A SUPPLEMENTARY STUDY GUIDE prepared by Mark Kennedy & Brittany Howard
DIRECTED BY MATT PFEIFFER
TABLE OF CONTENTS Characters and Setting..................................................Page 2 About the Playwright....................................................Page 3 Synopsis...........................................................................Page 4 Shakespearean Text.......................................................Page 7 Text of Romeo & Juliet...................................................Page 7 Noteable Productions...................................................Page 8 You, 1595........................................................................Page 9 Assorted References.....................................................Page 10 Shakespearean Language.............................................Page 11 Our Production...........................................................Page 13 Our Players...................................................................Page 16 Discussion Questions..................................................Page 21
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Directed by Matt Pfeiffer on the F. Otto Haas Stage February 25th to April 11th, 2010
CHARACTERS The PRINCE, ruler of Verona LORD MONTAGUE, head of the house of Montague LADY MONTAGUE, wife to Montague ROMEO, Montague’s son BENVOLIO, Montague’s nephew and friend of Romeo MERCUTIO, kinsman to the Prince and friend of Romeo BALTHAZAR, Montague’s servant LORD CAPULET, head of the house of Capulet LADY CAPULET, wife to Capulet JULIET, Capulet’s daughter TYBALT, Lady Capulet’s nephew NURSE, caretaker to Juliet PARIS, kinsman to the Prince and Count of Verona PETER, Capulet’s servant FRIAR LAURENCE, religious counselor in Verona FRIAR JOHN, colleague of Friar Laurence an APOTHECARY, dealer of poisons
SETTING The story of Romeo & Juliet takes place in Verona, a city in Italy. In our production, this city is not specific; it is in a time and space of its own.
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ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT William Shakespeare
We don’t actually know that much about William Shakespeare. We don’t have first hand drafts of the plays he is known to have written—we don’t have a detailed autobiography, credit card receipts, embarrassing videos on YouTube, an archive of his Facebook news feed. We get bare facts from legal documents and some contemporary remarks; much of the rest of what you’ve heard or what you think you know about Shakespeare is speculation and invention. We don’t even have an accurate spelling of his name! Shakespeare himself signed his own name inconsistently, from Shake-spear to Shaxbear to Shakspur, amongst others. “It’s a mystery!” to quote the movie Shakespeare in Love. Here are some things we do know: • He lived from 1564 - 1616 in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth and King James I. • He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a market town about 150 miles from London. • He was the eldest son and third child (of eight) to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. • He was baptized on the 26th of April, 1564. • He never went to university. • He was married to Anne Hatheway on the 27th of November, 1582. He was 18, she was 26. • Their first child was baptized six months later on May 26th. • He had twins, Hamnet and Judith, in February 1585. • In 1592, a university educated playwright Robert Greene wrote a pamphlet warning his colleagues of Shakespeare, a mere actor, writing plays:
[F]or there is an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tygers hart wrapt in a Players hyde, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blanke verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Iohannes fac totum [jack of all trades], is in his owne conceit the onely Shake-scene in a countrey.” • In 1594 he performed with a theatre company called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, and was listed in the warrant of payment along with their leading dramatic and comedic actors. • By 1599 the company built the Globe Theatre and Shakespeare became a shareholder in the company. • During his lifetime he wrote 38 plays (some in collaboration with others), 154 sonnets, and at least two long form poems. • In Shakespeare’s will, he bequeaths his wife his “second best bed” and its linens. • Shakespeare died in 1616 and was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, with the following written on his grave:
Good Friend for Jesus Sake Forbeare, To Digg the Dust Encloased Heare: Bleste Be [the] Man [that] Spares Thes Stones, And Curst Be He [that] Moves My Bones. In 1623, Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies was published in London. More commonly referred to as the First Folio, this book represented the efforts of fellow actors John Heminges and Henry Condell, who assembled manuscripts and earlier published versions of Shakespeare’s plays and had them printed in a single volume. Half of these plays were published for the first time. Modern editions of Shakespeare’s plays draw heavily on the Folio texts as well as earlier texts to print these plays for modern readers and audiences. And so, while we may never know much more about Shakespeare’s life, it is in this book that Shakespeare truly continues to live.
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SYNOPSIS “the fearful passage of their death-mark’d love” The play begins with a prologue, spoken by the entire company, reporting that violence has broken out anew between two families in Verona, the Capulets and the Montagues, who have been locked in a bitterly entrenched feud. The fighting has now spilled blood; two lovers, one from each clan, have committed suicide and it is only through their deaths that their parents’ feud has finally been put to rest. This play, the prologue finishes, is the story of these two fated lovers. The play shifts to the streets of Verona, where a brawl between the Montagues and Capulets is in full force. Benvolio, a nephew of Lord Montague, tries to stop the fighting, but Tybalt, a nephew of Lady Capulet, refuses to back down. The Prince, chief authority in Verona, breaks up the fight and declares that anyone caught fighting in the streets will be punished by death. Everyone disperses. Lord and Lady Montague ask Benvolio about their son, Romeo, who has been avoiding them. Montague explains that his son has shut himself into his room and has blocked out all sunlight. He will neither tell his father nor anyone else what’s wrong, and they are worried about his health. Romeo enters, and Benvolio asks the Montagues to leave while he tries to gain Romeo’s confidence. Alone, Benvolio gets Romeo to admit, with passion and pathos, that he is in love with a woman, Rosaline. His passion is hopeless because she has forsworn love for chastity. Benvolio suggests he stop thinking about her, but Romeo, refusing, takes off. Benvolio follows, determined to change his mind. The scene shifts to Lord Capulet, who counsels Paris, a nobleman and relative of the Prince, to woo his daughter, Juliet, at his mask party tonight in order to convince her to agree to marry him. If she does, Lord Capulet will allow them to marry. Capulet gives a servant tonight’s guest list and orders him to invite his guests personally. The servant cannot read the list. Benvolio and Romeo run into the servant, who asks them to read him the list. They do, and Benvolio notices that Romeo’s Rosaline is a guest. For their help, the servant gives Benvolio and Romeo all the details of the party and invites them to join, as long as they are not Montagues. Benvolio persuades Romeo to crash the party, promising he’ll show him many more beautiful and available women than his Rosaline. Romeo doubts this, but follows along with the plan. The play shifts to a room in the Capulet house, where Lady Capulet has her daughter, Juliet, summoned by her caretaker, the Nurse. Lady Capulet informs Juliet that Paris is seeking her hand in marriage and encourages her to consider his proposal. The guests begin to arrive at the party and the scene shifts. Out on the streets at dusk, Romeo, Benvolio, and their friend Mercutio, another relative of the Prince, prepare to crash the Capulet party. Mercutio teases Romeo for being so desperately lovelorn, and they banter back and forth wittily about the nature of love and dreams. Mercutio rhapsodizes at length about Queen Mab, the fairy queen who influences the dreams of those she flies over at night. Finally the three of them decide to go to the party before it’s too late. Romeo is struck with a momentary premonition about the effects this decision, but carries on anyway. At the Capulet party, Juliet and Paris dance, and Romeo, masked, asks Tybalt, also masked, who she is. Tybalt overhears Romeo gushing about Juliet’s beauty and guesses he is a Montague. Tybalt goes to Lord Capulet to try to get Romeo kicked out, but Lord Capulet has heard good things about Romeo, and decides to let him stay. Tybalt argues with Capulet and Capulet strikes him. Tybalt leaves, furious. Romeo approaches Juliet and, creating the beginning of a sonnet, asks to kiss her. Juliet, continuing the sonnet, counters Romeo and they continue to complete each other’s verses of the poem until they finish it with a real kiss, which the Nurse promptly interrupts and sends Juliet to her mother. Romeo asks who her mother is, and learns that she is a Capulet.
