The cast of Karamu’s Julius X. Kevin Holt ‘08 as Octavius is far left in the top row. Photo courtesy of Karamu.

Billed as “Shakespeare comes to Harlem,” Julius X, a new play currently on stage at Cleveland's famed Karamu House, features the talents of the show's director, Justin Emeka '94, a visiting professor of theater and African American studies, and two students, assistant director Namrata Kolachalam '08 and bassist and actor Kevin Holt '08.

Using spoken word, dance, and music, Julius X parallels Julius Caesar's assassination by Roman Senate conspirators in 44 B.C. and the death of Malcolm X by Nation of Islam zealots in A.D. 1965. Emeka says he chose to direct the play, which runs through February 24, because “as an African American director I am very interested in looking at Shakespeare's work through the lens of the African American experience.

“As the American theater begins to incorporate black actors into Shakespearean plays, I think it is also important to incorporate black culture into the context of the plays and the telling of the story.”

Emeka invited Holt and Kolachalam to take part in the production so they could apply the skills they have been learning in the classroom.

Besides being open-minded and curious, Namrata is “seriously invested in learning the process” of staging a play, says Emeka. She kept track of script changes, helped actors go over their lines, and helped Emeka think through visual and dramatic ideas.

Holt, a double-degree student with majors in double bass performance and African American studies with a concentration in fine arts, ”played a major role in creating the mood and aesthetic for the project,” says Emeka.

Holt's double bass underscores many of the show's poems and monologues. He worked with cast members during rehearsals to compose the melodies, then “harmonized them, created a part for the bass, and arranged and ran the music rehearsals” he says.

Holt also has two roles: that of an unnamed young man who is beaten by the police for making a bold political statement, and that of Octavius X, a character who adds considerable fuel to much of the conflict in the play.

“I really enjoy being a part of this production,” says Holt. “The cast has developed an amazing sense of community, and each of the people we've met in this venture has so many gifts. The energy they bring to the performance is inspiring.”