Staging Shakespeare

My group is working on staging a scene from our lost play  so I decided to research more about the subject (our group hasn't had theater experience). Here are some things I found that could help everyone with their plays.

http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=963

Scene Changes with No Curtain
In Shakespeare's time there wasn't a curtain to drop between scenes.  To signal a scene or location change, all the characters would exit the stage and you would have different characters enter to begin the scene. In some cases when the characters remained on stag,e such as in Romeo and Juliet Act 1 scene 4 to scene 5(move from street to Capulet house), dialogue or stage actions made the change of location obvious.


Props and dialog were a big deal in Shakespeare's day. They were used to specify where the setting of the action because the playhouses didn't use movable scenery to make the set precise.  They did however use stage props such as rocks or banquet tables etc.


Actors would sometimes leave the stage as part of the performance. like the Ghost in Hamlet who appears beneath the stage. They used things like trapdoors or used building fixtures to stage things like the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet. The stage was also provided with rjpes and winches so that actors coudl descend from , and reascend to the "heavens".

Shakespeare in the 40's

First off I loved the play. Great acting and Setting it in the forties during war time was brilliant!. I thought changing the setting added to the themes of Love's Labour's Lost. 


For example:


 In this play the women make their suitors go through the test of a year apart to verify their love. They know that True love will pass the test of time while infatuation will not. In the play the men were about to go to war, that kind of situation is a recipe for extreme infatuation and historically it was. In Shakespeare's day, women fell for sonnet writing gentlemen, the same way war brides fell for soldiers so this theme translated well to the change of setting.


The men in the play give up all worldly things to study like soldier going to war giver up the real world to go fight, they still want these things so its an inner battle. 


Another thing I really like about the play was the role of accents. A lot of the character had different accents such as: new jersey, spanish, british, cockney, etc. I thought this was an interesting choice for the director. I don't know for sure what he was trying to say but for me I thought it added to the importance of language in the play. 


One thing I didn't think transferred well was the role of the teacher. The actor was decent but I felt her role didn't make as much sense as it did in the original setting. I thought incorporating the play scene into a radio show was genius. People didn't go around performing spontaneous plays in the forties so I wasn't sure that scene would work with the modern setting but they figured out a way to make it work and I loved it.

To be or not to be a Comedy: Love's Labors Lost

First off can I say I loved this play. It was so different from Shakespeare's other comedies and yet there are many similarities. Because of the ending some people including myself aren't sure if the play should be considered a comedy. So I decided to use the Comedy formula I posted about earlier to determine its genre-legitamacy.

What originally made me question its genre was the ending. If Love's Labors Lost was a normal comedy it would have ended with five marriages. Instead at the end the lovers depart and their futures together are left ambiguous. Biron at the end of the play says,"Our wooing doth not end like and old play; Jack hath not Jill: these ladies courtesy Might well have made our sport a comedy." I feel like these lines are admitting its not a comedy. On the other hand,perhaps this was just a statement Shakespeare wanted to make. The point of a marriage at the end of a comedy is to show that society is once again fixed/restored. Love's Labor Lost doesn't end with the characters problem being fixed which also isn't typical of the genre.


I felt like the male character of the play and their female counter parts were foils of each-other. Foil characters are often found in Shakespeare's comedies.


Most comedies center around love and in this way Love's Labors Lost was the ultimate comedy. Also, the scene where then men disguised themselves as Russians is also found typical of Shakespeare comedies. The case of Disguise or mistaken identity provides humorous opportunities and was therefore used often (ex.Twelfth Night, Merchant of Venice).

There were Stock Characters: Don Armado, Jaquenetta, Costard, and Dull. There were also the wise servants: Mote and Boyet These types of characters are typical of the Shakespeare Comedies


In Conclusion, I would say that Love's Labors Lost is more Comedy than not but the ending definitely breaks the mold of the typical Love wins out in the end plot.

Pitching to a Shakespeare's Audience

I found this interesting book called The Background of Shakespeare's Plays it had some interesting facts about the Elizabethan audience concerning there taste in plays. Here are some facts that I thought were interesting and could help in our play writing. 

Storyline

1. Playgoers wanted a story -old, patched or borrowed,- so long as there was plenty happening.


so twisted complicated plots were what entertained the Elizabethans
Shakespeare usually had two or three plots going on.  not all were not all were logically resolved but they had a hero or heroine "on the horns" of a dilemma. The play I'm working on Duke of Venice has two solid plots and a less resolve third plot which I think is representative of this.

