IAGO
William Shakespeare's infamous tale of jealousy and betrayal, Othello, is reimagined during the revolutionary experiments of the Black Panther Party.
INNER CITY SHAKESPEARE ENSEMBLE
Founded in 2010, The Inner City Shakespeare Ensemble (ICSE) brings at-risk students into the world of theatre, using Shakespeare’s ageless language and eloquent dramatic insight into people and events. To find out more about the organization please visit their site. Any support is appreciated.
STOIC MEDIA
Stoic is a television and film production company where emerging writers and directors collaborate outside the traditional development model.
CAST & CREW
AMIT BHALLA | IMDb
Director, Producer, Writer
Amit spent five years working with David Milch, where he worked on several series for HBO. He also wrote on Season 2 of Netflix’s Bloodline. He currently serves as the President of the Inner City Shakespeare Ensemble. He studied Art at Yale University. Iago is his directorial debut.
MELANIE ANDREWS | IMDb
Producer, Writer, Supporting Actor, Costume Design
Dr. Andrews is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Inner City Shakespeare Ensemble. She has produced over one hundred plays and won three national PBS Educational Film Awards for her work in arts education. She has taught theater and literature for more than three decades in public schools and universities. She is dedicated to the idea that art can have a major impact on social change and growth.
SAINT RANSON | IMDb
Iago, Lead Actor
Saint is an actor and teaching artist in Los Angeles.
He graduated from Arizona State University with his Masters in Communication and Performance Studies and earned his Bachelors in Speech & Theatre from Jackson State University in Mississippi. He has numerous credits in theatre including: A Midsummer Nights Dream (Lysander), Othello (Iago), Ragtime, Dreamgirls, The Wiz, Bubblin' Brown Sugar, The Color Purple, Livin' Fat, and more. His film and TV credits include #RealityHigh, Marvel’s Runaways, This Is Us, and One Day at a Time. In his time away from the stage and film, he is a transformational coach and motivational speaker through his social media platform @SaintSpeaks.
JUVANIE HILDRETH | IMDb
Othello
Juvanie started with the Inner City Shakespeare Ensemble when he was just fourteen years old. His Shakespeare roles range from swashbuckling Antonio in Twelfth Night to Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Playing the role of Othello was his most demanding part yet. He studies acting privately and plans to finish his studies at San Francisco State in the fall.
MIA K. WILLIAMS | IMDb
Emilia
Mia is faithful member of Inner City Shakespeare Ensemble. She has appeared in more than four productions. She was a standout performer in the critically acclaimed production of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enough. She is an active performer in several Los Angeles based theater companies.
BRANDON RACHAL | IMDb
Cassio
Brandon is a graduate of the University of Southern California theater arts program. He functions as an arts educator in inner-city schools. He has along history with Shakespeare. In addition to being a company member of the Inner City Shakespeare Ensemble, he has been a featured actor in the touring company of the Texas Shakespeare Festival.
BRIGHID FLEMING | IMDb
Desdemona
Brighid stared her acting career in a community production of Cat in the Hat. The New Mexico native learned her craft as a popular member of the Albuquerque theater circuit. She was noticed by a film director and moved to Los Angeles to join the cast of The Burrowers. In 2013, Brighid became the youngest ever winner of the Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation awards for her role in The Nether at the Kirk Douglas theater in Culver City California. She became a Disney Darling with her feisty performance in Dog with A Blog. She played Titania in Inner City Shakespeare production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She is currently enrolled at the Pratt University in New York.
GRAHAME WOODS | IMDb
Brabantio
Grahame traded his posh British accent to play the role
of Brabantio in Iago. Born in Canada and trained at the prestigious LAMDA in London, he is a driving force in the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).
This group helped to start Inner City Shakespeare Ensemble. He functions as an actor, producer, and writer. He has been featured in twenty plus television shows and several dozen movies. He is most known for roles in The Patriot, Saving Private Ryan and the breath taking Four Minutes. He is currently producing a series based on his novels, The Darkly Stewart Mysteries.
MILES VEDDER | IMDb
Rodrigo
Miles is known for his work on the comedy Mom, Den of Thieves, Iron Man, Crash and The Spy Next Door. He is also a veteran of dozens of commercials. When not in front of the camera, he is a highly respected sound designer.
JEFF HAMMER | IMDb
Producer
Jeff earned an MFA in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California and returned to USC to teach courses in Screenwriting and Production. He wrote, directed, and produced his debut feature Live or Die in La Honda, released by Freestyle Digital Media, and he's the producer of the original sci-fi series Personal Space, which premiered March 2018 on Amazon. Other producing credits include the feature film Curtiz, Grand Prize of the Americas (Best Film) winner at the 2018 Montreal International Film Festival, and the short film Leave, which premiered at the 2018 LA Femme International Film Festival. He’s a producer and co-writer on the upcoming feature The Flight of Sam Wolf, which is currently in pre-production.
KEVIN SARNOFF | IMDb
Cinematographer, DP
Kevin Sarnoff is an Emmy Award winning
cinematographer based in Los Angeles. He's a graduate
of the Art Center College of Design and a member of the International Cinematographers Guild.
TYLER TEMPLE HIGGINS | IMDb
Editor
Tyler Temple Higgins is a New York and Los Angeles based commercial and documentary editor. He started his career under the tutelage of legendary editor Hank Corwin at editorial house Los Planet. Tyler has collaborated with two-time Academy Award-nominated director Lucy Walker, editing her award winning short documentary David Hockney: In the Now and the theatrical documentary Buena Vista Social Club: Adios. His most recent work with Academy Award-nominated director Kief Davidson will be released by Netflix later this year.
SIMON WILKINSON | IMDb
Art Director, Production Designer
Simon has over 10 years of experience working both as a fine artist and designer. Apart from his role at Stoic Media Simon is Associate Director of The Mountain School of the Arts and serves as Communications Director for The Society for Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound. Simon holds an Honors B.Des and an MFA from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena.