The Tragicomedy of Julia Caesar

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. The Tragicomedy of Julia Caesar by Dave Hammers is a fantastic adaptation that lets students have a great time with Shakespeare – all while letting the audience see what’s going on behind the scenes. Sarah and Dave think it would be fun to direct a play for drama club. And they both love Julius Caesar. What could go wrong? How about a drama diva who wants to play the lead, wants her way with the story, and wants a post-death dance number? Rome is now in Georgia, Brutus is allergic to peanut butter, and there might be a giant killer robot on his way to crush Caesar’s enemies. Nothing wrong at all. Why did we publish this play? Parodies are tricky. You can play them totally wacky. Or you can find the balance between taking a story way left of centre and still find a genuine quality to the story. The Tragicomedy of Julia Caesar has that balance, and better still a million parts for girls in a Shakespeare play that is pretty bereft of female characters. And on that note, this play has character, character, and more character. The best comedies are always based in strong characters who when they go after what they want, chaos ensues. You’ll never see Rome….Georgia in the same way again. This full length is easy to stage, incredibly fun to play and a great way to open the door to Shakespeare. Let’s hear from the author! 1. Why did you write this play? The year before I wrote it, my school put on a parody of Hamlet, and as we were staging the production, I honestly just kept saying to myself “I could do this, I could take a Shakespeare play and write a parody of it.” And so once we were finished, I sat down and tried to write one myself, and Julia Caesar was the result. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. I think the major theme is the “chaotic fun” that surrounds a school play production. 3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? Brutus eating the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, placing it calmly back on the plate, and then falling face first into it as she “dies.” 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? Have fun with it. It really is all about the fun and craziness that often surrounds putting on a play production at a school. 5. Why is this play great for student performers? It’s fun, it allows the students to be their dramatic selves, and also helps them to learn a little about Shakespeare and Roman history as well.

Time for a Tfolk Top Ten Plays About…Classical Adaptations! Who’s looking for a little arts integration? How about some cross-curriculum? Or how about a great story turned into a great play. It’s time for ten classical adaptations. Adaptations are my favourite type of play to write. It’s an intriguing challenge to take a story in one form and determine what will make it a theatrical experience. Click the link and you’ll be taken to the webpage for each play. There you’ll get the details and read sample pages. All the best with your search! Shuddersome: Tales of Poe Original: Stories and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe Not only our most popular adaptations, but one of our most popular plays! Specters, ghosts and ghouls come alive in this vivid theatrical vision of Edgar Allan Poe’s best works including: The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Masque of the Red Death. Hamlette/Mmmbeth Original: Hamlet & Macbeth by William Shakespeare The first of many of Shakespeare adaptations. We’ve paired Hamlette and Mmmbeth together because they make for a hilarious evening of theatre. Imagine if you will that “Hamlet” was not “Hamlet” at all, but “Hamlette” – a woman! Great for competitions. AND in Mmmbeth everything goes wrong. The witches take over the storytelling, Queen Duncan would rather open a donut franchise than die, Lady M’s a bloodthirsty June Cleaver, and the murderers are preoccupied with creating a commercial for their services. Introduce your students to the world of the Bard with these parodies. Will and Whimsy Original: Sonnets by William Shakespeare Shakespeare was meant to be performed, not read. This vignette play does that by bring his sonnets to life. Modern scenes play hand in hand with the original text. Mix and match the sonnets to your whimsy! Lord of the Pies Original: Lord of the Flies by William Golding In this parody piece a pie shop erupts into panic after Franny, a brash cat-lady, announces the arrival of the apocalypse. SHe starts to reconstruct society and takes out anyone who stands in her way with baby food and scotch tape. Drum Taps Original: Drum Taps by Walt Whitman The poems in Drum Taps represent Walt Whitman’s first hand account of the Civil War. See the words, the emotion, the blood come to life in this theatrical adaptation. This is not your typical poetry reading. This is war. Alice/Through The Looking Glass Original: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll These two make excellent theatrical companion pieces. Both are one-act adaptations of the famous novels by Lewis Carroll. They follow Alice’s adventures down the rabbit hole and across the life-sized chess game. Fantastical physical journeys! The Canterbury Tales Original: *The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer* Chaucer’s classic collection of tales comes to life! A group of travelers set out for Canterbury on a pilgrimage. Each and every performer gets a chance to shine in this spirited, charming script. Text uses modern English. Pandora’s Fire Original: Pandora’s Box, Ancient Greek Myth Everybody knows the story of Pandora. Her curiosity got the better of her and she is to blame for releasing all the ills into the world. But is that the whole story? Pandora’s Fire is a wonderful mix of Ancient Greek choral storytelling with a modern twist. Hamlet, Zombie Killer of Denmark Original: Hamlet by William Shakespeare Denmark is plagued with zombies led by Hamlet’s uncle/step-father, the current king. Will Hamet become a zombie himself? A gruesomely comic adaptation of the Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, this version blends original text with new, zombified dialogue – written in iambic pentameter! The Tragicomedy of Julia Caesar Original: Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare Sarah and Dave think it would be fun to direct a play for drama club. And they both love Julius Caesar. What could go wrong? Oh, a post-death dance number, Brutus is allergic to peanut butter, Rome is now Georgia, and giant killer robots. That’s all….

We have a great community of amazing playwrights here at Theatrefolk that contribute to our collection of middle and high school plays. We hope you’ll enjoy this peek behind the curtain as they share how they approach the creative process, how they overcome challenges, and what advice they have for young playwrights. Don’t forget to check out their work! Meet Theatrefolk Playwright David Hammers: the author of The Tragicomedy of Julia Caesar. What was your first theatrical experience? How did it impact you? My first theatrical experience was playing a vampire in my third grade school Halloween play. It really helped me to learn to just have fun with the experience and enjoy it. Why do you write plays? I felt that I had stories to tell, and that I wanted to share them with others. What’s the most challenging part of writing a play? Making the play actually work on stage like it does in my mind. How do you address/overcome those challenges? I rewrite my plays a lot. I am always adjusting them and making dialogue sound better and actions flow easier. What advice do you have for young writers struggling to finish a draft? Don’t be afraid to put the play on stage and see what happens. You can always adjust it, and revise it as you work through your first production.