Study Guide for Well T S the Count of Rossillion Has Died

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Yale Repertory Theatre’s production is part of all’s Shakespeare in American Communities: Shakespeare for a New Generation, sponsored by the National well Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest. that Additional program support: ends

Study Guide for well T S The Count of Rossillion has died. Following D :LGRZ DQG KHU GDXJKWHU 'LDQD :KHQ the funeral, his son Bertram leaves for Paris Helena learns that Bertram has been pursu- with Lord Lafew to serve the ailing King of ing the young Florentine maid, she, with the France. After Bertram departs, we learn :LGRZ¶VEOHVVLQJGHYLVHVDSODQ'LDQDZLOO that Helena—a young girl whom Bertram’s arrange an encounter with Bertram in which mother, the Countess of Rossillion, took into she will take him to bed in exchange for his her care after Helena’s father died—secretly prized ring, but when this encounter occurs, pines for him. Hoping to garner his affec- +HOHQD ZLOO WULFN %HUWUDP E\ WDNLQJ 'LDQD¶V tion, she follows Bertram to Paris. Helena’s place. father was a spiritual healer of great renown, 2QWKHEDWWOH¿HOG%HUWUDPKDVSURYHGKLP- and to gain the King’s favor, she will work her self a fearsome soldier, but the French Lords father’s ancient healing upon His Majesty. worry that Parolles’s cowardice threatens the The King welcomes Bertram to Paris security of the encampment. Bertram allows DQG FRQ¿UPV WKDW KLV GHDWK LV LPPLQHQW his troops to put Parolles to a test of honor in Unexpectedly, Helena which he is captured, appears in the King’s blindfolded, and tricked court and insists that Shakespeare’s Play: into revealing military she may be able to Bocaccio’s Tale secrets. When his cure the King. If she Very few of Shakespeare’s plays come blindfold is removed, succeeds, the King from stories that Shakespeare invented Parolles recognizes promises her the himself. Shakespeare derived All’s Well that Bertram’s men are hand in marriage of from a French adaptation of Bocaccio’s his captors and that any French lord she Italian novel, The Decameron. In this Bertram himself has desires. Helena’s been witness to his French adaptation, the young girl, Giletta cure works, and she shameful cowardice. de Narbon, heals the King of France and chooses Bertram. He Bertram—having tri- refuses, but the King asks to marry a young lord, Beltramo. XPSKHG ZLWK ³'LDQD´ forces Bertram to and having received accept her as his wife. On the heels of their word from his mother that Helena is dead— wedding ceremony, Bertram—with his knav- resolves to return to Rossillion. Meanwhile LVKDQGGLVKRQHVWFRPSDQLRQ3DUROOHV²ÀHHV the King (traveling from Paris) and Helena WR ¿JKW LQ WKH ,WDOLDQ ZDUV IRU WKH 'XNH RI DQG 'LDQD WUDYHOLQJ IURP )ORUHQFH DOO MRXU- Florence. ney to Rossillion. In a scheme arranged by Back in Rossillion, the Countess awaits word +HOHQD'LDQDVZHDUVWRWKH.LQJWKDWVKHLV of Helena’s fate with the King. But the letters Bertram’s wife. Bertram tries to escape these that come from Paris bear the terrible news of FKDUJHVEXWWKHUHYHODWLRQRIKLVLQ¿GHOLW\LV %HUWUDP¶VGLVKRQRUDEOHÀLJKWWR,WDO\+HOHQD inevitable. Helena, believed dead, bursts in returns to Rossillion with a note declaring and reveals that not only is she alive, but that Bertram’s challenge: until she shares his bed, Bertram took her into his bed in Florence— becomes pregnant with his child, and wins his QRW 'LDQD²ZKLFKVKH SURYHV E\ SURGXFLQJ prized ring, Bertram will not be her “husband.” Bertram’s prized ring and declaring that she Helena, now determined to win his love, sets is pregnant with Bertram’s child. Bertram— out for Italy disguised as a religious pilgrim. FRQIXVHG DPD]HG DQG DVKDPHG²DI¿UPV On the outskirts of Florence, Helena meets his love for Helena. ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL. OR DOES IT? 2 COUNTESS OF ROSSILLION [ruh SILL yun] adoptive mother of mother of widowed mother of Bertram; foster mother to Helena; friend of the King of France

f LORD LAFEW o advisor to

d [luh FYOO] n e

i trusted advisor to the King r f

KING OF FRANCE goes to heal goes to serve ruler of France; dying of an incurable disease

