From Conspirator to Conspiracy

Revisiting the plot to kill Caesar

It was eleven years ago when I was first cast as a Conspirator in Julius Caesar at the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival.

Now, more than a decade later, I am once again a Conspirator, albeit a different one. And now, the plot to kill Caesar feels different than it did before. Since our current production is set in 1922 Italy with the rise of Fascism looming, my participation in the conspiracy takes on a very different set of motivations.
Our 2013 production was set around 1870, and in that version, our conspiracy existed to help create independence for Italy. I played Cinna the Conspirator, a faithful follower of Brutus. As Cinna, I respected Brutus’ reluctance in the initial planning stages of the conspiracy and remained on his side throughout the battle at Phillipi, all the way to the bitter end (no spoilers).

This time, however, I play Decius Brutus (apparently only distantly related to the more famous Brutus). Decius is more of a Cassius guy, and his motives aren’t quite so pure. A desire for Fascism doesn’t quite rank up there with a desire for national independence, as far as noble intentions go – at least, not in my book. But Decius is all in, going to extreme lengths for the conspiracy, and eventually for Cassius (did I mention no spoilers?)

It’s always easier for me to play a character who is motivated by goodness, so the challenge here is to find some connection with a character who really isn’t.

I also have to say that it’s so much fun to ‘play’ onstage with my fellow Conspirators, who each has his own set of moral guidelines.

Come and see how such “honorable men” (as Mark Antony somewhat sarcastically refers to Brutus and the Conspirators) can rationalize a reprehensible act, creating an endless string of repercussions that still allow us to draw parallels between the distant past, the more recent past, and the present.
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”

~ Kathleen Poe, Decius Brutus