Shakespearean theatre does go back to tradition roles in theatre of non-diverse casting, which can leave a bad taste in some people’s mouths when they hear that name, but in current times, I’ve seen more diversity within the roles. In summer 2019, I was able to see Twelfth Night in the park. This production truly stood out from my expectations. They cast was diverse but did cause some confusion for some audience’s understanding of the story. Overall, I do see this work being more adapted to fit representation.
Shakespeare is all about poetry and the art of it. I had the opportunity to take a Shakespeare acting class in order to understand the text and methods behind the text and style of acting. I discovered that there are so many layers within the words and if you look past the confusing phrases you can begin to understand the meaning of the poetry. It becomes a dance of poetry.
In this picture below, I see light playing with this willow tree in a very poetic manner. The warm sunlight kisses each leaf as the tree sways through the wind. We can see the tree become the center piece. There is something poetic about the way the light hits the tree.
Another place my mind tends to go to when I hear Shakespeare is textures, patterns, and rustic tones including copper, green, red, blues. As a lighting designer it is my job to play on that poetry and help carry the story along the words. Within Shakespeare’s themes, there are mystery, comedy, deceit, romance and many other themes of his plays. There is so much to play with in terms of styles for lighting and the poetry of it just another tool to use. For example, Twelfth Night is a very quirky play.
“Make me a willow cabin at your gate,
And call upon my soul within the house;
Write loyal cantons of contemned love,
And sing them loud even in the dead of night;
Halloo your name to the reverberate hills,
And make the babbling gossip of the air
Cry out ‘Olivia!’ O, you should not rest
Between the elements of air and earth,
But you should pity me…”– Twelfth Night
Lighting can help sell this quirkiness by having more color and light on stage. Whereas in Hamlet and Macbeth, these plays are darker, mysterious, and dramatic, so you would see more shadows playing on stage. I also believe there is something organic yet proper about Shakespeare. Overall, I believe this classical form of theatre gives a wide variety of themes to play with in terms of lighting and that is what I love about it and my goal as the designer is to help the audience understand the story and not fall asleep if it the their first time experiencing Shakespeare!
Very nice post - I love your ideas on how lighting is tied to the poetry - I think directly to it - I have had the joy of doing a lot of Shakespeare over the years but my most rewarding time with it has been with Great River Shakespeare Festival - their commitment to the text, to diversity, to unconventional casting and to the stage picture/the poetry has shown me that although he is very old white guy, he has a lot to say and if we do it right, he can serve a 2020 diverse audience :)
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