One of the most important aspects of theatre is its ability to stage fantastic, improbable, and/or historically distant spaces. Shakespeare’s plays encourage imagination, and they ask audiences to subsume themselves in fictional worlds. How will you use the physical space of the theatre to enhance and add to your interpretation of the scene?

Assignment Question

The final assignment for this course asks that you consider all aspects of production: text, casting/ costume, and set-design (visual as well as audio). Students are to choose one scene from either Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet and write about how they would stage that scene for theatrical production. The scene is up to you. Importantly, students are to justify their reasoning through explicit and careful textual analysis. Each aspect of performance (text, casting/costume, and set-design) should be considered in no more than 400 words. Students may include images, diagrams, or hyperlinks to music or inspiration, but they are not required to.

Use the following template/headings as a guide to complete the assignment. You do not need to answer every question under each heading. Use the questions to brainstorm your answer:

INTRODUCTION: Write a short abstract highlighting the gist of your production.

1. TEXT: What is the central emotional/psychological conflict in the scene? What aspects of the writing (image, metaphor, figurative language, etc.) are crucial to conveying/interpreting this conflict? What elements of the text would you emphasize? What elements of the text would you cut, if any? How will these decisions affect your interpretation? What aspect of the scene’s conflict do you as a director want to show your audience? What elements of the text are you trying to get them to see? Justify your reasoning by citing the text.
2. CASTING/COSTUME: Every character is played by an actor and actors are central to conveying theatrical meaning. How will you cast the characters in your production and how will that decision affect your interpretation of the scene (provided in the answer above)? Things to consider include, but are not limited to: the demographic and physical ability of the actor(s), their clothing and/or makeup, how they say/ perform certain key lines, their relationship to themselves and each other (physical, emotional, social, psychological).

SET-DESIGN: One of the most important aspects of theatre is its ability to stage fantastic, improbable, and/or historically distant spaces. Shakespeare’s plays encourage imagination, and they ask audiences to subsume themselves in fictional worlds. How will you use the physical space of the theatre to enhance and add to your interpretation of the scene? Will the set-design be minimal or maximal? Where will you set the scene (country, location, time period, etc.) What will it look like? What technology will you use (digital and/or otherwise)? Will there be props? Will there be sound? How will the actors move in and around this space? (Reminder: Every decision must be justified. Students have come up with a persuasive reason as to why they’ve arrived at the decisions that they do).

CONCLUSION: Use this space to consider how all the elements above will work together to create a cohesive vision. Why did you choose the scene that you did? What did you want to get across? What message did you want your audience to consider?

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