Twelfth Night production designed to entertain and educate

By Michael Gorman

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

Shakespeare makes his YARC debut next week when the Yarmouth Drama Society stages Twelfth Night, or What You Will, June 4-7.

The play's director, Jeremy Watkins, said he was attracted to the production because it was one he studied while attending theatre school. He also believed that it would be easier to introduce Shakespeare to audiences at Th'YARC if he started with a comedy rather than something more dramatic.

"Half of my year (at theatre school) was dedicated to working on Twelfth Night with a director from Halifax and professional people," he said during a break from rehearsal one Sunday afternoon at Th'YARC.

"It's been five years since I've done that and I've been wanting to do something Shakespearian and I thought a comedy would be a better first presentation than something like Othello."

Staging such a production doesn't come with the same attendance securities usually afforded to a family musical or comedy. Watkins said that although Shakespeare might not immediately jump out to everyone, the play is much more accessible than people might think; theatregoers need not be intimidated.

"Shakespeare is half poetry," he said. "There's a rhythm to the way things go." Besides, he added, "it's a romantic comedy and everybody loves romantic comedy."

Twelfth Night is a play about mistaken identify and the love triangle created by that mistake. Viola, the play's lead, finds herself shipwrecked and without her twin brother, Sebastian, who is believed dead. Posing as a man named Cesario, Viola goes to work for Duke Orsino.

The Duke, who is in love with Lady Olivia, sends a note to Olivia through Cesario. Upon delivery of the note, Olivia falls in love with Cesario, not realizing he is actually a she. Meanwhile, Viola has fallen in love with the Duke and her brother, Sebastian, returns on the scene. Like many of Shakespeare's comedies, Twelfth Night also has a comedic subplot.

There are, of course, challenges to staging The Bard's work, most notably the language and making sure actors understand the meaning of their lines. Watkins said he relies on some of the more experienced members of the cast to help those not as familiar with the work. A bit of research doesn't hurt, either, he said.

The presentation of Shakespeare's work on stage is also characterized by the director's interpretation of the story. Many stage productions — and films — choose to go with contemporary settings while retaining the original language. Others seek a different kind of marriage.

Watkins said his production sticks to the original text while changing some aspects of the setting.

"We've taken it right out of the complete works of William Shakespeare," he said. "It's an Elizabethan theme with Elizabethan costume. The set, on the other hand, is designed to make a Mediterranean feel — because that's really where the play takes place, is on the north coast of the Mediterranean Sea — and a maritime feel. So you're going to see drift wood and you're going to see ocean and maritime couture to kind of mix and match the royalty with a maritime feel."

One interesting aspect about the show's one-week run is that it will feature both daytime and evening performances June 4-6. While the evening performances are for the general public, the daytime performances will only be for schools.

Watkins said that whenever he directs a play he tries to include some element of education. The daytime productions allow students a chance to see Shakespeare on stage and in the flesh, the best way for it to be studied, he said.

"Shakespeare is always better when you can see it or when you're playing it, as opposed to reading it out of a book," said Watkins. "It's harder for a group of students sitting in a classroom to try and get through it. They understand all the things that they wouldn't understand if they would get up and try it and play it.

"So when an audience of kids gets to come out and see Shakespeare (they say) 'oh, this isn't all that bad.' It's all about trying to take away the stigma."