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A SO LO RE P EDUCATION & OUTREACH
PRO DUCTION GU IDE 2015 N ew Stages Tour
PRODUC TION GUIDE
ASOLO REP
EDUCATION
& OUTREACH
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Adapted and Directed by JEN WINEMAN
By
TOURING SEPTEMBER 29 - NOVEMBER 24
ASOLO REP LEADERSHIP
Producing Artistic Director
MICHAEL DONALD EDWARDS
Managing Director
LINDA DIGABRIELE
FSU/Asolo Conservatory Director,
Associate Director of Asolo Rep
GREG LEAMING
TABLE OF CONTENTS
T H E N E W S TA G E S T O U R .........................................................................1
W H Y H I D E O U R H E A R T S ? A n I n t r o du c t io n. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
“ W H O G O V E R N S H E R E ? ” P e o ple a nd P lo t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
I S T H E R E FA C T I N T H E F I C T I O N ? C lue s f r om H is t o r y....................................4
H O W D O E S L O V E S O U N D ? L a nugage a nd M u sic.......................................... 5
B E T H E A R T I S T.....................................................................................6
TWELFTH NIGHT
CREATIVE TEAM
W H Y A D A P T S H A K E S P E A R E ?..................................................................7
Director
JEN WINEMAN
“ W H AT L A N D I S T H I S ? ” A M o der n I ll y r ia .................................................... 9
Production Design
MELISSA TRN
Sound Design
MATTHEW PARKER
Dramaturg
LAURYN E. SASSO
Stage Managers
KELLY A. BORGIA
RACHEL MORRIS
Prop Master
MARLENN MAROTTE WHITNEY
Voice and Dialect Coach
PATRICIA DELOREY
ASOLO REP EDUCATION
& OUTREACH STAFF
Education & Outreach Director
KATHRYN MORONEY
Education & Outreach Specialist
RIA COOPER
Education & Outreach Apprentice
JENNA SMOGER
H O W I S TW ELFTH N I G HT A D A P T E D ?....................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
A F T E R T H E P E R F O R M A N C E ............................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
U P C O M I N G O P P O R T U N I T I E S .............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B A C K C O V E R
WHAT IS THE NEW STAGES TOUR?
The New Stages Tour brings a Shakespeare performance directly to your school. You
will see one of Shakespeare’s comedies shortened into a 45-minute version created
uniquely for Florida students, and performed for the very first time this fall.
The performers are actors in the third and final year of their Masters of Fine Arts
(M.F.A.) degree in the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. After Twelfth Night
each of these actors will perform in additional plays at Asolo Repertory Theatre in
Sarasota, FL, until their graduation in 2016.
This production is fully rehearsed and choreographed, but because it travels to one
or two locations each school day, it cannot rely on complex scenery or lighting. In
addition to the actors’ performances, Twelfth Night will use costume design, sound
design (including music), and simple prop elements. In this way our performance is
not so different from the theatre of Shakespeare’s time:
“Torches, candles, or other visual cues could identify the time as ‘night,’ as
could costumes (like ‘nightgowns’)… Women were played by boys, kings by
commoners; night scenes, staged in the middle of the afternoon, were created by
language.” Marjorie Garber, Shakespeare After All
Literary & Education Apprentice
REID SHELLEY
Need a digital copy of this guide?
www.asolorep.org/education/resources
Video webisodes will be created
during the rehearsal process and
tour; email [email protected] to
be notified when a new webisode
is available. These will also be
posted online.
1
ASK AN ACTOR
Every New Stages Tour performance is followed by a
question and answer session with the cast.
We encourage you to consider and discuss what you would
like to ask the actors, including questions about the play,
how they interpret their characters, or their experience
rehearsing and performing Shakespeare’s work. Ideas are
included throughout this guide to spark your curiosity….
WHY HIDE OUR HEARTS? An Introduction
“My father had a daughter loved a man…” Centuries
have passed since Shakespeare wrote his plays, but a
conversational tactic he used is one we still recognize.
“So, I have this friend…” we might say today, in order to
avoid a personal confession that would reveal something
too vulnerable.
Twelfth Night’s heroine uses the same camouflage: “Say
that some lady, as perhaps there is…” She hides behind
a hypothetical example to speak in code about her own
romantic interest. Of course Shakespeare’s vocabulary
was different from ours, and he allowed his characters to
speak in poetry as well as prose, which most of us don’t
do in our daily lives. Settings, manners, and customs have
Orsino and Viola
all changed since he lived and wrote. Those changes mean
Frederick Richard Pickersgill (1820-1900)
that today’s students, actors, and professional scholars
alike all have to look closely to interpret Shakespeare’s words. Once we get beyond what is
unfamiliar, however, the way people behave hasn’t changed so much.
