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CYRANO
A Study and Resource Guide
STudy Guide Created BY
Kaleigh Malloy
To the Educator
January 20, 2012
Dear Teacher:
We are thrilled that you are interested in using the Study Guide for CYRANO in your classroom. We look forward to interacting with you and your students this winter. We hope that you will use the following Study Guide as you discuss Edmund
Rostand in your classroom and possibly attend a performance of CYRANO at Arden Theatre Company.
The following academic standards are met in this curriculum:
PA Academic Standards
Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening 1.1A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H; 1.2A; 1.3A,B,E,F; 1.4A,C; 1.5C,D; 1.6A,B,C,D,E
Arts and Humanities 9.1A,B,C,D,E,F,G; 9.2A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H; 9.3A,B
History 8.1A,B; 8.4A,C,D
NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards
Reading Grades 6-12 ELA
Literature 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6, 10.10
Informational Text 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6
Writing 10.1, 10.2
Speaking and Listening 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6
Language 10.1, 10.4, 10.5
Visual and Performing Arts 1.1C; 1.2; 1.3C
National Arts Education Standards:
Theatre Content Standards 1-6
Feedback, comments, and concerns are always welcome. Please feel free to contact me directly at any time if you would like
to discuss our program. Our teaching artists look forward to visiting your schools before and after your trip to the theatre. We
look forward to hosting you here at Arden Theatre Company soon.
Sincerely,
Maureen Mullin Fowler
Maureen Mullin Fowler
Director of Education
Arden Theatre Company
Phone: 215.922.8900 ext.28
Page 2
Playwright Biography:
Edmond Rostand
Pages 3
About the Adaptors:
Aaron Posner
and Michael Hollinger
Page 4
Cyrano: A Timeless Tale
Pages 5-6
Let’s Debate!
Pages 7
Cast of Characters
Pages 8-9
Act One Summary
Page 10-11
Act Two Summary
and Discussion Questions
Page 12-13
The Role of the Theatre
Page 14-15
Improv Insult Activity
Pages 16-17
Sonnet Writing Exercise
Pages 18-19
Production Spotlight:
Scenic Design
Pages 20-21
Production Spotlight:
Costume Design
Page 22-23
Production Activity:
How to Make a Prosthetic Nose
1
Other Works by Rostand
* Le Gant Rouge, 1888
* Les Musardises, 1890
* Les Deux Pierrots, Ou Le Souper Blanc (The Two Pierrots or The White Supper), 1891
* Les Romanesques (The Fantasticks), 1894
* La Princesse Lointaine (The Princess Far-
Away), 1895
* La Samaritaine (The Woman of Samaria), 1897
* Cyrano de Bergerac, 1897
* L’Aiglon: A Play in Six Acts. 1900
* Chantecler: A Play in Four Acts, 1910
* La Derniere Nuit de Don Juan (The Last Night of Don Juan, in Poetic Drama), 1921
* Le Cantique de L’Aile, 1922
* Le Vol de la Marseillaise, 1922
About the Playwright
edmond Rostand
Edmond Rostand was born in Marseille into a wealthy and cultured Provençal family. His father was an economist and a poet, a member of the Marseille Academy and the Institute de France. Rostand studied literature,
history, and philosophy at the Collège Stanislas in Paris. In the 1880s he published poems and essays in the
literary review Mireille. Rostand’s first play, LE GANT ROUGE, was produced at the Théâtre Cluny with little
success, but the lighthearted LES DEUX PIERROTS, OU LE SOUPER BLANC (1891) attracted the attention of
the Comédie Française.
Rostand’s first successful play was LES ROMANESQUES (1894, The Romantics / The Fantasticks). It was produced at the Comédie Française and was based on Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. Three years later
produced Cyrano de Bergerac became his most popular and enduring work - at that time he was 29-year-old.
L’AIGLON (1900), a tragedy based on the life of Napoleon’s son, the Duke of Reichstadt, was also considered
a masterpiece.
In 1901, at the age of thirty-three, Rostand was elected to the Académie Française. However, Rostand found
his fame and unwanted publicity hard to bear. Suffering from poor health, he retired to his family’s country
estate at Cambon, in the Basque county. He continued to write plays and poetry, but his subsequent works
did not gain the popularity of Cyrano de Bergerac. Rostand died of pneumonia in Paris on December 2, 1918.
