Cressida Brown, assistant director at the Royal Shakespeare Company, has been spending the semester in residence in the Department of Theatre, where she will direct a production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest October 10-25. Her all-student cast is working together as an ensemble on the play, which will be presented in a “deconstructed” Roy Bowen Theatre in Drake Performance and Event Center on campus.

“It’s fantastic working with the students; they have so much creativity and enthusiasm, and dedication to learning,” Brown said. “The play is an ensemble piece, and they really need to rely on each other and work as a team. The energy they put into it is really extraordinary.”

The play – widely considered to be Shakespeare’s farewell play – centers on Prospero, an aging magician who has been living in exile with his daughter on a remote island. Prospero uses his magic to conjure up a tempest to shipwreck those responsible for his banishment. He then proceeds to dazzle and dismay the survivors as he orchestrates his triumphant return home.

Brown said one change she made was switching many of the male parts to female characters. “For instance, we’ve made Antonio into Antonia,” she said. “At first I wondered what this gender shift would mean. How would it impact the play? But it’s only enhanced the relationships between the characters.”

Explained Maureen Ryan, associate professor, theatre, it’s often a challenge to cast Shakespeare’s plays because there weren’t many female roles. “Switching the genders is one way to solve that problem,” she said.

Another change Brown is making is transforming the Roy Bowen theatre into a run-down and shabby space. “I’m a site-specific director, and often present plays in places like abandoned buildings, boats or even lighthouses,” she said. “How people interact with a space is important to me. We’re changing the entire set into a derelict theatre – a space where Shakespeare is saying goodbye.”

The five-act play is presented without an intermission and includes both undergraduate students and those studying in the MFA (master of fine arts) acting program.

For show times and ticket information, visit http://theatre.osu.edu/productions/thetempest