Master Piece NEA program brings the Bard to life for local audiences, students

In “Othello,” William Shakespeare wrote, “We cannot all be masters, nor all masters cannot be truly follow’d.” He was referring to Othello, a Moorish general whose vengeful ensign, Iago, plots to ruin his marriage and, ultimately, his life. This week, the words will take on a less menacing meaning for a group of students from Bucksport, who will follow master actors from the Aquila Theatre Company in a workshop on Thursday.

The New York-based touring company, known for its innovative productions of classic drama, will bring its new production of “Othello” to the Maine Center for the Arts in Orono at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The tale of racism and the complexities of human nature will play out against a cinematic original score that highlights the dynamism of the actors.

The performance and master class are part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Shakespeare in American Communities program, which was established to bring world-class theater to small and midsize towns throughout the country and to attract a new generation of theatergoers through educational outreach.

Ken Lozier, a junior at Bucksport High School and a member of the drama club, is already a theater aficionado – he travels to Bangor two or three times a year to watch performances by the Penobscot Theatre Company, and he hopes to continue acting when he goes to college. So he was happy to hear that Aquila, the company in residence at New York University’s Center for Ancient Studies, would lead a class in the middle school’s new performing arts center.

“This is really exciting to have professional actors come and work with us,” Lozier said. “We haven’t had much experience with any group outside of Maine.”

Drama coach Catherine Russell, an actor and former arts editor for the Maine Times, said some of the strongest performances in the state take place far away from Bucksport, which can make it hard to expose students to high-quality theater.

“We’re thrilled because I have so many students who are hungry for this kind of learning and it doesn’t usually filter through to Bucksport,” Russell said.

Members of the high school and middle school drama groups will travel to Orono to view the performance, and Russell says that working with the professional actors afterward will be a “demystifying experience” for them.

“Young people become fascinated with the performing arts,” she said. “This will allow them to retain the magic, not distance themselves from it.”

NEA Chairman Dana Gioia hopes that performances by Aquila and the five other touring companies involved in the program will bring that magic to a broad audience.

“Shakespeare writes about the great themes – love, jealousy, death, patriotism and honor in a dishonorable world,” Gioia said last week by phone from Washington, D.C. “The themes of Shakespeare are timeless and central, and that’s probably why he has such universal appeal. Shakespeare talks about the great issues in life in a most profound and memorable way.”

At a time of intense nationalism within the United States, it seems unusual that the NEA would launch a cross-country tour of plays by a 16th century Englishman, but Gioia says Shakespeare’s work is an integral part of our culture and his themes are as relevant today as they were nearly 500 years ago.

“Although Shakespeare was not himself an American citizen, he’s one of the authors who formed American civilization,” Gioia said. “He’s part of America’s heritage.”

Wednesday’s performance will explore that heritage through a story laced with hatred, jealousy, deception and mistrust. It is Gioia’s hope that such compelling drama, presented by one of the country’s elite touring companies, will foster a hunger for live theater among audiences of all ages.

And for the local students involved, many of whom have only experienced Shakespeare in English class, professional actors will bring the Bard to life. Ken Lozier, the Bucksport High School junior, has read and performed in several Shakespeare plays, but he said his classmates weren’t always as enthusiastic about it as he was. Wednesday’s presentation of “Othello” and the master class that follows, will allow him to work closely with actors and students who share his excitement about theater.

“I know a bit, but I haven’t had a deep experience with Shakespeare,” he said. “It’s going to be different. … I’m really looking forward to it.”

The Aquila Theatre Company will stage “Othello” at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Maine Center for the Arts. Tickets cost $29 and are available online at www.ume.maine.edu/~mca/ or by phone at (800) MCA-TIXX.