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| Shakespeare Santa Monica Twelfth Night Players Reed Park 2013 Photo Credit: Natalie Fong |
SUSAN CLOKE
Columnist
“Shakespeare is as much an attribute of summer
as ice cream and BBQ,” commented Jessica Cusick, Cultural Affairs Manager for
the City of Santa Monica, when talking about Shakespeare Santa Monica at Reed
Park.
I think the Bard himself would have been pleased
with the sounds of merriment coming from the laugh out loud audience at the
Shakespeare Santa Monica performance of Twelfth
Night.
Twelfth
Night is a classical shipwreck romantic comedy.
The grown twins Viola and Sebastian are separated
when their boat is shipwrecked. To
survive until she can be reunited with her family Viola pretends to be a young
man and goes into the service of the local duke, Orsino.
Viola promptly falls in love with Duke Orsino
but he is in love with Countess Olivia.
As part of her responsibilities Viola is
required to woo Olivia on behalf of the duke
when she would much rather be the one he wooed.
The complications of mistaken identity and the
audience knowing the truth create great humor as the dramatic twists and turns of
the play bring about its rightful end with the matching of the lovers.
Vincente Cardinale directs Twelfth Night. John
Copeland plays Malvolio to the hilarious delight of the audience. Elizabeth Godley and Chelsea Brynd share
the role of the enchanting Viola.
We see Copeland again in The Taming of the Shrew, this time
as Hortensio. Lillian Beaudoin is Kate. Her suitor, Petruchio, is played by Tim Halligan.
“The Taming
of the Shrew is typically known as a battle of the sexes,” the play’s
director, John Farmanesh-Bocca said, “Kate is a wounded bird – fighting for
liberation. And the story is one
of two people, each of whom is given to trouble and how they become
paired. It is a case of a mischief
maker finding another mischief maker and making a match.”
John Farmanesh-Bocca, who is also the Artistic Director
of Not Man Apart, the parent company of Shakespeare Santa Monica, said, “ To
give perspective on the plays, in the late 1500’s and early 1600’s when these
plays were first performed was also the time when the New World was being
discovered and explored.” He went
on to say, “Taming of the Shrew was an early play, simplistic, its adolescence
is right there whereas Twelfth Night
is a complex and heart centric play.”
Not Man Apart Physical Theatre Ensemble is known
for use of athleticism and dance to tell their story. They communicate
character and plot through intense movement. All performers are both dancers and actors. Not Man Apart has produced plays at the
Getty Villa, the Kirk Douglas Theater and the Los Angeles Theater Center.
Every year they hold a “Fortnight Training”. Louis Schneeder, Chair of the Classical
Studio at NYU and Jean-Louis Rodrique, Chair of Master’s Acting at UCLA join
Farmanesh-Bocca in guiding the actors’ workshop and to form the ensemble for
Shakespeare Santa Monica.
When the Shakespeare plays were first performed
The Lord Chamberlain’s Men were the players. Often plays were staged in grass tennis courts with torches
to light the action.
Shakespeare Santa Monica carries on the
tradition by holding performances in the tennis court at Reed Park in Santa
Monica.
The last two shows of this summer’s season are
this weekend with Taming of the Shrew
playing August 30 at 8:00 and Twelfth
Night August 31 at 8:00. Suggested donation is $20 and 18 and under have free
admission. For more information go to: www.shakespearesantamonica.com
I think and hope the physicality and
athleticism, the antics and high jinks used in the telling of these enduring plays
will make you laugh out loud in this fun romp through Shakespeare.
Let me know!
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