PRODUCTION GUIDE EDUCATION & OUTREACH TOURING SEPTEMBER 29 - NOVEMBER 24 ASOLO REP

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1 ASOLO REP EDUCATION & OUTREACH PRODUCTION GUIDE 2015 New Stages Tour PRODUCTION GUIDE ASOLO REP EDUCATION & OUTREACH By WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Adapted and Directed by JEN WINEMAN TOURING SEPTEMBER 29 - NOVEMBER 24

2 ASOLO REP LEADERSHIP Producing Artistic Director MICHAEL DONALD EDWARDS Managing Director LINDA DIGABRIELE FSU/Asolo Conservatory Director, Associate Director of Asolo Rep GREG LEAMING TWELFTH NIGHT CREATIVE TEAM Director JEN WINEMAN Production Design MELISSA TRN Sound Design MATTHEW PARKER Dramaturg LAURYN E. SASSO Stage Managers KELLY A. BORGIA RACHEL MORRIS Prop Master MARLENN MAROTTE WHITNEY Voice and Dialect Coach PATRICIA DELOREY ASOLO REP EDUCATION & OUTREACH STAFF Education & Outreach Director KATHRYN MORONEY Education & Outreach Specialist RIA COOPER Education & Outreach Apprentice JENNA SMOGER Literary & Education Apprentice REID SHELLEY Need a digital copy of this guide? Video webisodes will be created during the rehearsal process and tour; education@asolo.org to be notified when a new webisode is available. These will also be posted online. TABLE OF CONTENTS THE NEW STAGES TOUR...1 WHY HIDE OUR HEARTS? An Introduction...2 WHO GOVERNS HERE? People and Plot...3 IS THERE FACT IN THE FICTION? Clues from History...4 HOW DOES LOVE SOUND? Lanugage and Music...5 BE THE ARTIST...6 WHY ADAPT SHAKESPEARE?...7 HOW IS TWELFTH NIGHT ADAPTED?...8 WHAT LAND IS THIS? A Modern Illyria...9 AFTER THE PERFORMANCE...10 UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES...BACK COVER WHAT IS THE NEW STAGES TOUR? The New Stages Tour brings a Shakespeare performance directly to your school. You will see one of Shakespeare s comedies shortened into a 45-minute version created uniquely for Florida students, and performed for the very first time this fall. The performers are actors in the third and final year of their Masters of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree in the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. After Twelfth Night each of these actors will perform in additional plays at Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, FL, until their graduation in This production is fully rehearsed and choreographed, but because it travels to one or two locations each school day, it cannot rely on complex scenery or lighting. In addition to the actors performances, Twelfth Night will use costume design, sound design (including music), and simple prop elements. In this way our performance is not so different from the theatre of Shakespeare s time: Torches, candles, or other visual cues could identify the time as night, as could costumes (like nightgowns ) Women were played by boys, kings by commoners; night scenes, staged in the middle of the afternoon, were created by language. Marjorie Garber, Shakespeare After All Every New Stages Tour performance is followed by a question and answer session with the cast. We encourage you to consider and discuss what you would like to ask the actors, including questions about the play, how they interpret their characters, or their experience rehearsing and performing Shakespeare s work. Ideas are included throughout this guide to spark your curiosity. 1

3 WHY HIDE OUR HEARTS? An Introduction My father had a daughter loved a man Centuries have passed since Shakespeare wrote his plays, but a conversational tactic he used is one we still recognize. So, I have this friend we might say today, in order to avoid a personal confession that would reveal something too vulnerable. Twelfth Night s heroine uses the same camouflage: Say that some lady, as perhaps there is She hides behind a hypothetical example to speak in code about her own romantic interest. Of course Shakespeare s vocabulary was different from ours, and he allowed his characters to speak in poetry as well as prose, which most of us don t do in our daily lives. Settings, manners, and customs have all changed since he lived and wrote. Those changes mean that today s students, actors, and professional scholars alike all have to look closely to interpret Shakespeare s words. Once we get beyond what is unfamiliar, however, the way people behave hasn t changed so much. His plays are the greatest example there is of people s theater: in this theatre the public found and still finds its own problems and re-experiences them. Jean-Paul Sartre, philosopher and writer Shakespeare s plays deal with secrets a few different ways. A soliloquy or an aside gives a character the chance to tell thoughts and feelings directly to the audience. A character in disguise a feature of many of