ASCC Staging “Othello” This Week

ASCC Press Release Wednesday, April 20, 2011

ASCC Staging “Othello” This Week

By James Kneubuhl, ASCC Press Officer

“’Othello’ deals with so many great topics that are relevant in society today, such as jealousy, revenge, miscommunication, rumors, lies, deceit, envy, and betrayal. This play has so many aspects of which many of us are able to relate,” says Language & Literature instructor Lawrence Wilson of the Shakespeare play his students will bring to the stage this Thursday and Friday, April 29th and 29th, at the American Samoa Community College (ASCC). Performances both evenings will begin at 6 p.m.

Scholars speculate that William Shakespeare wrote “Othello” in approximately 1603, yet thanks to the play’s its varied and current themes of racism, love, jealousy, and betrayal, more than 400 years later the work is still performed frequently in professional and community theatres alike and has been the basis for numerous operatic, film, and literary adaptations. The work revolves around four central characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army; his wife Desdemona; his lieutenant, Cassio; and his trusted ensign Iago. When Iago becomes jealous of Othello’s acclaim, status and marriage to the beautiful Desdemona, the ensign undertakes to ruin the Moor through the use of cleverly placed lies and by taking advantage of the fact that many mistrust or fear Othello because he comes from a different race.

As with his previous productions of “As You Like It” and “Romeo & Juliet”, Wilson has allowed his student cast to “Samoanize” the production where possible in order to make the story more easily related-to by a local audience. In adapting the dialog and having the freedom to create their own staging, the students have managed to bring out a level of humor in “Othello” which may surprise those only familiar with the more common approach to the play, which typically emphasizes the dark aspects of human nature. A warm-up performance at South Pacific Academy led one student to describe the production as “a cross between Shakespeare and The Laughing Samoans.” The SPA grade-schoolers followed the ASCC actors through all of the play’s twists and turns, and the frequent humor went no small way towards keeping them engaged. Can an immortal text like “Othello”, given such an irreverent treatment, also move adult viewers? At this week’s performances, the public will have a chance to judge for themselves.

Participating cast members come mostly from Language & Literature classes and receive credit for acting or otherwise assisting. This semester’s ASCC Shakespeare performers include: Keneti Sionesina (Othello); Tarcia Tuigamala (Desdimona); Sio Tupua (Iago); Siapiu Vaovasa (Cassio); Iosefa Siatuu (Roderigo); Julia Aiva’a (Bianca); Raylyn Lalaga (Emelia/Dutchess); Lene Matila (Emelia/Duchess); Denise Lambert (Sister/Dutchess/Bianca); Kaipo Rocha (Baraba); Jake Afoa (Extra); Mariana Kaipast (Extra); Rocco Tinitali (Extra); Merieni Tupuimatagi (Assistant Director); and Taulagia Ioane (Assistant Director).

The cast has so far “road tested” the production through performances like the one at SPA and another at Leone High School, both of which were well-received. “I would like to ask the public to come out and enjoy a night out at the theater,” said Wilson. “Hopefully we can make an experience that will be memorable for everyone that attends the performance.”

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