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An Actor's Exploration of the Earl of Kent in William Shakespeare's University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Student Research and Creative Activity in Theatre and Film Theatre and Film, Johnny Carson School of 5-2010 The Heroic Struggle of Pleasing a Mad King: An Actor’s Exploration of the Earl of Kent in William Shakespeare’s King Lear Robie A. Hayek University of Nebraska at Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/theaterstudent Part of the Theatre and Performance Studies Commons Hayek, Robie A., "The Heroic Struggle of Pleasing a Mad King: An Actor’s Exploration of the Earl of Kent in William Shakespeare’s King Lear" (2010). Student Research and Creative Activity in Theatre and Film. 6. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/theaterstudent/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Theatre and Film, Johnny Carson School of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Research and Creative Activity in Theatre and Film by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. THE HEROIC STRUGGLE OF PLEASING A MAD KING: AN ACTOR’S EXPLORATION OF THE EARL OF KENT IN WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S KING LEAR by Robie A. Hayek A THESIS Presented to the faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Fine Arts Major: Theatre Arts Under the Supervision of Professor Harris Smith Lincoln, Nebraska May, 2010 THE HEROIC STRUGGLE OF PLEASING A MAD KING: AN ACTOR’S EXPLORATION OF THE EARL OF KENT IN WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S KING LEAR Robie A. Hayek, MFA University of Nebraska, 2010 Adviser: Harris Smith This thesis is the research and analysis of the creative process I used in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film’s 2009 production of King Lear. It is comprised of three main parts. Part One: Research explores the life and work of William Shakespeare. Part Two: A Study of King Lear examines the history of King Lear including major themes and performance history. Part Three: Process provides insight to the thought process of an actor while building a character. Additional materials include documentation of the rehearsal and performance, script analysis, and critical responses to the actor’s performance. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my fellow classmates for making this experience a memorable one. Jason Francis, thank you for being a part of my life and showing me that working hard and playing hard makes life in the theatre a limitless world. Thank you to the faculty and staff of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film. I would also like to thank those individuals who allowed me to interview them: Stan Brown, Dr. Stephen Buhler, Melissa Lewis-Nuss, Harris Smith, and Virginia Smith. Thank you to Sarah E. Johnson for reading this saga over and over in order to double check my well crafted seventy-two word sentences, and recommending to try using paragraphs. If I have ever in my life thus far referred to you as a friend, or chatted with you over a beer—Thank you. Thank you to my mom, dad, brother, and extended family for supporting me through all of my crazy endeavors, including graduate school. To my best friend and love of my life, Ula, thank you for standing by me and hanging in there even during the “if I had hair I would pull it out” moments. Table of Contents Part One: Research The Life and Work of William Shakespeare………………………………… 1 Part Two: A Study of King Lear The History of King Lear…………………………………………………..... 26 The Performance History of King Lear…………………………………........ 34 Part Three: Process Character Analysis…………………………………………………………… 41 Scene-by-Scene Character Breakdown………………………………………. 44 Anticipated Movement and Vocal Choices………………………………….. 98 Appendix A: Creative Documentation Rehearsal and Performance Journal………………………………………….. 103 Appendix B: Script Analysis Script Analysis of King Lear…………………………………………………. 152 Appendix C: Critical Responses Stan Brown Correspondence…………………………………………………. 156 Dr. Stephen Buhler Interview………………………………………………… 159 Melissa Lewis-Nuss Interview……………………………………………..… 172 Harris Smith Interview……………………………………………………….. 182 Virginia Smith Correspondence……………………………………………… 189 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………….. 