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Benvolio gets Romeo to leave, and the party dissipates. Juliet, before leaving, asks the Nurse who the man was she had kissed. The Nurse tells her Romeo is a Montague. Romeo separates himself from Benvolio and Mercutio. Mercutio jokingly attempts to conjure him and, failing, they head home, assuming Romeo has too. Romeo steals into the Capulet yard, and sees Juliet at her balcony. Romeo overhears Juliet profess her love for him, but struggles with the fact that he is a Montague, that his name is her enemy. Romeo reveals himself and professes his love in return for her. At first, Juliet is cautious, acknowledging that their romance is happening very fast, but soon she professes her love for him again. The Nurse is then heard calling for her to come to bed. Juliet abruptly leaves and returns, promising to marry Romeo the very next day. After a few more false exits and rushed plans, Juliet finally leaves for bed, and Romeo goes to Friar Laurence to arrange the marriage. At Friar Laurence’s cell, the Friar describes the dawn as he works with herbs to make medicines. Romeo arrives and quickly fills him in. The Friar marvels at Romeo’s change of heart over Rosaline and his sudden plan to marry Juliet. In the end, the Friar decides to help Romeo because he sees their marriage as a potential way to end the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues. He is only too right. Back in the streets, Mercutio and Benvolio look for Romeo. Benvolio tells Mercutio that Tybalt has sent a letter to Romeo’s father, challenging Romeo to a fight. Romeo enters and fights another battle of wit with Mercutio, this time winning easily. The Nurse enters, looking for Romeo, and Romeo and Mercutio make fun of her before revealing themselves. Mercutio and Benvolio leave, and the Nurse and Romeo plan to have Juliet go to confession, where they will be married by the Friar in secret. He also tells the Nurse he will be sending a rope ladder to her so he can climb into Juliet’s room that night, to consummate the marriage. Juliet waits at home for news of Romeo’s plans. The Nurse returns in a huff and delays giving Juliet any information until Juliet can hardly stand it. The Nurse finally tells Juliet to go to confession, where she will be married. Juliet leaves immediately, and the play follows her to Friar Laurence’s cell where she and Romeo are married. The play jumps back to the streets. It is hot, and Benvolio warns Mercutio not to let the heat get to him; they cannot afford another fight with the Capulets. Tybalt enters, asking for Romeo, and Mercutio immediately tries to provoke him into a duel. Romeo then enters, rejects Tybalt’s challenges to fight, as they are now related by marriage, even as Tybalt draws a deadly sword to provoke him. Mercutio steps in and begins to fight with Tybalt; Romeo, in attempting to separate them, accidentally allows for Tybalt to stab Mercutio under his arm. Tybalt runs away and Mercutio downplays the wound even as he curses both the Montagues and the Capulets, and quickly dies, before Benvolio can get him offstage. Tybalt returns, and Romeo, enraged, fights and kills him. Benvolio implores Romeo to run away, since the Prince will surely sentence him to death for disobeying his declaration. Romeo flees the scene of the crime. INTERMISSION Back at the Capulet house, Juliet impatiently waits for her husband to join her on their wedding night. She implores the night to come on faster so that Romeo can be with her. At the scene of the brawl, the Capulets, Montagues, Nurse, Friar, and Prince gather. Benvolio tells the Prince what happened, and the Prince decides to banish Romeo from Verona to Mantua instead of giving him the death penalty and fines both lords for spilling the blood of his relative. The play then shifts back and forth between Juliet and the Nurse and Romeo and the Friar, who both break the news and counsel the youths on what to do about Tybalt’s death and Romeo’s banishment. The Nurse promises a distraught Juliet that she will find Romeo and take him to her room so they may spend one night together. She appears at Friar Laurence’s cell and the two of them calm Romeo down enough to get him to agree to leave Verona after spending the night with Juliet. The Friar promises to send Balthazar, a messenger, periodically to update Romeo on the situation in Verona,
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so he can return when the Friar has successfully talked the Prince into forgiving his banishment. Romeo leaves to climb into Juliet’s room. The scene shifts back to the Capulet house at night time, where Lord Capulet decides that Paris shall marry Juliet a mere three days after Tybalt’s death. He sends Lady Capulet to tell Juliet of this plan. Romeo and Juliet, meanwhile, spend the night together, and near dawn appear on Juliet’s balcony, lamenting Romeo’s imminent departure. The Nurse interrupts them, warning that Juliet’s mother is coming, and Romeo escapes to Mantua. Lady Capulet enters and attempts to cheer her up by informing her that she has been promised to Paris and will be married within the week. Juliet refuses. Lord Capulet, hearing of her refusal, flies into a rage over her disobedience and orders her out of the house if she will not marry Paris. Both Capulets leave her to make her decision. Juliet asks the Nurse what she should do, and the Nurse counsels her to marry Paris. Juliet sends her away to tell her parents she is visiting Friar Laurence’s cell to confess her sins. She plans to ask the Friar for help and mentions ominously that if all else fails, she can take her life. At the Friar’s cell, Paris informs him of his wedding plans. Juliet walks in and meets awkwardly with Paris, avoiding confirming that she wishes to marry him nor denying that it will happen. Paris leaves, and Juliet quickly begs the Friar to tell her what to do, or she will kill herself. The Friar gives her a drug that will make her appear to be dead for twenty-four hours, giving her just enough time to be put into the Capulet tomb where all their dead are buried. Meanwhile, he will send another messenger, Friar John, to Mantua to retrieve Romeo, who will rescue her and take her back to Mantua to live in exile with him. Juliet returns home with the drug and tells her parents she will marry Paris. She asks to be left alone for the night so she can pray. Juliet imagines all the horrible things that could go wrong if she takes the drug. She then drinks it and falls asleep. In Mantua, Romeo meets with Balthazar, the