4/Cf4apdqJ0FYSO4yRyb2tIKNu_rpxkY0EwShvogyCArY
All Posts By

admin

Ptarmigan-playing August 30th

Highlights from ‘Between the Trees’: Ruff’s Pre-show Music Series

By | Announcements, Cymbeline, Outdoor theatre | 2 Comments

Ptarmigan (playing August 30th)

 

Highlights from ‘Between the Trees’ running Aug 12th-31st

by General Manager and Resident Musician, Brooklyn Doran

Our production of Cymbeline’s Reign begins tomorrow night and our pre-show music series is going to be off the hook! The ‘Between the Trees’ pre-show music series sees local and emerging musicians share in our evening of magic by performing a half-hour of music before our mainstage production. This year we are inviting back some seasoned veterans and familiar faces, as well as welcoming some brand new emerging talents to the stage and we couldn’t be happier!

Every musician featured this year is mega-talented! If you’re in the neighbourhood, I’d suggest coming back to the park every evening to feast your ears on some of these artists’ offerings. It’s an incredible way to find out about new music, and experience the magic of Shakespeare in the park at the same time! If you like what you’re hearing, many of them will have their music for sale at our Box Office . 

Three Seasons and the Move

Here is a little preview of some of the artists who’ll be joining us this year. All three of these feature a little bit of banjo!

Familiar Faces: Three Seasons And The Move (August 15th)

This year we’re excited to welcome back Three Seasons and The Move who played opening night for our production of Richard III last year. Three Seasons and The Move is an eclectic group of musicians who straddle folk, pop and rock genres. Their music is funky, danceable, timeless and Canadian. If you didn’t catch them last year between the trees, now is definitely the time. Your toes will be tapping and your hearts will be soaring. Preview track here

First Time Favourites: Crooked House Road (August 29th)

Crooked House Road is a Toronto­-based indie, folk, pop outfit comprised of Shaina Silver­-Baird (lead vocals/violin), Mirian Kay (vocals/guitar) and Tom Mifflin (vocals/piano), joined by Derek Gray (percussion), Darren Eedens (banjo) and Matthew Riggs (bass).

 Folk music wrapped in delicious harmony, Crooked House Road helmed by Shaina Silver-Baird’s powerhouse vocals is a band to watch out for. Foot-stompin’ fun- Crooked House Road will get you dancing up out of your seats and revved up for an evening in the park. The raw power and emotion of the vocals paired with the incredible musicianship of this band makes for a sweet, sweet set that is not to be missed. 
Don’t believe me? Check the evidence:

[youtube_video] KwzCgCysI_A [/youtube_video]

All In The Family: 

Ptarmigan (August 30th)

Ruff Artistic Director, Brendan McMurtry-Howlett, isn’t the only one in the McMurtry clan overflowing with talent. We’re thrilled that cousin Peter McMurtry’s band, Ptarmigan, is returning this summer to bless our ears with their music! 

If you haven’t heard of Ptarmigan yet, I suggest you come to Withrow Park on August 30th to bask in the glory that is their catchy, brilliantly-crafted folk music. It is the perfect score for watching the last rays of sun drain from the summer sky before the park is lit with the explosive performances in our production of Cymbeline’s Reign. Preview track here

Can’t make any of the above dates? Don’t fret! Every single evening is sure to please with music that is equally impressive and beautiful. The full list of our ‘Between the Trees” performers can be found HERE.

Cymbeline Series-Part III

By | Announcements, Cymbeline, Shakespeare | No Comments

Cymbeline doesn’t land on most people’s lists of Top 10 Shakespeare plays, maybe not even Top 20. For this reason, we spoke to three people who have directed this play to get their take on a few questions that we’ve tackled since deciding to produce it. 

The final instalment of the series comes via Antoni Cimolino, who directed a widely acclaimed production at The Stratford Festival in 2012.

1. For a title character, King Cymbeline has very little time on stage and no time alone with the audience. How did you ensure that audiences would connect with him? Do you think the play would be better served by a different title?

“The King is Britain – literally and figuratively. At the beginning of the play he is sick – poisoned, we find out later, by his second wife, who longs to rule and install her son Cloten as King. Cymbeline has lost his two sons, abducted as infants, and with them he has lost himself. Like the two princes imprisoned in the Tower of London during Richard III’s reign, Cymbeline’s sons represent legitimacy and good government. During Shakespeare’s lifetime, a patriotic and romantic dream surrounded the princes in the Tower: that perhaps they had not been killed but had heirs living among the people. Shakespeare echoes that legend in Cymbeline, bringing about a reunion of children with their father that still touches us today.

Yanna McIntosh (The Queen), Geraint Wyn Davies (Cymbeline) & Mike Shara (Cloten)

Yanna McIntosh (The Queen), Geraint Wyn Davies (Cymbeline) & Mike Shara (Cloten)

As Cymbeline defeats the Roman army, he finds himself re-energized. He is made victorious by Posthumus, the poor soldier, and by his imagined enemy Belarius and his sons. The very people that he has banished give him back his kingdom. In the final moments, King Cymbeline decides to pay tribute to Rome despite his victory. He not only signals Britain’s voluntary participation in the Pax Romana, the new and long era of peace, he also renders unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. While Caesar may have his coins in tribute, Cymbeline once more has the love of his children and Britain.”

2. Most deus ex machina (god from the machine) moments are vital to the story. Jupiter’s descent on the back of an eagle in Cymbeline is often cut and feels less integrated than many similar interventions by the Gods in other plays. What was your take on this moment and how important a role did the unseen whims of the deities play?