His last dramatic poem was about Don Juan. The posthumously performed play failed totally
“The success of Cyrano de Bergerac was a turning-point in Rostand’s life,” writes Sue Lloyd in her biography
on Rostand (2003). “His future was assured but he had to live up to the expectations of the French people...
the fame he had set out to achieve from his very first book of poems turned into a crushing burden from
which only death released him.”
2
About the Adaptors:
Michael Hollinger
Aaron Posner
Michael Hollinger, Translator and Adaptor
Philadelphia’s very own Michael Hollinger has
been “hailed as one of America’s brightest new comic voices,
celebrated for his razor-sharp wit and clever wordplay,” by
the University of Iowa Press News release.
Hollinger’s plays have been produced in New York
City and in regional theatres throughout the United States
and Europe. Hollinger is an assistant professor at Villanova
University and resident playwright for New Dramatists. He
received a Bachelor of Arts in viola performance at Oberlin
Conservatory and a Master of Fine Arts in theatre from Villanova University.
His plays include A Wonderful Noise, Opus, Tooth and
Claw, and Red Herring. He has also written plays for young
audiences such as Eureka! and Hot Air, and screenplays
include Incorruptible and Pipe. His awards include Harold
and Mimi Steinberg/ American Critics Association New Play
Citation for Opus, Barrymore Awards for Outstanding New
Play for Opus in 2006 and Red Herring in 2000 and fellowships from the Independence Foundation, Mid Atlantic Arts
Foundation, and Pennsylvania Council for the Arts. CYRANO
marks Hollinger and Posner’s first collaboration.
Aaron Posner is a director, playwright, teacher, and
consultant. He is a founding Artistic Director of The Arden
Theatre Company in Philadelphia, and the former Artistic
Director of Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey. He
is currently a freelance director and playwright based in the
Washington, DC area.
Aaron has directed over 100 productions at major regional theatres including Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, American Player’s Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Arden Theatre Company, Arizona Theatre Company, Barrington Stage, California
Shakespeare Theatre, Children’s Theatre Company, Cleveland
Playhouse, Folger Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Portland Center
Stage, and many more.
Aaron Posner, Adaptor and Director
Directing awards include a 1998 Barrymore Award
for A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Arden, and the 2005
Helen Hayes Award for The Two Gentleman of Verona at
the Folger. Aaron is an Eisenhower Fellow, holds a B.S. in
Performance Studies from Northwestern University is originally from Eugene, Oregon, and currently lives in Riverdale,
Maryland with his wife, actress and teacher Erin Weaver, and
his daughter, Maisie.
3
Cyrano:
TimelssTale
Tale
Cyrano:
AA
Timeless
CYRANO DE BERGERAC, the classic romantic story about the poetic long nosed swordsman who
helps another man woo the woman he loves, Roxane has become so universal we can find it in our
films, tv shows, and plays today!
•
The 1987 film ROXANNE, a contemporary comedy version with a happy ending added, starred
Steve Martin as C.D. Bales, Daryl Hannah as Roxanne, and Rick Rossovich as Chris.
•
The 1996 film THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS is a modern gender reversal of the
story starring Uma Thurman. A successful veternarian & radio show host with low self-esteem asks her
model friend to impersonate her when a handsome man wants to see her.
•
The movie THE UGLY TRUTH starring Katherine Heigel has a similar plot, with a reverse variation involving Cyrano’s counterpart advising his own love interest how to date another man, but eventually falling for her himself.
•
The 2010 movie MEGAMIND features a plot that echoes the play, including a titular character
with an outlandishly large body part. Megamind falls in love with Roxanne and woos her as Bernard,
believing that he would never win her heart as himself.
•
A BRADY BUNCH Episode entitled Cyrano de Brady, Peter wants desperately to break the ice
with his pretty classmate, Kerry, but nerves get in the way. Greg hides in a bush and tells him things to
say. But Kerry has been studying Cyrano de Bergerac at school and concludes that Greg is the one in
love with her.
•
The SEINFELD episode The Soul Mate appears to parody the balcony scene of Cyrano as
Kramer attempts to win over Jerry’s girlfriend Pam with Newman supplying the poetry.