Friar’s messenger, who tells him Juliet is dead. The Nurse finds Juliet’s apparent corpse, and the whole house, the Friar, and Paris learn of her death as they are getting ready for the wedding. Everyone mourns and plans are made to bury Juliet. Romeo travels back to Verona as Friar Laurence learns, by way of Friar John, that Romeo hasn’t received his letter explaining Juliet’s death is fake. Romeo buys poison from an apothecary in order to commit suicide in the Capulet tomb next to Juliet. Friar Laurence decides to go down into the tomb to be there when Juliet wakes. In the tomb, Paris enters, mourning Juliet’s death by setting flowers on her death bed. Romeo appears with Balthazar, giving him a suicide note and paying him to leave. Balthazar hides nearby, afraid of what Romeo may be capable of. Romeo begins to approach Juliet’s death bed, but Paris intervenes, and they fight to Paris’ death. Balthazar sees this and runs to inform Benvolio. Romeo drinks his poison and dies giving Juliet one last kiss. Almost immediately after that, the Friar discovers them and Juliet awakes. Commotion, coming from outside the tomb, scares the Friar and he implores Juliet to run away and become a nun. Juliet refuses and the Friar runs away. Juliet kisses Romeo, hoping to die by the poison on his lips, but when the noise of people coming grows louder, she takes Romeo’s dagger, stabs herself, and dies. Benvolio and Balthazar enter and discover the bodies. Balthazar is sent to tell everyone, and soon the Capulets, the Montagues, and the Prince all appear in the tomb to see what has taken place. Lady Montague is reported to already have died earlier that night from the grief of Romeo’s banishment. The Prince asks who is to blame for these deaths, and Friar Laurence comes forward and tells him everything that has happened. Lord Montague and Lord Capulet promise to build a golden statue of Romeo and Juliet and to end their feud. The Prince ends the play, remarking on the gloom of this peace.
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For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.
Text & Context “What’s In A Name?”
SHAKESPEAREAN TEXT
During the time Shakespeare lived, people did not all read and write, spelling was far from standardized, and what words people did write were written with ink and quill on parchment, or vellum, all of which degrades with time if not preserved. We do not have any surviving copies of Shakespeare’s plays that were written in his own handwriting. The published versions of Shakespeare’s plays were typed on paper with a relatively primitive printing press, prone to error, and compiled by several different editors with different punctuation and spelling preferences, who were printing from lost manuscripts, either author-written or copies written down by scribes or actors. Many Shakespeare scholars speculate that some of the early manuscripts that were used to publish his plays were actually compiled by actors trying to remember their lines in order to make money. An early version of Romeo & Juliet, Quarto 1, is thought to have been published this way. Elizabethan drama was also a rigorously collaborative process—scribes wrote out incomplete scripts for each actor’s part, known as sides, with only the previous line of the other person speaking (the cue line) prompting the next line, as well as pertinent entrances, exits, and stage directions. Because of this, textual integrity is difficult to ascertain. Scribes may have easily misunderstood an author’s penmanship and made errors. Actors frequently changed lines, either by accident or intent, and the book-keeper, or prompter, who stood at the front of the audience during performance, traditionally could feed an actor additional lines if needing to stall for an entrance or cut text in order to cut down the performance time. Shakespeare himself did not seek publication of his plays, and only about half of his plays were published during his lifetime. Copyright laws as we know them today did not exist, and there was not any expectation of ownership over intellectual property with regards to a dramatic author. Publication, for a playwright, meant performance, not a printed copy of the script. Shakespeare’s plays were published in different sizes, quarto (or four sided) and folio (two sided), and between each edition of each version, there could be whole scenes missing, many lines changed, punctuation adjusted, actors’ names replacing characters’, and so on. Playwrights did not have ownership over their plays in Shakespeare’s time; the script belonged to the theatre company that produced the work. Theatre companies guarded the few complete copies of their scripts jealously, in order to avoid theft. Some companies would publish their scripts, but only when the plays had fallen out of favor—publishing a popular play allowed other companies access to lucrative material, thus creating more competition and less profit. As with today’s theatre, Elizabethan drama was heavily influenced by economics.
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Text &ofContext Significance a “Blue Door” “What’s In A Name?” The Text of ROMEO & JULIET
We don’t know when exactly Shakespeare wrote Romeo & Juliet. The Nurse does refer to an earthquake happening “eleven years ago,” and an earthquake in Dover in 1580 would put the play, if we believe the Nurse, as being possibly written in 1591. Most scholars, citing its similarities to A Midsummer Night’s Dream and other contemporary plays, date the play between 1594 and 1595. The first published version of the play, printed in 1597, is referred to as a “bad quarto”—it differs greatly from the subsequent editions of the play, and some believe it to be a pirated version created from memory by actors for profit. Others believe it to be a severely cut version meant for a shorter performance time. The Arden’s production of Romeo & Juliet is also cut and adapted for the needs of our modern audiences, both with regards to plot and pace. The first quarto of Romeo & Juliet may not be so “bad.” The second quarto was printed in 1599, and contains the text most modern editions use to print their versions of the play. Its title is The Most Excellente and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, noting that it is “Newly corrected, augmented, and amended.” Notice the duality of the title. Excellent and lamentable? Three other quarto texts and four folio texts were published of Romeo & Juliet before the 1700’s. Romeo & Juliet was among the most popular of Shakespeare’s plays during his lifetime.
