In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Cassius declares, “How many ages, hence, shall this, our lofty scene, be acted over in states unborn and accents yet unknown?” He was talking about stabbing a guy, but the line holds true for the play itself and all the works of Shakespeare. The Bard is the foundational scripture of the English language and more important to the institution of theater than greasepaint.
Houston is no stranger to Shakespeare. The Alley Theatre regularly performs his works, as do countless other professional and amateur groups across the city. However, in 1975, Shakespeare became a pivotal part of the city’s identity thanks to one man, Sidney “Doc” Berger, the University of Houston’s legendary director and teacher, who founded the Houston Shakespeare Festival in 1975.
“Sidney was the greatest amateur about Shakespeare,” says Houston Shakespeare Festival artistic director Jack Young, who took over the role in 2014, in a phone interview. “I say that, and people get upset, but what I mean is that he absolutely loved it. He was an evangelist. It was the first thing he would ask people at parties. Do you know Shakespeare?”
The festival is simple enough. Every year since 1975 (except for a two year stretch during the COVID-19 pandemic), UH has produced two free plays from Shakespeare’s repertoire at the Miller Outdoor Theatre. Berger himself directed the first, The Taming of the Shrew. The next year would feature Romeo & Juliet, starring a young Brett Cullen. Ever since, the festival has grown in scope, budget, and execution, but has always maintained the sheer love of Shakespeare founded by Berger.
When Young came to Houston, he was already an old hand at interpreting the Bard. He had picked up management chops through the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival and as artistic and executive director of The Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, South Carolina. The latter he refers to as a “mini-Houston,” similar in demographics and market but much smaller in scope.
“Houston is a pragmatic city,” he says. “The Alley does more Agatha Christie than any other theater in the country. Why? Because this is an oil town and a space town. People want solutions to problems, and that’s how we tackle our Shakespeare. For a lot of people, this is the first time they’ll be seeing a Shakespeare play. It’s our job to present it in a way [that] does it justice.”
One rising star in Houston theater remembers how important it was to think outside the box when it came to the Shakespeare Festival. Afsaneh Aayani has made a name for herself in the city for her work with puppets, ingenious set designs, and re-interpretations of fairy tales from her native Iran. She came to UH from Tehran after traveling the world, getting her master’s in scenic design in 2020. Despite not coming from an English-speaking country, Shakespeare was an integral part of her education.
“We learned them in Farsi, not English,” she said in a phone interview. “What struck me about doing them in English is how traditional they tend to be. Lots of times, they’re wearing the same clothes they would have been 400 years ago.
Ayani worked on 2018’s production of Comedy of Errors. The play centers around misunderstandings between two sets of identical twins and often requires creative solutions to do well. In Aayani’s case, she had to make puppets of the two leads that could be manipulated on stage.
“It was hard because both of the actors were over six feet tall, and I, well, am not,” she said, laughing. In 2022 she returned to do costume design for King Lear, which she reimagined with a distinct science fiction look.
Making the production stand out is paramount because of the setting: Miller Outdoor Theatre. The space is huge and outdoors, which can be a problem in the blistering Houston summers. Originally built for free symphony concerts, it has a few quirks. Air conditioning is now pumped through the floor for the comfort of performers, but Young laments that they have to bring additional stages to put on top of the original one so that audiences members in the first few rows can see the action. He jokes that the coolest spot in Texas during summer is under his stage.
The sheer size can also be a problem. At 55-feet wide, the Miller Stage is one of the biggest in the state. Making a cast of 12-17 stand out can be hard.
“This isn’t dinner theater,” said Young. “It’s picnic theater. You have to compete with dogs playing frisbee and Life Flight helicopters. Some plays in some spaces, you can get away with a mumble, but here you have to put your all in to get noticed. It’s honestly the same as it was back in Shakespeare’s time at the Globe.”
Despite the difficulties, Miller is essential to the goal of the Houston Shakespeare Festival. Built in 1922, it has been a place where anyone in the city can come for free entertainment. From concerts to radio broadcasts to selections from the performing arts, Miller is H-town’s great equalizer.
It’s easy to forget that Shakespeare was always a man of the common people. He wrote about kings and dynasties, but it was for popular consumption. Seeing his work still brought to the populace in the same way would undoubtedly touch his heart.
“Seattle, Denver, they don’t have a Miller,” said Young. “The city decided people should be able to see the symphony for free, to come together. Sidney saw that and realized you could put a play in it. This town still believes in it. It’s our family room.”
Houston Shakespeare Festival presents Henry V and As You Like It July 31 – August 9 at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Tickets are free but can be reserved here.
Great Job Jef Rouner & the Team @ Texas Signal Media Foundation Source link for sharing this story.