HELENA BERTRAM daughter of famed physician young Count of Rossillion; Gerard de Narbon; LOVES son of the Countess; adopted by the Countess; Helena’s brother by adoption in love with Bertram on up f s o te

o d m d n o r e i f r f

p DIANA l e h young, chaste Florentine girl; PAROLLES s

t the object of Bertram’s wooing

e [puh ROLL eez] g companion of Bertram; a rascal; his name means WIDOW CAPILET “words” )ORUHQWLQH'LDQD¶VPRWKHU

LAVATCH DUKE OF FLORENCE FRENCH LORDS [luh VAHTCH] Commander of Florentine Army SOLIDIE clown of the Countess MARIANA THE DUMAINE BROTHERS [MAR ee AH nah] [dyoo MANE] Florentine friend of the Widow lords in service of the King T C 3 WIT, WILL, AND 6KDNHVSHDUH¶V SOD\V DUH ¿OOHG ZLWK VWURQJ \RXQJ female characters: Helena and Hermia in A PERSEVERRANCE: Midsummer Night’s Dream and Juliet in Romeo and HELENA AND DIANA Juliet DUHJRRGH[DPSOHV+HOHQDDQG'LDQDLQAll’s Welll follow in this tradition. Helena’s love for Bertram knows no bounds. She risks her life twice to pursue KLV ORYH²¿UVW DV VKH DWWHPSWV WR FXUH WKH .LQJ GHVSLWH WKH WKUHDW XSRQ KHU OLIH should she fail; second as she follows Bertram into the violent war zone surround- LQJ )ORUHQFH 'LDQD OLNHZLVH ULVNV HYHU\WKLQJ WR DLG +HOHQD LQ KHU TXHVW 6KH allows her virginity to be threatened in the nighttime encounter with Bertram plotted E\ +HOHQD ,Q WKH ¿QDO VFHQH 'LDQD WKHQ SXWV KHU IUHHGRP RQ WKH OLQH DV VKH HQJDJHVLQDZDURIZRUGVZLWKDNLQJ+HOHQDDQG'LDQDGHSHQGRQRQHDQRWKHU¶V PXWXDOWUXVW7KHLUGH¿DQFHLQWKHIDFHRISHULOWKHLURXWZLWWLQJRI%HUWUDPDQGWKHLU perseverance with the King earn them a place among Shakespeare’s most daring ...Helena returns heroines. to Rossillion WHAT WOULD YOU SACRIFICE FOR LOVE?

...a company of Florentine Soliders Many of Shakespeare’s plays have a clown of some sort: Feste in ALCONTENT AD Twelfth Night, Touchstone in As You Like It, and the Fool in King M , C , Lear are good examples. Clowns, like Lavatch in All’s Well, are AND CLOWN: usually in service to a landed lord or lady, but they are free-spirited BERTRAM, PAROLLES, philosophers, capable of saying what no other character has the foresight or freedom to say openly. AND LAVATCH Parolles, however, is no clown. His cowardice is real, and his revealing of military secrets goes beyond fooling. It could cost Bertram his life; or, worse yet, it could cost the Florentines the war. Parolles is a very real danger to the safety of his companions and, in the largest sense, to the moral fabric of the world in which he lives. But, nobody really trusts Parolles, and he has few weighty responsibilities. Bertram, on the other hand, is now the Count of Rossillion and wields the great power of the aristocracy. His open refusal of the King’s proposed marriage to Helena UHYHDOVKLVEUDVKQHVV7KH.LQJHQIRUFHVWKHPDUULDJHEXW%HUWUDPÀHHVWR)ORUHQFH LQVSLWH7KHUHKHSXUVXHVDVH[XDOUHODWLRQVKLSZLWKWKHFKDVWHPDLG'LDQDZKLFK KHWKHQSURFHHGVWRGHQ\WRWKH.LQJGHVSLWHGLUHFWFRQIURQWDWLRQZLWK'LDQD

ADMITTEDLY, BERTRAM NEVER REVEALS MILITARY SECRETS OR PUTS HIS TROOPS IN DANGER LIKE PAROLLES, BUT HOW DO BERTRAM’S BRASHNESS AND IRRESPONSIBILITY THREATEN THE PEOPLE AROUND HIM? HAS PAROLLES’S LESS-THAN-ETHICAL INFLUENCE ...Bertram sets out for Florence CORRUPTED BERTRAM? DOES LAVATCH HELP TO HEAL THE WOUNDS CREATED BY THE OTHER ROGUES?