Shakespeare s plays has the chance to hear and say things they might not otherwise. In this excerpt, Orsino and his new employee are having guy talk about why Orsino s crush, Olivia, won t love him back. Orsino doesn t know that Cesario, the young man he s talking to, is actually a woman in disguise, and he certainly doesn t know that she is in love with him. CESARIO: Say that some lady, as perhaps there is, Has for your love as great a pang of heart As you have for Olivia; you cannot love her; You tell her so; must she not then be answered? ORSINO: Make no compare Between that love a woman can bear me And that I owe Olivia. CESARIO: Ay, but I know ORSINO: What do you know? CESARIO: Too well what love women to men may owe: In faith, they are as true of heart as we. My father had a daughter loved a man, As it might be, perhaps, were I a woman, I should your lordship. ORSINO: And what s her history? CESARIO: A blank, my lord. She never told her love. Emotions like love, longing, and loss which fill Twelfth Night have not changed. Shakespeare crafted a play where we, the audience, get to know every character s secrets before they are revealed to others. When someone speaks in code, we have the key. And so we get to look past the surface they show to the world, and into their hearts. Orsino and Viola Frederick Richard Pickersgill ( ) Have you ever used this tactic yourself? Can you think of a book, movie, or real life situation where someone asked a question for a friend? What was the person trying to keep secret? Why? While Shakespeare s plays document how the English language was evolving, language is still changing today. Around 500 new words and phrases entered the Oxford English Dictionary in June 2015, including twerk, FLOTUS, yarn-bombing, and crowdfund. Which do you know? Which might you guess from recognizing related words? Which seem very specific to time and culture? What is an aside? What is a soliloquy? Find an example in another of Shakespeare s plays. Watch for examples of these in the performance. Which of Shakespeare s other plays also use disguises? How do they compare? Read this excerpt first from Orsino s point of view. Then, read it from Cesario s point of view, remembering that he is a woman in disguise. How does Orsino understand the conversation? What do you hear as the audience that he does not? EXCERPTS throughout this guide are taken from the adapted script as of 9/21/15. To prepare for the play, do you feel you have to understand every character s point of view? Why or why not? Do you ever make up your secrets about your character but not tell them to the rest of the cast? 2

4 WHO GOVERNS HERE? People and Plot Look at Act 1, Scenes 1 and 2 of the uncut Twelfth Night. These scenes introduce Curio, Valentine and a sea Captain, who are all combined as Valentine in this adaptation. What changes might be made to accomplish this? Does it change the story? Using this information, draw a character map with everything you know about the relationships in the play. If you are not reading Twelfth Night or already familiar with the full plot, look at the romantic interests in your map. How do you imagine Shakespeare will change these by the end of the play? Finish the sentence: People want love because. Is all love the same? How many different kinds of love can you describe? You might base this on your own experience, on the characters in another work you have studied, or on reading Twelfth Night. How many different versions of love did you see in the play? Describe how one or more of these characters feels about love. What did you see or hear that influenced your impression? Do any of the characters experience love in similar ways? Whose experience of love strikes you as most true to life and why? One critic wrote: If some of the play s characters do find that their fantasies come true, others are punished for daring to have fantasies at all. Many of these characters want something they cannot have. Does this give the play humor? Does this give the play sadness? What s the difference? Do crazy coincidences in this plot make it hard for you to stay truthful or realistic in your work? What can you do as an actor to transform yourself into another person? What helps you to discover a character who is very different from you? STRANGERS COME ASHORE SEBASTIAN: Some hour before you took me from the breach of the sea was my sister drowned. After their boat was caught in a storm, twins Viola and Sebastian each believe the other has drowned. Sebastian was rescued by Antonio, who chooses to travel with Sebastian and protect him, even though he has enemies in the area. VIOLA: And what shall I do in Illyria? Without her brother or any family, Viola hopes to find safety and