Sharing Shakespears

The spring semester “Shakespeare Performed” class showcased their efforts in a production of “The Winter’s Tale” last weekend. The class, consisting of 13 students, gave performances Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the Center for the Arts.

While the course is dual listed in the English and theatre/dance departments, the class consisted of students from various majors. Taught by Professor of English Mark Muggli, students spent the first half of the semester reading and analyzing various Shakespeare plays through discussion, journal assignments and papers.

“Professor Muggli stressed that Shakespeare is great to read, but it really comes alive in performance,” Tonya Tienter (‘12) said. “We’ve really been able to see that here.”

Tienter commented that with themes such as jealousy, misunderstanding and deception, Shakespeare’s plays are still relevant to today’s issues.

The second half of the course focused largely on the performance aspect of Shakespeare’s works. The class first read “The Winter’s Tale,” assigned roles and then worked on memorizing lines. While some students came with previous acting experience, others, such as Joe Schifsky (‘12), did not.

“I wanted something different from the typical English class,” Schifsky said. “The class has helped me get over the fright of acting.”

The class performance last week was an abridged version of “The Winter’s Tale,” which was 75 minutes long and included about 60 percent of the original production. Muggli did the abridgement himself in order to preserve every character and scene. While Muggli aided with the directing and blocking of scenes, students were given creative license to say their lines and portray their characters as they chose.

“Shakespeare theater puts its greatest emphasis on the words and how the words drive you to action,” said Muggli.

Some students, such as Tienter, played multiple roles in the production, which Muggli said is typical of Renaissance theater. Playing a jailer, a lord and also a clown character, Tienter commented that her most difficult roles weren’t the speaking parts.

“[Acting] is almost more of a challenge with characters who don’t speak, with trying to stay in character and not let your face drop,” Tienter said.

Tienter also commented that quick costume changes were sometimes difficult. Students exited the stage and re-entered minutes later as an entirely new character. However, the class used simple costuming and minimal props to allow for maximum concentration on the performing aspect. With no background sets, it was up to the cast to create the scenes themselves through acting. While Shakespeare’s original language was used, the actors wore modern dress such as business suits or overalls, depending upon the character.

Muggli and his students were satisfied with the weekend’s performances. Playing King Leontes, a man who blames his wife of adultery in a jealous rage, Mike Moran (‘12), agreed.

“Everyone involved really pulled it together well and were very focused during the performances,” Moran said.