Glam Rock “Julius Caesar”
In November, I had the opportunity to compete at the Texas Thespians State Festival in the Technical Performance I.E. category with costume designs for a conceptual production of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar presented through a lens of glam rock.
Glam Rock or “Glitter Rock” was a musical movement that began in Britain around the early 1970s. Glam Rock celebrated the spectacle of the rock star and concert. Typically, male musicians took the stage in women’s makeup and clothing, adopted theatrical personas, and mounted glamorous musical productions, many centered around space-age futurism. While Julius Caesar and Glam Rock may seem like an odd pairing, I think this backdrop/concept for The Tragedy of Julius Caesar suits perfectly.
Birth of an Idea
The initial concept came to me over the summer. I had been both enthralled and inspired by other Shakespeare adaptations I had seen on stage and screen.
Watching 10 Things I Hate About You, She’s The Man and West Side Story got me thinking. If I was a director, what play would I adapt and how would I do it?”
The concept of presenting Julius Caesar as a rock star whose bandmates turn on him started as a whim, but as I began my research, the pieces began to fall into place quickly.
Early on, I was able to see many surprising parallels between the senators’ resentment of Julius Caesar’s rise to power and the growing popularity of larger-than-life rock stars that eclipse the contributions of a “band.”
The story of Julius Caesar’s rise and fall presents a dilemma of loyalty and offers a glimpse into the darker sides of human nature including betrayal and barbarism. This story is a common trope documented in media headlines—popular band implodes when “more popular” lead singer makes plans to pursue a solo career.
My Design Journey
STEP 1: Defining the Band Members
Before I could begin working on my designs, I worked on vetting the concept by mapping Shakespeare’s characters to rock band members. As a bass player myself, I was able to pull from my own experience to represent the dynamics that exist between musicians.
STEP 2: Incorporating Traditional Shakespearean Elements
While I started the project with the idea that I would adapt the work, I soon realized that I didn’t have to rewrite the classic at all. Having seen many updated presentations of Shakespeare’s plays in the DFW area, I determined that my conceptual production would not be a retelling of Shakespeare’s work in a modern setting, but rather a reframing that could amplify underlying themes for more modern audiences. With that goal, I wanted to find a way to connect my Glam Rock looks to both the time period of the original text (Elizabethan) and the historical setting (ancient Rome).
STEP 3: Creating Dynamic Renderings
While past design projects leaned toward static fantasy figures as maps for my own construction work, this project motivated me to level up my rendering skills and showcase how the actors might move/appear while wearing the garments.
STEP 4: Presenting My Work
To enhance the required elements for competition, I had some fun packaging my presentation with a bold rock portfolio template, concert ticket labels and a backstage pass summarizing my designs and character mappings.
My Results
My presentation and designs for Julius Caesar, Brutus, Antony, Cassius, and Portia received a qualifying score from the judges at Texas Thespians State Festival. And, while I am delighted that I will have the opportunity to compete at Nationals for a second consecutive year, I am more excited by the reactions I’ve received from peers, teachers, educators, and professionals. So much so that I hope to actually bring my Glam Rock version of Julius Caesar to the stage one day.
