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The Comedy of Errors
Study Guide
Lydia Magalhaes, dramaturg
1 Table of Contents
Dramaturg’s Note………………………………………………….……...3
Director’s Note……………………………………………………………4
Synopsis……………………………………………………………..…….5
Introduction to the Play………………………………………………..…..6
Vaudeville Theatre………………………………………………………...7
Shakespeare’s Words Activity……………………………………...…..…8
Production Notes………………………………………………………9-11
Discussion Questions…………………………………………………….12
2 Dramaturg’s Note
Hello, my name is Lydia Magalhaes, and I am the dramaturg for Theatre Simpson’s
production of The Comedy of Errors. As dramaturg, I am responsible for looking up information
pertinent to the production such as background on Shakespeare, definitions of words, elements of
the play, and information on the setting of the play. The dramaturg creates a bridge between the
audience and the production so that everyone has the information they need to understand and
enjoy the show.
I first heard of The Comedy of Errors when I was a first year student in high school. My
high school did a number of abbreviated Shakespeare plays. The Comedy of Errors was one of
those pieces. At the time, I didn’t think there was anything remarkable about the show. In fact, I
thought it was a little silly and far-fetched that these things would happen. As I have researched
the play and the technical aspects of the show, I have come to appreciate how interesting and
genuinely funny this show is. I hope you will also enjoy the show.
I have enjoyed researching this production. I have come to realize that a show cannot be
divorced from its context or the work that goes into it from different departments. I hope you will
discover this as well in the study guide and when watching the show.
Thank you,
Lydia Magalhaes
Dramaturg
3 The Comedy of Errors
By William Shakespeare
Directorial Notes—A Plan for the Production
The Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare’s shortest play, is a wild farce of mistaken identities and
implausible missteps. For the comedy to work the most obvious solutions must be ignored. A
brother searching the world for his twin is shocked when he arrives in a town and everyone
seems to know him. Does he ever consider that his brother, who he is searching for, might be
there? No, he assumes the town is bewitched. Of course, if the characters took a moment and
thought logically through the situations the solutions would be so obvious that there would be no
play.
The play is a farce, but it is a story of a family torn apart. As we watch the misunderstandings
get more tangled we hope that everything will be unwound in time to save a father’s life and
reunite the family. Perhaps the lesson learned is that when we are so fixated on what we think is
going on we cannot see what is right in front of us.
Historically we can track the slapstick comic form of this play from Shakespeare’s source,
Plautus’ Menaechmi, through Italian commedia dell’arte, and on to Vaudeville and the Music
Halls. The world of Vaudeville is where we place our production. Rather than getting tied to a
specific time and place (e.g. 1920s Vaudeville in the U.S. or 1880s British Music Halls) I want to
create a playful and theatrical world that draws on these influences. The play is full of
anachronisms (ducats, marks, and guilders in the ancient city of Ephesus, mention of modern
European countries, etc.) so allowing for anachronisms in the production makes sense. (And
really the play is not about “making sense” since none of the character worry much about logic.)
The production opens in an abandoned Vaudeville theatre. It is a dark and stormy night and a
young woman comes to the theatre to get away from her troubles. Can the magic of the theatre
change her outlook?
An interesting element in Vaudeville is the use of male and
female impersonators. It is a highly theatrical and
performative device that captures the spirit of our production.
The image to the left is of “The Four Little Dudes” from a
Victorian photography card. These women are the inspiration
for our Dromios.
Jennifer Ross Nostrala
Director
4 Synopsis
The Comedy of Errors
By William Shakespeare
The play opens with a merchant, Egeon, telling of his misfortune in losing his twin sons
and wife. He has been arrested because Syracuse and Ephesus are not friendly at this time. We
learn that one son has gone in search of the other. Antipholous of Syracuse and his servant
Dromio of Syracuse arrive in Ephesus in search of the lost twin. The two of them become
convinced that they are bewitched after the residents know them. Antipholous of Ephesus and
Dromio of Ephesus become equally confused when they are accused of acting out of character.
One Antipholus is told he has a wife while the married twin is locked out of his house. One has a
chain that the other is asked to pay for and so on. Along the way, there are many insults, jokes,
and word plays. In the end, all is resolved with the family happily reunited once more.
One of the main reasons the play is able to move forward is thanks to mistaken identity.
Although Antipholous of Syracuse knows he has a twin and comes to find him, he never thinks
he might be mistaken for his twin. Some reasons for that is he had heard there were witches in
this place. Antipholous might not be expecting to find his twin. The two are never seen together
until the end of the play. (What are some other reasons, no one might suspect twins? What do
you think the most likely reason is?)
5 Background
Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors is believed to be one of his first works. It is only
found in the First Folio, the first compilation of Shakespeare’s work. As the director mentioned,
this style of comedy was nothing new. What makes this comedy interesting is it reimagined an
old idea and made it more relevant and long lasting. Errors are what drive the play forward.
These are petty problems which the character must surmount. This means that the story is not
one of grand gestures or change but rather an experiment in what if1.
This brings us then to the cast of characters. Each of the main characters has a problem or
confusion that needs to be resolved.
