For starters, Desdemona travels alone in this journey, "which demands a different kind of portrait from me and from the actress — as someone who can take care of herself," she said. There was a reshaping of motivation for Iago, too, who has a deep love for Desdemona. In replacing a dated word here and there, York attempted to retain the meter of the Elizabethan language.
Lutwak approached BullDog, an HTY veteran, to play Iago. "He had a background in deejaying and rap, and suggested rap would be suitable in our reworked play," Lutwak said. Another rapper, DJ Jedi, also was chosen.
"I've been rapping since I was 12," BullDog said. "So this play combines two of my old loves, acting and hip-hop culture."
Timtim, who is a singing member of the group Chant, said creators of this version of "Othello" didn't want to play the racial card. "Othello is the Moorish general of Venice, who is black, but to make him different (and not necessarily black), I have a facial tattoo."
The plot modifications may offend purists. The actors are clad in camouflage-type costumes suitable for club-hopping (except Iago, who looks a tad more formal in a black coat).
The result, BullDog said, is that the intended audience "is getting the message. We ask the kids who is at fault for the murders; the answers are half and half. We discuss the meanings of rumors and lies, about being responsible for your actions. We eventually lead into how Iago listens to one of his friends instead of putting the question to his wife."
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As roving gypsies, hopping from one place to another to perform, Honolulu Theatre for Youth's "Othello" players have had to become savvy travelers and packers.
"This is a luggage tour. The actors, DJ and stage manager have to lug around and break down 70 pounds of luggage that fit into 12 pieces," said director Mark Lutwak. "The designer had to create props to fit into the standard suitcases that would be easy to check in for our Neighbor Islands tour."
All told, "Othello" will hip-hop from O'ahu destinations to spots on Lana'i, Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island.
Company members have had to check, not hand-carry, three Marine Corps-type knives that are part of the requisite props.
Standard luggage was reconfigured "especially to our needs," Lutwak said. Creative packing prevailed, with poles fitting into long tubes. "We certainly felt our creativity was challenged every day."
Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, phone 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.
