Friends, Daytonians, Countrymen!

So, sometimes you end up living in a city that you never thought you would.  Like Dayton, Ohio.  And you might find yourself wandering around the dilapidated downtown area, really questioning how you got here, and maybe even your life choices.  Then you stumble upon the steps of an old building and inspiration strikes!  What a cool spot for someone to get stabbed 37 times!  Thus, my idea for a site-specific Julius Caesar was born.

Downtown Dayton does have some issues.  There was a great flood of the Miami River back in the 1930s and there are parts of the downtown area that have never recovered.   The problem is, the city doesn’t have the money to renovate some of the damaged and dilapidated buildings.  And apparently, there’s a grandfather clause somewhere that says that corporations cannot move into the downtown area.  No Starbucks, Daytonians- sorry!   And unfortunately, the current economy in Dayton doesn’t allow for locally-owned business to have sustainability in the dingy, yet expensive storefronts.  Thus, many building sit empty.  But the silver lining, if there is one, is that some of the older buildings and houses are really beautiful, architecturally speaking.  And though it is a small downtown area, it is alive with business people, artists, students, and politicians, all of whom work and play in the close downtown quarters.  You’ll see the mayor out grabbing coffee and a muffin with people on the board of directors for one of the downtown arts organizations.   Since Dayton has a community feel even though it is a larger city, why not capitalize on that from an artistic standpoint? Since moving there in 2014, I’ve noticed that there has been a lot of development in outdoor activities in the plaza next door to the courthouse.  Food trucks, live music and vendors are there on weekends.  I’ve seen the occasional troubadour performing.  But I’ve never seen theatre.  So, maybe it’s time for me to do something about it. 

The courthouse was one of the first buildings that struck me.  And after walking around the courthouse, I discovered there’s also an open plaza next door with a raised platform area.  So, my wheels started turning.  What if, various scenes of the show were in different locations of the downtown area? Because the downtown area is so small and easily walkable, I think the show could move pretty seamlessly from location to location.  Caesar could be assassinated on the steps of the courthouse.  The plaza could be where Antony delivers the iconic, “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” speech.  There are many statues in the downtown area.  We could use one of them to represent the one Decius references in the interpretation of Calpurnia’s dream of the sculpture spurting blood. If were going on the third axiom of the theatrical event taking place in a found space, a walking tour of downtown Dayton with scenes in each location may be doable.  And may be interesting, even.   But, that would of course, be too easy.  I would want to experiment with a few more axioms. 

In the spirit of Sleep No More, the text could just be my jumping off point.  What if, instead of the consecutive scenes, the show was re-imagined?  Each location could play the same scenes over and over on a loop and the audience could just be given a map of the various locations.  So, in that vein, Caesar could be getting murdered while 25 feet away, Antony is eulogizing.  We could have actual crowd reactions to his and Brutus’ speeches- how cool is that?  Also, there are some great houses located in the downtown area.  What if in the front yard of a home, we see Portia heating up a piece of charcoal on the grill outside?  We might not get to see her swallow it, but we could give the audience a sense of foreboding as she walks into the house with the coal and draws the curtains shut. 

Since there are multiple statues in the area, maybe we see the Decius scene, “this dream is all amiss interpreted. It was a vision fair and fortunate. Your statue spouting blood in many pipes,” but the next statue we come across is ACTUALLY SPOUTING BLOOD!  Maybe there are Romans bathing in it as prophesied in a weird sort of dance of joy.  And maybe, inside the courthouse we watch people in various rooms on the CC televisions at the security desk- and perhaps in on one TV, we hear Cassius and Brutus conspiring, since Caesar is growing ambitious.  On the other cameras, we may see Calpurnia giving an interview, Flavius and Murellus giving a press conference, and Casca bitching about Caesar on his cell phone.  This way, we get to play with the fourth axiom of focus.  If the spectators like what they see on the CC they can wander the courthouse building and find the room with one of the characters they’ve been watching.

While Antony might get tired of giving his speech in the plaza over and over, it would also be interesting to see who stopped to watch.  Or, to give the Antony actor breaks, perhaps the plaza could break out in festive Lupercalia activities with dancing and music.  Maybe we could see Antony offer Caesar the crown thrice times, and have him turn it down thrice- to the chagrin of Antony and the audience who is drinking and partying.  There wouldn’t really be a way to patrol who was in the plaza (it’s a large open area), so people on the street might join the paying audience for that scene.  But, if a passerby was curious, actors could guide them into the ticketing area by the courthouse and they could join the fun.

That’s my idea for now.  Whether or not I can make it happen depends on time, money, and if I end up back in Dayton.  But it’s fun to dream big, and I think that this scenario could be effective.  Maybe even make Schechner proud.