Othello

Director Zack Brenner puts the cast of Polarity Ensemble Theatre’s Othello in masks to show what goes skin deep–and what goes deeper. “Othello’s tragedy is that he does not see past the surfaces people present to him,” Brenner said. “He believes ‘a man should be what he seems.’ That short-sightedness allows the villain, Iago, to trick him into destroying his own life and everything he loves. Our production puts Othello’s perceptions into a physical form via masks and stylized movement. A character can be played by more than one actor because the character is the mask and the pose. Our cast works as an ensemble to match the style of mask and acting technique to the individual character. They select from techniques of Japanese theatre (Suzuki and Kabuki), LaBon, Chekov, Commedia Dell’arte, Classic Greek, and European Masquerade.”