4 T T T H Shakespeare’s Contemporary PLACES OF WORSHIP BECOME PLACES OF THEATRE: Christopherp THE YALE REPERTORYY THEATRE Marlowe AND THE BLACKFRIARS THEATRE Born in 1564, Marlowe was RQHRIWKH¿UVWLQÀXHQWLDO The Blackfriars Elizabethan playwrights. Theatre in His plays centered on the Elizabethan London temptation of power and the showed many of damning of the soul. In his Doctor Faustuss (1588), Satan, in Shakespeare’s the form of Mephistopheles, tempts Faustus plays including into a life of earthly pleasures at the price of Othello and The his soul. Other plays include Tamburlaine the Tempest, but before Greatt and Edward II. it was converted into a theatre in 1596, it was a Shakespeare’s Contemporary monastery for Ben Dominican Friars. Jonson Born in 1572, Ben Jonson In 1975, the Yale Repertory Theatre wrote mostly comedies. renovated the Calvary Baptist Church into These plays are now called the theatre which will host All’s Well. “comedies of humour,” and focus on eccentric characters who fail to recognize their obsessive behavior. His play Volpone centers on a man so obsessed with accumulating wealth that he allows himself to be outwitted by one of his own servants, which causes him to be publicly shamed.

Shakespeare’s Contemporary John Webster Notice the Born in 1580, John Webster is the most celebrated “hammerbeam,” ? Jacobean dramatist. which can be seen T AI in both theatres. The TR “Jacobean” means that he POR O STS wrote most of his plays after hammerbeam structure N EXI 1603, during the reign of allows the weight of a James I. His most famous play tall center arch to be is 7KH'XFKHVVRI0DO¿, the story of a woman supported by a short who is killed after her brothers forbid her to beam that is likewise marry. This kind of violence and madness supported by another marks all of Webster‘s plays. arched support. 5 T A BERTRAM AND HELENA Many of Shakespeare’s plays contain super- JOURNEY TO PARIS HELENA’S natural elements, such as the Ghost in Hamlet, FOLK-TALE the witches’ powerful view of the future in Macbeth, and Prospero’s magical powers in PARIS QUESTS The Tempest+HOHQD¶VFXULQJRIWKH.LQJ¶V¿V- KING DUMAINES tula in All’s Welll is likewise mystically inspired. +RZH[DFWO\GRHV+HOHQDFXUHWKH.LQJ"'RHVKHU\RXWKIXOHQHUJ\ instill the King with the will to live? Or does she possess a divine

ELENA healing power passed down from her father? Shakespeare is draw- H IANA BERTRAM D LAFEW WIDOW ing his plot from folk tales in which a young woman cures a sick PAROLLES COUNTESS or dying King, for which she is rewarded with the elevation of her ROSSILLION FLORENCE VRFLDOVWDWXV%XWWKLVLVQRW+HOHQD¶VRQO\IRONWDOHLQVSLUHGTXHVW BERTRAM AND LORDS GO TO When Bertram leaves for the Italian war, he gives her a challenge WAR & HELENA SENT HOME in writing: “:KHQ WKRX FDQVW JHW WKH ULQJ XSRQ P\ ¿QJHU ZKLFK never shall come off, and show me a child begotten of the body that I am father to, then call me husband, but in such a ‘then’ I write a PARIS ‘never’.” Helena now must complete two impossible tasks: win her KING DUMAINES LAFEW husband’s prized family ring and become pregnant with his child in BERTRAM HELENA PAROLLES the consummation of their marital rite—two tasks that Bertram has SURPLVHGKHZLOOQHYHUDOORZWREHIXO¿OOHG+HOHQD¶VTXHVWWRZLQ

DIANA Bertram’s ring and take him into her bed is derived from folk-tales WIDOW in which a young warrior was commanded to perform a seemingly COUNTESS LPSRVVLEOHWDVNVLPLODUWR)URGR¶VTXHVWWRGHVWUR\WKH5LQJLQLord ROSSILLION FLORENCE of the Rings.