“His plays are the greatest example there is of people’s theater: in this theatre the public
found and still finds its own problems and re-experiences them.”
Jean-Paul Sartre, philosopher and writer
Shakespeare’s plays deal with secrets a few different ways. A soliloquy or an aside gives
a character the chance to tell thoughts and feelings directly to the audience. A character in
disguise – a feature of many of Shakespeare’s plays – has the chance to hear and say things
they might not otherwise.
In this excerpt, Orsino and his new employee are having “guy talk” about why Orsino’s crush,
Olivia, won’t love him back. Orsino doesn’t know that “Cesario,” the young man he’s talking
to, is actually a woman in disguise, and he certainly doesn’t know that she is in love with him.
CESARIO: Say that some lady, as perhaps there is,
Has for your love as great a pang of heart
As you have for Olivia; you cannot love her;
You tell her so; must she not then be answered?
CESARIO: Ay, but I know –
ORSINO: What do you know?
ORSINO: And what’s her history?
CESARIO: A blank, my lord. She never told her love.
Emotions like love, longing, and loss which fill Twelfth Night have not
changed. Shakespeare crafted a play where we, the audience, get to
know every character’s secrets before they are revealed to others. When
someone speaks in code, we have the key. And so we get to look past
the surface they show to the world, and into their hearts.
CONNECT
While Shakespeare’s plays document
how the English language was
evolving, language is still changing
today. Around 500 new words and
phrases entered the Oxford English
Dictionary in June 2015, including
“twerk,” “FLOTUS,” “yarn-bombing,”
and “crowdfund.” Which do you
know? Which might you guess from
recognizing related words? Which
seem very specific to time and
culture?
CONNECT
What is an aside? What is a
soliloquy? Find an example in
another of Shakespeare’s plays.
Watch for examples of these in the
performance.
Which of Shakespeare’s other plays
also use disguises? How do they
compare?
CONSIDER
Read this excerpt first from Orsino’s
point of view. Then, read it from
Cesario’s point of view, remembering
that “he” is a woman in disguise.
How does Orsino understand the
conversation? What do you hear as
the audience that he does not?
ORSINO: Make no compare
Between that love a woman can bear me
And that I owe Olivia.
CESARIO: Too well what love women to men may owe:
In faith, they are as true of heart as we.
My father had a daughter loved a man,
As it might be, perhaps, were I a woman,
I should your lordship.
CONSIDER
Have you ever used this tactic
yourself? Can you think of a book,
movie, or real life situation where
someone asked a question “for a
friend?” What was the person trying
to keep secret? Why?
EXCERPTS throughout this guide are
taken from the adapted script as
of 9/21/15.
ASK AN ACTOR
To prepare for the play, do you feel you have to
understand every character’s point of view? Why
or why not?
Do you ever make up your secrets about your
character but not tell them to the rest of the cast?
2
“WHO GOVERNS HERE?” People and Plot
CONNECT
Look at Act 1, Scenes 1 and 2 of the
uncut Twelfth Night. These scenes
introduce Curio, Valentine and a sea
Captain, who are all combined as
Valentine in this adaptation. What
changes might be made to accomplish
this? Does it change the story?
S T R A NG ERS C OME A SHORE
CONSIDER
Using this information, draw a
character map with everything you
know about the relationships in
the play.
VIOLA: And what shall I do in Illyria?
If you are not reading Twelfth Night or
already familiar with the full plot, look
at the romantic interests in your map.
How do you imagine Shakespeare will
change these by the end of the play?
U NREQ UIT ED LOV E S
SEBASTIAN: Some hour before you took me from the breach of the sea was my
sister drowned.
After their boat was caught in a storm, twins Viola and Sebastian each believe the other
has drowned. Sebastian was rescued by Antonio, who chooses to travel with Sebastian
and protect him, even though he has enemies in the area.
Without her brother or any family, Viola hopes to find safety and work. Valentine describes
his employer, Orsino, and they disguise Viola as a boy to work for him.
ORSINO: If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it!
Orsino is lovesick for Olivia, but Olivia
is mourning for her dead brother and
rejects all messages of love. Orsino
sends Cesario – Viola disguised in her
new male identity – to describe his love,
and Olivia finds herself falling for the
new messenger boy.
CONSIDER
Finish the sentence: “People want love
because….” Is all love the same? How
many different kinds of love can you
describe? You might base this on your
own experience, on the characters in
another work you have studied, or on
reading Twelfth Night.
REFLECT
How many different versions of love
did you see in the play? Describe how
one or more of these characters feels
about love. What did you see or hear
that influenced your impression? Do
any of the characters experience love
in similar ways? Whose experience
of love strikes you as most true to life
and why?
