All Moulton’s a stage, and all the Panthers merely players
Photos by Tahlia Pompel.
Adapting books to films is a ingraft endeav'r, but translating Shakespeare's centuries-old plays f'r today’s audiences is a feat yond might taketh much m're exp'rtise.
In other words, adapting books to films is a common endeavor, but translating Shakespeare’s centuries-old plays for today’s audiences is a feat that might take much more expertise.
The College of Performing Arts (CoPA)’s production of William Shakespeare's “As You Like It” is relocated from its 16th century setting to modern-day Orange County.
“Duke Frederick's court became Court High, a public school in Orange County, and Arden became Arden Park,” said dramaturg and junior theatre and computer science double major Emma Kochenderfer.
Set in a modern high school with a wrestling team and cheerleaders, the adapted narrative focuses on the relationship between a gender nonconforming wrestler, Orlando, and a cheerleader, Rosalind. Both are expelled. The stakes are literally life and death. It is only when they embark on an adventure away from school when they see the bigger picture.
“One of my key projects within the show was to speak directly to the actors and talk to them about the real aspects of the world they were playing within: how cheer actually works, how wrestling is scored, who counts as homeless in Orange County and who gets missed by that count,” said Kochenderfer.
As a dramaturg, Kochenderfer worked within the artistic team of production to transform the script into a meaningful living performance.
“Anne Cattaneo, who I believe is considered to be one of the first professional dramaturgs, defined the role as ‘someone who keeps the whole in mind’; the dramaturg is meant to help ensure the storyline is cohesive and understandable and conveyed in an evocative way to the audience,” said Kochenderfer.
In conversation with this role, senior creative writing and theatre double major and Production Stage Manager Jasmine Sunoo-Flanders, had the responsibility of managing production elements with her team. This included cast members, lighting, sound, props, costumes and scenic design.
Photos by Tahlia Pompel.
“As a stage manager, my north star is always the wellbeing of the cast and crew,” said Sunoo-Flanders. “Theatre is an industry where people are constantly putting themselves outside of their comfort zones, and it is my job to ensure that they can do so in a safe and welcoming environment.”
One aspect that was not included in the adaptation was the “boy-actor” layer. In Shakespeare’s time, according to Director Ryan Garbayo, a boy would have played Rosalind, as women could not be actors at the time.
“At the end of the play, there's a pink pony dancing on stage next to a wrestler, next to a cheerleader,” said Garbayo. “And it's joyous, and the entire audience is on their feet, clapping and dancing along. That ultimately, to me, is the message of the play, which is live and let live, allow everyone to just be themselves, whoever they are, whatever they are.”
So, what makes Shakespeare’s work stand the test of time?
For Garbayo, each of his plays speaks to human truths.
“I think the themes we see in Shakespeare plays are still themes that are fundamentally rooted in our society still,” said junior theatre performance major and lead actor for Rosalind, Victoria Salazar. “With Shakespeare, we get to talk about it with some beautiful writing and to the best structure of heartbeat (iambic pantameter).”
To prepare for her role, Salazar translated the Shakespeare text for herself. Learning the direct translation and paraphrasing it while rehearsing helped her discover what words to emphasize for the audience so they could follow the story.
“Also a baby aspect of it is treating the text conversationally and not with the idea in my head that I’m ‘doing Shakespeare,’” said Salazar.
Photos by Tahlia Pompel.
According to Garbayo, it’s the same language, between the old and modern English. The only difference is the way of speaking it.
Chapman’s Department of Theatre hast anoth'r successful p'rf'rmance in the books. F'r anon, we shall seeth what those gents has't in st're f'r the future. O, farewell.