Shakespeare Class Concludes With Production of "Much Ado About Nothing"
Christina Hotsko '05 gets some acting tips from Andrew Melville of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
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4/13/2005
Contact: Bill Giduz 704/894-2244 or bigiduz@davidson.edu
by Jonathan Crooms ' 04
Professor Cynthia Lewis believes the best way to understand William Shakespeare’s plays is to live with them as Shakespeare’s players did. So in her Davidson College course on “Performing Shakespeare,” students not only study Shakespeare, they take responsibility for a full production.
Her students this semester will wrap up their semester’s experience with five public performances of Much Ado About Nothing from Friday through Tuesday, April 15-19.
The performances are 7:30 p.m. on April 15, 18 and 19, and at 10 p.m. on April 16, all in the Lilly Family Gallery in Chambers Building. There will also be a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, April 17, off campus at Pian del Pino. The rain location will be the Lilly Family Gallery. Admission is $4 and can be paid at the door, with exception of the matinee, which requires reservations. Call 704-894-7519 for information and reservations.
“This class is the ideal educational environment, because learning without borders can take place,” said Lewis. “It’s truly freeing, because students are liberated from disciplinary boundaries.”
Dana Professor of English Cynthia Lewis works with the cast.
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Lewis’ students comprise a variety of academic majors, including political science, English, theatre, and classics. Several have never acted in a stage performance, but Lewis said that each brings personal assets to the class and performance. “A class like this helps bring things to the surface that you never see,” she said.
Students began the course with an academic exploration of literary criticism of Much Ado About Nothing, then spent the last few weeks preparing for and rehearsing the performance. They got help with their character interpretation during three afternoon rehearsals from the ultimate Shakespeareans— actors and directorial staff of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), which was in residence at the college for two weeks in March. The RSC players led students in movement and vocal exercises to help them adopt the mindset of their characters.
“We were able to get more done with their help in a couple of hours than we could have done in a couple of weeks,” said Pete Schild ’08 who plays Claudio. “They came to class, watched one scene, and immediately had numerous suggestions.”
“It was a very cool experience,” said Melanie Farmer ’06, who plays Beatrice. “The Royal Shakespeare actors were very easy to talk to and they made everything very accessible.”
Lewis, who guides the production of Much Ado About Nothing, said that the communal aspect of the production is the key to its success. She hopes her students will take away a sense of theatre as a model for building community among themselves, and between themselves and the audience.
Pete Schild '08 checks props in a play rehearsal.
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In order to produce and set the play in the Elizabethan era, the students studied a variety of theatrical and technical subjects, including Elizabethan language, music, and culture, Renaissance dance, lighting, and set design. Each student has both acting and non-stage roles, so that the ensemble is completely responsible for everything from set and costume design to scene interpretation and performance. “The best part of this experience is the fellowship with and among the students,” said Lewis. “Working as a team dissolves the notion of individual achievement.”
Farmer added, “You really get to know the people in the class because we are dependent upon each other.”
Schild said the most challenging part of the production is becoming comfortable with Elizabethan language. “Even though I know my lines perfectly, I will sometimes blank or stumble during rehearsal, because the way the characters express themselves is so different from the way we do,” he commented. “It’s difficult to process the language and emotions on the fly.”
Written in 1598, Much Ado About Nothing is the comical story of young lovers Hero and Claudio who are to be married in one week. To pass the time, they conspire with Don Pedro to set a "lover’s trap" for Benedick, an arrogant confirmed bachelor, and Beatrice, his favorite sparring partner. Meanwhile, the evil Don John conspires to break up the wedding by accusing Hero of infidelity. In the end, though, it all turns out to be "much ado about nothing."
“This ensemble play is about young lovers and issues of setting priorities—for example, between friendship and romantic love,” said Lewis. “So it’s perfect for an audience of college students who, we hope, will see the play as timeless.”
Lewis has taught “Performing Shakespeare” every two or three years since 1983. She chooses plays where a cast of sixteen students can each have significant roles. In the past, her classes have performed Twelfth Night, All’s Well That Ends Well, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, and Love’s Labour’s Lost.
(l-r) Hannah Legerton '05 and Melanie Farmer '05 try on masks for the performance.
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Lewis said, “When people think about Shakespeare’s works, they think about their intellectual depth. But, the plays are entertainment, and it’s wonderful when entertainment can be educational. The best way to interest people in Shakespeare is to show them how much fun it is.”
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