REFLECT
One critic wrote: “If some of the
play’s characters do find that their
fantasies come true, others are
punished for daring to have fantasies
at all.” Many of these characters
want something they cannot have.
Does this give the play humor? Does
this give the play sadness? What’s
the difference?
VIOLA: Whoever I woo, myself
would be his wife.
1996 film adaptation of Twelfth Night with
Imogen Stubbs and Helena Bonham Carter.
Viola/Cesario has fallen in love with her
boss, who believes she is a boy.
F OOLISH A MBIT ION S
ANDREW: I saw your cousin do more favors to Orsino’s serving-man than ever
she bestowed upon me.
Two others also imagine themselves with Olivia:
Andrew Aguecheek is encouraged by Toby Belch
that he may have a chance to win her love. Toby
and Fabian convince Andrew to fight with Cesario
in order to prove himself in Olivia’s eyes.
MALVOLIO: Have ye no wit, manners, nor
honesty, but to make an alehouse of my
lady’s house!
ASK AN ACTOR
Do crazy coincidences in this plot make it hard
for you to stay truthful or realistic in your work?
What can you do as an actor to transform
yourself into another person? What helps you to
discover a character who is very different from
you?
Malvolio frequently
reprimands Olivia’s other staff
for their foolishness. Toby’s
girlfriend Maria plays a prank
by writing a fake letter to
convince Malvolio that Olivia
loves him secretly and wants
A 2013 production at Hartford Stage,
him to change the way he
featuring Malvolio (Bruce Turk) and company
acts and dresses. Malovolio
on a whimsical set design by Alexander Dodge.
(Photo by T. Charles Erickson)
wants Olivia’s love and
follows the instructions, but everyone acts like he has lost his mind.
Feste, a clown, puts on a disguise to join the mischief.
FESTE: And thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges.
3
IS THERE FACT IN THE FICTION? Clues From History
FABIAN: If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an
improbable fiction.
“Shakespeare’s comedies are filled with events and characters and plot twists
that are not realistic. Disguises, mistaken identities, twins, cross-dressing,
magic, gods and goddesses, coincidence, fairy sprites, concealments, ruses – all
these devices abound in Shakespeare’s comedies.” Ken Ludwig, playwright
While the plot of Twelfth Night strikes us as improbable, its antics may also reflect the
real world of its time period. Historical context helps us to consider what may have been
important to Shakespeare and his audience at the time he was writing. Consider the
following examples and watch for where they appear in this play, or where they have
been altered.
S OCI A L S TAT U S
“Elizabethan society was intensely, pervasively, visibly, hierarchical: men above women,
adults above children, the old above the young, the rich above the poor, the wellborn
above the vulgar.” In his book Will in the World, Stephen Greenblatt depicts Shakespeare’s
particular effort to obtain a family coat of arms, and imagines that watching his father’s
rise and fall in fortunes may have impacted the young artist:
“Again and again in his plays, an unforeseen catastrophe – one of his favorite
manifestations of it is a shipwreck – suddenly turns what had seemed like happy
progress, prosperity, smooth sailing into disaster, terror, and loss. The loss is
obviously and immediately material, but it is also and more crushingly a loss
of identity. To wind up on an unknown shore, without one’s friends, habitual
associates, familiar network – this catastrophe is often epitomized by the
deliberate alteration or disappearance of the name and, with it, the alteration or
disappearance of social status.”
BRE A K ING RU L E S
Twelfth Night is the English holiday celebrated on the evening before January 6, otherwise
known as the Feast of the Epiphany. In England, Twelfth Night was a “feast of misrule,”
a festival of eating and drinking during which masques and revels were presented. The
roots of this tradition lie in the Roman festival of Saturnalia, which fell during December,
and which was characterized by role-playing, particularly the role reversals of masters
and slaves.
At the time Shakespeare was writing, professional fools had long been members of royal
and noble households in England and Europe. While the fool did not enjoy the same
status, an “allowed fool,” as Olivia describes in Twelfth Night, could make irreverent or
disrespectful jokes among – and about – the nobles.
MEN DRE S SING A S WOMEN ( DRE S SING A S MEN )
Women were not permitted to perform on the English public stage. All
Shakespeare’s females were written for and performed by boy players.
“The many cross-dressed roles in the plays took advantage of
this material and historical fact, allowing both maleness and
femaleness to be bodied forth in performance, and leading,
in subsequent centuries, to a particular admiration for the
liveliness and initiative of these Shakespearean women.”
Marjorie Garber, Shakespeare After All
CONNECT
Compare Twelfth Night to another of
Shakespeare’s comedies. Which of
these fanciful elements do they have
in common?
