Brown Chair in English Literacy and Classical Edge Theatre Present 'Julius Caesar' Project

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Julius Caesar (Asa Tims) hears the warning of the Soothsayer (Jonny Schremmer) to “beware the Ides of March,” in a rehearsal for the upcoming Classical Edge Theatre Company’s "Julius Caesar."

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Brown Chair in English Literacy at the University of Arkansas and the Bentonville-based Classical Edge Theatre Company are co-sponsoring the Julius Caesar Project, which will bring three-day residencies to local high schools, culminating in public performances of the Shakespeare play with students in the "mob" roles.

This is the most recent venture in the Brown Chair's six-year focus on promoting the work of William Shakespeare as a tool for teaching critical reading and effective writing to high school students through collaborating with local arts organizations.

The project will launch with four free public performances of Julius Caesar before the residencies begin. The play will be performed in a faithful, focused version running under 90 minutes. Performances will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8, in Lawrence Plaza in Bentonville and at 2 p.m. Sept. 15 and 22 near the gazebo in Gulley Park in Fayetteville. The public is invited to bring lawn chairs, blankets, and refreshments.

Following the public performances, the show will tour as the culminating event of residencies at Siloam Spring High School, Van Buren High School, Lincoln High School, Fort Smith Northside High School and Bentonville High School.  During these residencies, actors from the Classical Edge cast will spend one day teaching theatre improvisation and tableau techniques to the students and incorporating them as actors into three major "mob" scenes in the play. 

On the second day of each residency, David Jolliffe, professor of English and holder of the Brown Chair in English Literacy in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, will work with teachers, showing them how they can teach the play in reading and writing curricula connected to the Common Core State Standards. 

On the final day, the students and professional cast will present the play as a matinee to the school and the community.

Directed by Virginia Scheuer, Julius Caesar will feature a talented cast of professional actors in the major roles:  Asa Tims as Caesar, Justin Scheuer as Cassius, Brian McCue as Brutus, Mark Landon Smith as Antony, Jonny Schremmer as Calpurnia and the Soothsayer, Elizabeth France as Portia, Keaton Duersch as Octavius and Jolliffe as Casca. Tims holds a bachelor of fine arts in drama from the university. Justin and Virginia Scheuer, Smith, and McCue are alumni of the department's master of fine arts program,

In 2008 and 2009, the Brown Chair collaborated with Trike Theatre of Bentonville on projects using A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing to teach junior high school students in summer gifted and talented camps at the University of Arkansas.  In 2011, the Brown Chair and Trike joined forces again to lead Team Shakespeare, a project involving students from Augusta, McCrory and Newport high schools in a five-week study and performance of The Tempest.  In 2012, the Brown Chair and Classical Edge collaborated in a production of Twelfth Night that toured to Searcy, Helena and McCrory after performances in Fayetteville.

The Brown Chair is supported by the Brown Foundation and the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. Jolliffe directs programs to increase literacy in Arkansas, such as community-based tutoring, professional development workshops for teachers, summer workshops and reading programs.