NOTABLE PRODUCTIONS Romeo & Juliet has been performed since the early 1600’s, and has enjoyed countless revivals and reimaginations. Famous 19th century British actor David Garrick rewrote the play to have Juliet wake up before Romeo dies, giving them a moment before the apothecary’s poison does its work. John Gielgud and Lawrence Olivier played Romeo and Mercutio in a fiery performance in the 1930’s, and in the latter half of the 20th century directing giants such as Peter Brook, Franco Zeffirelli, and Peter Hall cut and adapted the text to suit their interests and interpretations. More recent productions at the Royal Shakespeare Company and elsewhere have explored possible homoerotic tensions between Romeo and Mercutio. Robert LePage directed a bilingual production in Canada with the Montagues speaking French and the Capulets English. Michael Arabian set the play on a movie studio backdrop in Los Angeles and had the Capulets and Montagues in swastikas and Stars of David. Of course, Romeo & Juliet is most famous for its inspiration of film adaptatioins, including the musical West Side Story, Romeo + Juliet starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, and the main plot of Tom Stoppard’s fictional bio-pic Shakespeare in Love.
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You, 1595 If you went to see Romeo & Juliet in 1595, your experience would have been greatly different from the experience you would have at the Arden today. You could only have come to a matinee performance, because most plays were performed on outdoor stages, using the sun as their only theatrical lighting instrument. You would have sat on a bench in a gallery, if you were able to pay for a seat. If you were rich or noble, you could have bought a seat in expensive viewing boxes closest to the stage, where your view may have been poor, but your wealth would have been seen by all. Or you could also have paid a mere penny to stand with the crowd in the yard in front of the playing space, and you’d have been called a groundling. There would have been live music and refreshments, generally fruit, being sold by vendors who move around the crowd before the show. A prompter would have been standing near the front to whisper lines to actors if need be. If you were a woman, and a respectable one, you would have to have been escorted by a man to the theatre. If you were not a respectable woman, you would be there alone. Men would outnumber women in the audience, as more men were literate, but a substantial number of women would be there nonetheless. You would notice you do not have a program in your hand, and the Prologue speaking at the beginning of the play would be the only way to know you were in Verona, and about to witness the story of two “star-crossed lovers” and their feuding families. You would neither have scenery to tell you where you are, nor lighting shifts to tell you when you go elsewhere. Night scenes would take place in sunshine. Lady Capulet, Lady Montague, and the Nurse would have been played by men, Juliet by a boy. These boys were usually apprentice actors whose voices had not yet been changed by puberty. This would not have been strange to you—in fact, seeing a woman acting on stage would have been more shocking. You would also not have been shocked by Lord Capulet arranging Juliet’s marriage with Paris. Marriage in the Elizabethan era concerned itself more with the transmission of wealth and status between families than romantic love. Lord Capulet does not have a son, who would automatically inherit his wealth, so Juliet’s husband would be the one to inherit everything Capulet owns. Elizabethans still generally consulted with the couple before arranging their marriage, but it was more often than not up to the patriarch of the family as to who married who. The playing space would have been made of wooden boards, two doors leading to a tiring-house, the room where actors changed costume, an upper-level platform used, in this show’s case, for the balcony scene, supported by two columns. All costumes would have been put together from the clothes the actors themselves and the theatre company owned. Sometimes actors were hired purely for their extensive wardrobe. Costumes were rarely chosen for their appropriateness to the time period of the story; they were usually chosen for their splendor and status. Hand props, too, served to signal you to specific places or times. Torches and torchbearers were common for scenes that took place at night. Swords and shields were worn outside, but not inside, so if characters were wielding swords, you would immediately imagine them outside. When you watch the Arden’s production today in 2010 and you imagine those men outside, brandishing weapons, fighting for their lives, just think: People have been doing the exact same thing at the beginning of this play for over four hundred years.
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ASSORTED REFERENCES star-cross’d lovers: lovers destined to an unhappy fate. It originates from the astrological belief that the stars ruled the fate of a person’s life. Star-crossed lovers were thought to either have incompatible zodiac signs or be thwarted by a malignant star. Cupid’s arrow: Roman god of erotic love and beauty. Said to be blind and to carry a bow. If he hits you with his arrow, you’ll fall in madly in love with the first person you see. Dian’s wit: Diana goddess of chastity and the moon; a virgin and a huntress known for her agility and celibacy. Also called Cynthia. Five wits: five mental faculties according to the Elizabethans: common sense, fantasy, imagination, judgment (reason), and memory Queen Mab: a fairy queen who controls people’s dreams. It appears that Shakespeare was the first to record this fairy queen, though it’s possible that she appeared in some English folklore. After Romeo & Juliet, she became a popular feature in 17th century English literature. “This is that very Mab / That plats the manes of horses in the night /... This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs, / That presses them and learns them first to bear”: Reference to the origins of the word “nightmare.” Some folklore contends that there is a demon or hag that sits on one’s chest in the night and causes nightmares and knotted, tangled hair (elflocks). Horses too would have knots in their manes, so the people thought that their livestock were being plagued as well. princox: a coxcomb; fop (a pejorative term for a foolish man over-concerned with his appearance and clothes in 17th century England). choler: Elizabethans believed one’s mood was governed by four basic fluids residing inside the body. Choler, or yellow bile, for anger, phlegm for sluggishness, blood for happiness, and black bile for introspection, depression, etc. holy palmers’ kiss: a palmer is a pilgrim who carried a palm leaf to signify the making of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. For Romeo, love is likened to a religious quest. wherefore: why? Juliet is not asking where Romeo is, but why he is a Montague. Jove laughs: This common Elizabethan saying comes directly from Ovid’s Ars Amatoria: “Jupiter from on high smiles at the perjuries of lovers”. Jupiter, known in English as Jove, was the supreme ruler of the Roman gods. benedicite: Latin for “bless you!” Prince of Cats: Tybalt, or Tybert, is the cat’s name in the medieval stories of Reynard the Fox. doublet: a man’s close-fitting jacket with or without sleeves, worn chiefly from the 14th to the 16th centuries. “Some say the lark and loathed toad change eyes”: It was a popular notion that the beautiful lark had ugly eyes, and that the ugly toad had beautiful eyes, so people said that the lark and toad must have traded eyes. Juliet wishes they had traded voices, too, because the toad’s ugly voice would be a more fitting one to frighten them out of each other’s arms.