•
THE POLICE song Roxanne was written after Sting saw an old theatre poster for a production
of Cyrano de Bergerac hanging in the foyer of a Parisian hotel in which he was staying.
•
The 2001 episode of tv’s WILL AND GRACE starring Patrick Dempsey.
4
LET’S DEBATE!
Guided Practice:
Tell the students you are going to begin with a debate. Ask for definitions of what a debate is. Read through and discuss the rules of a four corner debate. Answer any questions about how the debate will work. Hang the four corner debate signs in the four different corners of the room. Explain the difference between strongly agreeing or disagreeing with something and simply agreeing or disagreeing.
Four Corners Debate Instructions
•
Teacher reads the sentences that relate to the themes of Cyrano to the class.
•
Students decide whether you:
1.
2.
3.
4.
•
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Move to the appropriate corner of the room.
• Ask for volunteers to explain why they chose the answer they chose. Make sure to hear
from someone in ach corner.
• After listening to each group, if anyone in a certain group made a convincing enough argument, you may change your opinion and move to that group. If no group swayed your thinking
remain where you are.
•
Repeat this activity for each of the statements on the following page.
5
LET’S DEBATE!
(Continued)
FOUR CORNER DEBATE STATEMENTS
•
I would date someone who’s personality I really enjoyed but was not considered to be among the popular group at school.
•
Looks are more important to me than smarts.
•
It doesn’t matter the size of the nose. It matters how you rock it.
•
It is difficult for me to speak my mind and articulate my thoughts when in the presence of someone I want to impress.
I believe in love at first sight. (Roxane-Christian)
•
•
I would enlist in the armed forces if my country needed me to fight. (Gascon Guard)
•
Words and ideas are personal property. If someone uses them, credit needs to be given where credit is deserved.
I am equally entitled to anything and bow down to no one.
•
•
Even if I really do care what other people think about me, I keep it to myself and don’t let others see how I really feel on the inside.
6
The Cast of Characters
Note: The Arden Theatre Company’s production of CYRANO is intended to be performed by
eight men and one women.
CYRANO, late 30s to late 40s. Energetic, impulsive, emotional, a wizard with
words as well as swords--a warrior poet.
ROXANE, late 20s to mid-30s. Beautiful, elegant, smart, romantic. An impetuous heart and a deep soul. (Doubles as Woman and Columbina.)
CHRISTIAN, late 20’s. Handsome, proud, bold with men but shy with women.
Aware of his expressive shortcomings. (Doubles as Actor/Arlecchino, Angry
Subscriber and Fighter.)
LE BRET, 40s to late 50s. Captain of the Gascony Guard and Cyrano’s best
friend. Moderate, sympathetic, articulate, but not flashy. Our guide to the play.
DE GUICHE, 40’s to early 50s. Aristocratic, enamored of Roxane. An intriguer
who is married to power. Alternately resents and admires Cyrano. (Doubles as
Gambler and Fighter.)
RAGUENEAU, late 30s to early 40s. Big-hearted pastry-chef and lover of poetry, to the point of obsession. (Doubles as Man, Philippe and Fighter.)
DE VALVERT, early 30s. Aristocratic, stylish, vain, an expert swordsman. (Doubles as Etienne,
Fighter, and Sister Marthe.)
LIGNIERE, 30s. A drunken poet, or poetic drunk. Occaisonally removes the
bottle long enough to stick his foot in his mouth. (Doubles as Citizen, Jacques,
Jean-Pierre, and possibly Sister Marthe.)
DESIREE, 40s. Roxane’s old nurse and current chaperone. Watchful over Roxane’s honor; cranky about soldiers. (Doubles a pickpocket, Montfleury, Bellerose, Marcel, and Fighter.)
7
Summary
Act One
In the year 1640, a crowded Parisian theatre buzzes with activity minutes before a performance of the play
LA CLORISE, as we are introduced to the philosopher, the dramatist, the versifier, the play’s title character,
Cyrano. People mill about and converse, divided according to their social class. A thief moves through the
crowd, stealing handkerchiefs and purses--gamblers playing card, actors hawking cider and tobacco, and
solid citizens introducing their guests to the “Theatah.” The lamps are lit, and the crowd cheers, knowing the
performance will soon begin.