Antipholous of Syracuse:
Trying to find his brother
Thinks he is bewitched
Antipholous of Ephesus
Wants to eat dinner at home
Dromio of Syracuse
Wants to serve
Confused about jobs
Dromio of Ephesus
Confused about jobs
Egeon
Needs money to avoid beheading
Andriana
Wants to have her husband to herself
Luciana
Her sister’s husband seems to be in love with her
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Levin, Harry The Comedy of Errors Signet Classics 1965 6 Vaudeville Theatre
Part of the dramaturg’s job is to research the setting for the production. Our setting is
Vaudeville theatre. Using the websites below, find the information to complete the sentences.
http://broadwayscene.com/vaudeville-americnas-vibrant-art-form-with-a-short-lifetime
http://virtualvaudeville.com/hypermediaNotes/WhatIsVaudevilleF.html
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma02/easton/vaudeville/vaudevillemain.html
In the United States and Canada, Vaudeville theatre lasted _______ years from ______ to _____.
_________ was responsible for the decline in popularity.
Typically, there were _______ acts each lasting ________.
___________ came from Vaudeville caricatures.
______, _______, and ________ were incorporated into Vaudeville theatre.
The father of American Vaudeville is ________________________.
Pastor ________ language and provided __________ to patrons.
From the information you gathered, write a summary of Vaudeville theatre or discuss it as a
class.
7 Words of Shakespeare
Match the words on the left to their definition on the right.
Intestine
Hasten
Hap
Head
Bark
Joke
Pate
Inclined to anger
Wind
Internal
Hie
Ship
Beshrew
Deceit
Jest
Perjured
Choleric
Bribe
Error
Chance
Mated
Curse
Suborned
Bewildered
Forswore
Breathe
Use www.shakespeareswords.com for help
8 Costuming
The image on the left is the inspiration photo for Adriana’s dress in the production. The image on
the right is the design for Adriana’s dress.
The designer, Jess Guthrie, had this to say about designing this costume:
When designing for a strong concept, such as the vaudeville troupe in this show, it can be fun, and kind of challenging, to figure out how each character fits into the concept while still remaining true to the original character. Frequently, a strong concept can overwhelm the characters, especially in Shakespeare. So as I set out to make these Shakespearean characters make sense in the world the director outlined, I tried very hard to NOT impose choices upon the characters, but rather let the characters suggest how they might fit into this world. The sisters were a bit trickier. They aren’t twins, so we couldn’t rely on the same convention of almost identical costumes as we did for the sets of twins. But, they still needed to “go” together, and fit thematically in this world we are creating. A lot of the vaudevillian performer’s clothing I found in research could pass for “normal” clothing of the day, but we really wanted the troupe to be immediately identifiable as performers, not just people in period clothes. In doing research on vaudeville/music hall actors and acts, I found an image of a woman wearing a sun/moon dress. I was drawn to the silhouette of the woman in the sun/moon dress, as it evokes a period, but isn’t something you’d see on the street. The sun/moon aspect of the dress was intriguing to me, as well, as it suggests two parts of a whole…kind of like the two sisters. The sisters needed to be tied together thematically, but not matching. In the vaudevillian and musical hall scene there were countless “family” acts, including sister acts…it made sense to me (and the director) to have the sisters be a sister act with thematically similar, yet different, costumes. Adriana has a sun on her dress, as the more outspoken, presumably older (as she was married first). Luciana wears a blue dress with a crescent moon on it. 9 She also has this advice for working with costumes:
1. While it is good to learn sewing and drawing skills, the most important skill for a designer to
learn is script analysis. By all means, learn to sew, learn to draw…but all that script/text analysis
you’re learning in English is really important, too. You can be taught the mechanical skills later
(I did not take art classes in high school), but pay attention in English!
2. Pay attention to the people around you and how they wear their clothes. One key to
developing your own design sense is to watch the world around you. Try to figure out why
people wear the clothes and accessories you see. After all, you will almost never design a
character that is exactly like you; you’re always designing for a character who may be nothing
like you.
3. Everyone starts somewhere. Don’t get wrapped up in what you don’t know. A good attitude
and willingness to learn will serve you better than any other advice.
Costume rendering for Dromios.
10 Set Design
This is the set rendering by designer Steve McLean. The idea for the set was a derelict
Vaudeville theatre. The purpose of the rendering is to show what set will look like. This way, the
director and the people building the set know what it will look like in the end.
11 Pre-Performance Questions
Discuss the following questions with a group before watching the performance.
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What are some of the challenges of producing a Shakespearean play?
Have you read or scene other plays by Shakespeare? What are your expectations for the
production?
o Do you think you will be able to understand what is going on?
What do you think the show will look like?
What do you know about this show?
Do you think the show will be funny?
Post-Show Questions
Discuss the following questions in a group after watching the show.
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The production created a specific world for the play. Why do you think the director
choose to add the additional character to the beginning of the play? What affect did that
choice have on the play?
What about the show was easier than you expected?
What about the show was harder than you expected?
What was your favorite part?
Why didn’t any of the characters guess about the twins?
Which character were you most sympathetic to and why?
How do you think the Vaudeville performance style influenced the show?
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