The Czar makes Mas

CEO/Commander-In-Chief
of Caesar’s Army and Caesar CreatiV Jules Sobion aka Julius CZAR.  -
CEO/Commander-In-Chief of Caesar’s Army and Caesar CreatiV Jules Sobion aka Julius CZAR. -

When the Prime Minister announced last year that Carnival 2021 was cancelled some may have been tempted to throw in the towel. But not Jules Sobion aka Julius CZAR. For the entrepreneur and CEO/Commander-In-Chief of regional promotional entity Caesar’s Army, the cancellation was an opportunity for evolution.

And nowhere is that evolution more evident than in his foray into executive producing a theatre production. That production is CZAR and the Mas Movement presents MAS: Magic + Spirit on Carnival Monday and Tuesday which is being held at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Port of Spain.

Sobion told Sunday Newsday that while a “master of event production” he is a “neophyte in theatre production.”

“I have been on the NAPA board for a while now and I have always looked at the space as the Caribbean’s premier performance space.”

And so he decided to do something in this space.

“Knowing that the Prime Minister said no Carnival 2021 I saw it as an opportunity for TT to highlight and showcase what we know as Carnival. Though there was no parade or events taking place we could still show the world and TT what we really mean by Carnival.”

A promotional image for the theatre production CZAR and the Mas Movement presents MAS.
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He came up with the idea of theatre production with Carnival represented on the three pillars of pan, calypso and mas. Sobion began looking for partners, specifically people versed in Carnival. He reached out to singer, poet and actor Muhammad Muwakil, playwright and director of MAS, and others who provided guidance and insight.

Sobion discovered similar elements between event production and theatrical production, though the terminology was different.

“I was able to use most of my experience to assist in this new world. But there were a lot of things I had to learn.”

Sobion said he was thankful for his diverse team who are experts in relevant fields, including Muwakil as director, producer Jayron Remy, and Nadya Shah who assisted with set design.

“I leaned on them for certain things I am not too accustomed to. But I also benefitted from my experience hosting major productions for the army.”

Sobion also had to formulate a relationship with the National Theatre Arts Company which provided actors and actresses. He reported due to the restrictions on gathering, he was not allowed to have photo ops in the foyer nor display traditional costumes from the Carnival Institute.

“The guidelines restrict what I believe to be a true representation of the culture from a display aspect. But in terms of the show itself, we are working very well with the guidelines that have been set to ensure safety and security.”

A patron enjoys herself at the Caesar’s Army event A.M. BUSH last year. -

He took the opportunity to thank platinum sponsor First Citizens as well as sponsors the Culture Ministry, bmobile and Angostura.

The show will be live only and Sobion explained there is no virtual component as he wants to record and edit the production to package it. He said the show could have an exclusive premiere on TTT, or if Netflix was interested they will have a better package to present.

“I want to take the culture to a higher level.”

Sobion has been bitten by the theatre bug, and MAS is just the beginning of his productions.

“It is the genesis of my evolution as an individual. I always wanted to be a cultural ambassador. Even if I previously used elements of culture for events and mas, this (show) gives me an opportunity to further evolve myself as an ambassador of culture and Carnival.”

He promised the public that they would see more, and not just future productions of MAS, but specific productions for pan, the evolution or kaiso into soca/new calypso, and mas from traditional to modern-day.

“I like the fusion, foundational and traditional with the contemporary and the modern.”

Welcome to ANTILLEA

Another fusion Sobion was involved with was virtual reality technology and Carnival. He recalled when the covid19 virus first struck some people thought it would be “the end of the world”. But as an entrepreneur surrounded by a very strong team, especially the Caesar’s Army unit, the first thing they did was to sit down and assess the situation.

“We knew events and Carnival would be impacted. After we assessed then we started to strategise. We came up with ways we could pivot and evolve (in the face of) what everyone considered a potential long-lasting threat to their main core business and livelihood.”

He stressed that sitting down as a team was the best thing as it produced a wide assortment of ideas and opinions on the best strategies. One idea was to create a virtual reality island, ANTILLEA, which symbolises where the Greater and Lesser Antilles meet as one Caribbean.

Paint-soaked patrons have a time at Caesar’s Army IN.DE.PAINT.DANCE. -

“On an innovation side, even though the US, Europe and foreign countries had already immersed themselves (in virtual reality), from the Caribbean standpoint there is no representation on the virtual landscape. Nothing with the background, culture or identity. I saw it as a void and a very strong opportunity to invest in.”

He reported that the investment took a lot of money but he views it as “real estate” that could be further built into a metropolis.

“We are also building a future for Caribbean people, the Diaspora or people interested in Caribbean culture.”

Sobion said ANTILLEA also worked well with the corporate landscape as businesses are looking for new ways to engage customers, and clients Angostura and Pizza Hutt have jumped aboard.

“The virtual island presents a number of opportunities.”

They began work on ANTILLEA since last year and launched it this year and Sobion reported the metrics have been doing great. Last Friday was the final edition of the ANTILLEA Soca Series which had people participating in events via their avatars.

Sobion – the TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce's 2017 Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year winner – said the series continuously immersed people in the world of ANTILLEA, and not just those from TT but for a global clientele. He explained people using their laptop or desktop do not get the full experience as that required a virtual reality device.

“You may find for Christmas coming or people’s birthday they will be asking for a virtual reality headset.”

Caesar gets CreatiV

But before his company entered the virtual realm, and even before the pandemic, Caesar’s Army, which began in 2006, wanted to become a next-generation marketing agency.

“Instead of events and catering to patrons, we would use the power of experience and reputation for events to create a creative and experiential marketing agency, a next-generational advertising agency.”

Through new entity Caesar CreatiV they would provide innovative and disruptive ways for corporate clients to engage with customers digitally and experientially. Sobion explained they have converted from a business-to-customers model to business-to-business. He said while companies like Angostura, Campari and Heineken no longer have Caesar’s Army events to sponsor, they can now work with them directly in terms of customer engagement and experiential campaigns.

“We still have partnerships, just a different mechanism.”

The Caesar’s Army and Caesar CreatiV team (from left to right) chief operations officer Hasani Wattley, brand specialist Sabrina Lopez, CEO/Commander-In-Chief Jules Sobion aka Julius CZAR, event production manager Renata Sankar, and general manager Darcel Kajim-Roach. -

He added that the company would be easy to slip back into their regular operations if normalcy comes back.

“We will still be Caesar’s Army the event machine and our Carnival band machine Rogue, which is our collaboration with Tribe.”

And was Sobion missing Carnival events this year?

“I love the concepts behind events. I love what I do. I love creating a story and actually executing it. That is what I miss the most. But this time has afforded me an opportunity to reflect on what is my promised land, what is my destination.”

Sobion predicted if there was still Carnival this year he would have been caught in a routine going around the world producing events.

“I must be thankful and grateful for the opportunity to go into the theatre, to find new ways to uplift the culture.”

He added: “Whether it is CZAR, Caesar’s Army or CreatiV, I believe in being all I can be. When you come from the Caribbean you feel that you are always behind. But we could be leaders. We could become the greatest if we wanted to. If I could become who I am destined to be and still be able to uplift and bring my culture to the world I will be a happy man.”

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"The Czar makes Mas"

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