For readers familiar with William Shakespeare's play The Tempest, you may recall the story of Prospero, a magician and former Duke of Milan, who uses magical powers (controlled by a wand) to get his brother Antonio to join him and his friends.. his daughter to a remote island where they were exiled.
This is a story of fantasy and revenge: Antonio replaces Prospero as manager of Milan after Prospero neglects his homework to spend time collecting books.
Shakespeare in Detroit stayed true to that story in the production of the play, but the theater company set it in a more modern time and immersed itself in a musical genre that was born here: techno.
Shakespeare in Detroit's The Tempest opens Friday, August 11 at Campus Martius Park. Set in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Prospero (played by Jonathan West) trades his magic wand for records and record players. Ann Arbor's DJ Skoob E will play during the show, which will include a 20-minute dance party with a contest.
The play takes place as part of the Detroit Shakespeare Festival of Classical Theater, which will also feature a children's play, Macbeth.
"Storm" will continue on August 13, then August 18-20. All shows will start at 19.30. The Macbeth show on Friday and Saturday will start at 2:00 pm at Campo Marzio.
Detroit Shakespeare's The Tempest creator and director Sam White says this version of The Tempest was featured on the 1980 WGPR TV show "The New Dance Show" and Juan Atkins is considered the father of Detroit techno.
“We wanted to do a show that celebrates Shakespeare in Detroit in its 10th season, so it was great to mix the magic of Shakespeare's The Tempest and the magic of Detroit history with techno music and dance,” he said. "For the most part, we've kept the history as it is, but we've created some additional synergies specific to the city."
White founded Shakespeare in Detroit in 2013 to make the playwright's works accessible to Detroit residents. He had seen a few Shakespeare plays in the suburbs, but none in the city.
On August 14, 2013, the company opened a production of Othello at Grand Circus Park, four weeks after Detroit filed for bankruptcy.
"We had the guts to go ahead and do a Shakespearean tragedy, and 500 people came out," White said.
Since then, the company has produced such productions as Hamlet, Antony and Cleopatra and Much Ado Para Nada, the Spanish version of Much Ado About Nothing.
Dennis Kleinsmith has been with Shakespeare in Detroit since the beginning. The veteran actor played the antagonist Iago in Othello and returned in The Tempest as Caliban, Prospero's sidekick who is a monster.
"I conspired with the two victims to try and kill Prospero, but of course our plot went awry," Kleinsmith said.
He said that playing Caliban was exhausting because he had to include so many emotions, love, pain, anger, pure evil. He is known as an antagonist, but White says there are no saints or sinners in Shakespeare's plays.
"Good or bad is relative; it depends on who you ask,” he said.
Kleinsmith, a Wayne State University graduate and Lathrup Village resident, said Shakespeare was his first love. Although she has also worked in television and film, she says that the work is not as fulfilling in art as on stage.
"As an actor who's an actor, acting gives you credit, and there's nothing like that," Kleinsmith said. “There's nothing like finishing a show you've been preparing for and performing for the last two hours, sweating through your clothes. But the moment when 500 or more people applaud at the same time is more valuable than any salary.
"Well, almost," he added with a laugh.
Another cast member is 18-year-old Aris Rock, who plays a spirit named Ariel. She is also Prospero's handmaiden, but their relationship with Caliban is different because Prospero uses Ariel to perform his magic, Rock says. The Detroit native said he really enjoyed playing Ariel because they both share the same zest for life.
"Even though she doesn't sense spirit in the same way or with the same abilities as humans, Ariel is always enthusiastic and passionate about herself and loves everything that comes her way," Rock said. "And personally, as an actor, I want to feel that way about the work I do."
Rock began performing in theater at the age of four and attended the Shakespeare Youth Conservatory in Detroit. At the age of 14, she played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet.
"Sam was my manager and I fell in love with Shakespeare," he said. “Words, language, poetry—all these and the images they convey. And even though many teenagers, myself included, are a little overwhelmed by the language… the audience still understands because the themes are the same: love, forgiveness, hate. These are things that everyone feels naturally. Everyone can relate to Shakespeare.
As Shakespeare in Detroit celebrated its 10th anniversary, White hoped Detroit would need the kind of theater the company offered.
“I hope this will be our legacy; that we always show up when the city needs us, and that equality, diversity and inclusion are not our mission,” he said. "We did it long before 2020 and we will do it for a long time. And I hope that people will understand and see that Detroit Shakespeare is for the people and by the people.
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