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Shakespearean Language
Shakespeare knew what he was doing. He knew that, considering their company could be performing up to twelve different plays in repertory during a single week, he could give his actors everything they need in the words he wrote. Here are some general guidelines for reading, understanding, and speaking Shakespeare. As Hamlet says, sometimes all you need to do is “speak the speech;” Shakespeare generally takes care of the rest.
Know Your Prose Vs. Verse: Prose is where each line uses up all the space available and runs on to the next line. Capitalization follows standard English. Prose spoken, in general, indicates a person of a lower class, or a simple, common person. When a character speaks in prose, he or she is more often than not being straightforward and simple in how he or she is communicating. Mercutio, for example, speaks mostly in prose—except for when he makes fun of Romeo’s poetic pathos with his Queen Mab speech.
“Alas poor Romeo! he is already dead; stabbed with a white wench’s black eye; shot through the ear with a love-song; the very pin of his heart cleft with the blind bow-boy’s butt-shaft”
Verse is where each line begins with a capital letter, and the length of the line is determined by the type of poetry being used (which in Shakespeare’s case is mostly iambic pentameter). Basic iambic pentameter sets up five groups (or “iambs” or “feet”) of two syllables, the second of which is always stressed: Di-dum / di-dum / di-dum / di-um / di-dum She hath /forsworn/ to love,/ and in /that vow Do I /live dead/ that live /to tell /it now Verse in general indicates a character of a higher class, or a “heightened” character, such as a faerie or god or spirit of some kind. When a character speaks in verse, he or she is usually experiencing a heightened emotion, and therefore uses a more complex way to explain something that is more complex. Romeo and Juliet, meeting for the first time, can do nothing but speak in verse, and actually end up writing a sonnet together. ROMEO: JULIET: ROMEO: JULIET: ROMEO: JULIET: ROMEO:
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If I profane with my unworthiest hand (A) This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: (B) My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand (A) To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. (B) Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, (C) Which mannerly devotion shows in this; (D) For saints have lips that pilgrims’ hands do touch, (C) And palm to palm is holy palmer’s kiss. (D) Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too? (E) Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer. (F) O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; (E) They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair. (F) Saints do not move, though grant for prayer’s sake. (G) Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take. (G)
Notice the rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG -- a form of the sonnet Shakespeare himself developed and has become famous for (amongst other things). The sonnet also follows the form of three quatrains, or groups of four lines, followed by a rhyming couplet. The first three quatrains set up the problem of the poem, exploring the sensations and feelings of the question at hand in elaborate metaphor, as Romeo and Juliet do through the characters of the pilgrim and the saint, their hands, their lips, etc. The final rhyming couplet offers a turn of events, something changes, and the question of the poem is in some way addressed. In this case, Romeo kisses Juliet, and it is clear the two of them have fallen for each other.
Shakespearean Language Modes of Address: Thou/Thee, though it sounds more formal to us now, is actually the more intimate, informal, and private address, as well as addresses such as “Girl,” “Uncle,” “Coz,” etc.
JULIET: O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Juliet is expressing truly intimate feelings about Romeo, and is using “thou” to do it. You/Yours is actually the more formal, public, and distant address, as well as things like “Lord,” “Madam,” “Lady,” etc. PRINCE: If ever you disturb our streets again, Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace. The Prince is making a decree-- a public sentence, using “you.” Note, also, that he uses “we” to refer to himself. Royalty of all types, in those days, spoke in the plural because they represented the power of the state.
Some Basic Tools of Rhetoric: • alliteration: repetition of words with the same initial sound. “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” • repetition: to state the obvious, a word or phrase used again; pay particular attention to what is being repeated and what that might mean. “O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?” • pun/word play: words whose repetition change their meaning, usually used in an ironic or humourous sense. “I dream’d a dream tonight. / And so did I. / Well, what was yours? / That dreamers often lie.” • assonance: repetition of similar sounds within words; internal rhyme “O, I am fortune’s fool!” • simile: comparing something to something else using “like” or “as”: “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” • metaphor: an image, idea, or expression used to express something else: “But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? / It is the east, and Juliet is the sun” Note Shakespeare breaks these rules as often, if not more than, he keeps them. Generally, when he does break a rule, it sends a signal to the actor speaking the part that something out of the ordinary is happening—it becomes a clue for what might be going on internally for the character, or what unusual might be happening onstage. Shakespeare takes care of you.
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Our Production Adaptation by Director Matt Pfeiffer Most modern productions of Shakespeare are adaptations of the play-- text is cut, or altered, scenes are reorganized, some lines redistributed. The Arden’s production of Romeo & Juliet is no different. The Arden wanted to celebrate the beautiful language and compelling story in a simple, straightforward setting. Mr. Pfeiffer saw the play as essentially having two stories: the public story, of the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues and how it affects Verona, and the private story, the love story between Romeo and Juliet and how it affects their families. Without the resources for a full cast of twenty five actors to play all of the minor parts of the play’s public story, Pfeiffer decided to cut down those subplots and focus on the main thirteen characters of the play’s private story. He also split some scenes in order to have them happen simultaneously, to keep the momentum building in the second act, and to tap into our modern audience’s ability to process multiple forms of information rapidly, like having many tabs open on a web browser. References to the Nurse’s bawdy humor, Tybalt’s excellent swordsmanship, and Juliet’s exact age were also cut. Set Design by Brian Sidney Bembrigde Shakespeare never went to Verona, nor did he attempt to portray it accurately in his play. The Prince’s role as ultimate authority in the city is an embellishment of Shakespeare’s, and it was clear to the design team that this world Shakespeare was writing in was not entirely realistic. The set designer and director decided to approach the physical space of the play much like the Chamberlain’s Men would have in the 1600’s--using what architecture is available, keeping the stage bare. Mr. Bembridge’s design incorporates elements of architecture from the F. Otto Haas stage itself, particularly the I-beams and brick walls, as well as drawing inspiration from the stages that were used during Elizabethan times. Compare our set model to pictures of Elizabethan theatres and you’ll find quite a bit of similarities between them.
