Central Washington University's Production of "Twelfth Night"

If Central Washington University intends to put on a show such as "Twelfth Night", it needs to be made sure that the true humor of the play is fully embraced and done in such a way that the show will appear to all of the students at the University and attract people to attend the performance. Adapting the show to modern time and making it a contemporary show would interest the younger people CWU is trying to attract to the theatre. There are two choices of where the show could be put on: 

First Choice: McConnell Stage

McConnell auditorium is the biggest venue in Ellensburg to put on any type of performance. It would allow for many advanced technical aspects such as a fly system and more lighting effects. It would also allow for the biggest audience.

Second Choice: The Tower Theatre

The Tower Theatre in the upstairs area of McConnell is a smaller black-box type of performance space. The benefits of such a theatre are the options of choosing how you would like the theatre set up seat-wise and being able to move where the audience would be and change the type of stage you'd be performing on. It would also allow for a more intimate setting.

"Beautiful, State of the Art Facility." Theatre Arts- Facilities. Web. 11 Mar 2011. <http://www.cwu.edu/~theatre/spaces/spaces.htm>.

Stage Make-Up for Twelfth Night

There are many ways to go about doing make-up for a show such as "Twelfth Night" because of how versatile all of the characters are. There is the character of Viola who, although she is a girl, is disguised as a boy the whole time and therefore would have make-up on that would accentuate certain features to make her look more masculine.

Viola

Malvolio could possibly require extensive make-up, because the character is so stern and stone-faced at almost all times. He is well kept and clean; perfect in his own eyes. However, he has the seen when Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Feste and Maria lock him up as a joke, in which he would appear disheveled and unclean.

Mavolio

Malvolio

Also, there are characters like Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, who are old drunken men, sloppy and unkempt. Feste is also a character who would have a very interesting make-up job done on him depending on which direction you were planning on going with that character. Feste is a character that has so many possibilities within it.

(Left to Right) Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Feste

These photos are all from the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C.'s production of "Twelfth Night".


"Twelfth Night." Shakespeare Theatre Company. Web. 11 Mar 2011. <http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/photos.aspx?id=146>.

The Globe Theatre

The Globe Theatre

The Globe Theatre was the venue where nearly all of William Shakespeare's plays were performed. At this time, going to the theatre was on the same level of entertainment as going to a Mariner's game in Seattle; it was an event that you planned your whole day around. People would stuff themselves into the theatre, much more than full capacity, in order to see a show. Sometimes people would even stay for more than one performance. The way that the Globe Theatre was constructed allowed for the productions to use large and loud props like "canons". It also allowed for impressive and visually stunning special effects. Music was used as well, which audiences loved.


"The Old Globe Theatre- The Productions." The Old Globe Theatre History. N.p., 2005. Web. 11 Mar 2011. <http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-globe-theatre.htm>.

Acting Style

Acting style in Shakespeare plays are different than all other styles of acting. The words of the play are all so important to acting in a Shakespeare play that each piece of dialogue are almost characters themselves. You have to use Shakespeare's words to push yourself on to the next, you can't throw away a single word. Each word is meant to be felt and connected too. This can be said for any piece of theatre of course, but for Shakespeare it is especially important.

The above clip is a video clip of Judi Dench performing Viola's famous speech from "Twelfth Night" when Viola first realizes that Olivia has fallen in love with her under the false assumption that she is a man. Dench gives a performance that is the perfect example of feeling every word. You can see her channel every emotion as she moves through the piece, going from confusion to shock, shock to humor, humor to sadness, and back around again.


Acting teacher Marshall Gregory wrote an article for teachers about teaching the art of acting in a Shakespeare play. However, reading this article was great to read for actors as well as aspiring teachers. He discusses teaching a class for undergraduate students that focused on the art of acting and cold-reading the works of William Shakespeare and how this class made him realizes how important it is to not just "read" Shakespeare, but to connect.


“Why have I ceased getting better at reading Shakespeare out loud in class? Several years ago I had hit a plateau in the effectiveness of my oral classroom reading of Shakespeare, and, frankly, this annoyed me. I thought that taking a Shakespeare acting class might explain to me why, and it did. I learned very soon that there’s nothing wrong with the way I read Shakespeare, and that the next level of effectiveness is not a different or better kind of reading but something entirely different from reading. The next level is performance, and performance is not just a kind reading. I did not pack up my tent and leave the course, however, and the reasons I did not bring me to heart of my matter..."


