Our interpretation of The Tempest focused on one key conceit: Prospero and Caliban, instead of being separate entities, are one and the same. The director, Robert Richmond, saw Caliban as a manifestation of all of Prospero’s negative feelings and darker magics. The rest of the world of our Tempest followed suit, with Ariel and an ensemble of mute islanders who serve Prospero all existing in some way as homunculi created by the exiled Duke.

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Given this concept, most of my research pertained to notions of divisions of the self, psychology textbooks, the requisite Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as well as the concept of magic in Shakespeare’s time and, as our designers became more interested in exploring the island as a liminal place outside of any reality, the works of Dante and Celtic myths (as seen in our Ariel design, the figure in the cage above). We wanted to reinvigorate Shakespeare’s final play with a vision of what these characters represent, not just what they may have been in the past.

 

Production Team:

Director: Robert Richmond

Asst. Director: Ryan Stevens

Set Designer: Neda Spalakjovic

Costume Designer: April Traquina

Lighting Designer: Chris Patterson

Production Stage Manager: Jane Hearn

Stage Manager: Kira Neighbors

Hair/ Make-Up/Wig Designer: Valerie Pruett

Sound Designer:  Danielle Wilson

Composer/ Music Director: Jessi Witchger