In recent years, Furman Theater Arts professor Maegan Azar has directed a number of popular plays staged at the university’s Playhouse, from “Lysistrata” to the “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” to “The Winter’s Tale.”

Now she’s sharing her talents with an even wider audience as a part of The Warehouse Theatre’s Educational Touring Series, directing a production of Shakespeare’s political tragedy “Julius Caesar” aimed at showcasing the power of the widely-assigned play to local high school students.

Every fall and spring, the Educational Touring program performs a show specifically for high school students, connecting with texts the students are studying in the classroom and allowing them to see works of literature in a new light.

“We’re trying to get them exposed to shows and scripts they have read in schools, but have never seen performed,” Azar said.

Azar, who serves as the Artistic Associate for the Warehouse Theater, said the theater chose the Bard’s drama of betrayal in ancient Rome because it’s examination of political motivation remains as relevant to today’s world as it was when it was written.

Other members of the Furman community are also assisting with the production. Theatre Arts professor Margaret Caterisano is designing the costumes. Recent alum Chelsea Jarrett is acting in the production, and Maranda DeBusk, another recent alum, is in charge of lighting design.

While “Julius Caesar” is the first play Azar’s directed for the Greenville theater, it’s not the first one she’s contributed downtown. She was also the assistant director and movement coach for the Warehouse Theater’s 2013 production of “Eurydice,” a modern retelling of the classical Greek Orpheus myth.

Azar she would like to continue to do theater in Greenville and hopes to make connections for Furman alumni downtown.

“Greenville is such a thriving theatre community, and it is great that Furman is able to be a part of that,” she said.