Gregory, Marshall. "From Shakespeare on the Page to Shakespeare on the Stage: What I Learned about Teaching in Acting Class.." 6.2 Spring 2006. Pg. 310. EBSCOhost. Web. 11 Mar 2011. <http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.lib.cwu.edu/ehost/detail?hid=110&sid=84f49e86-2fe5-4bfa-86f7-2e2a81d89c38%40sessionmgr114&vid=6&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=20533384>.

Twelfth Night and William Shakespeare in the modern world

You may be asking yourself "why Shakespeare? How if this relevant today?" The truth is that, aside from the language barrier that most people encounter that are unfamiliar with Shakespeare's work, all of Shakespeare's plays have plots that somehow relate to life today.

Take for example, Twelfth Night's subject of sacrificing everything for the love of another person. This is especially relevant with the female population today. The way young girls and women are portrayed in books and movies today give off the impression that they are willing to do anything for love. When reading through Twelfth Night, it seems apparent that Viola could have left long before the end of the play when she reveals herself to be a boy. By staying, she is risking ruining her whole relationship with Orsino; risking losing his trust forever. But she chooses to risk it all and stay in hopes of becoming closer to Orsino and hoping that his feelings for Olivia fade.

Also, the general attraction that men have to women who are stunningly beautiful and rich even if they are shallow, cruel, or just genuinely not interested in them  at all. This is another theme that has been carried on in todays entertainment. Almost every romantic comedy you can see today is about one girl who is in love with one boy, but that one boy loves someone else, and that someone else has absolutely no interest in them. It's the classic "Love Triangle" that has always been in stories and always will be.

All of these photos posted in this entry are films made within the past 10 years that have adapted one of Shakespeare's plays into a modern day setting to make it relatable to today's population. 10 Things I Hate About You and Deliver Us From Eva were both based on Taming of the Shrew, O was based on Othello and, as previously stated, She's The Man was based on Twelfth Night.

These are all examples of how, even though the plays of William Shakespeare's plays have around for centuries, all of the plots and ideals of the shows still completely apply to life today. You just have to, when reading them, think about the deeper meanings and less about the language and the time period. At the end of the day Shakespeare exposes all his characters as all being imperfect humans, which is a running theme in all plays, musicals, films, music, books, etc. The monograph I've chosen in this case in entitled "Twelfth Night and the Renaissance of Man" by Toni Rudat. An interesting quote from Rudat comes as 

follows: 

"The audience of Twelfth Night is confronted with an unordered society that consists 

of characters that absolutely lack the renaissance ideals of how humans should be."

Rudat, Toni. Twelfth Night, and the Renaissance Idea of Man. Druck and Bindung: Books on Demand, 2010. pg. 1-2. eBook

Set Design and Effects

Shakespeare plays are traditionally all set in the same time period. Obviously, there is the more traditional approach, set in the Elizabethan era in the mid to late 16th century. The architecture was quite lavish and detailed, and therefore so are the set pieces. Below is an example if a modern day take on the show.

Here, is an interview that I found with set designer Gage Williams, who designed the set for "Twelfth Night" at the Great Lakes Theatre Festival. He talks about what inspired his scenic design for the show.


http://gltfcleveland.bandcamp.com/track/gage-williams-set-designer-twelfth-night


I personally was able to see a production of "Twelfth Night" at the Seattle Reparatory Theatre in 2007. The production had some very visually stunning aspects to it. The show had begun with the storm and ship wreck seen and they chose to put the whole stage under the "water" by putting a see-through scrim down and putting the actors on a fly system. That way, Viola and Sebastian could sink down from the ceiling to the bottom of the stage as well as swim up from bottom to the top. Meanwhile, the lighting effects were projecting a watery and bubbly effect on the scrim. When Viola and Sebastian were separated, the were under water and then ripped apart, thrown to opposite sides of the stage and gone. Also, much of the production took place outside, which in most Shakespeare's work, makes a lot of sense. Shakespeare's plays give a lot of room for outdoor scenery. Below is a photo from the show; the scene where Olivia first falls in love with Cesario, not knowing that she is really a girl.

MvB, . "Review: Twelfth Night @ the Rep." SeattleSt25 Sep 2007: 1. Web. 10 Mar 2011. <http://seattlest.com/2007/09/25/review_twelfe_t.php>.