CONSIDER
What is the least realistic work of
fiction in any genre (film, tv, literature,
etc.) that you have enjoyed? What
made it unrealistic? What did you
enjoy about it? What is the most
realistic work of fiction you have
enjoyed, and why?
REFLECT
After the play, describe elements that
were unrealistic. Describe elements
of realism. Which of these did you
enjoy most and why? Compare with
others’ reactions.
CONNECT
Research topics: What is a coat of
arms? What was John Shakespeare’s
social standing before and during
his son’s lifetime? Did Shakespeare
take Orsino’s advice to “let your love
be younger than yourself?” What is
known about Shakespeare’s own
experience of love, marriage, and
children?
CONNECT
Research where may Shakespeare
have meant by the country of “Illyria.”
What information would an English
citizen have about such a place, and
what would it take to journey there?
CONNECT
You can sample a performance
performed entirely by men: “2014
Tony Awards Show Clip Twelfth
Night” on YouTube.
Research the role of women in
theatre in another place and/or
culture. How does it compare with
the Elizabethan theatre?
Today women’s roles in theatre are
also under scrutiny, as significantly
fewer women than men are employed
in many theatrical professions. Find a
recent article discussing this issue.
ASK AN ACTOR
Did any knowledge about Elizabethan times help
you prepare for this play? Did you do other kinds
of research for this specific role and setting?
How is this play similar or different from
Shakespeare’s other plays you may have
worked on?
4
HOW DOES LOVE SOUND? Language and Music
CONNECT
Research more about the history of
hired fools in Shakespeare’s time.
How does the Feste of this adaptation
reflect that tradition, and how does
the character differ from the historical
basis?
How does Feste compare with other
fools and clowns in Shakespeare’s
writing? Research what is known
about the actors who played
Shakespeare’s fools.
REFLECT
Describe the effect of one of Feste’s
songs on a character who hears it.
ORSINO: How do you like this tune?
CESARIO (VIOLA): It gives a very echo to the seat / Where love is throned.
In its arguably most famous lines, “If music be the food of love, play on!” and throughout
Twelfth Night, music is linked to love: a tool to heal its hurts or to spark its flame. Music
both begins and ends this play, and songs appear throughout, often sung by Feste, one of
the “wise fools” Shakespeare included in his writing.
Beyond music, descriptions of love – whether spoken or written – play a crucial role in
this play. Viola, dressed as Cesario, inspires a love she doesn’t intend while describing
her boss’ feelings.
CESARIO (VIOLA):
If I did love you in my master’s flame,
With such a suffering, such a deadly life,
In your denial I would find no sense;
I would not understand it.
OLIVIA:
Why, what would you?
REFLECT
In Twelfth Night love is often linked
to suffering. Watch for how each
character suffers love, and the
language used to describe it. Who
takes their suffering seriously? Who
has a sense of humor about it? How
can you tell?
CONSIDER
Find a declaration or description of
love that is long or complex in some
other source; you might find this in
a lyric, a poem, a novel, or memoir.
Also find an expression of love that
is extremely short or simple. Present
both: which do your classmates find
more powerful and why?
CESARIO (VIOLA):
Write loyal cantons of contemned love
And sing them loud even in the dead of night;
Holler your name to the reverberate hills
And make the babbling gossip of the air
Cry out, ‘Olivia!’
Shakespeare gives Viola expressive poetry to
describe Orsino’s heart: notice she describes
music and and suffering for Olivia: two of Orsino’s
trademarks. Her explanation also has its own
music. Read these lines out loud, paying particular
attention to rhythm of the verse and the vowel
sounds. (Look up any words you need. You may
notice that “holler” is a modern choice for a
disputed word printed as “hallow” or “halloo”
in some texts.)
Shakespeare could have given Olivia any reply of
equal eloquence to follow Cesario’s aria. Instead
she responds with a half line of monosyllables,
then a four-word question.
OLIVIA
You might do much.
What is your parentage?
ASK AN ACTOR
Is it difficult to separate your personal experience
with love from your character’s opinions or
attitudes?
Is it hard to speak poetic lines, when they might
be more complicated or exaggerated than the
way we speak in everyday life?
5
The Public Theatre’s 2009 Shakespeare in the Park
production with Audra McDonald and Anne Hathaway.
(Photo by Sara Krulwich/The New York Times)
In the next scene Viola describes Olivia: “methought her eyes had lost
her tongue, for she did speak in starts distractedly,” telling us that Olivia
seemed to have difficulty finding words. Shakespeare’s plays are full
of descriptive clues for actors about how characters are speaking and
behaving. Why has Olivia lost her tongue?