work. Valentine describes his employer, Orsino, and they disguise Viola as a boy to work for him. UNREQUITED LOVES ORSINO: If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it! 1996 film adaptation of Twelfth Night with Imogen Stubbs and Helena Bonham Carter. FOOLISH AMBITIONS Orsino is lovesick for Olivia, but Olivia is mourning for her dead brother and rejects all messages of love. Orsino sends Cesario Viola disguised in her new male identity to describe his love, and Olivia finds herself falling for the new messenger boy. VIOLA: Whoever I woo, myself would be his wife. Viola/Cesario has fallen in love with her boss, who believes she is a boy. ANDREW: I saw your cousin do more favors to Orsino s serving-man than ever she bestowed upon me. Two others also imagine themselves with Olivia: Andrew Aguecheek is encouraged by Toby Belch that he may have a chance to win her love. Toby and Fabian convince Andrew to fight with Cesario in order to prove himself in Olivia s eyes. MALVOLIO: Have ye no wit, manners, nor honesty, but to make an alehouse of my lady s house! Malvolio frequently reprimands Olivia s other staff for their foolishness. Toby s girlfriend Maria plays a prank by writing a fake letter to convince Malvolio that Olivia loves him secretly and wants him to change the way he acts and dresses. Malovolio wants Olivia s love and A 2013 production at Hartford Stage, featuring Malvolio (Bruce Turk) and company on a whimsical set design by Alexander Dodge. (Photo by T. Charles Erickson) follows the instructions, but everyone acts like he has lost his mind. Feste, a clown, puts on a disguise to join the mischief. FESTE: And thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges. 3

5 IS THERE FACT IN THE FICTION? Clues From History FABIAN: If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction. Shakespeare s comedies are filled with events and characters and plot twists that are not realistic. Disguises, mistaken identities, twins, cross-dressing, magic, gods and goddesses, coincidence, fairy sprites, concealments, ruses all these devices abound in Shakespeare s comedies. Ken Ludwig, playwright While the plot of Twelfth Night strikes us as improbable, its antics may also reflect the real world of its time period. Historical context helps us to consider what may have been important to Shakespeare and his audience at the time he was writing. Consider the following examples and watch for where they appear in this play, or where they have been altered. SOCIAL STATUS Elizabethan society was intensely, pervasively, visibly, hierarchical: men above women, adults above children, the old above the young, the rich above the poor, the wellborn above the vulgar. In his book Will in the World, Stephen Greenblatt depicts Shakespeare s particular effort to obtain a family coat of arms, and imagines that watching his father s rise and fall in fortunes may have impacted the young artist: Again and again in his plays, an unforeseen catastrophe one of his favorite manifestations of it is a shipwreck suddenly turns what had seemed like happy progress, prosperity, smooth sailing into disaster, terror, and loss. The loss is obviously and immediately material, but it is also and more crushingly a loss of identity. To wind up on an unknown shore, without one s friends, habitual associates, familiar network this catastrophe is often epitomized by the deliberate alteration or disappearance of the name and, with it, the alteration or disappearance of social status. BREAKING RULES Twelfth Night is the English holiday celebrated on the evening before January 6, otherwise known as the Feast of the Epiphany. In England, Twelfth Night was a feast of misrule, a festival of eating and drinking during which masques and revels were presented. The roots of this tradition lie in the Roman festival of Saturnalia, which fell during December, and which was characterized by role-playing, particularly the role reversals of masters and slaves. At the time Shakespeare was writing, professional fools had long been members of royal and noble households in England and Europe. While the fool did not enjoy the same status, an allowed fool, as Olivia describes in Twelfth Night, could make irreverent or disrespectful jokes among and about the nobles. Compare Twelfth Night to another of Shakespeare s comedies. Which of these fanciful elements do they have in common? What is the least realistic work of fiction in any genre (film, tv, literature, etc.) that you have enjoyed? What made it unrealistic? What did you enjoy about it? What is the most realistic work of fiction you have enjoyed, and why? After the play, describe elements that were unrealistic. Describe elements of realism. Which of these did you enjoy