Williams, Gage. The Great Lakes Theatre Festival, 19 Sep 2009. Intervew. Web. 11 Mar 2011. <http://gltfcleveland.bandcamp.com/track/gage-williams-set-designer-twelfth-night>.

Costumes

This is an example of the type of costuming that would have been used in the time period of 16th Century Europe. Here in this photo is a nobleman and a wealthy upper class woman walking arm in arm. As you can see, the clothes were very luxurious and detailed.

The clothes of the servants and maids would be much different. These characters are considered lower class and therefore would be in costumes that were less luxurious and more geared towards doing manual labor. The photo below is a picture of the fashion of doctors and servants during this time period. 

Below is a picture from a production of "Twelfth Night" from The Seattle Shakespeare Compnay in 2009, directed by Stephanie Shine. The two characters photographed below are the fool Feste on the left and the "guitar-wielding" gentlemen Curio on the right. This production was not your typical production of 'Twelfth Night', "setting the piece in Dickens’s London, with Victorian costumes."

"Twelfth Night, Seattle Shakespeare Company, 2009."Bardometer: This blog proclaims a clutch of critic's keen Reviews of Shakespeare play’d on stage and screen. 06 Dec 2009. Web. 10 Mar 2011. <http://www.bardometer.com/>

"Twelfth Night"'s Usual Feel

"Twelfth Night, or What You Will" is one of over 40 plays that were written by William Shakespeare. Along with nearly 15 other shows he wrote, "Twelfth Night" is a comedy. Comedy, according to Oxford Reference Online, is "professional entertainment consisting of jokes and sketches, intended to make an audience laugh". The play itself has many characters who are lively and wild, such as Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, who are almost always drunken and playing pranks on Malvolio. On top of that, the plot of a young woman passing herself off a a young man and trying to fend off another woman who thinks she is in love with her is a humorous idea within itself. 


"Twelfth Night" refers to The Festival of the Twelfth Night, which is the last night of the twelve days of Christmas. In Elisabeathen times, this title was intended to let the audience know that the play was based upon the festivities that occur at this time, such as singing, dancing, and drinking. 


The play was written to be set in 16th century Europe. Illyria, the setting of "Twelfth Night", was an ancient region on the east coast of the Adriatic Sea covering parts of Albania, Croatia, and Montegro, and the city state of Ragusa, Italy has been suspected of being the location.

Most of the time there is a great amount of detail put into the set because of how detailed and classic 16th Century architecture was.  Below is a photo example of 16th Century Architecture:

"comedy noun"  Oxford Dictionary of English. Edited by Angus Stevenson. Oxford University Press, 2010. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Central Washington University.  11 March 2011  <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t140.e0165030>

Character Analysis

First off, it's important to realize that Shakespeare's work in general has gone through many makeovers since the time they were first released until now. If Central Washington University plans to put on "Twelfth Night", there will need to be a lot of consideration put in to making sure that the younger demographic at the school find the show relatable, entertaining and interesting. There have been adaptations that have changed the setting, the time period, etc. Therefore, the characters have been through many changes as well. The two main characters I would like to take focus on are Viola and Sebastian; the twins. According to Ed Friedlander, M.D. "Sebastian is a man of action and strong feeling, loving his sister, ready to fight, self-effacing, and solicitous for Antonio's welfare. He is clear-headed even when nothing seems to make sense, and he welcomes the happiness that Olivia offers. Actually, everything we see about both of the twins is likable."


VIOLA
Viola could be seen as a Tom-Boy, seeing as how she is willing to dress as a man on a day to day basis and clearly is able to pass herself off as one believably. However, there is another option that you could possibly go with, which would add to the comedic element of the show, and that is to make her girly and allow us to see her struggle with fitting into the male role she is trying to fill. How many times could she possibly slip out of character, and then catch herself in panic?

SEBASTIAN
Sebastian gives the actor portraying him an excellent opportunity for a really fun role. He is often played down quite a bit, because he doesn't come into the show until much later. But this role could really be playboy. As someone who agrees to marry someone within moments after meeting them because they are wealthy and beautiful says a lot about the Sebastian's character. 

Sebastian (left) and Viola (right) in the film version of 'Twelfth Night'

In the film "She's the Man" (directed by Andy Fickman), a modern-day adaptation of the play, Sebastian is an irrisponsible teenager who runs away to England to escape having to go to a private school. All he wanted was to live without responsibility and scam on girls. He dated girls who were rich and beautiful, dumped them, and then moved on to other women that were also rich and beautiful.