“This moment is normally cut or changed, but I thought, ‘How often do you get to bring a giant eagle on stage?’ Our eagle had a head about 2 feet wide and 5 feet long with red eyes that lit up as it came out of the dark. It had wings that spread about 20 feet and flapped by way of a pulley. These body parts were fixed on a rolling step ladder of the kind found in larger libraries. On its back Jupiter was mounted lit from below. With a giant bird shriek, smoke and the sound of enormous wings beating the audiences was surprised and transfixed. And with a flash of lighting and a crack of thunder it was gone. I’m pretty sure our eagle was very like that Shakespeare used. Except we added electricity.

Posthumus’ dream is vital because it reunites the orphan child with his parents, at least in spirit. These family members strongly petition Jupiter on Posthumus’ behalf and find that the god is testing their son. Their anger at this ancient god and his cruelty seems to call out for a God of Love. King Cymbeline, of course, ruled during the time of Christ’s birth. The love of his family brings Posthumus a sense of wholeness, love and courage that is vital to the story.”

3. Cymbeline isn’t produced very often, especially in Canada; is it just the ebb and flow of fashion, or are people are afraid to do it? And if so, why? 

“The bad experiences I’ve had in seeing Cymbeline performed have been ones where the director and cast didn’t have faith in Shakespeare’s play. Consequently they try to “fix” it by cutting it, toning it down or ironically sending it up. What might be gained by such treatment is a speck compared to the beautiful mountain Shakespeare has created. Cymbeline is a great and powerful play that brings audiences understanding, laughter and tears. Tennyson, at his own insistence, was buried with a copy of it. Cymbeline merits our study and our creative powers – what it gives us in return is enormous.”

 

Cimolino_AntoniAntoni Cimolino is the Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival, where this season he directed King Lear and The Beaux’ Stratagem. Stratford: Directing credits include Mary Stuart; The Merchant of Venice; Cymbeline; The Grapes of Wrath; Bartholomew Fair; Coriolanus, with Colm Feore and Martha Henry; As You Like It, featuring original music by Barenaked Ladies; King John; Love’s Labour’s Lost, with Brian Bedford; Twelfth Night, with William Hutt; The Night of the Iguana; and Filumena, with Richard Monette. Among his other accomplishments, Mr. Cimolino was instrumental in establishing the Festival’s Endowment Foundation, which has raised more than $50 million to date, as well as in the renovation of its Avon Theatre and the creation of its Studio Theatre. Elsewhere: The Canadian première of ENRON (Theatre Calgary); Twelfth Night (Attic Theatre, Detroit); A Woman of No Importance (Hilberry Theater, Detroit). A champion of the arts and culture, Mr. Cimolino serves as the National Chair of Culture Days, a nation-wide celebration of arts and culture in Canada. He has initiated collaborations with several prestigious theatre companies, including Montreal’s Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, New York’s Lincoln Center and City Center, and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. He also spearheaded the Festival’s involvement in a joint project with CUSO International, Canada’s international volunteer co-operation agency, to establish a performing arts and educational centre in the city of Suchitoto, El Salvador.

As a bonus to The Cymbeline Series, Brendan McMurtry-Howlett, director of our upcoming production, will weigh in with his perspective on (to borrow a phrase from Antoni) “the beautiful mountain that Shakespeare has created”. Stay tuned to our blog for Brendan’s take on the play.
Shakespeare in the Ruff’s, Cymbeline’s Reign, runs August 12th-31st in Withrow Park.

Cymbeline Series-Part II

By | Announcements, Cymbeline, Outdoor theatre, Shakespeare | One Comment

Cymbeline doesn’t land on most people’s lists of Top 10 Shakespeare plays, maybe not even Top 20. For this reason, we spoke to three people who have directed this play to get their take on a few questions that we’ve tackled since deciding to produce it. 

Second up in our series, is the founding director of Shakespeare in the Rough, the company that provided the inspiration for Ruff, Dawn McCaugherty. The company was founded in 1994, and their first production was Cymbeline.  

Cymbeline was the first full length Shakespeare I directed and is still dear to my heart. I’ve always been drawn to the ‘fairy tale elements’ of the story – the evil queen, idiot stepson, true and honest servant, lecherous cad, sleeping beauty a.k.a Imogen and, in this case, the three ‘dwarves’ living in the cave in the forest (I take liberties with this assessment). It’s a bit like a roller coaster ride – you leap in at the start, hold on tight through the middle and jump off a little dizzy, though elated, at the end. Of course, it also challenges us to consider faithfulness in the face of deception and jealousy, murderous vengeance and the relative merits of Britain vs. Rome. Never a dull moment!

In the spring of 1994, I was preparing to leave TO at the end of the summer and return to Alberta for a few months before heading off to Vancouver to accept a semester of teaching in UBC’s BFA Acting program. I had been teaching at York and have a memory of being at an end of term party speaking with Roy Lewis of how great it would be to work together before I headed out – and, surprisingly, him agreeing. Now, this is twenty years ago; there is a lot of water under many bridges since then and I never trust my memory much at the best of times, but history is determined to some degree by those who record it – and I’ve been asked to write of the origins of Shakespeare in the Rough. I knew I wanted to do Shakespeare and was excited right away at the possibility of doing an outdoor production in a very simple setting, having a frolicking good time with friends in a park somewhere. Little did I know what a labour of love it would become, for all of the brave souls that became involved. I spoke early on with good friends Sally Szuster and David Caron, and the three of us eventually became the co-founders of that first incarnation of Shakespeare in the Rough, though it didn’t become clear until after Cymbeline closed that there was desire on the part of many, if not most company members, to continue.That launched the company on a trajectory through several evolutions, happily leading most recently to the re-birth as Shakespeare in the Ruff.

