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Finding King Lear

Finding King Lear. An on-site dramaturgical research project Maegan Clearwood Cater Society of Junior Fellows. Dramaturgy: What is it?.

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Finding King Lear

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  1. Finding King Lear An on-site dramaturgical research project MaeganClearwood Cater Society of Junior Fellows

  2. Dramaturgy: What is it? “Working in theatres and playwrights' organizations, in colleges and universities, and on a project-by-project basis, dramaturgs contextualize the world of a play; establish connections among the text, actors, and audience; offer opportunities for playwrights; generate projects and programs; and create conversations about plays in their communities.” • Locate drafts and versions of text; collate, cut, track, edit, rewrite, construct, and arrange text • Find songs, pictures, stories, videos • Help the designers with research • Help the director with casting • Help the marketeers and developers • Seek and present pathways into the world of the play • Gather and arrange images, sounds, and ideas for rehearsal • Explore and present: the world of the play, the author of the play, the script’s production history, the relevant criticism • Create a lobby display • Write program notes(s) • Work with actors on meaning, line memorization • Look up definitions, pronunciations, random facts • Provide notes for the director during rehearsals • And the ultimate question....

  3. Why This Play Now? • Written around 1608 • Based on legend of King Leir (800 BC), numerous retellings • Folio and Quarto texts • Political and family drama • Our production: • April 4, 5, 6, 7 • Director Jason Rubin, TM as Lear – both retiring • Text and Performance class with Dr. Moncrief

  4. Why England? Questions The trip • Six days in London: Five plays; two days of research at the Globe Theatre library/archive; exploring The Globe, museums • Six days in Stratford-upon-Avon: Five days of research at Shakespeare Birthplace Trust; three RSC plays; touring Shakespeare’s Birthplace • How would King Lear have appeared onstage 400 years ago? What was the world of the play like? • How have stage practices evolved since then? • What can we learn from original practice staging? • What elements from both original practice and contemporary stagings can we learn from and use in our own production?

  5. The Globe • The “third” Globe was built in 1997 • Based on excavations of The Rose • Shakespeare’s Globe: • Twice as many spectators • Class seating, “groundlings” • London Bankside • Lord Chaimberlain’s Men/King’s Men

  6. The Globe library/archive • Two productions of King Lear • Fairly traditional, not strictly “original practice”

  7. Original Practice • Observations: • Audience involvement • Manipulation of language • Historically illuminating • Variety of choices • Female characters…. • All-male cast • Traditional Jacobean costumes • Minimalistic set • Audience-actor participation • Use of music

  8. Mark Rylance as Richard III… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7ASipifu0w …and Olivia in Twelfth Night

  9. Stratford-Upon-Avon • William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616): Born, raised in Stratford, married Anne Hathaway, three children • Career as actor/playwright with Lord Chaimberlains Men/The King’s Men in London • Retirement to Stratford, 1613

  10. Royal Shakespeare Company • Built in 1932, renamed in 1961 • Famous current/alum actors: Kenneth Branagh, Tim Curry, Judi Dench, Dustin Hoffman, Patrick Stewart, David Tennant, Laurence Olivier, Vanessa Redgrave, Jude Law, Gary Oldman

  11. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust • Eleven King Lear productions, nine since 1962, three since 2000 • Settings: Ruritanical Russia; World War I; a plain white box; Medieval fairy tale; Iron Age England

  12. Merry Wives of Windsor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYJ1yOa4-jE

  13. Conclusions • Original practice theatre: so much more than historical reenactment • Culture of Shakespeare’s England, how political, social atmosphere affected and was effected by art • Theatre: A communal experience, bridges social, economic divisions • Performance history, more than just library drudgery

  14. Thank you CSJF! • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ygtuybj4IM

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