Fights/Weapons Choreography by Dale Anthony Girard, assisted by J. Alex Cordaro Romeo & Juliet features a fair amount of violence. Mr. Pfeiffer envisioned the world of Verona to be conditioned to violence, personal, close, bitter violence, but not to death. Mr. Pfeiffer felt that Tybalt’s and Mercutio’s deaths had to be out of the ordinary, that for all the feuding, much of the violence had been enacted without thought of its consequences. Pfeiffer wanted the fighting to feel dangerously close, but also honor the play’s words, particularly in its use of swords and blades and its incorporation of a system to the swordplay. Our fight director, Mr. Girard, suggested a disciplined fighting style that uses small daggers and batons, known as Espada y daga, which is Spanish for “stick and dagger.” The fighting style is actually Fillipino by way of its Spanish occupation, and the style draws from the kind of fighting that would have been prevalent in 1600’s Europe. Our feuding Capulets and Montagues will all know this style of fighting and use batons and daggers to attack each other. Only certain characters will wield swords, and those results will be deadly.
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Our Production Costume Design by Rosemarie E. McKelvry Mr. Pfeiffer and Ms. McKelvry knew they wanted this production to be done in modern dress, but they did not want the play to become a play “about” Shakespeare being done in modern dress. Ms. McKelvry wanted the feuding Capulets and Montagues to start the play with different color pallettes, Capulets accented with red, Montagues with blue, and by the end of the play dress uniformly in black. Ms. McKelvry also wanted an element of high fashion to be increasingly present in the two lovers as their story becomes more fantastic. The Nurse, the Friar, and the Prince all wear uniforms of their professions, as Shakespeare only names them by their jobs.
Lighting Design by Thom Weaver Mr. Weaver, in an early designer meeting, suggested the creation of a lighting grid on the back wall of the set as opposed to a more traditional cyclorama, giving him a chance to acccent scenes from behind and focus light and attention in new and interesting ways. The play leaps from day to night back to day, inside to outside to inside, and these lighting shifts will become an important vocabulary to help define place and time on our bare stage. Sound Design & Composition by James Sugg Inspired by the intermixing of modern and classic elements in the play’s set and costumes, composer James Sugg will be sampling and mixing contemporary music you might listen to (the music of the band Phoenix was used in rehearsal at one point), cut and rearranged without lyrics, with additional tones and melodies to fill out each piece of music. Songs he composes will mostly involve acoustic strings and percussion, and will cover transitions, underscore fights, and of course the Capulet mask party. James Sugg is with us thanks to the funding provided by Meet the Composer, a grant organization that allows composers to feature their new material in theatrical productions.
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Scenic Designer Brian Sidney Bembridge Lighting Designer Thom Weaver
Stage Manager Kate Hanley
Assistant Director Dan Hodge
Assistant Stage Manager Brittany Howard
Costume Designer Rosemarie E. McKelvry Composer & Sound Designer James Sugg Fight Choreographer Dale Anthony Girard Choreographer Karen Getz Assistant Lighting Designer Justin Smiley Assistant Fight Choreographer J. Alex Cordaro
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Romeo & Juliet set sketch and model by Scenic Designer Brian Bembridge
DESIGN & PRODUCTION
Our Production Staff
Who’s Who KRISTA APPLE (Lady Montague/Balthasar) first worked at the Arden in 2008’s Our Town, and she’s pleased as punch to be back. Other Philadelphia credits include The Wilma (Life of Galileo), Theatre Exile (Dark Play), and PlayPenn (We Three). Regional: Cape May Stage (Proof). Film/TV: Law & Order: Criminal Intent and the_ source. Also a writer, she’s a regular contributor to American Theatre magazine and former Associate Editor of the Teaching Artist Journal. She holds an MFA (Acting) from Temple University and a BA (English, Theatre) from Kenyon College in Gambier, OH. Coming up:Vaclav Havel’s Leaving at The Wilma. Love to the DFH! SHAWN FAGAN (Mercutio/Friar John) is thrilled to return to the Arden, having played Hamlet in the world premiere of Wittenberg in 2008. Recent credits include Hugh in The Voysey Inheritance (Denver Center Theatre Company), Acaste in The Misanthrope (Dallas Theatre Center), Marchbanks in Candida (Utah Shakespearean Festival), Christy Mahon in The Playboy of the Western World (American Players Theatre), War of the Worlds/Radio Play (SITI Company), Intimations for Saxophone (Arena Stage), and The Complete Works of Wllm Shkspr [abridged] (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival). Previous work on Shakespeare includes Edgar in King Lear (Utah Shakes); Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Sebastian in Twelfth Night, and Titinius/ Soothsayer in Julius Caesar (APT). New York credits include work with Soho Rep, Clubbed Thumb, and LightBox. For DHF. MELANYE FINISTER (Lady Capulet) is thrilled to be back on the F. Otto Haas Stage where she played Titania in Arden Theatre Company’s 1998 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Melanye has been a company member at People’s Light and Theatre since 1991 and has appeared in many plays there including Doubt,The Persians, Six Characters in Search of an Author,The Giver, Something You Did, Fabulation, Member of the Wedding, String of Pearls, and Gospel At Colonus. Melanye has also worked for InterAct Theatre Company,Venture Theatre, The Walnut Street Theatre, and Philadelphia Theatre Company. She directs Youth Summerstage and is a Resident Teaching Artist at People’s Light and she is also a Board Member at Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation. Melanye holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University. SCOTT GREER (Lord Capulet) is always happy to be back at the Arden, where he has appeared in over twenty productions. His favorites include: Death of a Salesman, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Red Herring, Baby Case and Wittenberg. He looks forward to Sunday in the Park with George later this spring. He has won four Barrymores, including the F. Otto Haas Award. Look for Scott in Theatre Exile’s Shining City in April. Scott would like to thank Terry Nolen and Pfeif. Love always to Jen and Lily. JAMES WILLIAM IJAMES (Benvolio) is thrilled to be back at the Arden after appearing in James and the Giant Peach and An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf. James was seen in New Paradise Laboratories’ production of PROM and Emmanuelle Delpeche-Ramey’s Oedipus at FDR in FDR Skate Park. Other credits include: Ken in Ponies (Gloucester Stage Company), Floyd in Seven Guitars (Rowan University), The Artist in Muralista (Philly Fringe) and Mauckingbird Theatre’s The Threshing Floor as James Baldwin.
