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A Midsummer Night's Dream”: a Director's Notebook Natasha Bunnell Old Dominion University

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A Midsummer Night's Dream”: a Director's Notebook Natasha Bunnell Old Dominion University Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons Institute for the Humanities Theses Institute for the Humanities Spring 2003 “A Midsummer Night's Dream”: A Director's Notebook Natasha Bunnell Old Dominion University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/humanities_etds Part of the Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons, and the Literature in English, British Isles Commons Recommended Citation Bunnell, Natasha. "“A Midsummer Night's Dream”: A Director's Notebook" (2003). Master of Arts (MA), thesis, Humanities, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/d8jv-a035 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/humanities_etds/29 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Institute for the Humanities at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Institute for the Humanities Theses by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: A DIRECTOR’S NOTEBOOK by Natasha Bunnell B. A. August 1997, Old Dominion University A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Old Dominion University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS HUMANITIES OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY May 2003 Approved by: Christopher Hanna (Director) Erfime Hendrix (Mdmber) Jary Copyright © 2003 by Natasha Bunnell. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1414392 Copyright 2003 by Bunnell, Natasha All rights reserved. ® UMI UMI Microform 1414392 Copyright 2003 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: A DIRECTOR’S NOTEBOOK Natasha Bunnell Old Dominion University, 2003 Director: Professor Christopher Hanna This manuscript is an analysis of artistic growth as well as an attempt to document the creative process during this stage of growth. The production herein discussed was an excerpted version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream: however, the process of conceiving and staging the piece was identical to the process of producing an interpretation of the complete text. It is difficult to document all aspects of the theatre artist’s creative process in writing and still photographs, thus, I have only included what I consider to be the most straightforward and significant elements for illustrating and analyzing the conclusions drawn: a summary of research into the play’s production history, a breakdown of the textual analysis and creative choices, and excerpts from the journal kept during the process that deal directly with an internal struggle that facilitated artistic growth. The main body of the text offers insight into various artistic and logistic choices, problems encountered, and solutions tried. Additional documentation of this creative process may be found in the appendices; however, I do not consider this material to be a significant element of the project’s conception and, therefore, enclose it only as a point of reference to serve as clarification for some of the main themes presented in the text. The final section is an objective evaluation of the learning opportunities presented by the project and how they have impacted the author’s growth as a theatre artist, actor, and director. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. With immense love and gratitude, I dedicate this work to William Alexander Pitchford. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many thanks to all the people who made this project possible: Lezlie Stewart and the incredible musicians of Bay Youth Symphony Orchestras; Carol Thomas Downing, the amazing voices of her singers, and the staff of Virginia Children’s Chorus; Brian Barber, Michael Broadhurst, Heather McLewin, James Pitchford, and Corbin Thomas for a first rate performance and putting up with my neurosis; Rachael Sulecki for the mother of all costume designs; Carrie Holmes for a magical and whimsical make-up design; Christopher Bernhardt, Carrie Emerson, and Erika Dyer for backstage and technical support; Konrad Winters for an ever-patient ear; Jill Snapp for production support; the students of ODU Theatre Department who volunteered time and creative energy in order to build, paint, cut, sew, paste, and otherwise construct our make-up and costumes; Thomas Holmes and Laurie Wells for thier fabulous photographic contributions; Michael P. Howard for his assistance in overcoming my severe technological handicap; Prof. Christopher Hanna, Dr. Erlene Hendrix, Dr. Gary Edgerton, and Dr. Dana Heller for their guidance and support; Tymberlee Hill and Joanne Mclnemey for the will to go on; and, most importantly, my family and my husband, James, for their endless love, support, and patience over the course of YEARS it has taken me to finally complete this degree. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. V TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page I. INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................1 II. PRODUCTION HISTORY.......................................................................... 6 PETER BROOK AND THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY 8 HARLEY GRANVILLE-BARKER ’ S GILDED DREAM.......................10 SOMETHING BORROWED....................................................................11 OTHER INTERPRETATIONS.................................................................13 III. THE SCRIPT.............................................................................................. 24 ACT ?, SCENE ?...................................................................................... 25 THE CUT SCRIPT................................................................................... 26 THE TEXTUAL SCORE......................................................................... 41 THE PLOT OF THE PLAY..................................................................... 60 THE PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SCORE............................ 64 IV. A DIRECTOR’S NOTEBOOK.................................................................. 71 DIARY OF A MADWOMAN.................................................................. 71 CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS...........................................................103 ACTORS’ TOOLS..................................................................................115 V. IN CONCLUSION....................................................................................129 REFERENCES................................................................................................................134 APPENDICES A. MY KINGDOM FOR A STAGE MANAGER!............................................142 B. PROGRAM AND PUBLICITY....................................................................155 C. COPYRIGHT................................................................................................. 161 D. SCRIPT AS FIRST PRESENTED FOR CONSIDERATION......................167 VITA................................................................................................................................176 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Oberon charms Titania’s eyes..........................................................................15 2. Bottom and Titania..........................................................................................16 3. Reconciliation: Act 4, Scene 1........................................................................17 4. Richard McCabe as Puck ................................................................................18 5. Oberon and Puck, Royal Shakespeare Company, 1994...................................19 6. Stella Gonet as Titania .................................................................................... 20 7. Bottom and Titania: Act 3, Scene 1 ............................................................... 21 8. Anthony Ward’s set design............................................................................ 22 9. “Wake you my sweet queen” Act 4, Scene ..................................................1 23 10. Michael Broadhurst as Oberon, Scene II, 2002 .............................................124 11. Puck and 2nd Fairy, Scene III, 2002...............................................................125 12. Titania and Bottom surrounded by Fairies, Scene IV, 2002..........................126 13. Oberon and Puck, Scene IV, 2002 .................................................................126 14. Oberon and Titania, Scene V, 2002 ...............................................................127 15. Titania wakes, Scene V, 2002 ........................................................................128 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF SYMBOLS Symbol Meaning 1. the crazy cat..................................................................................... Consonance 2. the cat sat..........................................................................................
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