ROCK SPRINGS — While the Utah Shakespeare Festival had to cancel their in-person performance at the Broadway Theater this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, viewers will get a chance to see it in their own homes.
This year’s “tour” of Julius Caesar by Utah Shakespeare Festival will be filmed and made available to guests of the Broadway Theater until March 29 for free.
According to workshop coordinator, Jeremy Thompson, “this isn’t a fast and easy production filmed on an i-phone.” Artists have worked for months planning the production, and professional actors have been in Cedar City living and rehearsing in a quarantine bubble for weeks. The play is filmed by a professional media company, with multiple cameras, both stationary and hand-held. The cameras will move throughout the theatre, with actors at times speaking directly into the cameras and to the audience. This attention to detail will give “playgoers” an experience similar to being in the theatre with the actors.
Festival tours in the past have also included workshops, something that is being made available this year through digital means. Live, interactive, free workshops led by the Julius Caesar cast and crew will be available for Broadway Theater audiences on March 29 at 7 p.m.,
Thompson is not only the workshop instructor, but he has a role in Julius Caesar as Brutus. He returns to the Festival after appearing in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, and most recently in the Every Brilliant Thing tour. He has worked regionally at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Island Shakespeare Festival, and Idaho Repertory Theatre. He has a BA from the University of Puget Sound and an MFA from the University of Idaho, both in theatre arts.
To participate, residents can go to broadwayRS.com and under Upcoming Events, viewers can choose which day they’d like to watch the performance. Viewers are also invited to participate in a live workshop, as well.