As you meet the characters of Twelfth Night, notice who speaks in poetry,
and who plainly. Does a character ever change their manner of speech?
What might Shakespeare be expressing about those moments?
BE THE ARTIST
Rutina Wesley, Manoel Felciano, and Terence Archie
in a 2015 production at the Old Globe in San Diego.
(Photo by Jim Cox)
5)Choose an appropriate song for your scene.
OR
Share your play with your partner or group and let your
collaborators make a selection. (In this case you are the
playwright, and your collaborators serve the play the way a
director, composer, or sound designer might.)
REFLECT: How did you decide what song expresses your story
best? When the audience watches, what emotion do you hope
they will use to describe this situation?
1)Brainstorm scenes or situations which call for a
love song. (You might do this independently or in small groups.)
Think of situations where someone might be singing or playing
a love song live; also imagine settings where the music might
be recorded. If there is a situation in literature or history you
have read that could involve a love song, include that on your
list. Be creative and see how many options you can imagine.
6)Prepare to share the play
• Cast the actor(s), who will read the line(s).
• Cast someone to narrate the stage directions, in order
to show things that might not be clear in the classroom.
(She carefully tapes the wrapping paper to the box
of kittens.) Fully produced plays don’t require this, of
course, but readings of new plays in process often do.
• Plan the staging: is the actor sitting, standing, pacing,
engaged in an activity, etc.
• Determine the best method to play music in the
classroom, and bring the song to share.
• Rehearse! Everyone should know the cues to speak
and start or stop the music. Make any needed
adjustments.
7)Perform!
• Ask your audience to describe the situation with
an emotion.
• Can the audience guess what the situation is?
2)Once you have some ideas, choose a situation that you find
interests you most, or divide the options among the class.
REFLECT: Did the music help to communicate your idea? Did
other elements help?
3)For each chosen situation, decide:
• What is the occasion?
• Where and when does it take place?
• Who is present?
• Why is music needed?
• Who chose the music?
• What should it express?
8)What happens to the scene if you trade with the song from
another group? Experiment as time allows and see what
changes!
4)Write a mini-play which contains:
• Either the moment before the song begins, or the
moment after it ends
• At least one, but no more than two lines of dialogue
(If you write two lines, they may be spoken by two
different people, or both by the same character.)
• At least one, but no more than two stage directions
(Stage directions are descriptions of physical action,
such as: He tears the paper and throws the scraps out
the window like confetti. Try not to include any internal
descriptions, such as what a character is thinking or
feeling. Stage directions generally communicate things
we can see, hear, or otherwise observe if we’re looking
from the outside.)
9)Decide if this short scene would come in the beginning, middle,
or end of a longer play. Are you inspired? Keep writing the
rest of the scene or play!
ASK AN ACTOR
How was music helpful or important to preparing
your work on this play?
Do you have interests in other parts of theatre:
playwriting, composing, directing or designing?
6
WHY ADAPT SHAKESPEARE?
CONNECT
Research the standard copyright
protections for a playwright today.
Note that even when a work is in the
public domain, other aspects may be
protected. For instance, translations
may be under copyright even when
the source material is not.
Intellectual property of other artists,
including directors, choreographers,
designers, may also be protected.
This is one of the reasons
photography and recording is
prohibited at most theatres.
CONSIDER
Look at the graphic design created
for this production of Twelfth Night,
found on the front cover. What
emotions, atmosphere, environment,
or story does the image convey?
What information or impression does
the designer want you to have? How
does the image match anything you
know about the play so far? Does the
design also suggest what the play
will not be like?
Imagine your own artwork for
literature you are reading. What do
you want to communicate to
the viewer?
CONNECT
Watch the trailer (or more) of the
modernized film adaptation She’s
the Man starring Amanda Bynes as
a girl trying to pass as her brother
at boarding school. How does the
premise match what you know about
Twelfth Night? How does it differ?
What elements of this story seem
hardest to modernize?
“Every age creates its own Shakespeare…. Like a portrait whose eyes seem to
follow you around the room, engaging your glance from every angle, [his] plays and
their characters seem always to be ‘modern,’ always to be ‘us.’ ”
Marjorie Garber, Shakespeare After All
In the centuries since they were first performed, Shakespeare’s plays have been reimagined
in countless new settings and time periods. This is possible, in part, because the plays are
all in the public domain: not protected under copyright or any other restriction on how they
may be performed, used, or modified. Changing the script, altering characters, or placing
the action in completely new locations is legal with Shakespeare. (This is also why it is
easy to find the complete text of all his plays available on the internet.)
Since these plays have been seen so many times, such alterations are often expected;
artists and audiences alike are curious for a fresh take.
