‘Caesar’ playwright directs own play at Starlighters


The cast of the upcoming Starlighters drama “Julius Caesar: 1963” is busy preparing before opening weekend. The show takes place April 1-3 and 8-10. (Photo by Kim Brooks)
By: 
Kim Brooks
Express Editor

     Starlighters II Theatre in Anamosa is preparing to present an all-new drama: “Julius Caesar: 1963.”

     The play is written and directed by Grant Freeman of Mount Vernon, who is quite the William Shakespeare aficionado.

     “This is my seventh time directing ‘Caesar,’” noted Freeman.

     In fact, he’s rewritten this play multiple times, each time set in a different time period and setting.

     “Shakespeare is a passion of mine,” he said. “It’s application to modern times and it deals with modern politics, not necessarily Republican or Democrat. And it’s easily moddable.”

     This is Freeman’s first time directing anything at Starlighters.

     “I knew of Starlighers,” he offered. “I’ve been involved in community theater for 17 years, both as an actor and director.”

     Having written “Caesar,” Starlighters invited Freedom to direct, knowing who better than the writer himself.

     “I applied to come here before the pandemic,” he recalled.

     In March 2020, the Governor shut down many establishments in Iowa, such as community theaters, postponing any shows and productions, as well as Freeman’s debut.

     This particular production “is a tragic story that stakes place in an all-girls’ Catholic high school in 1963. All of the characters are based on Shakespeare’s original characters and crazy plots.

     “This show tackles the specifics associated with power, both in the literal sense (within the boundaries of a school system) and the allegorical (the show is directly referencing the Kennedys).”

     “Everyone understands the dynamics of teachers, principals, and students, and having too much power and abusing it,” offered Freeman.

     While the bulk of the cast are females, there are three male roles who take on Antony, Caesar, and Octavius. Freeman likens these roles to that of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson.

     As a speech coach at Mount Vernon High School, Freeman was able to cast a couple of his own students in the production.

     “With some of these young adults, they have the voice of history,” praised Freeman of their stage presence. “You can hear life in their voices.”

     The cast is all very supportive of one another with a variety of ages represented.

     “They’re all over the place with our schedules but they always show up,” praised Freeman of his busy cast.

     As for the hints about the Kennedy dynasty, Freeman offered that he took JFK’s assassination and intermixed it within the storyline.

     “The show deals with politics and I’m a huge history buff,” he said.

     While it’s predominately a drama, Freeman did infuse come comedic aspects into the show.

     He also brought in several pieces of music, spanning multiple decades from the ‘60s to songs as current as just a couple of years ago.

     As a newbie to Starlighters, Freeman couldn’t thank Steve and Aimee Clemmons and Jan Cratsenberg enough for their support throughout this production.

     “‘Crats’ (Cratsenberg) is incredible in how she helps new directors here,” he said.

     Freeman also feels that community theater, above anything else, helps to form a community.

     “It’s the single most important part to any community,” he said. “It helps bring people together and connect with each other and engage.

     “I hope that people come out and support the idea of a community theater. It’s the only way it can grow and became a part of the community.”

     Freeman understands the struggles of a community theater.

     “You can’t pay people to act, so you pay them with life experiences,” he added. “People who are good at theater will see success in anything they do moving forward.”

     Those reasons are also why he wanted to involve some of his own high school speech students.

     Mary Sue Vernon, a long-time Starlighters volunteer, has been on the theater’s board for three years now. She first got involved in 1987 in “South Pacific.” Vernon plays Cassius in “Caesar.”

     She said having the writer of a production come and direct is new for Starlighters.

     “It takes local talent and us (Starlighters) being willing to give people the opportunity,” she said.

     She said it falls within the Starlighters’ mission statement: “Produce excellent live theatre through ongoing education of actors and directors.”

     “Caesar” hits the stage April 1-3 and 8-10.

     Tickets can be purchased at the box office or by calling 319-462-4793.

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