Todd Sandomirsky, Michelle Martin, & Roy Lewis

Todd Sandomirsky, Michelle Martin, & Roy Lewis

There was a lot to sort out in a big hurry that year. I honestly can’t recall at what point or why Cymbeline leapt to the front of the selection line. I’m sure the ensemble nature of the piece, a balance of interesting roles, and the fact that the play is seldom performed made it irresistible. Almost everyone in the cast that year was a good friend, which could well be why they agreed so readily to be involved. There certainly wasn’t any remuneration to speak of. I don’t think at the time many of us were Equity, though I might have that wrong. The company included (in no particular order) Roy Lewis, Michelle Martin, Todd Sandomirsky, Richard Vaillancourt, Paulino Nunes, Brad Borbridge, Rick Howland, Stephanie Moore, Mark Ellis, Catherine McNally, Robert Kennedy, Roddy Muir, Fred Matern, Fight Choreography – Simon Fon, Stage Management – Shanna Miller, Costumes/Props – Charmaine Peters. We also had the backing of many good friends and supporters, including Michael Kelly (Shakespeare in Action) and David Smukler. (I know I’ve missed some people and hope they will forgive me. I’m blaming my terrible memory and inability to find a program in my files). The early rehearsals held in my kitchen or backyard (tiny) patio, focused mainly on the text work, before moving into the park. As the actors and I unraveled the text, Sally, David and others were arranging insurance, contacts with city officials, support for the project and city approval, publicity and marketing, searching for indoor rehearsal space near the site and all the other myriad tasks that producing requires. It was exciting and terrifying, that sense of running uphill as the scree slid down, with no doubt that we would reach the summit.

That first year we wound up in Riverdale Park, on a piece that wasn’t too sloped, the audience facing out towards the Don Valley Parkway. Our playing area was completely exposed to environmental sounds – aircraft, traffic – and all the elements. The sheeting we had chosen to use as a backdrop for our scenes, and to block the view of the traffic downhill, worked like a charm – until the wind picked up. I have vivid, hilarious memories of one particular performance where every actor not out in a scene, as well as my visiting father and I, was behind, braced and hunched with fingers hooked into the sheeting in the struggle to keep the wind from blowing it into the audience. One of my favourite aspects of Shakespeare in the Rough once we moved into Withrow Park was the vista it afforded to introduce relationships and observe entrances and exits at a distance behind the action of the written scenes. In fact, when we moved to Withrow, there was a sense of winning the lottery!

1. For a title character, King Cymbeline has very little time on stage and no time alone with the audience. How did you ensure that audiences would connect with him? Do you think the play would be better served by a different title?

“I guess I’d have to say that I’ve never considered this the story of Cymbeline. For me, it is Imogen’s story; it is her trials we follow and through her loyalty and determination we learn something of love. Perhaps, though, the title is meant to draw attention to events occurring during this reign. The play takes place in ancient Britain, at a time after Rome has invaded and is requiring tributes paid to the conqueror. The name Posthumous indicates Roman heritage and when exiled, he returns to Italy. But when he returns with the Roman forces, he abandons them to fight on the side of the British, who ultimately win the battle. I wonder if, in titling the play as he has, Shakespeare is not drawing our attention to the supremacy of the British, adding to the sense of order and justice being restored at the end of the play, and placing the story in a broader context than simply a love story.”

2. Most deus ex machina (god from the machine) moments are vital to the story. Jupiter’s descent on the back of an eagle in Cymbeline is often cut and feels less integrated than many similar interventions by the Gods in other plays. What was your take on this moment and how important a role did the unseen whims of the deities play?

“I regret to say I have absolutely no recollection of how we handled that. I know it was not cut as I seldom cut significantly when directing Shakespeare. I suppose I like the challenge of puzzling out how it can work if everything is left in, as close as possible to the text produced during the playwright’s time. But what brilliant stage mechanics we executed from behind our sheet background may be forever lost to the annals of theatre history. Perhaps one of the founding company members might be able to offer this information?”

3. Cymbeline isn’t produced very often, especially in Canada; is it just the ebb and flow of fashion, or are people are afraid to do it? And if so, why? 

“What a great question. It is a script that poses challenges, no doubt, and is not without problems. Co-authorship may be a possibility, as some of the text seems not of Shakespeare’s quality. The characters at times verge to stereotypes and the plot twists can be serpentine. I think, though, these issues are no more pronounced than in some in the oft produced works. Perhaps what prevents companies from tackling this play is the schism between what might seem sections of broad melodrama or comedy, such as those featuring Cloten, and the dramatic more tragic sequences, as Imogen’s struggles once she learns of the death threat. It resists falling comfortably into one style or category and requires boldness in approach. Maybe it hasn’t been seen as ‘serious enough’ to be a contender for production when measured alongside the great tragedies, resounding histories or whimsical comedies. But the play stands on its own merit and plays well to audiences. I am encouraged that in 2014 there have been several productions: Bard on the Beach (Vancouver), the Folger Shakespeare Library (Washington), Portland Center Stage, Raleigh North Carolina and the film starring Ethan Hawke is due for release soon. And, of course, Ruff is doing it! I only wish I could be there. Have fun, all, I’m sure it will be a fantastic run!”