Setting

2.Setting of the play wasn't as important so long as it was romantic.  the Elizabethans were not strict about geographical or historical facts. They preferred the play to be set somewhere exotic. 


This would explain shakespeare setting a lot of his plays in foreign places like Italy. Our play takes place in Venice which was a popular setting for Shakespeare's plays.

Characters

3. Shakespeare was more interested in his character then his plot which was popular with his audience. If is plot was lacking in logic he would compensate by slightly tarnishing the figures of his main plot, I. E. making his minor characters more attractive, he could use a tale of pathos and potential tragedy for high comedy.(he did this in Much Ado About Nothing). The interest lies in the character and incident. 


Though were not writing the play we tried to create deep/complex character traits that would "tarnish slightly" our main characters and make our B character more appealing. 

Themes

4. Elizabethans like romance as a theme for plays no matter how extravagant. They had a great love an capacity for imagination. they liked stories where wars were averted by sudden conversion, disguises impenetrable,and where love at first sight is the expected thing and anything can happen. ex. "Twelfth Night only in Illyria can  a girl disguised as a page produce such complexities. and other stories like the Tempest are possible only in the glory of romance."


disguises, marriage, romance are all found in our play. Also our third plot of impending war is averted by a transformation of the main character which was a popular idea back then.

Manners

5. Even though the stories took place in different times or settings characters were expected to conform to Elizabethan mannerisms. I.E Romans behave like London Crowds they would not have been well received otherwise.


Though I don't know much about Elizabethan behavior we tried to model them after shakespeare characters rather then Italians etc. By doing this I think our characters would be understood and enjoyed by an Elizabethan audience.

Whats in a Comedy

So Our play the Duke of Venice is a comedy and we tried to use the Shakespeare-Comedy formula to come up with our plot. 

First off we came up with an A-line and B-line plot. Shakespeare uses regularly uses in his plays. Our A-line plot involves Francisco and Fillippa while our B-line plot is centered around Lucio. 


Comedies usually start with a broken society and at then end everything society is fixed. This is usually represented by a marriage (ex. Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Knight, Taming of the Shrew, etc.) Our play begins in a broken society Venice which is getting a new ruler. This causes many problems but in the end they are amended by marriages. 

Foil character, who provide contrast between character) are found in many shakespeare plays (Bassanio and Antonio, or Portia and Jessica)so we decided to have some in ours. For example Francisco is responsible for ruling Venice but he would rather see the world. He is carefree and lacks responsibility. Lucio, has traveled the world and wants to settle down. He's experienced the life Francisco wants and is now looking for a life filled with duty and responsibility. 


Also, Shakespeare uses Dynamic characters that undergo a change in the course of the play (ex. Katherine-Taming Of the Shrew) Francisco and Fillippa  Francisco doesn't want to rule and doesn't take life seriously. He's using his power to further his own dreams by threatening to conquer Croatia. Fillippa wants the power and respect that her brother has. Fillippa takes life way to seriously and hasn't figured out the true meaning of living. both characters under go changes as a result of the plot.

Most Comedies involve young love. There are often obstacles keeping the characters from there loves and these are resolved in the end. For example, in Taming Of the Shrew Bianca can't be with her love until her sister is married and in Twelfth knight Orsino and Viola can't be together because Orsino thinks Viola is a man. In The Duke of Venice, Fillippa can't be with Lucio because she is pretending to be Francisco's lover. 


Mistaken Identity is also a common theme in Shakespeare Comedies. For example: The Comedy of errors is a play that entirely revolves around mistaken identity. In our play Fillippa is pretending to be a (word for female suitor??) that her her brother falls in love with. This leads to misunderstandings and comical situations. 

Some Stock Characters we could add to our play:
The fool 
The Drunk
Perhaps Fillippa has a wise servant
etc.


Another thing we need to work on is a new name. Shakespeare's comedies often have clever names (ex. Twelfth Knight, Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About nothing) We could get away with ours because there are some straight forward names (ex. The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Two Gentlemen of Verona etc.) However I think a clever name would be more exciting. 


The general theme of Shakespeare Comedies is that loves always wins out in the end.

The Lion King

Just for fun.. I was watching the Lion King and heard and loved the subtle Shakespeare references
Ex.  During the hakuna matata song

Timon:  "Oh the shame what's in a name"   (based on aline from Romeo and Juliet)     

It made my day!