most and why? Compare with others reactions. Research topics: What is a coat of arms? What was John Shakespeare s social standing before and during his son s lifetime? Did Shakespeare take Orsino s advice to let your love be younger than yourself? What is known about Shakespeare s own experience of love, marriage, and children? Research where may Shakespeare have meant by the country of Illyria. What information would an English citizen have about such a place, and what would it take to journey there? You can sample a performance performed entirely by men: 2014 Tony Awards Show Clip Twelfth Night on YouTube. Research the role of women in theatre in another place and/or culture. How does it compare with the Elizabethan theatre? Today women s roles in theatre are also under scrutiny, as significantly fewer women than men are employed in many theatrical professions. Find a recent article discussing this issue. MEN DRESSING AS WOMEN (DRESSING AS MEN) Women were not permitted to perform on the English public stage. All Shakespeare s females were written for and performed by boy players. The many cross-dressed roles in the plays took advantage of this material and historical fact, allowing both maleness and femaleness to be bodied forth in performance, and leading, in subsequent centuries, to a particular admiration for the liveliness and initiative of these Shakespearean women. Marjorie Garber, Shakespeare After All Did any knowledge about Elizabethan times help you prepare for this play? Did you do other kinds of research for this specific role and setting? How is this play similar or different from Shakespeare s other plays you may have worked on? 4

6 HOW DOES LOVE SOUND? Language and Music Research more about the history of hired fools in Shakespeare s time. How does the Feste of this adaptation reflect that tradition, and how does the character differ from the historical basis? How does Feste compare with other fools and clowns in Shakespeare s writing? Research what is known about the actors who played Shakespeare s fools. Describe the effect of one of Feste s songs on a character who hears it. In Twelfth Night love is often linked to suffering. Watch for how each character suffers love, and the language used to describe it. Who takes their suffering seriously? Who has a sense of humor about it? How can you tell? Find a declaration or description of love that is long or complex in some other source; you might find this in a lyric, a poem, a novel, or memoir. Also find an expression of love that is extremely short or simple. Present both: which do your classmates find more powerful and why? Is it difficult to separate your personal experience with love from your character s opinions or attitudes? Is it hard to speak poetic lines, when they might be more complicated or exaggerated than the way we speak in everyday life? ORSINO: How do you like this tune? CESARIO (VIOLA): It gives a very echo to the seat / Where love is throned. In its arguably most famous lines, If music be the food of love, play on! and throughout Twelfth Night, music is linked to love: a tool to heal its hurts or to spark its flame. Music both begins and ends this play, and songs appear throughout, often sung by Feste, one of the wise fools Shakespeare included in his writing. Beyond music, descriptions of love whether spoken or written play a crucial role in this play. Viola, dressed as Cesario, inspires a love she doesn t intend while describing her boss feelings. CESARIO (VIOLA): If I did love you in my master s flame, With such a suffering, such a deadly life, In your denial I would find no sense; I would not understand it. OLIVIA: Why, what would you? CESARIO (VIOLA): Write loyal cantons of contemned love And sing them loud even in the dead of night; Holler your name to the reverberate hills And make the babbling gossip of the air Cry out, Olivia! Shakespeare gives Viola expressive poetry to describe Orsino s heart: notice she describes music and and suffering for Olivia: two of Orsino s trademarks. Her explanation also has its own music. Read these lines out loud, paying particular attention to rhythm of the verse and the vowel sounds. (Look up any words you need. You may notice that holler is a modern choice for a disputed word printed as hallow or halloo in some texts.) Shakespeare could have given Olivia any reply of equal eloquence to follow Cesario s aria. Instead she responds with a half line of monosyllables, then a four-word question. OLIVIA You might do much. What is your parentage? The Public Theatre s 2009 Shakespeare in the Park production with Audra McDonald and Anne Hathaway. (Photo by Sara Krulwich/The New York Times) In the next scene Viola describes Olivia: methought her eyes had lost her tongue, for she did speak in starts distractedly, telling us that Olivia seemed to have difficulty finding words. Shakespeare s plays are full of descriptive clues for actors about how characters are speaking and behaving. Why has Olivia lost her tongue? As you meet the characters of Twelfth Night, notice who speaks in poetry, and who plainly. Does a character ever change their manner of speech? What might Shakespeare be expressing about those moments? 5