“I am not interested in directing Shakespeare unless I can make it feel like a new
play. I am not a purist in any way. I think you can do what you like with these plays.
As long as you are not just playing around for the sake of playing around. The test
is whether in your heart you feel you are being true to the play.” Matthew Warchus,
director
“In all Shakespeare’s plays, there are things which were so much written for the
styles and audience of their time that they don’t necessarily carry the same weight
today. Underneath, there is very often a purer and stronger and deeper work that
today is more relevant.” Peter Brook, director
Opinions on these interpretations differ, and others insist that Shakespeare’s stories
communicate best without being forced into anachronistic settings.
“If one tries to bring Shakespeare by the hand towards the modern day, what one
is really doing is shaving off all the marvelous exoticism and everything that was
different about the spirit of that time. We need difference so that we can understand
that the world hasn’t always been the same, that not everyone’s viewpoint has
always been the same as ours, and that society did dance to an entirely different
beat at one time.” Dominic Dromgoole, director
In many productions, the choice of a non-Elizabethan setting is chiefly expressed through
design elements, while the characters and language stay the same. In film Baz Luhrmanm
did this famously with Romeo + Juliet (1996), and Joss Whedon more recently with Much
Ado About Nothing (2013). But Shakespeare’s plays have also inspired modern variations
with completely new text. Romeo and Juliet inspired West Side Story, and Hamlet inspired
The Lion King. More recently, O (2001) brought the world of Othello to a high school, just
as She’s the Man (2006) did for Twelfth Night.
For this production, Director Jen Wineman explains that she thought very specifically about
the student audience who would be watching Twelfth Night:
ASK AN ACTOR
Do you think the modern elements make it easier
or harder to perform Shakespeare?
Is it strange to speak a very old form of English,
and then to sing or dance to very modern music
just a moment later?
7
“It felt important to give the play a
setting that students can immediately
recognize, since the idea of Shakespeare
can be intimidating. We all have
preconceptions about what Shakespeare
is supposed to look and sound like –
and it usually involves British accents
and old-fashioned clothing. We want to
break that mold for students so they can
actually see themselves in these plays
and these stories.”
Jen Wineman
HOW IS TWELFTH NIGHT ADAPTED?
The play you will see is a world premiere adaptation, which means this version of the play
has never been performed before. The changes to the play fall under a few main categories:
C U T T ING T H E T E X T Shakespeare’s plays can take up to four hours to perform
in their entirety, but the New Stages Tour makes a goal of presenting a play and a brief
discussion afterward all in just one hour. Shortening the text is by far the biggest alteration,
and the director had to make many difficult choices about what parts of the plot and the
dialogue are most essential for telling the story.
REORDERING AND RE AS SIGNING Most of Shakespeare’s plays have multiple
plots, with action for different groups of characters happening simultaneously. Changing
the order that the audience sees the events doesn’t necessarily mean changing the order
that they happen for the characters.
CONNECT
There is evidence that even when
they first appeared, Shakespeare’s
plays were either cut for
performance, or expanded for
publication. Find a scene or a speech
in one of Shakespeare’s plays, and try
cutting it yourself. Can you make it
half as long without losing necessary
information? Even less? Does it still
make sense?
or research a section of dialogue, no matter how rewarding the insights from careful
study and textual notes may be. The philosophy of this adaptation is to remove the most
archaic phrases that sound foreign to our ears, while leaving the rest of Shakespeare’s
language intact.
CONNECT
Theatre artists can also choose to
rearrange the order of scenes for
dramatic effect, and not just to cut
length. Find an article about the
2015 production of Hamlet starring
Benedict Cumberbatch, which stirred
up a lot of commentary by moving
the most famous soliloquy to the start
of the play. Do you think a change
makes audiences more interested?
Why?
Substituting an outdated word with its modern form can be straightforward:
Thou know’st no less but all. I have unclasp’d
To thee the book even of my secret soul.
Becomes:
You know no less but all. I have unclasped
To you the book even of my secret soul.
REFLECT
Jen Wineman begins this Twelfth
Night differently than the original text.
Why do you think she did so? Did you
find her choice effective?
With less time to tell the story and fewer lines for each role, some characters can be
combined, as when this production combines the roles of Curio, Valentine, and the Captain.
Adaptations often alter the age, gender, profession, or relationships for a character in a
way that feels appropriate to the new setting or context.
REPL ACING L A NGUAGE Live performance makes it impossible to pause, replay,
In some cases, the original words are unfamiliar; some others are words we still use, but
modern audiences will only recognize unhelpful meanings:
Come, come, I’ll go burn some sack; tis too late to go to bed now.
