Study Guide for Educators Based on the screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard Adapted for the stage by Lee Hall Lyrics by Carolyn Leigh Music by Paddy Cunneen This production of Shakespeare In Love is generously sponsored by: Emily and Dene Hurlbert Linda Stafford Burrows Ron and Mary Nanning Ron Tindall, RN Shakespeare in Love is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French Inc 1 Welcome to the Pacific Conservatory Theatre A NOTE TO THE TEACHER Thank you for bringing your students to the Pacific Conservatory Theatre at Allan Hancock College. Here are some helpful hints for your visit to the Marian Theatre. The top priority of our staff is to provide an enjoyable day of live theatre for you and your students. We offer you this study guide as a tool to prepare your students prior to the performance. SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDENT ETIQUETTE Note-able behavior is a vital part of theater for youth. Going to the theater is not a casual event. It is a special occasion. If students are prepared properly, it will be a memorable, educational experience they will remember for years. 1. Have students enter the theater in a single file. Chaperones should be one adult for every ten students. Our ushers will assist you with locating your seats. Please wait until the usher has seated your party before any rearranging of seats to avoid injury and confusion. While seated, teachers should space themselves so they are visible, between every groups of ten students. Teachers and adults must remain with their group during the entire performance. 2. Once seated in the theater, and prior to the show starting, students may go to the bathroom in small groups and with the teacher's permission. Please chaperone younger students. Once the show is over, please have your students remain seated until the House Manager dismisses your school. 3. Please remind your students that we do not permit: • food, gum, drinks, smoking, backpacks or large purses • disruptive talking, disorderly or inappropriate behavior (stepping on/over seats, throwing objects, etc.) • cameras, iPods, cell phones, audio or video recorders, hand-held video games. (Adults are asked to put any cell phones on silent or vibrate.) In cases of disorderly behavior, groups may be asked to leave the theater without ticket refunds. 4. Teachers should take time to remind students before attending the show of the following about a live performance: Sometimes we forget when we come into a theatre that we are one of the most important parts of the production. Without an audience there would be no performance. Your contribution of laughter, quiet attention and applause is part of the play. When we watch movies or television, we are watching images on a screen, and what we say or do cannot affect them. In the theatre the actors are real people who are present and creating an experience with us at that very moment. They see and hear us and are sensitive to our response. They know how we feel about the play by how we watch and listen. An invisible bond is formed between actors and a good audience, and it enables the actors to do their best for you. A good audience helps make a good performance. The Pacific Conservatory Theatre welcomes you as a partner in the live theatre experience from the moment you take your seats. We hope that your visit will be a highlight of your school year. 2 Creative Team and Cast Director Roger DeLaurier Choreographer Katie Fuchs-Wackowski Fight Choreographer Mark Booher Peter S. Hadres Music Director Ilana Atkins Scenic Designer Abby Hogan Costume Designer Sara Curran Ice Lighting Designer Jennifer ‘Z’ Zornow Sound Designer Nathan Schilz Voice and Dialect Coach Andrew Philpot Production Stage Manager Zoia N. Wiseman 3 Cast of Characters Will Shakespeare Yusef Seevers Kit Marlowe George Walker Henslowe Peter S. Hadres Labert / Guard Jesse Baxter Fennyman Don Stewart* Frees / Robin Matt Jones Burbage Erick Stein* Mistress Quickly / Molly Amani Dorn* Tilney Brian Bohlender Queen Elizabeth Polly Firestone Walker Viola de Lesseps / Thomas Kent Emily Trask* Nurse Kitty Balay* Ralph Vincent Lemos Nol Ashur Gharavi Barman / Peter Jacob Alcazar Adam/ Boatman Christian Zumbado John Webster Robert Kiner Wabash Tanner Lieser Wessex Andrew Philpot* Sir Robert de Lesseps Brad Carroll Sam Daniel Geiger Ned Alleyn Parker Harris Kate Anna Weidner Ensemble Capri Campeau Luc Clopton Allison Feist Jack Sabido Jonathan Valerio Caeron Vargas *Member, Actor’s Equity Association (Actors' Equity Association (“Equity"), founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional Actors and Stage Managers. Equity fosters the art