Ligniere enters, arm in arm, with the handsome young nobleman, Baron Christian de Neuvillette. We meet
Ragueneau, a big hearted pastry chef on the look out for Cyrano, who has banned the actor Montfleury from
performing in the evening’s performance.
Suddenly, Christian catches the eye of the beautiful and elegant Roxane and falls instantly in love. Christian
learns that Roxanne is the second cousin to Cyrano. Though Christian has never heard of this man, he is
warned by Lignere and Ragueneau never to mention or acknowledge Cyrano’s “very prominent friend,” his
nose.
Roxane sits in her booth, accompanied by DeGuiche, “ a
lord with a big labido,” who is already married and wants
her to wed The Vicomte de Valvert. The stage brightens
and play begins, with no sign of Cyrano. Montefleury
enters, begins his speech and suddenly a voice is heard
from the crowd. It is the voice of our hero, Cyrano.
“Excusez-moi, Monsieur: Is
that your hankie, or your bedsheet?”
-Cyrano, Act 1, sc. 1.
The crowd gasps as Cyrano gives Montefleury three seconds to exit the stage. Much to the audience’s
chagrin, Montefleury vanishes. As Cyrano remains onstage, armed with his sword, he is challenged to
a duel by Vicomte. Vicomte informs Cyrano that his “nose is...very large,” and Cyrano leaps to this insult
wondering if that is the best Vicomte can do. Cyrano begins to unleash a flurry of poetic insults about his
own, mocking Vicomte’s lack of oringinality. In the midst of swordplay between the two, Cyrano begins
to improvise a sonnet, with Vicomte as the subject. Cyrano foils Vicomte with both sword and speech,
but we eventually learn that Cyrano’s nose is a source of great insecurity for him. Just as Cyrano exlaims
his undying love for Roxane to his best friend and the captain of the Gascony Guard, Le Bret., Roxane’s
nurse, Desiree, enters to inform Cyrano that her lady requests a private visit with her valiant cousin.
With expectations as high as the stars, Cyrano anxiously awaits his meeting with the beautiful, Roxanne.
In the meantime, Cyrano duels and defeats eighty men at The Porte de Nesle, leaving with his pride
in tact and a small scrape on the palm of his hand. The next day, when Cyrano goes to visit Roxanne,
she thanks him for defeating Vicomte and notices the scrape on his hand. Roxanne tenderly examines
the wound and begins to tell him she has fallen in love. Roxane informs her dear cousin that her heart
belongs to Christian de Neuvillette, the handsome soldier who will be joining the Gascony Guard in the
morning and begs her cousin to take mercy on him upon his arrival to the Guard. Immobilized with
heartbreak, Cyrano promises to protect Christian from the other guards who might want to torment the
8
new recruit.
Cyrano’s company of guards, and their newest member, Christian, tumble into the Armory singing the
praises of their leader and his successes of the previous evening at the the Theatre. Cyrano enters abruptly as Christian watches him closely and the others beg him for more details of his duel with Vicomte. LeBret and DeGuiche enter baring a message of adoration to Cyrano and the LeBret requests that he introduce
the company to the Count with the song he wrote about the Gascons. Cyrano obliges and the guardsmen
join in the merriment. Amused, DeGuiche asks Cyrano to become his poet and informs him that his uncle,
Cardinal Richelieu, was impressed by the spectical caused by Cyrano’s sword. Cyrano denies DeGuiche’s
request and exits the stage. LeBret questions Cyrano’s resistance to becoming DeGuiche’s poet, arguing
that within the year his poems and plays could be published. Miffed that LeBret would question his artistic
integrity, Cyrano launches into verse, claiming “I like to reduce the number of bows I have to make in the
course of a day.”
The guardsmen request that Cyrano entertain them with yet another story, and Cyrano proceeds. In the
midst of his storytelling, Cyrano is frequently interrupted by Christian’s comments about his nose. He hurls
himself toward Christian, but manages to restrain himself, due to his beloved cousin’s request. Christian’s
rude comments are relentless. Cyrano abruptly ends his story and clears the room to have a word alone
with his new guard. Petrified, Christian is invited into Cyrano’s arms. Cyrano informs Christian that he is
Roxane’s oldest friend and that she expects a letter later that evening. Christian’s thrill is crushed when he
hears this element of the equation. He claims he is an idiot, and terrible with the “language thing.” Cyrano
tells Christian that he will lend him his own words and together they could make a man worthy of Roxane’s
love.