HELENA FOLLOWS BERTRAM AS YOU READ AND WATCH ALL’S WELL, SEE IF YOU CAN FOLLOW TO FLORENCE IN DISGUISE SHAKESPEARE’S REWRITING OF THESE FOLK-TALE QUESTS.WHAT OTHER STORIES CAN YOU THINK OF THAT RESEMBLE HELENA’S MYTHI- CAL CHALLENGES? PARIS

KING Shakespeare’s plays are commonly THE PROBLEM divided into four groups: Comedies, DUMAINES PLAYS: HAPPILY DIANA Tragedies, Histories, and Romances. HELENA BERTRAM LAFEW WIDOW Measure for Measure and All’s Well That EVERR AFTER? COUNTESS PAROLLES Ends Well are part of a special group ROSSILLION FLORENCE of Romances called “Problem Plays.” Measure for Measure LVWKHVWRU\RIWKH'XNHRI9HQLFHZKRWDNHV ALL CHARACTERS CONVERGE on a disguise and discovers the perverse corruption of Lord Angelo. UPON ROSSILLION This play, like All’s Well, appears to end happily, but elements of deception, moral depravity, and emotional distress—similar to the PARIS .LQJ¶V DUUDQJLQJRI %HUWUDP¶V PDUULDJH %HUWUDP¶V DWWHPSWHG LQ¿-

KING delity, and Helena’s contrivance of the bed-trick in All’s Welll—call WKHKDSS\FRQFOXVLRQLQWRTXHVWLRQ7KLVGLVFRPIRUWLQJHQGLQJLV the primary feature of the “problem plays.” Compare All’s Well HELENA to another Shakespearean play with a “happy” ending, such as DUMAINES DIANA Twelfth Night or A Midsummer Night’s Dream. LAFEW BERTRAM WIDOW OUNTESS C PAROLLES WHAT FEELS DIFFERENT ABOUT THE ENDING OF ALL’S WELL WHEN ROSSILLION FLORENCE COMPPARED TO THESE PLAYS? 6 What to Look For ... In the Scenery from Scenic Designer Zane Pihlstrom The scenic designer for any production of All’s Welll must create three worlds: Rossillion—an organic place of birth, death, and regeneration, Paris—a rigid and formal court, and Florence—a land in the throes of war. For all of the locations, classical doorways with arched transoms will VKDSHWKHVSDFH7KHVFHQLFORRNIRU5RVVLOOLRQZLOOLQFOXGHWKHSUHVHQFHRIÀRZHULQJWUHHVWR UHÀHFWQDWXUDOOLIHF\FOHV7KHGRRUZD\VLQ)ORUHQFHFKDQJHDSSHDUDQFHZLWKWKHVXEVWLWXWLRQRI shutters for the doors, and there will be an army tent that extends from the stage wall. These scenic changes will utilize mechanized scenic units constructed and automated by technical designers and technicians. LOOK AT THE PRELIMINARY SKETCHES BELOW... CAN YOU SEE THE DOORRWAAYS, THE TREE, THE FLORENTINE SHUTTERS, AND THE ARMY TENT?

...a sketch of Rossillion ...a sketch of Florence with the Soldiers’ Tent

The passage of youth into age, and age into death, is the material of many of Shakespeare’s AGE STEALS ON: plays: King Henry IVV and King Lear are good THE COUNTESS examples. Shakespeare takes up that theme AND KING FACT again in All’s Well; the play begins immediately QUICK after the funeral of the Count of Rossillion and as the King of France lies on his deathbed. The King fondly recalls the SICKNESS AND days he spent with the Count in their youth, but—having DEATH WERE ON lost both his former vigor and his dear friend—the King SHAKESPEARE’S laments that he lives on. The Countess, her husband recently buried, must also MIND WHEN HE confront her own mortality. She and the WROTE ALL’S King now work on the behalf of Bertram WELL IN 1603. IN and Helena. Providing them with a bright THIS YEAR, QUEEN and respectable future has become their solemn task. They come to share a spe- ELIZABETH DIED AND cial bond: a bond of elders dedicated to THE THEATRES WERE the well-being of youth. CLOSED DUE TO AN

THINK ABOUT THE PEOPLE CLOSE TOYOU OUTBREAK OF THE WHO ARE NEARING THEIR ELDER YEARS. IS BLACK PLAGUE. ...the Countess THEIR VIEW OF YOUR FUTURE DIFFERENT in mourning ...the ailing THAN YOURS? King of France

