The School of Theatre’s Shakespeare sections are preparing full readings of Shakespeare plays in place of a scene showcase.
Lance Marsh, professor of acting and head of theatre, teaches the Shakespeare classes each year to junior and senior performance majors. The courses usually culminate in a showcase of scenes from various Shakespeare plays as performed by students. He said this semester has presented a new set of challenges and an ever-changing schedule, so adapting has actually provided them with a fresh set of opportunities.
“Our intention is always to try and create the most performance opportunities for our students,” Marsh said. “We definitely had to adjust to what’s changed this year. For example, where usually we’d be doing scene work in class, they took on monologues.”
Marsh said working through a different medium while still allowing the students to put their process into practice has been something he counts as a unique upside to taking on this project.
The practice of studying and performing Shakespeare involves analyzing structural elements such as scansion and rhythm. Marsh said the actors work through the pieces technically during table work, then bring these tools with them when moving into the rehearsal “Zoom” room.
“In this case, we actually have the chance to do something that these students otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do,” Marsh said, “This gives them the experience of to applying what they’ve been learning in class.”
Marsh said regardless of the mode of messaging, the many stories they will be telling ultimately come down to the same topic.
“Every play we are working on has to do with love,” Marsh said.
Mark Mendez Muñoz, music theater senior, is one of the students involved in the project and will be playing the roles of “Launce” and “Thurio” in the virtual reading of “Two Gentleman of Verona.”
“When working through pieces like these, people tend to think that Shakespeare is out of reach. It still comes down to knowing from your tablework: what is it that we are really saying? That doesn’t change no matter how the show is performed,” Mendez Muñoz said.
Mendez Muñoz said he is grateful for a chance to be exploring Shakespeare in a more complete way.
“Most Shakespeare classes never actually get to put on a full piece, and we have that,” Mendez Muñoz said.
Mendez Muñoz said as a music theater student, his connection to Shakespeare has proven to be stronger than he thought. He said he connected the language to music because the patterns and beats used to communicate in Shakespeare’s writing mirror the thoughts and feelings of the characters within these stories, much like songs do in musicals.
“I think Shakespeare makes sense to musicians,” Mendez Muñoz said, “It’s about intonations and rhythms. It’s a form of expression that comes from musicality.”
Mendez Muñoz said he is optimistic and excited about the possibilities coming from simply knowing others are watching, regardless of the production taking place virtually.
“What’s so interesting is that you still get the experience of knowing that this is all happening as other watch us. There’s still no stopping. Live theater, to me, means any performance that is happening while people watch in real time,” Mendez Muñoz said.
The virtual performances will run through the week of finals, with a different show performing each night at 8 p.m. The productions will run as follows: “Twelfth Night” on Nov. 19; “All’s Well That Ends Well” on Nov. 20; “Macbeth” on Nov. 21; “Romeo and Juliet” on Nov. 22; and “Two Gentlemen of Verona” on Nov. 23.
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