Often these days Shakespeare can be done quite lifelessly because all of his shows have been done so many times that all originality is lost. A show as lively and funny as "Twelfth Night" has so much potential to make an impact. The underlying theme of the play is love: being in love with someone who loves someone else and just wanting to see them happy. This is a common part of life and therefore this play could be made very appealing to a young audience at CWU if the director had a clear vision.

Friedlander, M.D., Ed. "Enjoying "Twelfth Night" by William Shakespeare." Pathology Guy n. pag. Web. 10 Mar 2011.

An Overview

The plot of William Shakespeare's comedy is as follows:


Twin Brother and sister, Sebastian and Viola, are traveling on a ship when a terrible storm hits and wrecks the ship entirely. Viola is washed ashore but no one else is found. Viola, grief stricken, immediately assumes that he brother has been drowned in the storm and begins trying the figure out a solution. She immediately starts to think of where she could start working to provide for herself. A friendly sea captain shows up shortly thereafter and tells her about a city near by and of a wealthy woman named Olivia and a Duke named Orsino.


Orsino is in love with Olivia but she had just tragically lost her brother and was mourning, therefore she had no desire to be with anyone. Viola realizes that Olivia has no desire to work with any strangers and, as a last act of desperation, disguises herself as a man and goes by the name Cesario so that she may go work for the Duke Orsino.


Viola (disguised as Cesario) wins over Orsino with ease and soon is made Orsino's page. This would all have been fine, except that Viola had started to fall in love with Cesario but could not act on anything because he thought that she was a man. Orsino is also still in love with Olivia and continues to send her messages of love. When Orsino sends "Cesario" to take Olivia more love messages, Olivia falls in love with the page, thinking her to be a young man.


On the side, there are many other members of the household. She has a loud, drunk, obnoxious uncle, Sir Toby. As well as his friend, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, who is trying in his own pathetic way to win the affections Olivia; Olivia’s woman in waiting, Maria; Malvolio, uptight servant of Olivia’s household, and Feste, the rather awkward clown who at times can be really inappropriate. When Sir Toby and the others get angry at Malvolio for constantly trying to spoil their fun, Maria comes up with a trick to play on Malvolio so he'll think that Olivia loves him. She forges a letter from Olivia, addressed to him, telling him that if he wants to earn her favor, he should dress in yellow stockings and crossed garters, act risque, never stop smiling, and refuse to tell anyone about what's going on. Malvolio finds the letter, believes every word it says, and does exactly what it says. His behavior is so weird that, when he acts this way in front of Olivia, she thinks he's completely crazy. Also, Sir Andrew sees that Olivia is in love with Cesario (Viola in disguise) and because he is struck with jealousy and anger (and perhaps the influence of alcohol) challenges Cesario to a duel. Sir Toby, her uncle, finds this to be extremely entertaining and is all for the duel.


While all this takes place, we find out that Sebastian is in fact still alive. He arrives in Illyria (where all of this has been taking place) with his friend Antonio. Sebastian believe his sister to be dead just as she assumed the same about him. Sebastian and Antonio make their way to Orsino's home, even though Antonio knew Orsino years ago and the two are not fond of each other at all.


When Sir Andrew looks to find Cesario for the duel, he actually finds Sebastian, thinking that he is Cesario because the two look exactly alike. When Olivia sees this, she immediately makes the same mistake. Sebastian is really confused at this point, as he has never even seen or met any of these people. However, because Olivia is beautiful and clearly very wealthy, he accepts as if he has known her for years.


As this happens, Antonio has been arrested by Orsino's guards. As he is being taken away, he sees Cesario, but thinks it is Sebastian. He begs for help, but Cesario denies that he knows him. Antonio screams out that Sebastian has betrayed him as he is dragged off by Orsino's men. This is horrible, but at the same time, fills Viola with new hope that perhaps her brother is alive after all.


Eventually, after more fooling with Malvolio by Maria and others, and more confusion and torment amongst Viola, Orsino, Antonio and pretty much every other character in the play, we reach the end. Orsino and Cesario go to Olivia's house and Olivia thinks that Cesario is Sebastian (who she just got married to). Orsino of course is outraged until Sebastian shows up. Viola and Sebastian are ecstatic to see one another alive, Viola reveals herself to be a woman, Orsino realizes her loves her and all is well.


Shakespear, William. Twelfth Night: Or What You Will. Rev. Folger Shakespear Library, 2004. 272. Print.