April 13th, 2011: Editing Shakespeare's Text
Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 8:00AM Rehearsals don't start for a few months and, at this point, my time is mostly dedicated to logistics and fund-raising. In addition, I have one responsibility directly related to preparing for the rehearsal process: editing the final script. I can just hear you saying, "Editing? The Bard's words? Why would you do that?" I'm so glad you asked.
When staging a modern dramatic work, the director generally knows what the script is: it's what's in the book. The director is encouraged, sometimes bound by copyright, to use the text as written.
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All's Well That Ends Well from a replica of the First Folio.
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Shakespeare is a little more complicated. There really are no definitive texts. Elizabethan authors lacked the copyright protection and publishing mechanisms of the modern day. As a result, we often don't know whether a particular text of a play is accurate or authentic. Some early editions of the plays were published while Shakespeare was alive, but many of those are thought to be compiled from the memories of actors and audience members who were on hand when the plays were performed. Later folios are often thought to be more accurate, but even that is controversial.
To add to the confusion, there are many editions since the folios that edit, modernize and combine previous texts with the objective of making the language easier to read, more suited for research or to meet the editor's conception of authenticity.
At the end of the day, however, the director needs to choose an existing text, or edit a new one, that will be suitable for the production that he or she envisions. That may mean not only picking and choosing between editions, but also making further modifications, such as cutting for time or audience comprehension.
It requires a lot of time and patience, but it is a crucial part of the process of producing Shakespeare's work. And, fortunately, it's something I enjoy doing. Yes, I am a Shakespeare text nerd and proud of it.
My editing decisions with All's Well That Ends Well are something of a departure from our first two seasons. I decided to cut very little from the original source material in our first two productions. While this strategy worked just fine last year for the tersely written A Midsummer Night's Dream, our inaugural production of As You Like It ran a little long, clocking in at over two and half hours without an intermission.
This year, I started with the First Folio as our source. All's Well That Ends Well is a long play that I thought would strain the audience's attention. So, I took out the scissors and started cutting (well, figuratively speaking--all my editing is done on a computer). All in all, about 25% of the play ended up on the cutting room floor. The editing process was considerably more time consuming than in previous years, as I examined each line, even each word, as a candidate for removal. The criteria for evaluation were:
- Does it advance the story?
- Would it entertain our audience?
- Does it contain breath-taking language that sends shivers down my spine?
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A teaser from the All's Well That Ends Well poster.
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If the answer to all these questions was "no," the word, the line, and, yes, even the entire scene, was cut. I did not add any material, nor modernize the language, keeping the process well within the range of editing, rather than adaption.
Some people might find my willingness to remove the words of the Bard cavalier, or even heretical, but it is worth noting that almost every company producing one of Shakespeare's plays will go through a process similar to this. And the notion of creating an "authentic" experience by leaving the play untouched and unaltered ignores that the world has changed and the modern theatre-going experience has changed with it (thankfully).
So we try to use Shakespeare's wonderful words and relevant themes to say something about what the world is like now. Considering these plays were written over four centuries ago, it's always amazing to me how little the text needs to change to speak to modern audiences.
If you have an opinion about how we edit, or about editing in general, feel free to pop over to our Facebook page and let us know. And, if you are curious about where the text started and how it changed, let me know and I would be happy to send you a PDF with redlines, showing each deletion, modification and addition.
Daniel R Somerfield
Artistic Director
Last month we quietly rolled out a new website. We improved the site organization, adding more information and photos from previous shows. The site is still a work in progress, and we will continue improving the site, adding more information about the organization and providing more broadly useful information about Shakespeare. If you have any comments on the site, feel free to let us know.
If you want to participate in Willamette Shakespeare's season, there are a number of ways to do so. If you are an actor, we encourage you to attend our open auditions that we hold at the beginning of the year.
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Nathan Dunkin as Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream
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If you are interested in participating in the design or technical aspects of the production, please send a resume to daniel@willametteshakespeare.org. If you are not experienced in theatre on or off-stage but still would like to participate, there are other ways you can help: we are always on the lookout for people to volunteer as ushers, as house-managers, and for poster placement, etc.
And, of course, we welcome donations. We are committed to keeping the shows free, and we can't do that without help from people who can afford to make a contribution. Willamette Shakespeare is a 501(c)(3) public charity, and any contribution made to the organization is tax deductible and can be matched with the Oregon Cultural Trust for a tax credit. More information on contributing via check or online is available at our website.
Performances of All's Well That Ends Well will be Fridays and Saturdays at 7 PM and Sundays at 6 PM. Although food will be available for purchase, you are welcome to bring your own picnic. Local wines will be available for sale at all locations. Oregon Liquor Control Commission regulations do not permit audience members to bring their own alcohol.
- August 5th - 7th: Reed College Cerf Ampthitheatre, Portland, OR [map]
- August 12th - 14th: Stoller Vineyards, Dayton, OR [map]
- August 19th - 21st: Montinore Estates, Forest Grove, OR [map]
A number of other companies have shows coming up this spring and summer. We encourage you to support Shakespeare in the Willamette Valley by attending as many of these shows as you can.
Tickets are $18
Shoebox Theatre
2100 SE 10th Ave in Portland
- 6/19 2pm - Mt Tabor Park
- 6/21 10pm - Location TBA - A Midsommer Nights Dream on Midsummer Night
- 6/25 2pm - Washington Park
- 6/26 2pm - Cathedral Park
- 7/8 8pm - Nehalem Bay State Park (Midsommer)
- 7/9 1pm - Nehalem Bay State Park
- 7/10 2pm - Irving Park
- 7/16 2pm - Laurelhurst Park
- 7/17 2pm - Laurelhurst Park (Much Adoe)
- 7/22 7pm - Director Park
- 7/24 6pm - Carolwood Park, Beaverton 7/30 2pm Gabriel Park
- 7/31 2pm - Lents
- 8/14 1pm - Gresham Plaza
Free
Varous parks around Portland
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