Perhaps my favorite of the works this semester, William Shakespeare's Othello still stands today as one of his most famous plays. With every type of adaption out there, it is no wonder the story of Othello is still told and analyzed. Annotations, soliloquys, podcasts, and casting opportunities, the world of Othello came to life for our classroom as we dove deep into the characters and what makes them tick.

In the beginning of Act 1, Iago gives his first big speech, and it is in this speech that he gives away much of his hidden character and foreshadows his future actions. Iago states that not all masters should be followed, calling those who follow others their whole lives for scraps are stupid, a reflection of Iago that he refuses to become. Then he speaks of servants who are devoted but are only looking out for themselves.

In describing others, Iago reveals his character to the audience. On the one hand, Iago despises his master, Othello, but on the other he must continue to pretend to be faithful to Othello - lulling Othello into a false sense of security. This security making it easier for Iago to trick his master throughout the play.

Board for Definition #1

For my casting decisions, I focused more on the talent of the actor and how well I believe they would portray the character, rather than the look of the actor. One way the audience could truly see the racial differences and understand the hatreds in Othello is to have the character of Othello have more of his Muslim background in the forefront of his portrayel. I think it is important that with Othello, one of the main things that make him different from the rest of the characters, his race and religion, must be focused on. In most adaptions, Othello’s race is his main difference from the society of Venice, but I think if one of the attributes are focused on then the point will come across to the audience.

I wish for my Othello adaption to be set in the time and places that William Shakespeare intended for, therefore, this will have some affect in my casting as the actors must not look “too modern” and most be able to fit into the background and costuming of the age.

I do believe that color-blind casting is a good thing to have in any production, including a race-driven play like Othello, as it shows a modern audience, including younger generations, that anyone can do anything and that talent is what matters, not just looks. If there were to be a white actor playing Othello, as many have before, there would just need to be an emphasis on how he is an outsider, this could be through his religion, his slave background, or his home country.