Next week we speak to someone who had the resources to hire actors to play every part in the play. Including Jupiter and his eagle, we assume.

 

Cymbeline Series Part I

By | Cymbeline, Shakespeare | No Comments

Cymbeline doesn’t land on most people’s lists of Top 10 Shakespeare plays, maybe not even Top 20. For this reason, we spoke to three people who have directed this play to get their take on a few questions that we’ve tackled since deciding to produce it. 

First up in this blog series, is Anita Rochon, who directed the play for Bard on the Beach, in Vancouver mere weeks ago. If you’re on the west coast, don’t miss it.

1-For a title character, King Cymbeline has very little time on stage and no time alone with the audience. How did you ensure that audiences would connect with him? Do you think the play would be better served by a different title?

“You know, I didn’t do anything more than the play suggested. I had to trust that the structure and amount of exposure that we had to the king would be enough. Off the top, I created an opening monologue for the actor playing Imogen,  pieced together from the original opening scene, and that gave a lay of the land, where the king and queen were highlighted. I think our idea of king and queen is so entrenched that we can easily identify them and are interested in who they are by virtue of their position. As for the title, gosh, I can’t really think of another name that would suit it better. He really is connected to all the plot lines and at the end, is the one who can either stay the way he’s been, or change and forgive.”

2-Most deus ex machina (god from the machine) moments are vital to the story. Jupiter’s descent on the back of an eagle in Cymbeline is often cut and feels less integrated than many similar interventions by the Gods in other plays. What was your take on this moment and how important a role did the unseen whims of the deities play?

“Our version had quite a small cast and was very character/plot-driven. I cut Jupiter, but did not cut the scene. That scene is there for a reason and is essential to Posthumous’ journey, and the audience’s journey as well. I think Shakespeare felt that we needed to have access to something mysterious and divine before that big cathartic last scene. So, rather than Posthumous’ dead family and Jupiter paying a visit while he’s in prison, I had him go to sleep, then see Imogen as an apparition (whether it’s a dream or something from the gods is up to the audience to decide). She’s singing a song with the words borrowed from “Fear No More”. If I were to direct this piece again, with a different set up in a different place, I may indeed stage it as written. It could be very powerful and awe-inspiring.”

Photo by David Blue
Cymbeline Photo by David Blue

3-Cymbeline isn’t produced very often, especially in Canada; is it just the ebb and flow of fashion, or are people are afraid to do it? And if so, why? 

“I have no idea! At Bard on the Beach, I’ve been skulking around the audiences before the play and at intermission, because I always like to hear what people are saying to their friends, to learn about who’s coming to see the show and hopefully, I can eavesdrop on what they think about this production. I’ve heard a lot of people on the way in saying it’s their favorite Shakespeare play. And then other people on their way out saying ‘How did I not know this play before!?!’. In my research I’ve read about a lot of productions that have been put up in the U.S. and in England in the past few years. I’m not sure why not in Canada. Maybe producers don’t want to take a box office chance on a lesser-known play? The gender politics in it are not the easiest to tackle either, so maybe people don’t want to take that on?”

Anita RochonAnita Rochon artistic co-directs The Chop in Vancouver with Emelia Symington Fedy, which has produced numerous new works including “KISMET one to one hundred” and “How to Disappear Completely” which continues to tour internationally. She frequently collaborates with some of the city’s most celebrated companies including Theatre Replacement, Théâtre la Seizième, Vancouver Opera and Electric Company Theatre. She is a graduate of Studio 58 (Acting) and the National Theatre School of Canada (Directing). She was awarded the Ray Michal Prize for an Outstanding Body of Work by a New Director, the Siminovitch Protégé prize and a Mayor’s Arts Award.

The next director we will speak to is Dawn McCaugherty who started Shakespeare in the Rough in 1994 – the company’s first production was Cymbeline in Riverdale Park. Shakespeare in the Ruff’s production runs from Aug 12th-Aug 31st in Withrow Park.

Gala Top 10-Jesse Griffiths

By | Announcements | No Comments

The annual Shakespeare in the Ruff Elizabethan Gala is the company’s major fundraising initiative.  We rent a space, in this case the Enoch Turner School House, load up on the food and drink and plan a packed program from beginning to end.  The event is months in the making and like a firework in the sky, it is over before you know it. 

For those of you unable to attend this year, fear ye not. I have comprised a comprehensive list of the greatest things about the Gala.

Guests-Gala '141. OUR GUESTS- If you build it they will come. You hope. So we built it…and people came! The support of our community was a truly humbling experience and we could not be more grateful. Thank you to everyone who attended.  Did you miss out? Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive info on next year’s event.


The Herald (AJ)-Gala '14

2. THE HERALD- Our company member AJ did a marvelous job welcoming our guests to the party. The days of formally announcing a guest’s arrival are unfortunately behind us. Unless of course you actually work for a King or Queen. In which case I say, are they hiring?


Swords-Gala '14

Jen-Gala '14

3. PLAYING WITH SWORDS- We know kids like to play make believe but I don’t think anything brought more joy to my heart than watching a group of adults learn the basics of sword fighting. They looked like kids in a candy shop.


4. LEARNING TO JUGGLE-I take it back, learning to juggle was pretty joyous too.Juggler-Gala '14

 


Live Auction (Jesse)-Gala '14

Live Auction (BMH)-Gala '14

5. LIVE AUCTION- We took the phrase ‘live auction’ quite literally. A winning bet would garner you four hours of time with your auction “item”. Want that grass cut? Jesse will do it. Need a personal shopper? Brendan is on it. How about the service of the entire company to cook, clean and serve your next house party.

