ASF Study Materials for by William Shakespeare Director Greta Lambert Study Materials written by: Susan Willis Set Design Robert F. Wolin ASF Dramaturg Costume Design Jeffrey Todhunter [email protected] Lighting Design Tom Rodman Contact ASF: 1.800.841.4273 Sound Design Will Burns www.asf.net 1 Welcome to Much Ado about Nothing The war may be over, but the battle of the Cupid's arrows strike far and wide, but that by William Shakespeare sexes is blazing away in Shakespeare's brilliant does not make the course of true love any easier. romantic comedy Much Ado about Nothing. In fact, love is beset and suborned in Much Characters in the ASF Tour Written about 1598, Shakespeare is at the top Ado before it can be confessed or confirmed. The Spanish-led contingent: of his comedic form, and Much Ado is one of his If Shakespeare strews the path of comedy with Don Pedro, the ruling Spanish three great romantic comedies from that period, pitfalls and problems to be overcome—and he lord along with As You Like It and Twelfth Night. does—he is true to form here. These lovers Don John, his illegitimate With a text that is 75% prose, the play and undergo some deep self-evaluation before half-brother, a malcontent its wit move very quickly, full of banter, badinage, they can celebrate their mutual affection or Benedick, a lord ifrom Padua n and buffoonery. Language well used, misused, their nuptials. Don Pedro's company and even comically abused fills its dialogue, Claudio, a young lord from and truth confronts both deception and lies in the standoff between honor and love. Florence in Don Pedro's "Some Cupid kills with company arrows, some with … and Welcome to Our Tour! traps." In Messina: —Hero, 3.1 Leonato, governor of Messina Our love of Shakespeare runs deep at ASF, Hero, his daughter and we are happy to share it with schools and Beatrice, Leonato's niece students across Alabama and our neighboring A Friar states, because there is just nothing like the Dogberry, Master Constable powerful effect of seeing Shakespeare live. Your Cast for Much Ado Verges, a constable This version of Shakespeare's play trims Members of the Watch Much Ado about Nothing a to fit a one-hour class period while keeping the great characters, the verse, and the compelling comic action. Directed Setting: Messina, Sicily by ASF's Greta Lambert, herself a renowned Time: 1840s actress and director, the touring show features eight actors chosen from New York auditions who join the ASF company for the 2017-18 season. Contents of These Study These eight will perform all the roles Materials in the play, doubling or tripling roles just as Adapt these materials to your Shakespeare's own company did. On tour grade level and students' they bring schools a complete theatre with needs. set, costumes, props, and actors in a van The study materials treat: and a trailer. In addition, they offer students a • genre and themes series of workshops following the play, so they • structure and structural can work with the actors on theatre skills and strategy/patterns Shakespeare's language. They give the same • plot lines (main & subplots) performance at ASF for SchoolFest in February. • characterization We're excited to be headed your way with the • issues and values Bard or to have you coming to us! Let there be • information about much ado about Much Ado! productions on DVD • activities and discussion/ writing topics in beige Your cast for Much Ado, ASF's interns, from boxes top, left to right, Josh Cahn, Katie Fanning, Ithamar Francios, Brian Ott, Woodrow Proctor, Collin Purcell, Lara Treacy, and Colin On the cover: Benedick (Michael Wulff Flynn) and Beatrice (Greta Lambert) in ASF's 1995 production of Much Ado 2 Fact Sheet about Much Ado about Nothing Genre: usually called romantic comedy; can by William Shakespeare Tour Production's Plot: The governor, be considered Italianate comedy Leonato, his lovely daughter, and sprightly niece welcome Don Pedro's victorious Date: c. 1598 forces back after a battle in which Don Pedro's half-brother, Don John, now newly Setting: Messina, Sicily forgiven, had proved a traitor. The peace- "Oh what men dare time action involves "wooing, wedding, and do! What men may do! Length: 2862 lines in 18 scenes; 25% verse repenting." What men daily do, not and 75% prose (2nd longest comedy and The battle of the sexes begins, and one bout 2nd highest % prose behind Merry Wives) knowing what they do!" features Beatrice, Leonato's niece, and Signor Benedick, an officer who in the past ```—Claudio, 4.1 Longest Roles: Benedick, Leonato, Don wooed and dumped her, so now she uses Pedro her wit defensively. Both critique love, both