7 BE THE ARTIST Rutina Wesley, Manoel Felciano, and Terence Archie in a 2015 production at the Old Globe in San Diego. (Photo by Jim Cox) 5) Choose an appropriate song for your scene. OR Share your play with your partner or group and let your collaborators make a selection. (In this case you are the playwright, and your collaborators serve the play the way a director, composer, or sound designer might.) : How did you decide what song expresses your story best? When the audience watches, what emotion do you hope they will use to describe this situation? 1) Brainstorm scenes or situations which call for a love song. (You might do this independently or in small groups.) Think of situations where someone might be singing or playing a love song live; also imagine settings where the music might be recorded. If there is a situation in literature or history you have read that could involve a love song, include that on your list. Be creative and see how many options you can imagine. 2) Once you have some ideas, choose a situation that you find interests you most, or divide the options among the class. 3) For each chosen situation, decide: What is the occasion? Where and when does it take place? Who is present? Why is music needed? Who chose the music? What should it express? 4) Write a mini-play which contains: Either the moment before the song begins, or the moment after it ends At least one, but no more than two lines of dialogue (If you write two lines, they may be spoken by two different people, or both by the same character.) At least one, but no more than two stage directions (Stage directions are descriptions of physical action, such as: He tears the paper and throws the scraps out the window like confetti. Try not to include any internal descriptions, such as what a character is thinking or feeling. Stage directions generally communicate things we can see, hear, or otherwise observe if we re looking from the outside.) 6) Prepare to share the play Cast the actor(s), who will read the line(s). Cast someone to narrate the stage directions, in order to show things that might not be clear in the classroom. (She carefully tapes the wrapping paper to the box of kittens.) Fully produced plays don t require this, of course, but readings of new plays in process often do. Plan the staging: is the actor sitting, standing, pacing, engaged in an activity, etc. Determine the best method to play music in the classroom, and bring the song to share. Rehearse! Everyone should know the cues to speak and start or stop the music. Make any needed adjustments. 7) Perform! Ask your audience to describe the situation with an emotion. Can the audience guess what the situation is? : Did the music help to communicate your idea? Did other elements help? 8) What happens to the scene if you trade with the song from another group? Experiment as time allows and see what changes! 9) Decide if this short scene would come in the beginning, middle, or end of a longer play. Are you inspired? Keep writing the rest of the scene or play! How was music helpful or important to preparing your work on this play? Do you have interests in other parts of theatre: playwriting, composing, directing or designing? 6

8 WHY ADAPT SHAKESPEARE? Research the standard copyright protections for a playwright today. Note that even when a work is in the public domain, other aspects may be protected. For instance, translations may be under copyright even when the source material is not. Intellectual property of other artists, including directors, choreographers, designers, may also be protected. This is one of the reasons photography and recording is prohibited at most theatres. Look at the graphic design created for this production of Twelfth Night, found on the front cover. What emotions, atmosphere, environment, or story does the image convey? What information or impression does the designer want you to have? How does the image match anything you know about the play so far? Does the design also suggest what the play will not be like? Imagine your own artwork for literature you are reading. What do you want to communicate to the viewer? Watch the trailer (or more) of the modernized film adaptation She s the Man starring Amanda Bynes as a girl trying to pass as her