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ED ED ED ED ED NT NT NT NT NT CE CE CE CE CE unaccented AC unaccented AC unaccented AC unaccented AC unaccented AC Then SU | san WENT | to BUY | a DIA | mond RING. $VFHQHEHWZHHQ%HUWUDPDQG+HOHQD $FW,,VFHQHLY TROCHAIC FEET KDVEHHQVFRUHGIRU\RXRQWKHIDFLQJSDJH Sometimes the accented syl- 1RWLFHWKHLDPELFSHQWDPHWHUIRUPDQGLWV lable comes before the unac- VARIATIONSZKLFKDUHGH¿QHGEHORZZ. cented syllable in its foot. This variation is called a trochaic foot FEMININE ENDINGS ELISIONS or a trochee. Line fourteen con- Notice how the third line In line three, you will notice that tains two such trochaic feet; in has eleven syllables rath- WKHZRUG³REHGLHQW´¿WVDUHJXODU both the words “something” and er than ten. The second rhythm only if it is pronounced “nothing.” Trochaic feet gener- half of the word “servant” with only three syllables. The DOO\VWRSWKHQDWXUDOÀRZRIWKH dangles off the end of the last two syllables, “i-ent,” rough- OLQH PDNLQJ WKH OLQH GLI¿FXOW WR line. This extra syllable is ly becomes the sound “yent.” speak without a slight pause. In called a feminine ending. When a syllable is dropped line fourteen, the words “some- This extra syllable is very from speech, it is called an elii- thing” and “nothing” are very im- comon in Shakespeare’s sion, and Shakespeare uses portant to Helena. These words plays, and usually indi- these often. Another elision is crystallize how torn she is by cates that the thought is necessary in the twelfth line: what she wants from Bertram XQ¿QLVKHGRUXQUHVROYHG “timorous,” normally a three syl- but cannot have. The vocal pat- Here, it may indicate that lable word, gets pronounced as tern of these words might reveal Bertram has cut her off. two syllables, “tim-rous.” her frustration or confusion.

SHARED LINES First notice how some lines are shared between Helena and Bertram. This is very common in Shakespearean verse, and is simply called a shared line. Lines four, seven, nine, and thirteen are such shared lines. A shared line is spoken just like a regular line, with no break between the separate speakers; in line four, Helena picks up with “And ever shall” as soon as Bertram has said “no more of that.” Line two is a special shared line in which Helena and Bertram actually overlap for one syllable; Helena should speak her unaccented syllable “Sir” at the same time Bertram says his XQDFFHQWHGV\OODEOH³GRP´6KHFXWVKLPRII¿QLVKLQJKLVWKRXJKWZLWKDWKRXJKWRIKHURZQ 8 VERSE AND PROSE Shakespeare did not only write in verse. Long sections of All’s Well are written in prose, the style RIZULWLQJZKLFKKDVQRVSHFL¿HGPHWULFDORUUK\WKPLFVWUXFWXUH7KLVLVQRWWRVD\WKDWWKHVHVHF- tions are not poetic, as many of Shakespeare’s funniest and most intimate scenes are written in SURVH7KHUHLVQRGH¿QLWHUXOHDERXWZKHQFKDUDFWHUVVSHDNLQYHUVHDQGZKHQWKH\VSHDNLQ prose. Characters of both high and low classes speak in both verse and prose, and in both comic and tragic scenes. Prose is most often used when the characters are relaxed or when expediency RIGLVFXVVLRQLVUHTXLUHG6KDNHVSHDUHJHQHUDOO\HPSOR\VYHUVHIRUVFHQHVRIJUHDWHPRWLRQDORU intellectual depth, scenes when the dramatic tension is very high, and bouts of rhetorical banter.