 


Food-Gala '14

Drink-Gala '14

6. THE FOOD & THE DRINK – I think there were a few people who spent the entire night at the food station and to those folks I say good on ya!  And what better way to wash down a scrumptious feast than with a nice glass of Barefoot wine?  When in doubt an ice cold Sleeman’s Honey Brown will always do the trick.


Silent Auction-Gala '14

7. SILENT AUCTION- Toronto Maple Leafs tickets, restaurant gift cards and original pieces of artwork. All donated. All incredible.


Gala Performance 2014

8. THE PERFORMANCE- Capping off the night we held a mini performance in the actual turn-of-the-century School House with our guests squeezing into the wooden desks like so many students had done decades ago.


Paula Fletcher Gala '14

9. CELEBRITY APPEARANCE- We were overjoyed to welcome the Queen of the East – the Councilor of Ward 30 – Mrs. Paula Fletcher herself.  After she offered some wonderful words of welcome she made herself right at home partaking in the refreshments, placing some bids and enjoying the company of those in attendance.


BMH Speech-Gala '14

10. TOUCHING WORDS – An excerpt from the closing speech by Brendan McMurtry-Howlett, SitR Artistic Director ”… the foundation laid by your financial support allows us to chart a course forward into the unknown and challenge our own creative limits. In the past two years we have found out what we are capable of and with your support, we are able to push our potential and challenge the limit of what we think we’re capable of. Your donations become the very kernel that brings us together for that moment of theatre where even the trees hold their breath.”


The Company Gala 2014

The Benefits of Giving to Shakespeare in the Ruff can be found here

For more information, contact Jesse Griffiths at: development@shakespeareintheruff.com

Thanks to our guests for their generous support, from all of us at Ruff (Brendan, AJ, Lois, Jesse, Brooklyn & Kaitlyn)

 

Green Eggs & Hamlet: A Conversation With David Ley

By | Acting, Education, Shakespeare | No Comments

University of Alberta professor, David Ley’s, shares his exciting way into teaching and speaking Shakespeare. David uses the words of Dr. Seuss to help actors find and use the rhetorical structures Shakespeare provides. It may seem like a strange pairing, but here David explains to us the impact it has on the way actors understand and take hold of language.

How did you come up with this technique? What made you connect Seuss with Shakespeare? 

I did a lot of reading to my own kids and since I’m interested in pattern identification I think I began hearing it; I have a mind that naturally compares and contrasts. All teaching looks for deep structure – what are we trying to get at underneath it – and so I think that’s where it all began.

I take my students to go and read to Junior Kindergarten classes and I do that because the thing that is going to hold our interest when we’re 4 is the same as when we’re 40 or 80. The ‘I Can Read’ series by Dr. Seuss should be called the ‘I Can Communicate’ series. I’ve always been interested in rhetoric and Seuss & Shakespeare each highlight different rhetorical structures. Dr. Seuss invites a playfulness that’s often missing in Shakespeare, as well as the willingness to engage in playfulness.

I think both are brilliant and people often say that in 400 years we’ll still be reading Dr. Seuss… We have become denotative… For example, the word, “ocean” can be so many different things, from a big wonderful place to a terrifying place. Seuss teaches us how to express these things – big or small, far or near, good or bad, but we often fail to give this information in the support of our communication.

What can Seuss teach us about Shakespeare’s words? Structure? Rhetoric?

I love Sister Miriam Joseph’s books (Shakespeare’s Use of the Arts of Language) and books that list endless numbers of forms of rhetoric. When an actor picks that up, when you embrace it and you invest in it, it actually takes you somewhere bigger. In repetition, for example, what a modern actor will do is make them all different because they’ll go, “I can’t be all the same,” so what they’ll do is take it apart and spread it out on the field instead of stacking it. When you stack and you stack and you stack, you realize the power of repetition… So, there’s the aspect of repetition, there’s the breadth of antithesis; you can pitch tag an argument:

‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ Now as I continue through that speech, I actually now know that when I hit this pitch I’m talking about you and when I hit this pitch, I’m talking about the summer’s day. If I’m talking about apples and oranges it’s different than apples and jumbo jets. Then I would have to have a greater range in my voice to tell you that the things that I’m comparing are much further apart. So, things like that help the audience follow the language.

Articulation is another thing. I’m old fashioned because I always say let’s see what it’s like if we just pronounce all the consonants… We use, in a way, the Dr. Seuss to see how much people are accustomed to investing in sounds, so that the quality of the sound itself has an inherent action in it: “Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds.” If you don’t do the “v” on “love”, “luffing” is something a sail does when there’s no wind in it. I think if an actor invests in the word, if you look somebody in the eye and say, “I love you,” and you commit to every sound of that word, you’re actually going to feel something. Then the text can actually take you somewhere, you don’t have to make something of it – it can actually take you for a ride.

What has been the response of actors in using this approach? How has it changed their attitude toward or facility with Shakespearean text?

I’ve done this in front of Martha Henry and in front of school teachers and the response is always great. First of all, it’s a great diagnostic to find out what your habits are – what you do, what you don’t do… What’s neat about it is that it’s worked with high school kids, it’s worked with school teachers, with student actors and it’s worked with professionals. And also, it’s fun… people pick up Shakespeare and get all serious about it, we get all academic with it. The point is that we are taking what is ultimately an academic study (of rhetoric) and we’re applying it in a way which is fun. You know, kids’ books are great, all sorts of kids books, because in kid’s books you find books that are meant to be read aloud. Shakespeare was not meant to be read silently. I don’t think Shakespeare wrote Romeo & Juliet for some academic to go sit down in his quiet office while he listens to Chopin and works his way through that structure. Those words were meant to be spoken by somebody to somebody else. And the only words that we find like that now, besides some poetry, are kids’ books.

