Rules of the Game

I am starting pre-production for Shakespeare's "Cymbeline." My company, Folding Chair Classical Theatre, will start rehearsing the show in August 2008. We'll perform it throughout September.

I've decided to cast the show with just six actors, even though the play has over twenty parts. At Folding Chair, we always double (triple or quadruple) cast. Since we can't pay actors, there's no way we can hold onto twenty-plus volunteers for three months. But finding six loyal and talented people is possible.

I know it's possible to do the play with six actors, because The Globe did it (to positive reviews). I didn't see that production, so I'm just using it as an article of faith. It can be done, so we'll do it.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Before I worry about casting, I need to become friends with the script. I need to analyze it; I need to understand it; I need to start dreaming about it.

The script is here: http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext97/1ws3910.txt, and it's great to be able to access it online. But when I direct Shakespeare plays, I buy as many print editions as I can afford. Each is useful, as each has different textual notes. I often have to read notes from five or six editions to understand the whole play. So far, I have the Riverside, Folger and Pelican editions. In addition to these, the Oxford English Dictionary is invaluable. You can access it online for free via most public libraries (generally, you need a library card to do so).

When working on a script, my ultimate goal is to understand how to make it actable. The modern actors is trained to play "actions" on stage. In other words, he's trained not to just speak and emote. Instead, he tries to link each line to something his character is trying to achieve, some objective.

If the line is, "Come to bed," the actor's objective -- in that moment -- may be to achieve orgasm. While saying "come to bed," he's playing an action to achieve that objective. By action, I don't mean he has to do some sort of physical movement (though some actions can involve physical movements). I mean that the actor needs to understand how saying "come to bed" will help him achieve his goal.

When he says "come to bed," is he ordering? Is be pleading? Is be seducing? None of these is necessarily right or wrong. It depends on the particulars of the story and the actor. If, in a particular story, a character is very concerned with seeming manly, it may not make sense for him to play pleading. But some stories and characters are more elastic. In some, the actor can freely choose an action from many that could work.

We usually phrase actions as verbs: to seduce, to persuade, etc. Actors can DO those things. An actor my not be able to feel happy, be angry, or work himself into some other general state, but he can praise, command, pester and beg. As a director, I can't order an actor to be happy. But I can order him to dance, to jump for joy, to party like there's no tomorrow...

(Modern acting theory was pioneered by Stanislavsky. If you're interested in learning more about it, I recommend The Practical Handbook for the Actor. I also highly recommend Barry Edelstein's Thinking Shakespeare, the bible of Shakespearean acting.)

My job isn't to pick actions for the actors. Still, I want to make sure I understand some possible action for each moment. That way, if the actor is at a loss, I can help him.

I need to understand the play -- not as a scholar -- but as a director who is chiefly concerned with character motivations. Who wants what from whom and what are they doing to get what they want? How are the words they're saying helping -- or hindering -- them achieve their goals? There aren't right answers. There are just fun possibilities.

Over the years, I've come up with a system for making textual notes. For instance...

FIRST GENTLEMAN. You do not meet a man [] but frowns [who does not frown]; { our [] bloods [moods]

the note [who doses not frown] explains the meaning of "but frowns." I indicate that by placing open/close brackets before the word "but." So if you see open/close brackets, you'll know that the following text is explained by the next bracketed note:

[] but frowns [who does not frowned]
[] bloods [moods]

Sometimes, I'll paraphrase a section. I'll put the paraphrase between open/close curly braces and wrap the corresponding untranslated text in similar braces:


LADY. The Queen, madam,
Desires your Highness' company.

[Light a fire under her ass!]

Original:

{ No more obey the heavens than our courtiers
Still seem as does the King's. }

Paraphrase:
{ Just as our moods obey the heavens, our courtiers follow the king's lead. }

I will put other notes in brackets, often using then to suggest actions:

LADY. The Queen, madam,
Desires your Highness' company. [Light a fire under her ass!]

My actions are always suggestions. you may be able to come up with better ones for the same line. Or at lease ones that are just as good.


LADY. The Queen, madam,
Desires your Highness' company. [Beg her to come.]

My actions are starting points. They allow me to go into rehearsal with confidence, knowing that at the very least, the actors and I will have something to try, something to debate, something to build on.