- / - / - / - / - / Bertram ’Twill be | two days | ere I | shall see | you; so 1 7U\VSHDNLQJ - / - / - / - WKHVHOLQHVDORXG I leave | you to | your wis|dom. JHQWO\VWUHVVLQJ - / - / - / WKHDFFHQWHG Helena Sir, I | can no|thing say 2 V\OODEOHVDVQRWHG - / - / - / - / - / - Then speak the But that | I am | your most | obe|dient serv|ant. 3 SDVVDJHDV\RX - / - / - / ZRXOGQDWXUDOO\ Bertram Come, come; | no more | of that. $UH\RXDEOHWR - / - / IHHOWKHUK\WKPRI Helena And ev|er shall 4 WKHYHUVH"+RZ - / - / - / - / - / GRHVWKHUKWK\P With true | observ|ance seek | to eke | out that 5 reinforce the - / - / - / - / - / meaning of the Wherein | toward me | my home|ly stars | have failed 6 scene? - / - / - / - To e|qual my | great for|tune. Use the glossary to / - / help you work out Bertram Let | that go; 7 the meanings - / - / - / - / - / of the lines. My haste | is ver|y great. | Farewell. | Hie home. 8 / - - / - GLOSSARY Helena Pray, sir, | your par|don. fain: / / - - / gladly Bertram Well, | what would | you say? 9 eke out: - / - / - / - / - / supplement KRPHO\VWDUV Helena I am | not wor|thy of | the wealth | I owe, 10 humble origins - / - / - / - / - / observance: Nor dare | I say | ’tis mine; | and yet | it is – 11 dutiful service - / - / - / - / - / owe: But, like | a tim|orous thief, | most fain | would steal 12 own timorous: - / - / - / fearful What law | does vouch | mine own. VXQGHU / - - / separate, part Bertram What would | youy have? 13 vouch: / - - / - / / - - / FRQ¿UP Helena Something, | and scarce | so much; | nothing, | indeed. 14 9 T T Bertram’s refusal of Helena’s hand in Parolles is, without any doubt, All’s Well’s slimiest char- marriage shocks the King of France acter. Or is he? He is a coward, a liar, and a gamester: and his Lords. In Shakespeare’s an all-around cad. In the fourth act, Bertram’s soldiers time, marriages were often arranged capture, blindfold, and threaten the cowardly Parolles into between young men and women of the revealing military secrets. aristocracy. These arranged marriages This deception reveals HOODWINKING often also nego- Parolles’s spinelessness THE HOODWINKED: tiated legal and to all involved, including RRRANGED A ¿QDQFLDO PDW- the unconvinced Bertram. DECEPTION AND MARRIAGE ters. Refusing Bertram stands as JUDGEMENT an arranged Parolles’s judge and jury. marriage was But wait. Bertram’s moral not unheard of (the subject of many of character is already highly suspect. Who is Bertram to Shakespeare’s plays), but it was highly judge anyone? Even Parolles. Bertram, like Parolles, is unusual. Most couples submitted tricked. Unbeknownst to Bertram, the evening he plans gracefully to their arranged partners. RQEHGGLQJ'LDQDKDVEHHQVHFUHWO\DUUDQJHGE\+HOHQD Why? Because marriage was an 6KHZLOOWDNH'LDQD¶VSODFHWKHUHE\FRQVXPPDWLQJWKHLU institution almost entirely separate from ZHGGLQJ,QDKHDULQJEHIRUHWKH.LQJZLWK'LDQDDV the notion of romantic love. Eventually WKHFKLHIZLWQHVV%HUWUDP¶VLQ¿GHOLW\LVUHYHDOHG6RLV learning to enjoy the company of your Parolles the play’s partner after you were married was slimiest charac- the most for which many young people ter? This parallel could hope. In All’s Well, Bertram’s trickery—Bertram refusal to marry Helena is not because deceiving Parolles, the marriage has been unfairly thrust and Helena deceiv- upon him, but rather because he has ing Bertram—is been asked to marry someone who is one of the play’s of a far lower class than he, not to men- most carefully- tion that Bertram already loves Helena organized thematic as a sister. structures. ...the progression of Parolles s costumes SOME CULLTURES STILL ARRRANGE MAR- OLLOW THE DECEPTIONS AS YOU READ AND WATCH THE RIAGES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. HOW WOULD F PLAY HOMDO YOU JUDGE MOST HARSHLY FOR THEIR YOU FEEL IF MARRIAGEWAS ARRRANGED .W ACTIONS FOR YOU? ?