This stuff only works when you make people sit on the floor and pretend they’re three years old. It’s surprising how much people actually want to do that. So, it becomes a really fun little exchange where people are behaving like they’re three and responding to the reader like they’re three, which actually makes the reader have more fun. And then they take out their Shakespeare and there’s much more life, there’s much more dynamic expression and range in the way they present that text.

Seuss

Photo credit: http://www.adoremusbooks.com/onefishtwofishredfishbluefish.aspx

One of the great books is One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish – it’s the gold standard, it’s the ‘take the pebble from my hand’ book. What’s interesting is you actually have to coach actors to identify the patterns. So, what do we have to do when we’re reading that book?

Here’s one example: you have to encourage people to finish final consonants. I’m a voice coach and what do I have to do more than anything? Encourage people to finish final consonants, don’t drop the energy at the end of the line. That’s what I say more than anything else. “Say! Look at his fingers! One, two, three… how many fingers do I see?” We get people reading it really flat. But “three” is more than “one” so you have to tell people, “can I hear in your voice that three is more than one?” Then, the fact that he has eleven fingers is a big discovery, because you’ve built up to that. But modern actors, even at a pretty high level, are not going to do that, so they’re not going to get that wonderful discovery that happens, because they haven’t explored what it means for eleven to be more than one.

Then, there’s any number of pieces of Shakespeare that you can find that have that kind of repetition in them. Claudius’s ladder of thought in Hamlet is a classic example.

Do the Dr. Seuss, then do the Claudius one:

“Say! Look at his fingers! One, two, three… how many fingers do I see? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, he has eleven! Eleven! This is something new. I wish I had eleven, too!” (One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish)

“Give me the cups,

And let the kettle to the trumpet speak,

The trumpet to the cannoneer without,

The cannons to the heavens, the heaven to earth,

Now the King drinks for Hamlet.” (Hamlet 5.2.)

Do you have a favourite line from each of these writers?

A favourite line from Seuss… maybe: ‘Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it’s not’ (The Lorax). Also fond of the book: Oh, The Places You’ll Go! It’s full of wonderful philosophy, which takes me to, ‘To thine own self be true, And then it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.’ (Hamlet). We get the philosophy of both writers giving advice to young men going out into the world. I have sons.

David Ley holds an MFA in performance from York University with a diploma in Voice Teaching. He is a Professor in the Drama Department at the University of Alberta where he teaches Voice and Speech, Dialects, and Acting. David has extensive experience in private practice teaching vocal skills to a wide array of professional voice users from schoolteachers to politicians and has taught many voice workshops both across Canada and abroad. He spent ten seasons as a Voice Coach at Canada’s Stratford Festival and continues to be a regular instructor in Stratford’s Birmingham Conservatory. He has done numerous feature newspaper interviews commenting on dialects and vocal performance and has been featured in two CBC documentaries on Canadian speech. Media outlets around the world have covered his work on the Vibrant Voice Technique including: The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, The Guardian UK, the Huffington Post, Metro News International, and many others. David has 30 years of experience working as an actor in theatres across Canada and has acted in numerous film and television productions.

 

Context is King; a first foray into Shakespeare by Larry Smith

By | Education, Shakespeare

As we gear up for the Young Ruffian Apprenticeship Program this summer (applications due June 1st) we continue our Education Month with Ruff’s Chairman of the Board, Larry Smith, sharing the first assignment he would present to Grade 9 students green to Shakespeare and afraid of the language.

One of the reasons I always enjoyed teaching Grade 9 classes was that, for most students, Grade 9 English is often where they are first introduced to Shakespeare.  I am enthusiastically interested in all things Shakespeare – his work, his life, his world – and the opportunity to share that enthusiasm, maybe even instill some of it in others was something that the Grade 9 classes always offered.

Given the barriers that language and poetry present to those new to Shakespeare’s work, I tried to find a way to engage students in Shakespeare before we actually started to read is work.  I wanted students to make a connection to Shakespeare’s world that had relevance to them first, hoping that the shared connection would be a springboard for greater interest; and so, I asked students to “become a Shakespearean expert”. 

The basic idea was for students to determine what really interested them in their world, be it fashion, music, food, sports, war, travel, etc. Having established that interest, they then explored how that same interest existed in the Elizabethan era.  

For some students, the product might be a traditional report on “The Tudor Family” or “Elizabethan Discoveries”, but for most, the product would be models or drawings of the Globe, maps of explorers or war campaigns, paintings of costumes or fashion, or recreations of Elizabethan weapons.  The presentations were just as varied – always one or two musical performances, sometimes a sampling of the food or a presenter dressed in a traditional Elizabethan costume that they had made.

These presentations were delivered with an enthusiasm and authority that I have seldom seen matched in other assignments.  The students knew their stuff. Students watching the presentations were engaged by the presenters and fascinated by the trivia of another world, a world about which they had become an expert.

As we would enter into the works of Shakespeare, the class collectively knew more about Shakespeare’s world than I ever did – and they knew things about that world that interested them, that had connections and relevance to their world today.

