2008 Woodie Awards
Desdemona: Previous Othello Knowledge Required
Colby Loetz
Issue date: 11/5/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Last week the Fred Stone Theater produced Desdemona: a play about a handkerchief, written by Paula Vogel. The play was directed by Rollins alumnus, Scottie Campbell class of '96, and was the first play
shown at the Fred to be directed by an alumnus.
In his director's note, Campbell writes that on a deeper level, the play is about portraying the complex relationships that exist between the three female characters and "celebrating women." Campbell's rendition was pretty successful, due in a large part to Hannah White '09, Sarah McWilliams '09, and Jena Whitaker '09, who played Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca respectively.
The leading ladies stayed true to their characters while each brought her own unique fi nesse to the play as a whole, providing some comedic relief to a stern atmosphere.
However, no where in Campbell's note from the director was any information about the play's background, which would have been extremely useful for those of us who aren't regular visitors to the theater.
Vogel's Desdemona is the account of a married woman, the character accused of being
unfaithful in Shakespeare's Othello. The play begins with Emilia, the maid who steals the handkerchief and the play ends just before Desdemona's assured death for her unfaithful actions; actions that were revealed by the ever-changing possession of Desdemona's handkerchief.
I went to see the play not having any knowledge of Othello, and remember feeling confused and frustrated. I know now the reason I felt so bewildered was because Vogel writes Desdemona assuming that the audience has read or seen Othello.
However this fact was something I was completely unaware of because it never appeared on any of the advertisements for the play. Perhaps if the promotional flyers, buttons, or banner hanging from the entrance of Dave's down under had somewhere expressed that some knowledge of Shakespeare's Othello would have been helpful, then there would not have been confused audience members like me.
shown at the Fred to be directed by an alumnus.
In his director's note, Campbell writes that on a deeper level, the play is about portraying the complex relationships that exist between the three female characters and "celebrating women." Campbell's rendition was pretty successful, due in a large part to Hannah White '09, Sarah McWilliams '09, and Jena Whitaker '09, who played Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca respectively.
The leading ladies stayed true to their characters while each brought her own unique fi nesse to the play as a whole, providing some comedic relief to a stern atmosphere.
However, no where in Campbell's note from the director was any information about the play's background, which would have been extremely useful for those of us who aren't regular visitors to the theater.
Vogel's Desdemona is the account of a married woman, the character accused of being
unfaithful in Shakespeare's Othello. The play begins with Emilia, the maid who steals the handkerchief and the play ends just before Desdemona's assured death for her unfaithful actions; actions that were revealed by the ever-changing possession of Desdemona's handkerchief.
I went to see the play not having any knowledge of Othello, and remember feeling confused and frustrated. I know now the reason I felt so bewildered was because Vogel writes Desdemona assuming that the audience has read or seen Othello.
However this fact was something I was completely unaware of because it never appeared on any of the advertisements for the play. Perhaps if the promotional flyers, buttons, or banner hanging from the entrance of Dave's down under had somewhere expressed that some knowledge of Shakespeare's Othello would have been helpful, then there would not have been confused audience members like me.
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