In this case “Burn” and “sack” are known to us, but the reference (to warm and spice
some sherry for drinking) is obscure. Today a replacement may better communicate
the sense of the line, even if it does not perfectly match what we believe Shakespeare
intended.
Come, come, I’ll go fetch some wine; tis too late to go to bed now.
Finally, this adaptation also trades some labels more appropriate to its new
setting. For instance, because this production doesn’t take place among
royals, references to “Orsino’s court” are replaced by a new phrase instead.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
Reading or learning about this play may have inspired you to conceive
your own new setting for this play. Where should it happen? What
situation could it possibly resemble today? If you are imagining your
own production and wish to be surprised by our interpretation, please
save the final two pages of this guide and our online resources until
after you have seen the performance!
CONNECT
The printing and publishing process
of Shakespeare’s time led to
inconsistencies and variations in the
written record of his plays. Research
why there is no pure source for
what Shakespeare intended or how
his plays were first heard, and an
example of an important disputed line.
ASK AN ACTOR
Do you enjoy performing Shakespeare in the
original language? Would you ever want to
perform an adaptation in contemporary speech?
Do you study the parts of the play that were cut
out? Why or why not?
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“WHAT LAND IS THIS?” A Modern Illyria
CONSIDER
Review the cast of characters, as
conceived for this production. Read
a scene from the play with this
interpretation in mind. Does it change
the way you understand the scene?
CONNECT
How does Jen’s idea for the setting
connect with the historical idea of
Twelfth Night? (page 4.)
CONNECT
As a class, collect information on
camp to combine and share. You
might find an example of camp in
pop culture, or a photograph that
expresses the essence of summer
camp. Research popular camp songs.
Find an essay, memoir, or other nonfiction account of camp. Based on
these observations, how would you
describe the camp experience?
CONSIDER
Are people’s experiences of camp
all positive? Which Twelfth Night
characters may have negative
experiences at camp?
CONSIDER
What is the difference between
pranking, hazing, and bullying?
You may want to use a resource
or reference real-events to form a
definition, but describe each in your
own words.
REFLECT
What happened to Malvolio? Is he
responsible for what happens to
him? Does he trick himself? Was he
pranked, or bullied? Why? If you’ve
read the play, do you have a different
impression from the full-length text
than you did from the performance?
“Twelfth Night has a mischievous spirit of abandon and freedom: there’s so much
love, pranking, and people trying to convince other people that they’re crazy in this
play. Summer camp is that place where you get to reinvent yourself away from the
hierarchy of school and the real world, and of course it’s exactly the place for a
midnight prank, or a disguise, or an unrequited love.”
Jen Wineman, Director
This is the cast of characters as imagined for this production, along with some costume
sketches by Production Designer Melissa Trn. Look for what has changed from the original,
and what has stayed the same.
Olivia: The owner of Camp Illyria. She has recently inherited the camp and is mourning
the death of her father and brother.
Orsino: Boys Head Counselor, in love with Olivia
Maria: The Athletic Director, one of the guys
Toby Belch: The Camp Chef, cousin to Olivia, big partyer
Andrew Aguecheek: The Riding Instructor, very wealthy
Fabian: The Arts and Crafts Director, a hippie
Valentine: The Lifeguard, brave and studly
Malvolio: The Nature Director, a real stick in the mud
Feste: A camper at Camp Illyria, likes to entertain everyone
Viola: A counselor at Camp Messaline, very resourceful
Sebastian: A counselor at Camp Messaline, Viola’s twin brother
Antonio: Sailing Director at Camp Messaline,
a big fan of Sebastian
Left to Right: Feste, Toby and Olivia
Costume Designs by Melissa Trn.
ASK AN ACTOR
Does the specific summer camp job you have
help you understand your character?
Has every actor been to summer camp? If not,
was it harder for you to interpret the play this
way? How did you work on that?
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AFTER THE PERFORMANCE
PL AY ON! A n oppor t unit y t o win mor e t h eat r e
www.asolorep.org/playon
Students who see Twelfth Night have the opportunity to earn a free Youth Pass for the
entire 15-16 season at Asolo Rep and the FSU/Asolo Conservatory.
@AsoloRep
Follow the visual diary of the
tour on Instagram.
Unlimited plays, all year long!
In order to enter, please share your response to one of these topics.
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The theme of
this
season is “Tim year’s
es of Change.
”
You can read
about all the
upcoming pla
ys at
asolorep.org
/this-season
.
Share what ex
cites or inspir
es
you about tw
o or more of
this
season’s pro
ductions. Wh
at
kinds of chan
ge interest yo
u,
and what do
you imagine
o
r
hope to see o
nstage?
Express your answer in any one of these forms:
• Personal essay
• Poetry or song lyrics
• Original two-dimensional artwork, with a brief artist’s
statement about your creation (We recommend that any original
artwork should be hand-delivered to the theatre for safety.)