Roxane receives several letters from her suitor and is more overcome with love for Christian than she ever
thought possible. She reads the letters to her dear Cyrano and informs him that he now has a rival poet.
Cyrano and Roxane are interruped by DeGuiche’s arrival. Roxane insists that the count refuses to take no
for an answer and begs Cyrano to bring Christian to meet her. Roxane is left with DeGuiche who informs
her that he wants to take revenge on her cousin by sending him into the line of fire. Roxane uses her feminine charm and wit to fool DeGuiche into believing that the real revenge would be to make Cyrano and the
Gascony Guard stay behind in Paris while the rest of the French soldiers go to war.
Roxane falls deeper and deeper in love with the facade that Christian and Cyrano struggle to maintain.
Christian calls up to Roxane’s balcony professing his love to her as he is prompted by Cyrano, but has difficulty hearing what to say. Cyrano pushes him out of the way and calls up to Roxane pretending to be the
young lover and is interrupted by DeGuiche just as Christian is granting Roxane the kiss from the voice she
hears below her balcony, the voice that she believes belongs to Christian. DeGuiche has come to inform
her that he and the Gascon Guard had been called to war. DuGuiche and and Cyrano quarrel about the
moonlight and their mutual love and are spotted by Desiree. Desiree calls her lady to the window and all
three men are revealed below the balcony. Awkwardly and in a pinch, Christian announces that Roxane is
his fiance when he learns he is to leave for battle the next morning. As the three men leave, Roxane begs
pleads with Cyrano to ensure that her love writes to her everyday from battle.
“If only I had your mouth to express my soul...”
-Cyrano Act 1, sc. 4
9
Summary
Act Two
As the lights rise on the first light of dawn, it is August and the Gascon Guard is away at war.
Cyrano, untarnished by battle, torments himself over Christian’s fragility. Roxane expects frequent
letters from her dear Christian, who is, like the rest of the soldiers is dying of hunger in the Gascon encampment. Cyrano provides the soldiers with uplifting words to get them ready for battle.
Eventually Cyrano shows Christian the most recent letter he has written for Roxane and informs
Christian that he has been writing to her in his name every day since they’ve been away. DeGuiche appears onstage and there is yet another spatter between him and Cyrano. In the heat of
their disagreement they see a young boy racing towards them.
As soon as the youth arrives, they remove their hat and her hair spills down. It is Roxane, in
search of her dear Christian. She tells the men that she had been disguising herself as a Spanish farm boy heading home to Cantabria. DeGuiche tries to send her back to Paris but she claims
that she did not ride and run all this way to be sent home. LeBret hands her a sword as she
delivers letters to the men that their loved ones he had written them. Roxane begs Christian to
forgive her for loving him on his looks before she knew his heart. When Roxane proclaims that
she would love him even if he were ugly, it dawns on Christian that it is not himself she loves, it is
the hero, Cyrano. Christian insists that Cyrano tell her everything. Just as Cyrano begins to confess, war breaks out and the all of the guards race away to fight.
Fifteen summers and fifteen autumns pass and we learn that Roxane is still in mourning for her
lost love, Christian DeNeuvillette. She has since moved into a convent since the passing of her
beloved. Cyrano who is stubborn and careless as ever, yet manages to visit his Roxane every Saturday, is now growing old and sickly.
Ragueneau, who has left his duties as a pastry chef and now works for the theatre, rushes in to
warn the others that Cyrano has been bludgeoned on the head that dropped out of a window.
Our hero has experienced massive head trauma and Raguenau warns LeBret that he may not live
to see tomorrow.
Cyrano pays one last visit to Roxane, here he is in and out of consciousness and asks to read
Christian’s final letter. As he reads the letter he once wrote aloud, Roxane realizes that it was
Cyrano all along who loved her and was writing to her. Ragueneau bursts in once again and
informs Roxane that Cyrano has practically killed himself to visit her. In the midst of his distress,
Ragueneau informs Cyrano that the playwright, Moliere has stolen a scene from him. Cyrano replies “Christian got the kiss, and Moliere the laugh.”
Sobbing, Roxane bids her dear cousin adieu. Cyrano dies in his love’s arms as he swears to the
heavens to never stop fighting.