193 1 Part One: Research The Life and Work of William Shakespeare William Shakespeare’s life, plays, and poems are a constant source of scholarly debate to this day. These scholarly debates can be attributed to how little we actually know about Shakespeare. What facts exist can be twisted into intricate webs of speculation. Given the vast amounts that we do not know, the most that scholars can do is look for clues and carefully attempt to piece together one of the world’s greatest jigsaw puzzles. It is in the speculation about the events and whereabouts in the life of Shakespeare that a novice scholar can get lost and overwhelmed when trying to formulate an accurate timetable of his life and work. Based on my research, I have come to the conclusion that Shakespearean Scholars agree on one thing, which is that the questions surrounding Shakespeare by far outweigh the factual answers. This section will focus on Shakespeare’s life in and out of the theatre, the structure of the plays of William Shakespeare, and a little speculation and controversy for flavor. The story of William Shakespeare is divided into four categories. First, the early or formative years, covering 1564-1585 revolving around his childhood, education, marriage, and work. The second category is what scholars commonly refer to as The Lost Years 1585-1592. This title stems from the fact that scholars have absolutely no clues as to the whereabouts or accomplishments of William Shakespeare during these years. The Lost Years of his life have scholars deciphering and piecing together information using slivers of information in attempts to formulate hypothetical situations as to his whereabouts. We can assume that Shakespeare was in Stratford in 1583 and 2 1585 for the birth of his children, but when did he leave Stratford and “How, then, did Shakespeare find himself a rising star in London’s theatre world in 1592?” (Dunton- Downer and Riding, 10) The third category is The London Years 1592-1610/11 depicting Shakespeare’s life in the theatre as a player, playwright, poet, company member, shareholder, and partner. The fourth category is The Final Years 1610/11-1616 documenting his retirement and move back to Stratford where he lived until his death. Due to the lack of records, the time frame dealing with Shakespeare leaving London and retiring to Stratford can only be given an approximate date. Shakespeare’s move from London to Stratford is open to debate with five and six years before his death in 1616 as a formative estimation. Whether the move happened quickly or gradually is unknown. THE EARLY YEARS: 1564 – 1585 Church documents and public records allow us to piece together the formative years of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare was baptized on April 25, 1564 and “since the normal lag between birth and baptism was several days, his birthday is conventionally regarded as April 23.” (Boyce, 587) William was the third child of John and Mary Shakespeare. Their first two children died in infancy, and after William, Mary (Arden) Shakespeare gave birth to three more sons and two daughters. (Dunton-Downer and Riding, 10) The next mention of William Shakespeare is the dispensation granted by the Bishop Winchester to marry Anne Hathaway on November 28th, 1582. (Dunton-Downer and Riding, 9) The eighteen years of his life between these records can be pieced together through public records regarding William’s father, John Shakespeare. They document John Shakespeare’s rise in social status, the public offices he held, and his 3 financial difficulties. Based on the records we can imagine the life young William Shakespeare possibly led in Stratford. John Shakespeare was of the yeoman social class, the son of a farmer on the outskirts of Stratford. He moved to Stratford and became a tradesman. Shakespeare’s mother, Mary Arden, came from a family of the gentry class. When John and Mary were married, John’s status in social class rose, “John Shakespeare’s rise in status through marriage was quite typical” for the time period. (Boyce, 587) Seven years before William was born, John Shakespeare joined the town council and was appointed the position of high bailiff in 1568. It was because of his father’s status in Stratford, that William was able to attend the Stratford grammar school, The King’s New School. The Stratford grammar school had “a reputation for excellence thanks to a teaching staff of Oxford graduates” (Dunton-Downer and Riding, 10), and “under the guidance of a series of schoolmasters- Simon Hunt, Thomas Jenkins (the most important in terms of time spent with Shakespeare), John Cottom, and possibly Walter Roche and Alexander Aspinall” (Boyce, 587) Shakespeare gained a solid education. Based on the fragments of the documented curriculum of Elizabethan grammar school and educational standards of the time period, it is possible that he studied “Latin Literature in Latin.” (Boyce, 587) Here in The King’s New School is where the young William Shakespeare is thought to have studied the Latin authors such as Ovid, Livy, Virgil, and Horace. Peter Ackroyd comments on Shakespeare’s methods of learning, “For out of imitation, as he was taught to understand, came invention. It was possible, in the course of a school
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