• Letters to the artists (while you may mention individual
performers, your letter should be appropriate to share with the
entire ensemble of actors and creative staff who work on
a production)
Every entry must include your name, school, grade level, mailing
address and telephone number. An email address is optional.
Entries should be sent to:
Play On!
Asolo Rep Education & Outreach
5555 N. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34243
Or, email to [email protected] with the subject line “Play On!”
Entries must be received by December 1, 2015.
Winners will be notified by December 15.
Asolo Rep 2015-16 Youth Passes are also available
for purchase for $35.
asolorep.org/ticketing/subscriptions or 941-351-8000
Kelsey
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UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES AT ASOLO REP
Shakespeare Family Series: Family-friendly Twelfth Night performances are
preceded by a warm-up and introduction to the play, and followed by a meet
and greet with the cast.
Asolo Rep’s New Stages Tour
is made possible, in part, by
the following:
LEAD SPONSOR:
Shakespeare in the Gardens
Saturday, October 24, 1pm
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Reservation recommended: Selby.org
Shakespeare Under the Stars
Saturday, November 14, noon
Bishop Planetarium at South Florida Museum
Reservation recommended: SouthFloridaMuseum.org
Shakespeare at Bay Preserve
Sunday, November 22, 3pm
Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast
Reservation required: 941-918-2100, www.ConservationFoundation.com
Arts Journalism application deadline: Selected students in grades 9-12
gain behind-the-scenes access to the worlds of professional theatre and arts
reporting with Sarasota Herald-Tribune theatre critic Jay Handelman and artists
and staff from Asolo Rep.
November 30 at midnight
Information and application available:
asolorep.org/education/student-journalism
West Side Story music video shoot: Learn simple movement to this musical’s
famous songs, and perform alongside members of our cast with your neighbors,
family, and friends!
Saturday, December 5, noon-1pm
Free, RSVP requested
[email protected] or 941-351-9010 ext. 3307
Family Day at West Side Story: An affordable way to see this classic American
musical, with special activities to show how magic is made at Asolo Rep.
Saturday, December 5, pre-show activities begin at 1pm, 2pm matinee
Four tickets for the price of one; call box office for ticket package details
Box office: 941-351-8000 or tickets.asolorep.org
Career Night: We welcome students, educators, and parents for a backstage
tour of Asolo Rep, followed by a panel discussion with representatives from the
many different departments of our robust regional theatre.
Friday, February 5, 5:30-7:30pm
Free, by reservation only
[email protected] or 941-351-9010 ext. 3307
Education & Outreach at Asolo Rep
asolorep.org/education
[email protected]
941-351-9010 ext. 3307
MAJOR DONORS ($5000+)
Anonymous
Asolo Repertory Theatre Guild
Charles and Margery Barancik
David and Betty-Jean Bavar
Cordelia Lee Beattie Foundation
Mandell and Madeleine Berman Foundation
Susan and Jim Buck
Margot and Warren Coville
Linnie E. Dalbeck Memorial Foundation Trust
Andrew R. Ferrell Foundation
Leslie Glass
Larry and Debbie Haspel
Pamela Hughes
Judy Zuckerberg and George Kole
FRIENDS OF EDUCATION ($1000+)
Peggy and Ken Abt
Bob and Pat Baer
Walton and Deborah Beacham
Jennie Branagan
Tom and Ann Charters
Kathy Cole
George and Diane Davis
Susan Dweck
Herman and Sharon Frankel
Jelks Family Foundation
Ron Legere
Carolyn Keystone and Jim Meekison
Melvy Erman Lewis
John and Elenor Maxheim
Jonathan and Cynthia McCague
Melanie and Sean Natarajan
Anna Nekoranec and Bengt Niebuhr
Plantation Community Foundation
Maurice Richards and Jack Kesler
Laurence Saslaw
Ted and Mary Ann Simon
Ronald Taub* and Marcia Jean Taub
Leon and Marysue Wechsler
Stephen V. Wilberding and Teri A Hansen
Z Foundation
Facebook.com/AsoloRepEDU
FRIENDS OF EDUCATION ($500+)
Richard and Noreen Ackerman
Richard and Pat Anderson
Michael Donald Edwards
Stephen and Maureen Horn
Charles Knowles
Randy and Susan Mallitz
Molly Schechter
Michelle Senglaub
Ed and Mary Lou Winnick
Twitter.com/AsoloRepEDU
*in memoriam
Instagram.com/AsoloRep
Youtube.com/user/AsoloRep
VISIT US ONLINE AT ASOLOREP.ORG/EDUCATION
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