The Duke of Venice

So based on our meeting in class, I flushed out a basic plot for the play,  it doesn't have character descriptions and its just a prototype. To my group, see what you want to add or change an we can combine our thoughts in class!

The Duke Of Venice

Act I

The Venice Council discusses the potential problems with the Duke’s failing health. They send two Council members to the Dukes estate to report his standing 

Francisco and Fillippa  are attending to their father when the two councilmen arrive they trick the Duke into passing a law that his son must get married within a month or forfeit his title. Francisco and Fillipa return and the Duke makes his announcement and gives advice to his children, before dying. Lucio gains a fortune from his dying master.

Act II 

Francisco declares war against Croatia. The Council and Fillippa are against him. Fillippa wishes to become the duke and rebukes her brother because he isn’t serious. Francisco doesn’t want to be king or marry but to continue his learning and see the world.  Lucio returns to venice to marry and gain a larger fortune. He visits, Francisco, an old friend, at the Palace.

Act III

The Council enlists Fillippa in a plot to prevent Francisco from marrying.

Lucio wins a bet from a Aristocrat and sets the councilmen’s servant free.  The servant leaves town and Lucio collects his money from the Aristocrat. Francisco discusses, with a Croatian ambassador, his intent of war. He begins accepting suitors. and false in love with Fillippa, who is disguised. Lucio returns to the palace and likewise falls in love with the disguised Fillippa. Fillippa likewise falls in love with Lucio.

Act IV

The Aristocrat seeks revenge on Lucio and accuses him of stealing his money. Lucio, is sentenced to hang.  Francisco declares his intention to marry the disguised Fillippa. Fillippa, in love with Lucio urges Francisco to help him escape. Francisco, conflicted with his duty and friendship, decided to seek out the servant who Lucio freed as a witness. The ambassador of Croatia threatens war against Venice. 

Act V 

Francisco returns with the servant, who clears his name, to Lucio’s hanging. Fillippa reveals herself and confesses her love for Lucio. The Councilmen is arrested  and Lucio receives his business.  Francisco Marries the princess of Croatia, therefore preventing the war and keeping his position. Fillippa and Lucio are married and she gives her blessing to Francisco.  The Council accepts Francisco as the Duke.

From Grimm To Shakespeare

I decided to try converting a Grimm Fairytale to a plot in a Shakespeare comedy. I think this could be a really good way to develop the story for the class video project so read about it and see what you think!


here's a link so you can read the original story (don't worry its not super long! )
The Jew Among Thorns by the Grimm Brothers

Characters:

Grimm: Shakespeare version:

Master The Duke of Florence

Servant Valentyne

Beggar Piers the servant

Jew Adriel the Jew

Shakespearized plot: Valentyne A faithful servant is bequeathed a  fortune when his master the Duke of Florence dies. He sets about to Venice find a wife and begin his new life. He runs into a Jew called, Adriel and his servant Piers. Valentyne wins the servant Piers freedom and Adriel’s business in a duel. Adriel buys back his business and later gets revenge by accusing Valentyne of stealing his money. Valentyne is later sentenced to death by hanging. Piers, through other eventually connecting plot-line, returns to Venice and vouches for Valentyne's story. Adriel is cast into prison and Valentyne overtakes his business.

This kind of plot line thrown in with a romance

and the B-line plot of Piers could easily become a Comedy. 

Develop themes and motifs for the story and you've got a Shakespeare play.

Desdemona's soliloquy

I found this song, Oblivion by Grimes, that reminded me of Desdemona from Othello. I decided to try copying Shakespeare's writing by adapting the song to fit the story and be formatted like a soliloquy. I would probably insert this soliloquy at the start of Act V scene II.


Background of Act V Scene II: In this scene, Desdemona is discouraged by her husband's treatment and how far they've grown apart. In the end Othello comes to their bedroom and kills her out of false jealousy.  




Oblivion by the Grimes: 

Soliloquy:

Another walk-about after dark.

My lord is not my lord,unvarnished he me.

Beset right here, with which cause I wish. 

My lord is victory. I beg his discolored spirit.

Alas he leaks, to me yet falsely.

Now I’m left behind

Parted,with no key.

My sense aches at thee,

waiting till death departs. Always looking straight.

Othello lend a hand

From unlawful touch.

My eyes observe you on a darkened night.

O tis troubling seeing you in light.

I cannot weep for love. By virtue I wait

A look into my eyes, preferring my health