What to Look For ... In the Costumes from Costume Designer Mike Floyd The characters in All’s Well are always dressing for occassions: a funeral, a wedding, a war, etc. These occassions take place in three distinctly different locations: Paris, a rigid world dominated by the King’s court; Rossillion, a folk world connected to the cycles of nature and human life; and Florence, a foreign land ravaged by war. These three separate worlds converge in Rossillion at the play’s end when Bertram and Helena are reunited. Look for the differences in dress—such as shape, color, and formality—among these three groups of characters. The sketches in this guide DUHIURPYHU\HDUO\LQWKHGHVLJQSURFHVVEXWZLOOJLYH\RXDÀDYRURIVRPHRIWKHFKDUDFWHUV WHEN YOU SEE THE PLAY, HOW DO THE COSTUMES CHANGE AS CHARACTERS JOURNEY TO AND FROM FOREIGN LANDS, AS THEY MATURE, AND AS THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER CHARACTERS EVOLVE?

10 SHAKESPEARE’S PLAY MEETS INTERVIEW WITH JAMES BUNDY THE CONTEMPORRARYY WORLD THE DIRECTOR :KHQ

P S 11 What to Listen For ... In the Music from Composer Matthew Suttor and Sound Designer Andrew Nagel 6KDNHVSHDUH¶VSOD\VDUHIXOORIPXVLFVRQJVLQSRHWLFYHUVHÀRXULVKHVWKDWKHUDOGUR\DOHQWUDQFHV and courtly dances. All’s Well is no exception. But since this production will set the play in the FRQWHPSRUDU\ZRUOGWKHFKDOOHQJHLVWR¿QGDPXVLFDOODQJXDJHWKDWPHVKHVZLWK6KDNHVSHDUH¶V verse and stage action. To meet this challenge, an ensemble of both acoustic folk instruments (like a mandolin and hurdy-gurdy) and electronic instruments (like a drum machine) will play arrangements of contemporary pop songs and original music that speak to the romance, violence, and uncertainty of Shakespeare’s play. Today is where your book begins The rest is still unwritten 1DWDVKD%HGLQJ¿HOG³8QZULWWHQ´

TO LEARN MORE... YALE REPERTORYY THEATRE AT THE LIBRARY... James Bundy The script of All’s Well is available in several editions includ- Artistic Director ing the , the Pelican, the , and ŏ 1HZ&DPEULGJH (YHU\PDQ Victoria Nolan the $UGHQ. The $UGHQ6KDNHVSHDUH is being used for this Managing Director production because it is the most fully annotated. ŏ Across the Boards Study Guide The Shakespearean Stage 1574–16422 is an excellent book Written and Designed by RQWKH(OL]DEHWKDQWKHDWHULWLV¿OOHGZLWKJUHDWLQIRUPDWLRQ Production Dramaturg on the companies, actors, stages, and playwrights. Jeffrey R. H. Rogers (Yale School of Drama, 2007) Marjorie Garber’s Shakespeare After All is one of the best ŏ new books on Shakespeare’s plays, a great resource for Education Manager more in-depth study of the play. Ruth M. Feldman Comments: [email protected] Stephen Greenblatt’s :LOOLQWKH:RUOGG is a new speculative ŏ cled non-chlorine bleached paper. cled non-chlorine bleached paper.

biography of William Shakespeare that connects many fac- Special Thanks To: y tual events in Shakespeare’s life to the themes in his plays. the All’s Well production design team, Heide Janssen, Catherine Sheehy, ON THE INTERNET... Kate McConnell, Lydia Garcia, Walton www.shakespeare-online.com is a fantastic resource, Wilson, Allegra Printing including information on Shakspeare’s life, a glossary of ŏ Cover Design by Elizabethan words, and essays on all of the plays. Punch & Judy Inc www.bardweb.net has up-to-date links to reviews and ar- ticles on Shakespeare in the media. www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare has complete texts of all of Shakespeare’s plays, including All’s Well. ABOUT THE YALE REPERTORYY THEATRE... Additional funding for WILL POWER! 2006 For more information on Yale Repertory Theatre, check out is generously provided by the our website: www.yalerep.org. As we get closer to the per- Educational Foundation of America, the formance, more dramaturgical notes and information will be Jane Marcher Foundation and Anna available on the All’s Well That End’s Well page. Ardenghi Fitch Charitable Purpose Trust. Yale Repertory Theatre is a recipient of a National Endow-

ment for the Arts grant. The NEA offers an interesting WILL POWER! 2006 Teacher Workshop: This supplement has been printed on 100% post-consumer rec website featuring information on Shakespeare productions Hospitality sponsored by around the country. Check out their website at Claire’s Corner Copia/Basta Trattoria www.shakespeareinamericancommunities.org with additional support from The Yale Bookstore E S 12