I remember the first time I used a variation of this assignment in a Grade 9 class.  It was fairly early in my career; I was enthusiastic about teaching, but not always confident in my abilities as an “ENGLISH” teacher.  The day the assignments came in, I remember entering the English Office and excitedly telling my colleagues about all the great projects I had just collected.  Now, it may be that it was a different time in teaching, and maybe I went on a bit too long, but my enthusiasm was not entirely appreciated and one older teacher finally turned to me and said; “That’s all fine, Larry, but what has it got to do with teaching English”.  

Larry Smith (Chariman of the Board) running the Gala auction

Larry Smith (Chariman of the Board) running the Gala auction

The wind was knocked out of me.  I was one of the younger members of the department and what I had been doing in my class was obviously not acceptable.  The incident was momentarily painful but ultimately useful as it forced me to evaluate what I was doing in the assignment.

Rather than defeat me, that teacher strengthened my belief in the assignment because I realized I was asking the students to research, to read, to write, to create, to talk, present and listen – all things that have everything to do with teaching English, but with a sense of purpose and ownership that few activities ever have. 

Check out the assignment here and please use it!

Larry Smith is an English and Drama teacher in Toronto who has been a Head of English at both adolescent and adult schools in Toronto.  He first became excited by Shakespeare when in Grade 11 he was a member of the University of Windsor Youth Theatre and got to act in “A Comedy of Errors”. That enthusiasm for the bard exists to this day as he is a Founding Company member and Chairman of the Board of  Shakespeare in the Ruff.

 

“Meant To Be Said; Not Read” by Shawn Rocheleau

By | Announcements, Education, Shakespeare | One Comment

Shawn Rocheleau is a remarkable teacher who teachers high school Drama in the Toronto region. We were fortunate enough to meet Shawn a couple of years ago and our paths have continued to cross. We hope you’ll learn as much from Shawn as we have as you explore his philosophy of teaching Shakespeare and sample lesson plan, a beautiful way to introduce students to the rhythm, shape and movement of Shakespeare’s text.

I  fell  in  love  with  Shakespeare  early.  I  can  remember  reading (although  not  understanding)  The Taming  of  the  Shrew  in  late elementary  school,  and  even  though  most  of  it  flew  right  over  my head,  I  loved  the  language.  Even  my  monotonous  Grade  9  and 10 English  teacher’s  readings  of Romeo  and  Juliet  and  The  Merchant of  Venice  couldn’t  kill  my  love  of  the  Bard.  I  played  a dubious Claudius  in  Grade  11.  After  the  privilege  of  participating  in  a student  weekend  at  the Stratford  Festival  in  Grade  13,  and  the disaster  that  was  Introduction  to  Shakespeare,  I  managed to  get myself  through  Teacher’s  College  and  into  my  own  English  and Drama  classrooms.

My  love  of  Shakespeare  became  somewhat  of  a  crusade  when  I realised  that  my  fundamental premise  behind  teaching Shakespeare -­  it’s  meant  to  be  said,  not  read  -­  was  not  a universal  truth. While  lip  service  was  paid  to  “performing” Shakespearean  plays,  most  of  the  lessons  I  was handed  involved  a lot  of  textual  analysis  and  literary  inquiry; very  little  of  it  was  on-­your-­feet exploration.  I  was  even  told  by  a  vice  principal  that  I was  “using  too  much  Drama  in  my Shakespeare  unit.”

The  best  way  to  get  students  -­  any  student,  of  any  level  -­  to “get”  Shakespeare  is  to  get  them  on their  feet.  Get  them  moving. Give  them  the  tools  that  Shakespeare  himself  built  into  the  text and take  the  fear  out  of  the  words.  Because  it  is  those  words  that make  Shakespeare  so  special  and alive  to  audiences.

The  first  thing  I  do,  to  dispel  the  fear  of  the  story,  is  to  tell  it. Not  read  it.  Not  show  it  to  them  in  a video.  Tell  it.  I  use  some snippets  of  text  here  and  there,  where  I  remember  it,  and  I  tell it from beginning  to  end.  I  leave  some  things  out,  and  I  try  not  to editorialise  or  assign  value,  I  just  tell them  what  they  are  going to see,  hear,  and  eventually,  be.

Then  I  give  them  the  tools  of  the  trade.  We  talk  about  the rhythm,  the  meter,  the  rhyme  schemes, the  words  -­  all  of  the structural  pieces  that  Shakespeare  used  to,  well,  to  tell  the  story. We  play with  passages  from  the  script  we’re  working  on,  move around  the  room and  see  what  story  the punctuation  tells.

Shawn RocheleauBy  the  time  we’re  done,  students  have  been  playing  with  the  text and  have  enough  familiarity with  it,  so  we  can  get  down  to  the reading.  I  never  send  students  home  to  read  the  text.  We  do  it in class,  on  our  feet,  with  the  desks  cleared  away,  as  if  we  were  on a  stage.  If  we  can  get  a stage,  or  if  this  is  a  Drama  course,  all the  better.  I  treat  it  like  a  performance  text  (which  of course,  it is)  and  I  talk  to  them  like  they  are  actors.  What  did  you  just say?  Who  did  you  say  it to?  Why  did  you  say  it?  What  does  it mean?  Just  lots  of  questions,  and  everyone  can  answer.

Then  it’s  their  turn.  They  get  to  play  with  the  text  on  their  own, explore  the  meanings  and  the words,  and  eventually  create  their own  interpretation  of  Shakespeare’s  works.  They  must  use the text, and  they  can’t  alter  the  fundamental  storyline,  but  otherwise,  the world  is  their  stage. They adapt, they create and eventually, they perform.