of live theatre as an essential component of society and advances the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Actors' Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions.) 4 HOW TO USE THIS STUDY GUIDE Emily Trask* as Viola, George Walker as Kit Marlowe (back), Yusef Seevers as Will Shakespeare (front), Kitty Balay* as Nurse The Study Guide is a companion piece designed to explore many ideas depicted in the stage production of Shakespeare In Love. Although the guide's intent is to enhance the student's theatrical experience, it can also be used as an introduction to the elements of a play (in this case a play with music), and the production elements involved in the play's presentation. Although many students are familiar with the film this play is based on, this specific stage adaptation presents a wealth of new questions for this generation to answer. The guide has been organized into three major sections: Elements of the Story. Elements of Production, Activities. Teachers and group leaders will want to select portions of the guide for their specific usage. Discussion questions are meant to provoke a line of thought about a particular topic. The answers to the discussion questions in many instances will initiate the process of exploration and discovery of varied interpretations by everyone involved. This can be as rewarding as the wonderful experience of sight and sound that Shakespeare In Love creates on-stage. It is recommended that the film version, available on DVD, Blue Ray or streaming video, be used in conjunction with discussion of the play. 5 ELEMENTS OF THE STORY STORY SYNOPSIS Emily Trask* as Viola de Lesseps Yusef Seevers as Will Shakespeare Young Will Shakespeare has writer’s block and needs some inspiration. His ideas for his new comedy, Romeo and Ethel the Pirate’s Daughter, are less than genius and the owner of the theatre is under scrutiny from the producer, to whom he owes money. Meanwhile, across town, a rival theatre performs Will’s the Two Gentlemen of Verona, and heaven forbid, they added a dog, all without his permission! The high-spirited young lady, Viola De Lesseps, who knows Will’s work very well, wishes to be on the stage. This, of course, is against the law in Elizabethan England, but it doesn’t stop her from trying. Disguised as a young man and going by the name Thomas Kent, Viola attends auditions for Will’s next play, the very one he is struggling to finish. Viola returns home to prepare for the ball being hosted by the De Lesseps household and discovers her father has arranged a marriage for her to a Lord Wessex, a wealthy Virginia plantation owner Emily Trask* as Viola de Lesseps Will and his playwright friend Christopher Marlowe come to her house looking for “Master Kent” to offer him the lead of Romeo in his play and are invited to come in to the ball. Here Will sees Viola for the first time, and soon a scene similar to the initial meeting of Romeo and Juliet takes place. Will’s sudden attention to Viola offends Lord Wessex, and when asked for his name, Will introduces himself as Marlowe. Later, Viola’s nurse delivers Will’s message to Viola about her getting the role in the play but warns that acting will not end well for her. Marlowe accompanies Will to Viola’s balcony, and a Romeo-and- Juliet- like balcony scene unfolds as Will discovers new-found inspiration. The nurse discovers Will before he escapes, but now the household is onto him—but by the name Marlowe. 6 Rehearsals begin the next day and Viola (as Kent) plays Romeo. As they continue, the story gradually changes from one about Romeo and a pirate’s daughter to one with a love interest named Juliet. Wessex visits Viola and informs her of their impending marriage and journey to Virginia. Though it breaks her heart, Viola sends word to Will that he must not visit her again because it is too dangerous. Will follows Kent from rehearsal and divulges his desperate love for Viola. He soon discovers Viola’s disguise, and they come together in passion for each other. Will tries to convince Viola to run away with him instead of marrying Wessex. She knows she can never do this, and that she must go with Wessex to receive the Queen’s approval for their marriage. Once at court, the Queen examines Viola and privately tells Wessex she can tell Viola has another lover. In his anger, he assumes it is Marlowe and goes after him. As things continue to fall apart, one of Will’s rivals claims he has rights to the Romeo and Juliet manuscript and attempts to get it away from the cast during a rehearsal. Will’s company manages to hold on to it, but as they celebrate, Viola/Kent discovers Will has an estranged wife and two children.