advice the younger lovers, and both reject Sources: The Beatrice/Benedick plot the idea of marriage. Don Pedro decides to and the Watch subplot are apparently trick them, so each overhears friends say Shakespeare's own, but the Hero/Claudio that the other loves him or her; it works so plot line is indebted to the maiden falsely well that both privately admit their love for accused motif, which dates to the ancient the other. world. While many tales use the motif, a The war hero, young Claudio, wants to marry canto in Ariosto's Orlando Furioso (1516) Leonato's daughter Hero, so Don Pedro influenced Spenser's Faerie Queene, and her father arrange the match, but Don Book 2, and may have been known John decides to spite Claudio for defeating to Shakespeare, and certainly one of him in battle. To spoil the marriage he will Bandello's tales (1554) appears to be a slander Hero's virtue and have Claudio see direct source for the plot line (even some a man enter her window the night before names are the same). It also appears in a the wedding (an event Don John arranges French translation by Belleforest, a source with a gentlewoman). Feeling dishonored, Shakespeare used for other plays. Claudio rejects Hero and calls her impure at the altar; she faints and later is publicly Imagery: Caroline declared dead while being secretly hidden Spurgeon, in her away. Beatrice denounces the slander and groundbreaking insists that Benedick defend Hero's honor study Shakespeare's by challenging Claudio to a duel. Imagery and What Meanwhile the Watch in Messina has caught It Tells Us (1935), the culprit, but cannot get the case straight calls Much Ado or anyone to listen to them until after the "gay, sparkling, wedding debacle. The confession from unsentimental, the wrongdoer clears Hero's reputation, witty" and "lively." and Claudio's love returns; he mourns her It abounds in death. Agreeing to marry another relative references to as penance, he gets instead a forgiving dancing, music, and Hero as Benedick asks for Beatrice's hand, song; to horses and so two weddings are forthcoming as well riding; to birds and as the punishment of Don John. hunting dogs. "The most noticeable Things to Look and Listen For: "Let me see your face," says and continuous idea," she says, "is that of • how serious the honor/reputation issue is Claudio to the masked woman country sports of bird-snaring and angling, • the nature and stability of Benedick and he has agreed to marry after both lovers being thought of as birds limed Beatrice's new love (round 2 for them) slandering Hero—the end of and caught in a net, or fish hooked by the • the comedic nature of the Watch the rich theme of masking in 'treacherous bait.'" • male values/female values: who trusts whom the play (John S. Gilbert) Also note the image of masking/the masked • Dogberry's malapropisms ball for the hidden identity/motive theme. • nature and degree of Claudio's repentance 3 Not Enough Ado about Noting We know better than to believe everything on the internet, or about offers to deposit wealth in by William Shakespeare our bank accounts, or about gossip we hear. We know it's probably not true or even a ripoff, or that it may be skewed, biased, or incomplete and so not altogether true. The need for such reasoning skills was as prevalent in the Renaissance as "Men were deceivers now—just ask Shakespeare. ever…" Much Ado about Nothing is the prime —song, 2.3 example of the need for healthy skepticism, because that trait is so often in short supply in this play. Every plot line gets things wrong—or right in the wrong way. A few well placed questions could prevent the worst of the suffering here, but everyone is so sure of what they've seen or heard that questions seem unnecessary. They almost seem to want to believe the worst—or the best and most flattering. Thinking About What We Take Critics mention the aural overlap of "nothing" Note Of and "noting," words which were pronounced Joss Whedon, director of the quite similarly in Renaissance English. Noting, 2002 modern-context film taking note, can mean: of Much Ado, explains his • observing accurately or initial interest in the project, • observing in order to consider further, saying: • remembering what one has heard, or "I fixated on this notion • writing something down, that our ideas of romantic love are created for us by but it is a way of preserving what is worthy or the society around us, and necessary. Benedick overhearing Don Pedro, Claudio, and then escape from that is What does Benedick take note of? The Leonato discuss Beatrice's desperate love for him, grown-up love, is marriage, other men saying he is secretly beloved.