10
Discussion Questions:
1. What values do Cyrano live by? How does he put his values into practice? How does his ridiculous
nose affect his life?
2.What would Cyrano’s life be like if he did not have such a protruding nose? Would he have the
same personality, feelings, or outlook on the world?
3. Compare and contrast Cyrano and Christian. Do they have any similarities besides their love for
Roxane? Why is Cyrano so sad when Christian dies, apart from his realization that he himself will
never be able to tell Roxane he loves her? Is there any other reason?
4. Do you think Cyrano knows Christian to be a poor writer when he informs him that Roxane is expecting a letter later that evening? Is Cyrano setting Christian up for failure or is he presenting him
with an opportunitiy in earnestnest? What does Cyrano gain by using Christian’s face to portray his
own verbiage? Justify your answer with textual evidence.
5. Does the play have a happy ending? Why or why not?
“The dream, alone, is of interest. What is life,
without a dream?”
-
Edmond Rostand
Essay Questions:
1. People borrow and use one another’s ideas throughout life on a regular basis. In your
opinion, what was Rostand trying to prove when he mentions the famous comedic playwright, Molière, stealing one of Cyrano’s scenes for a play? What does this say about a the
value one takes in their artistic and intellectual property?
2. In act two, scene one, LeBret tells Cyrano that “War, like love, provides plenty of [irony.]”
What do you point do you think the playwright was trying to make with this statement.
Where else does irony live within words and actions of the characters in the play?
8 11
The Time And Place
France: 1640
The play’s action begins in Paris, France 1640, in
the midst of the Thirty Years War. This was a war
that began as a religious dispute between the
Protestants and Catholics gradully developed into
a more general conflict involving most of the European major powers. A war that most countries
lost sight of what they were fighting for ,France’s
involvement was generated by their rivalry with
The German House of Habsurg, Holy Roman Empire and Spain.
The Battle of the Arras, 1640
http://www.fortified-places.com/sieges/arras1640.html
In 1640, under Cardinal Richelieu’s ruling, French
troops were poised to strike against Spain at the
capital of the province of Artois: Arras. The French
planned to bluff the Spanish into weakening the garrison of Arras then to attack suddenly before it could
be reinforced.
Cardinal Richelieu
http://www.nndb.com/people/894/000092618/
Cardinal Richelieu (15851642) was a powerful figure in
late 15th century and early 16th
century France. Acting as the
king’s chief minister, he was also
a lover and patron of the arts.
Source: http://www.fortified-places.com/sieges/arras1640.html#
The plan worked perfectly - when Maréchal de
Châtillon threatened the Spanish-held fortresses of
Aire and Béthune, troops from the garrison at Arras
were sent to reinforce them. Maréchal de Châtillon
then linked forces with Maréchal de La Meilleraye
and the two commanders invested Arras on June
13th with a vast force of 23,000 infantry and 9,000
cavalry. The French dug an extensive number of
lines of fortification keeping the enemy immobile.
Though, the encirclement was made difficult by the
nature of the ground around Arras - the lines needed to cross 4 wide waterways. This proved in favor
or France, as the blocked waterways posed numerous communication difficulties for the Spanish, who
could not move large amounts of troops across the
rivers quickly.
12
The Role of The Theatre:
17th Century France
In the 1630s and 1640s, influenced by the long baroque novels of the period, the tragicomedy became the dominant theatrical genre. A tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres
of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare’s time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to
lighten the mood. We hear mention of Corneille’s LE CID in the opening scene of Cyrano. A tragicomedy by Pierre Corneille, that was a massive success and deemed worth of Richelieu’s Academie Francaise.
Comedy in the second half of the century was dominated by Molière. A veteran actor, master of farce,
slapstick, the Italian and Spanish theatre. Molière’s output was large and varied. He is credited with
giving the French “comedy of manners” and the “comedy of character” their modern form. His hilarious satires of avaricious fathers, doctors and pompous literary types were extremely successful among
the public, though his satirical material about religious figures were often times banned by the church.
Class Discussion
Questions
1. Would you consider Cyrano to be a
tragicomedy? Explain.
2. Just as the way the Thirty Year War
developed, how did Cyrano lose sight
of what he was fighting for? How does
the last scene of the play justify this?
3. How is the character Cyrano a symbol for
integrity and originality in the artistic
and political climate of France in the 1600s?