And  then,  if  we  can,  we’ll  go  see  a  play,  be  it  the  one  we  have studied  or  another.  Watching students  react  to  something  they have  worked  on  and  performed  is  more  magical  than  watching the  play  -­  I  always  make  sure  I  sit  behind  them  so  I  can  watch their  reactions.  My  favourite moments  are  when  they  come  to  a new  realisation  or  understanding  of  the  text  -­  the  eureka moment where  you  know  that  their  understanding  of  the  world  just  got  a little  bit  broader.

There  are  a  ton  of  activities  and  exercises  we  can  use  to  get students  to  understand  and appreciate  Shakespeare.  The  Stratford Festival,  Royal  Shakespeare  Company,  Shakespeare’s Globe,  the Folger  Library  -­  all  of  these  places  have  fantastic  resources  for educators  who  want to  do  more  than  just  have  students  read silently  and  answer  questions.  In  my  opinion  -­  and  in  my practice  -­  anything  that  gets  them  off  their  seats,  on  their  feet, with  a  script  in  their  hand  and  an idea  in  their  head is  golden.

Shawn’s lesson plan: The Shape of Shakespeare can downloaded here. Some fabulous ideas, thank for sharing Shawn.

 

A Thing or Two About Shakespeare

By | Announcements, Education, Shakespeare | No Comments

As we gear up for our 2014 Young Ruffian Apprenticeship Program, we’ve dubbed May “Education Month” at Shakespeare in the Ruff. Each week in May, our Youth Development Coordinator, Lois Adamson, brings us a new education-focused blogpost for our audience of teachers, artist educators, students and actors alike.

To kick things off, we bring you a special education edition of A Thing or Two About Shakespeare and share some things the Bard has taught us.

THING ONE

Everything I need to know, I learned from Shakespeare. Or so says Blake McCarty of the New Victory Theater in New York, who lists the 50 best life lessons he learned from Shakespeare. Two lessons that particularly resonated with us.

11. “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” (Hamlet, 4.5)

13. “Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.” (Romeo and Juliet, 2.3)

The full list can be found here.

THING TWO

English poet and spoken words artist, Kate Tempest, reminds us in this poem, My Shakespeare, of all we owe to him and how often without knowing we find his words coming out of our own mouths each and every day.

[youtube_video] i_auc2Z67OM [/youtube_video]

Next up: on May 8th, teacher Shawn Rocheleau shares some insights (and an awesome lesson plan) about igniting a love of Shakespeare in his high school students.

 

Shakesbeers Showdown 2014

By | Events, Shakespeare | No Comments

AJ Richardson, Ruff’s resident dramaturge extraordinaire, actor and notorious beer-guzzler participated in an event last weekend that brought together two of his favourite things: brew and the Bard. Competitors from six local Shakespeare companies (who knew there were so many?) came together to see who could best cold-read the First Folio (the first edition of many of Shakespeare’s plays published in a single volume, in 1623). Whenever an error was made, beer was consumed. Even without a line flub, beer was consumed. It was a fierce competition, and with Ruff as the 2013 reigning champions, the pressure was on…

In conjunction with many other worldwide Shakespeare events (celebrating his 450th birthday last week), The Shakesbeers Showdown of 2014 in support of Spur-of-the-Moment Shakespeare Collective’s Julius Caesar Project was a collision of Indie Shakespeare All-Stars at the Mây (876 Dundas West), who kindly donated the competitors’ beers with special guest Jessica Speziale providing rock music between rounds!

Spur-of-the-Moment, #Gamefaced by Luisa Zhu and Clare Blackwood, was the only team to be comprised entirely of women – perhaps this is a taste of things to come with their production of Julius Caesar later this summer. Last year’s runner-up, Scott Moyle of Urban Bard, brought a secret weapon in the form of new teammate Mel Hrymak. Humber River Shakespeare sent out Sara Moyle and the very sportsmanlike Steve Coombes. Shakey-Shake & Friends were represented by Shakey-Shake himself and his friend Len (handled by Tom McGee and former Guerrilla Ruffian Shakespeare Squad Captain Kyle Shields, respectively). Shakespeare Bash’d’s James Wallis and Julia Nish-Lapidus did their best to lure my teammate, Jesse Griffiths, when it was revealed that I left the ruffs (our uniform) at home. Luckily, thanks to a special delivery, they showed up in the nick of time and we were ruffed! But after Jesse was eliminated in a precarious first round match up which saw the other two readers advance, the pressure of bringing back the back bacon fell squarely on my shoulders. I was back, of course, to defend my title as last year’s champion.

Shakesbeers

AJ Richardson & Scott Moyle compete in round two

After being defeated fair and square in the first round by Spur-of-the-Moment’s Luisa Zhu, I magically found myself competing in the second round!?!  In a rematch of last year’s finale, Scott Moyle and I were both whistled for mistakes twice by the ump, Susan Bond.  I, ever the sportsman, actually took three drinks after calling myself out on an otherwise grey-shaded reading. Urban Bard, of course, only deals in black and whites, and it was Scott who advanced to the final round only to be defeated fair and square by Luisa Zhu as well.  I was beaten by the winner. (I was beaten by the dude I beat before and was thereafter beaten by the winner.)  I joked with them that Spur-of-the-Moment defeated me so seriously, I was going to end up in the hospital. And in a way, I will.  This fall, I’ll be directing their Shakespeare-in-Hospitals Program!  So, I think I can still say I was on the winning team.