Jessika D. Williams leaves the actors' union to play the title role in “Othello”
By Michael Paulson Jessika D. Williams has wanted to play the title role in “Othello” since she was a teenager. Now she’s 35, with quotes from Shakespeare tattooed down both arms, and after years studying in Scotland, working in Britain, and traveling the United States by van to perform in regional theaters, she finally got the part this summer, at the American Shakespeare Center, a destination theater in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. There was only one hitch, but it was a big one: the coronavirus pandemic. Actors’ Equity, the labor union representing performers and stage managers barred its members from in-person performances around the country, citing safety concerns. The union then made a handful of exceptions, mostly in New England, where infection rates are low; the Virginia theater was among scores denied a waiver. The American Shakespeare Center, locat