The French Playwright, Molière
13
INSULT IMPROV
Shakespearean Style
Survey the group and briefly discuss:
•
“Does anyone know what improvisational acting (widely called Improv) is?”
--Instead of memorizing scripted lines, improvisational actors react spontaneously to the audience and their fellow actors to create theatre.
•
“Who can do Improv?”
--Anyone can!
•
“How many of you have taken part in an Improv activity before?”
Materials needed:
-Enough copies of the following page of insults so that each student will have their own.
On the next page you will find three lists of Shakespearean insults. Instruct the students to break up
into groups of two or three.
Once the students are divided into groups they will construct a Shakespearean insult by selecting one
word from each of the three columns and prefacing them with the word “Thou.”
Example: “Thou saucy, common-kissing, flap-dragon!”
“Thou fobbing, fat -kidneyed, giglet!”
Each student will take a turn insulting their partners and will continue the activity by making more
combinations with the words.
Now have the students create their own ways of insulting the size of Cyrano’s nose, using their lists
of words to guide them.
After each group has created a new way to insult Cyrano’s nose, they will share their sentences in
front of the class.
14
Column 1
artless
bawdy
beslubbering
bootless
churlish
cockered
clouted
craven
currish
dankish
dissembling
droning
errant
fawning
fobbing
froward
frothy
gleeking
goatish
gorbellied
impertinent
infectious
jarring
loggerheaded
umpish
mammering
mangled
mewling
paunchy
pribbling
puking
puny
qualling
rank
reeky
roguish
ruttish
saucy
spleeny
spongy
surly
tottering
unmuzzled
vain
venomed
villainous
warped
wayward
weedy
yeasty
Column 2
base-court
bat-fowling beef-witted
beetle-headed
boil-brained
clapper-clawed
clay-brained
common-kissing
crook-pated
dismal-dreaming
dizzy-eyed
doghearted
dread-bolted
earth-vexing
elf-skinned
fat-kidneyed
fen-sucked
flap-mouthed
fly-bitten
folly-fallen
fool-born
full-gorged
guts-griping
half-faced
hasty-witted
hedge-born
hell-hated
idle-headed
ill-breeding
ill-nurtured
knotty-pated
milk-livered
motley-minded
onion-eyed
plume-plucked
pottle-deep
pox-marked
reeling-ripe
rough-hewn
rude-growing
rump-fed
shard-borne
sheep-biting
spur-galled
swag-bellied
tardy-gaited
tickle-brained
toad-spotted
unchin-snouted
weather-bitten
Column 3
apple-john
baggage
barnacle
bladder
boar-pig
bugbear
bum-bailey
canker-blossom
clack-dish
clotpole
coxcomb
codpiece
death-token
dewberry
flap-dragon
flax-wench
flirt-gill
foot-licker
fustilarian
giglet
gudgeon
haggard
harpy
hedge-pig
horn-beast
hugger-mugger
joithead
lewdster
lout
maggot-pie
malt-worm
mammet
measle
minnow
miscreant
moldwarp
mumble-news
nut-hook
pigeon-egg
pignut
puttock
pumpion
ratsbane
scut
skainsmate
strumpet
varlet
vassal
whey-face
wagtail
Guided Practice and Performance:
The Sonnet
By the thirteenth century, the sonnet signified a poem of fourteen lines
that follow a strict rhyme scheme and specific structure. Conventions associated with the sonnet have evolved over its history. One of the bestknown sonnet writers is William Shakespeare, who wrote 154 of them
(not including those that appear in his plays). A Shakespearean, or English, sonnet consists of 14 lines. The rhyme scheme in a Shakespearean
sonnet is a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g; the last two lines are a rhyming
couplet.
From the perspective of Cyrano, write a sonnet that he would hypathetically direct to another character in the play, of your choosing. Feel free to
use words from the list of insults on page 15 of the study guide.
Write your sonnet in the space provided on page 17. Be sure to follow
the a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g rhyme scheme while composing your
poem.
Once each person has completed their sonnet, the instructor will collect
each poem and pass them all back out randomly.
The student will read over their peer’s sonnet and then present it to the
class.
“I’d love to skewer you all day,
But sonnets end at fourteen lines...Touche!”
