Shakespeare does Kodiak Island

CINTHIA RITCHIE

February 29, 2008 at 8:58AM AKST

It starts with a ritualized dance of betrayal.

A shaman marries a Russian Desdemona and an Aleut Othello. Behind them lies the mysterious and moody landscape of southwestern Alaska. In front of them awaits misconception and murder.

It’s an age-old story brought to light in Edgeware Production’s Alaska adaptation of Shakespeare’s "Othello."

Set in the late 1840s, the story highlights the subtle but lasting affects of racial prejudices. Recently finishing a successful run at Cyrano’s in Anchorage, the play is touring small communities as part of a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Arts Shakespeare in American Communities Initiative.

Seward is the first stop on the road, followed by Cordova, Kodiak, Valdez, Talkeetna and Palmer.

The idea for the Alaska Othello came to the theater company about five years ago while performing a version of Hamlet that featured an Alaska Native actor.

"We were sitting around the table one night talking about plays that would be good with Native themes and we came up with Othello," said Elizabeth Ware of Edgeware Productions. "He’s an outsider in society, and we thought that that would work very nicely with a Russian American and Alaskan Native theme."

The play, she said, adapted smoothly and lent well to the interpretation. Director David Edgecombe estimated that, even with the Alaska theme, 97 percent of the words remain in their original context.

"There are even mentions of ravens throughout," Ware said.

For Athabascan actor Allan Hayton, who plays Othello and grew up in Alaska during the pipeline days, the adaptation offered a dream role.

"It’s what an actor lives for," he said. "I can identify from my Native heritage. Here’s a guy who has chaos in his life, he’s an outsider, he was sold into slavery, he grew up without parents. My life hasn’t been smooth, either."

Accessing the required emotions for the role hasn’t been easy. Hayton likens it to trying to reach the heights of an epic novel or a grandstand opera.

"Sometimes I’m just drained," he said. "I have to let some of my own experiences come in, and that isn’t always easy."

Yet there is a beauty in the play, he said, a strange, lulling cadence that builds up to a poetic stillness. He hopes this is what people take away with them after the performance. He hopes they remember not only a play about racial divide and jealousy but the underlying message: That life is to be appreciated.

That beauty is everywhere. That all of us, no matter our skin color or background or country or origin, are worthy of respect.

Cinthia Ritchie can be reached at (907) 342-2428 or toll free at (800) 770-9830, ext. 428.

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