Shakespeare Everywhere
- OUTLINE -
*An experiment with Romeo and Juliet in found performance spaces
*5-7 scenes taken right out of the script and performed wherever students are found
*Over the course of one-three days and performed in its entirety for the finale/senior project in the black box
*Shakespeare Everywhere will showcase the versatility and adaptability of Shakespeare’s work as well as bring culture to right to the student.
*Similar to ‘on-demand movie services’ or ’online instant messaging’, Shakespeare Everywhere provides instant gratification without an intermission or pre-show waiting time. Students may enjoy classic scenes brought to life from the comfort of their natural surroundings.
*While there will always be an audience present (I will make sure of that) and a video camera capturing the reactions of students, there are many other possible setbacks to consider.
*The weather will always be a problem and I don’t expect any student(or actor) to wait outside in the snow to watch a ten minute scene about a Fairy Queen. I do however, realize in the winter students are bound to stay in one place for a longer stretch of time, so to solve the weather issue, all scenes will take place indoors.
*In terms of location, I would really prefer a variation of performance spaces being as though the play does not take place in one location . Thus far I’ve considered the computer lab, dining halls, the union, at least one lecture hall (or a few) and the gym.
*These places will ultimately coincide with the action occurring in the scene and possibly even layer the scene so that students may relate to the text rather than sit and gawk at the silly performers reciting love sonnets in the computer lab.
*To clarify the project to the audience I plan to create a large banner to hold up somewhere near the scene with the title ‘Everywhere Shakespeare’, the play title and the scene number will also be on the banner. As stated before, there will be signs around campus alerting the public and hopefully an article in the stylus before the project begins.
*The final project will be half performance, half feedback about the experience. With a possible slideshow or video presentation, the finale will give the actors a chance to talk about their experience and the director to explain herself. This event will be open to the public.
*I would ideally like different actors to play each scene (for the sake of scheduling and commitments) but that factor can only be determined after auditions or groveling.
*This project is really focusing on the experimental nature of acting in an alternate location and adapting the text to the new locations.
*For the finale project I hope to have lighting and a few bits of scenery that mimic the original performance spaces (a computer in the black box during the scene that was originally performed in the computer lab) however, these elements are not the most important and will be subject to time and scheduling.