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Compose sonnet in the space provided below:
a
b
a
b
c
d
c
d
e
f
e
f
g
g
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Production Spotlight
Dan Conway: Scenic Design
DAN CONWAY has been the scenic designer for numerous productions at The Arden
Theatre Company including, Ben Franklin’s Apprentice, Crime and Punishment, The
Pavillion, and My Name Is Asher Lev, all directed by Aaron Posner. Mr. Conway is the
recipient of the 2000 and 2008 Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Set Design,
and heads the M.F.A. in Design program at The University of Maryland, College Park.
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CYRANO’S ground plan, as pictured above, was drafted by Dan Conway. The ground plan is typically a
scale drawing of a bird’s eye view of the stage. It aids the designer in developing the scenic design. It is
also used by the director for establishing the flow of the action. For the lighting designer it is a mandatory instument for planning the lights. And for the technical director, it is invaluable in determining the
placement of the scenery and building the set. Below are some examples of symbols used when drafting
ground plans.
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Production Spotlight:
Devon Painter: Costume Design
DEVON PAINTER, created the
costume designs for CYRANO.
She has been a professional costume
designer for the past fifteen years and
has worked at many theatres across
the country, including The Guthrie,
The Folger Theatre, and The Old
Globe Theatre.
Cyrano
Eric Hissom:
CYRANO
Christian
Jessica Cummings:
ROXANNE/WOPMAN/
COLUMBINA
Roxanne
Luigi Sotille:
CHRISTIAN
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Rageneau
Montfluery
David Bardeen:
RAGENEAU/PHILLIPE/FIGHTER
Lignier
Doug Hara:
LIGNIER/JACQUES/JEAN-PIERRE:
Scott Greer:
DESIREE/MONTFLEURY/BELLROSE
Le Bret
Benjamin Lloyd:
DE GUICHE
De Guiche
Keith Randolph Smith:
LE BRET
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Workshop Activity:
How to make a prosthetic nose
Prosthetic noses are an integral part of the Arden Theatre Company’s production of CYRANO, worn
by the play’s leading actor, Eric Hissom. Making your own homemade nose prosthetic pieces is also
one of the easier forms of facial latex works---one that doesn’t require a full life mask in order to customize and shape to your liking. Here’s how!
Things You’ll Need And Could Find At Your Local Art Supply Store
*
*
*
*
Oil-based modeling clay
Liquid latex
Disposable craft brush or rags
Toilet paper
Instructions
1. Sculpt the nose in oil clay. Hold the finished nose shape up next to your own while looking in a
mirror to judge the size and proportions and make sure you like the way it looks. Make the back of
the nose flat where it’s supposed to attach to the face.
2. Adjust the color of the liquid latex. Most liquid latex has an orangey-beige color once dry, so it’s a
good idea to adjust it to be closer to your actual skin color by mixing it with some acrylic paint; bear
in mind that the dry color will be darker than the color when it’s wet. Don’t worry about getting the
color perfect, and err on the side of too pale; you can finish matching the color using makeup later.
3. Coat the nose sculpture in liquid latex. Use a disposable brush or rag to cover the nose sculpture
(except for the back) as if you were painting it. Apply at least four coats of latex, letting each one dry
before you add the next (this will take 10-20 minutes for each layer; you’ll know when the latex is
dry because it will firm up and darken in color).
4. Peel away the latex nose from the clay. If you have to manipulate the shape of the clay to keep
from stretching the nose shape too much, do so (though it should be easy to peel away the latex
without too much stressing of its shape). Try to remove all traces of clay from the inside of the nose.
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5. Line the inside of the nose. Give the inside four or more new layers of latex, applying them just you did with the outside to make the wall of the nose stiff enough to have body on its own. If the nose is particularly large or long, stuff part of it with small pieces of latex-soaked toilet paper. Leave room for your nose, erring on the side of too much empty space. Let dry.
6. Create nostril holes using scissors or a craft knife; these are necessary for comfortable wear and breathing.
7. Apply the nose. Use spirit gum to adhere the nose over your own, applying the gum only to the edges of the back of the nose. Apply thick stage makeup to the nose itself, and to the surround
skin on your face, blending the makeup at the edges.
Sources: http://www.fxsupply.com/prosthetics/nosep.html
and http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_6210659_make-fake-nose.html
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