Acting Othello

Whew! It's over! The hard work, frustration, and anxiety of weeks of preparation, line memorization, and blocking rehearsals has culminated in the performances to remember. I'd say we did Shakespeare justice last night.
I had the honor of playing O. Thello, a N.Y. Police Department Homicide Division Captain. Besides the obvious, I believe I brought as much passion to the role as any real actor who's ever portrayed this controversial character. Our director's vision was to modernize Othello so we put a Law and Order spin on it. Our premise was pretty much in line w/the original work:
Captain O. Thello has two detectives, Iago (originally from Narcotics), and Cassio, who both want in in her department. O. Thello consults her top, Senior D.T. (detective) Desi Santiago. Santiago logically pushes for Cassio and O. Thello follows her advice. This pisses Iago off royally and all his true evilness and ugliness comes pouring out. He recruits A.D.A. Callia to help him fabricate and manipulate the system, in order to bring down Santiago, who dumped him years before, and O. Thello. Iago's idea is a perfect vehicle for Callia. She is willing because she secretly has the hots for Iago. Most importantly, he promises to get her the advancement and prestige she has been yearning for.
First, the dastardly duo bring down Santiago on a bogus rap. O. Thello tries to convince Santiago to fight for her name, but to no avail. Then, Iago works on O. Thello, pouring poison into her ear regarding Santiago, convincing O. Thello that she had been foolishly trusting someone who really was dirty and corrupt, Santiago. Finally, with Santiago out of the way, Callia and Iago go in for the kill, confronting Capt. O. Thello with the same accusations and false evidence. O. Thello, of course, is innocent but the evidence is there. As O. Thello is being confronted, Santiago walks in. Iago intended for both to be arrested at the same time so he lured Santiago down to the office under the guise of meeting to discuss her 'crime'. Thanks to the lies and doubts swirling around in O. Thello's mind, all she believes is that Santiago set her up to fall too. So, O. Thello, in a fit of rage and thinking she's got nothing to lose, shoots and kills Santiago. This is better than what Iago had planned for. He seizes the opportunity to be the hero (and completely cover up his lies) and immediately shoots and kills O. Thello. Unfortunately for him, Iago had no idea that Cassio had been doin' some digging of her own when Santiago went down. Cassio learns that Iago and Callia are dirty. But before she has a chance to warn O. Thello, the captain dies. When Iago shoots and kills the captain, Cassio shoots and kills him. Cassio becomes the hero, placing Callia under arrest.
A classmate got a peek at our script and her advice to me was to "bring it". I highly doubt I could have touched Fishburne's version (especially when I'm saying things like "Stripper Ripper"!), but I did want to bring just as much passion to the role. The tale of Othello (both W.S.'s and ours) is a passionate tale of trust and what we believe. Nothing should stir the flames of the soul more in any human being than when one's trust or beliefs are abused or manipulated. This is why I wanted to play the role (besides the obvious). I believed I could reflect that passion, that painful dissolution of trust Othello suffered, and fell, under. My kids said I did okay, but I just need to work on my dying! Critics! I think I did okay, barring the fact that I forgot a whole lot of my lines! All in all and nerves aside, it was a pleasure, W.S. to add my name to the annals of the esteemed (and not so esteemed) actors who have interpreted that role. If I had to do it all over again, would I? Yeah, I'd just make sure to do a better job with the death scene!