Who’s Who EVAN JONIGKEIT (Romeo) Thanks to Terry and Pfeif for the privilege to be back at the Arden, tackling this challenging role, around such a talented group of people. Last seen at the Arden as Dakin in The History Boys, he is a Philadelphia based artist working with many of the town’s companies, including Mauckingbird, Walnut, Montgomery, Pig Iron, PlayPenn, and People’s Light. He also has been seen in films Calendar Girl Killer, The Gift, Fox Television’s Amazing Sport Stories, along with many other independent films and commercials. Evan also serves on New Play Development Literary Committees, as a teacher, as Director of Development for Mauckingbird Theatre, and as a Producer and Director at Cape Repertory Theatre. Evan is a Temple University graduate. Love to my family and Jillian. MAHIRA KAKKAR (Juliet) is thrilled to be working at the Arden. Recent credits include: Romeo and Juliet (Virginia Stage Company), Seven (London, Boston, Aspen, NY), Sophistry (South Ark Stage), and Inana (Denver Center). Favorite Credits include: Grace in Opus (Primary Stages), Maryamma in Miss Witherspoon (Playwrights Horizons & McCarter), and Emily Webb in Our Town (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). Film & TV: Law & Order: Criminal Intent, A Night in the Hill. Mahira is a native of Kolkata, India, and a graduate of The Julliard School. SEAN LALLY (Tybalt/Apothecary) is very excited to be taking the stage at the Arden for the first time. He has been working as a company member for EgoPo for about four years where he performed in several productions: Spring Awakening (Ensemble), Something Cloudy, Something Clear (Kip), and Bluebird (Tyltyl). He has also worked Off-Broadway with Temple University’s In Conflict. He would like to thank his friends, family and Sara for all their support. ANTHONY LAWTON (Friar Laurence) has acted in Philadelphia for 18 years. Favorite roles include George in Of Mice and Men (Walnut Street), Gideon in Playland (Wilma), Coleman in The Lonesome West (Lantern), and Ivan in The Seafarer (Arden). He also produces solo and small cast plays, like The Devil and Billy Markham,The Great Divorce,The Screwtape Letters, and Heresy under the aegis of his own company, The Mirror. For more info: www.anthonylawtonactor.com MATT LORENZ (Paris) is a Philadelphia-based actor and sound designer. His acting credits include: Haunted Poe (Brat), Never the Sinner and Hedda Gabler (Mauckingbird), The Little Dog Laughed (Flashpoint), The Mystery Plays (PTW), Pushkin at Boldino (Crescent Moon), Sweetie Pie (Azuka), A Brief History of Helen of Troy (Figure/Ground), The Lucia Joyce Cabaret and Pay Up (Pig Iron), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing,The Merchant of Venice, and Othello (Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival) as well as last year’s Best Narrative Short winner at the Philly Film Festival- “Adam and Evan.” Matt has also written plays and will produce two original works this summer: This is Ridiculous and The Prince of America. SUZANNE O’DONNELL (Nurse) first appeared with the Arden in Godspell (1989) and then in As You Like It, Saint Joan, Hamlet, Working, The Dragon, Ellen Foster and most recently Agnes in Dancing at Lughnasa. Recent regional credits: Arcadia at the Folger Theatre and Social Security at Cape May Stage. Shakespeare credits include: Kate in Taming of the Shrew, Rosalind in As You Like It, Hermione in Winter’s Tale, Ophelia, Juliet,Viola, Hermia, Emilia and Helena in All’s Well That Ends Well. In 2004, Suzanne performed Time Out! With Didi and Rose with beloved friend and Philly
Who’s Who star Jilline Ringle at City Theatre in Pittsburgh and the Chalfonte in Cape May. She lives in Orlando, FL with husband Jim Helsinger, Rosie and James. BRIAN ANTHONY WILSON (Prince) feels blessed to return to the Arden for his fifth show. Local theatre credits include shows with: Act II Playhouse, Bushfire, 1812, Freedom, Hedgerow, InterAct, The Lantern, People’s Light, Philly Shakes, Prince Music and PTC. Regional theatre credits include Jitney (Kansas City Rep/Arizona Theatre Co.), Intimate Apparel (Indiana Rep/Syracuse Stage) and Two Trains Running and 12 Angry Men (Cleveland Playhouse). Film: Keeping The Faith, Law Abiding Citizen,The Postman, Rounders, 99 Percent Sure, Booted,The Fields, Shelter,The Good Student, Close Up, and Punch Me. Radio: The Howard Stern Show. TV: As The World Turns, Law & Order: S.V.U.,The Sopranos and 5 seasons on The Wire. For my Family. FRANK X (Lord Montague/Peter) is delighted to return to the Arden after appearing in The History Boys and Peter Pan. Last season he was seen in the world premiere of Little Lamb at InterAct Theatre and in The Winter’s Tale at Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. Favorite roles have included Malvolio in Twelfth Night (Seattle Rep Theatre), David Gavin in After Ashley (Humana Festival), Sterling North in Permanent Collection (InterAct Theatre), Beringer in Rhinoceros (Theatre Exile), Sam in Master Harold…and the Boys and the title role in King Lear (both at Lantern Theater). Mr. X received a Barrymore Award for his performance in Lonely Planet (InterAct Theatre). BRIAN SIDNEY BEMBRIDGE (Scenic Designer) Off-Broadway: Second Stage, Jean Cocteau Repertory, Kids With Guns Theater Company, Theatre at St Clement’s. Regional: Guthrie Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Children’s Theatre Company, California Shakespeare, Maltz Jupiter Theater, Two River Theater,Virginia Opera, Opera Omaha, The Second City Toronto, Milwaukee Repertory, Madison Repertory, among others. Honors: 5 Joseph Jefferson Awards, 5 After Dark Awards, 2 LA Drama Critic Circle Awards, 2 Garland Awards and an LA Weekly Award. Mr. Bembridge was just named one of the five most prolific theater artists of the decade, Time Out Magazine and one of the 50 Leading Players in Chicago, New City Chicago. Film: Wallace Shawn’s Marie and Bruce, Holding Out, MANFAST, Stray Dogs, Late for Church, Muppets from Space. Mr. Bembridge holds a BFA from North Carolina School of the Arts, School of Design and Production. briansidneybembridge.com. ROSEMARIE E. MCKELVEY (Costume Designer) is delighted to be designing Romeo and Juliet for the Arden. Previous Arden designs include Something Intangible (2009 Barrymore Award for Costume Design),Candide,Winesburg, Ohio, Ferdinand the Bull, Caroline, or Change (2007 Barrymore Award for Costume Design),The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales,Twelfth Night, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Bunnicula. Other companies Rosemarie is designing for are The Peoples Light and Theatre Company, The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, New Paradise Laboratory, and InterAct Theatre Company. THOM WEAVER (Lighting Designer) Arden: Blue Door, My Name Is Asher Lev. Wilma: Scorched (Barrymore nom), Coming Home, Becky Shaw. People’s Light: Snow White in Follywood. Lantern: The Breath of Life. Delaware Theatre Company: It’s a Wonderful Life, All the Great Books,The Diary of Anne Frank. Theatre Exile: American Buffalo (Barrymore nom.). Two River: 26 Miles (also with Round House), ReENTRY (also at Urban Stages), A Year with Frog and Toad, Macbeth (also with Folger), Bad Dates. Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival: Complete Works of Wllm Shkpr [abridged], A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other credits include: Cal Shakes,Vital Theater Company, Children’s Theatre Company, Centerstage, Folger Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Signature Theatre Company, Berkshire Opera, Urban Stages, Lincoln Center Institute, Lincoln Center Festival,
Who’s Who York Theatre, Summer Play Festival, 37 ARTS, Spoleto Festival USA, City Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, and Yale Rep. 2007 Audelco Award for King Hedley II (Signature Theatre). 2003 Entertainment Design Magazine Tyro Talent. He is a member of Wingspace Design Group and a staff member of PlayPenn. Education: Carnegie Mellon and Yale. JAMES SUGG (Sound Designer/Composer) is an actor, sound designer, composer and 10 year member of Pig Iron Theatre Company with whom he has created 10 original works. He has also worked with Seattle Rep, Actors Theater of Louisville, Folger Theatre, The Wilma, Headlong Dance Theater, Rainpan 43 and Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental amongst many others. His work has been recognized with two Obies (Performance Chekhov Lizardbrain, Special Citation Hell Meets Henry Halfway), four Barrymores for Outstanding Sound Design, and the F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Theater Artist. He is the composer of the musicals A Murder, A Mystery And A Marriage (an adaptation by Aaron Posner of the short story by Mark Twain), James Joyce is Dead and So Is Paris (Pig Iron Theatre Co.), The Sea (a one man electric chamber opera) and Cherry Bomb (with writer Jen Childs). DALE ANTHONY GIRARD (Fight Director) is an award winning Fight Director and author of the stage combat manual Actors On Guard. He is a Black Belt in Taekwondo/Hopkido, a member of the North Carolina Stuntmen’s Association and a SAFD recognized Fight Master. Credits include the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Folger Theatre, Signature Theatre, Florida Grand Opera, Pioneer Theatre, Tulsa Opera, Triad Stage, and the Vancouver Opera. Recent film credits include Eyeborgs, The Trial and Junebug. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (Playwright) (1564 - 1616) was an English poet and playwright. His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later known as the King’s Men. In1599, his company constructed the Globe Theatre. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, or romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. MATT PFEIFFER (Director) Matt is thrilled to return to the Arden. Previous Arden credits include directing Go, Dog. Go! and a workshop of Wittenberg. Area directing credits include: Walnut St., Delaware Theatre Co., 1812 Productions, Brat Productions, Lantern Theatre, and 13 seasons with the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. Matt also serves as Associate Artistic Director of Theatre Exile where he’s directed Barrymore Nominated productions of Glengarry Glen Ross, Bug, and American Buffalo. Other credits include Two River Theatre and the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre. Later this spring Matt will direct Shining City (Theatre Exile) and The Foocy (Delaware Theatre Co). Matt is a fivetime Barrymore Nominee and the recipient of the 2008 F. Otto Haas Award. Thanks to Terry, Amy, and the entire Arden Crew. And special thanks to an amazing group of collaborators. Love to Kim. DAN HODGE (Assistant Director) Over the last season, he appeared as the title character in Woyzeck for EgoPo, in Bristol Riverside’s Absurd Person Singular, Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) for Theatre Horizon, and in Hamlet at the Lantern. For the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival; King Lear and The Winter’s Tale. Dan appeared as a Weird Sister in Two River Theatre’s Macbeth directed by Aaron Posner and Teller. With Theatre Exile; Mr. Marmalade and Glengarry Glen Ross which took the 2007 Barrymore Award for Best Ensemble.
Discussion Questions
1) Have you ever rebelled against your parents? Why did you do it? What did it feel like? 2) Think about the very first time you fell in love. How old were you? Who did you fall for? What happened? 3) Did you ever or do you now belong to an exclusive group? What is it like to be a part of that group? What happens when someone in your group is threatened by someone else? By another group? 4) Have you ever gotten into a fight? What happened? How did it happen? Can you remember it clearly? 5) Does violence solve anything? Do people really think about the consequences when they fight? 6) Have you ever wanted someone or something so much you’d do anything to be with them, or to have what you want? What kinds of things did you do to get it? Do you remember what you were thinking at the time? 7) Who would you die for? 8) Do you believe in fate? 9) Are we accustomed to violence nowadays? Are we accustomed to death? 10) Have you ever written a poem for someone? Have you ever written a poem with someone? 11) In the original script, Juliet is 13, and Romeo is thought to be 18. If you didn’t know that before, does that change your view of the story? 12) Have you seen Romeo and Juliet before? How did this adaptation differ? Was it successful? 13) Why bother doing Shakespeare nowadays? Why do Romeo and Juliet again? Why do you think it has been done consistently for over 400 years? Will it be around for another 400?
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