brother at boarding school. How does the premise match what you know about Twelfth Night? How does it differ? What elements of this story seem hardest to modernize? Do you think the modern elements make it easier or harder to perform Shakespeare? Is it strange to speak a very old form of English, and then to sing or dance to very modern music just a moment later? Every age creates its own Shakespeare. Like a portrait whose eyes seem to follow you around the room, engaging your glance from every angle, [his] plays and their characters seem always to be modern, always to be us. Marjorie Garber, Shakespeare After All In the centuries since they were first performed, Shakespeare s plays have been reimagined in countless new settings and time periods. This is possible, in part, because the plays are all in the public domain: not protected under copyright or any other restriction on how they may be performed, used, or modified. Changing the script, altering characters, or placing the action in completely new locations is legal with Shakespeare. (This is also why it is easy to find the complete text of all his plays available on the internet.) Since these plays have been seen so many times, such alterations are often expected; artists and audiences alike are curious for a fresh take. I am not interested in directing Shakespeare unless I can make it feel like a new play. I am not a purist in any way. I think you can do what you like with these plays. As long as you are not just playing around for the sake of playing around. The test is whether in your heart you feel you are being true to the play. Matthew Warchus, director In all Shakespeare s plays, there are things which were so much written for the styles and audience of their time that they don t necessarily carry the same weight today. Underneath, there is very often a purer and stronger and deeper work that today is more relevant. Peter Brook, director Opinions on these interpretations differ, and others insist that Shakespeare s stories communicate best without being forced into anachronistic settings. If one tries to bring Shakespeare by the hand towards the modern day, what one is really doing is shaving off all the marvelous exoticism and everything that was different about the spirit of that time. We need difference so that we can understand that the world hasn t always been the same, that not everyone s viewpoint has always been the same as ours, and that society did dance to an entirely different beat at one time. Dominic Dromgoole, director In many productions, the choice of a non-elizabethan setting is chiefly expressed through design elements, while the characters and language stay the same. In film Baz Luhrmanm did this famously with Romeo + Juliet (1996), and Joss Whedon more recently with Much Ado About Nothing (2013). But Shakespeare s plays have also inspired modern variations with completely new text. Romeo and Juliet inspired West Side Story, and Hamlet inspired The Lion King. More recently, O (2001) brought the world of Othello to a high school, just as She s the Man (2006) did for Twelfth Night. For this production, Director Jen Wineman explains that she thought very specifically about the student audience who would be watching Twelfth Night: It felt important to give the play a setting that students can immediately recognize, since the idea of Shakespeare can be intimidating. We all have preconceptions about what Shakespeare is supposed to look and sound like and it usually involves British accents and old-fashioned clothing. We want to break that mold for students so they can actually see themselves in these plays and these stories. Jen Wineman 7

9 HOW IS TWELFTH NIGHT ADAPTED? The play you will see is a world premiere adaptation, which means this version of the play has never been performed before. The changes to the play fall under a few main categories: CUTTING THE TEXT Shakespeare s plays can take up to four hours to perform in their entirety, but the New Stages Tour makes a goal of presenting a play and a brief discussion afterward all in just one hour. Shortening the text is by far the biggest alteration, and the director had to make many difficult choices about what parts of the plot and the dialogue are most essential for telling the story. REORDERING AND REASSIGNING Most of Shakespeare s plays have multiple plots, with action for different groups of characters happening simultaneously. Changing the order that the audience sees the events doesn t necessarily mean changing the order that they happen for the characters. With less time to tell the story and fewer lines for each role, some characters can be combined, as when this production combines the roles of Curio, Valentine, and the Captain. Adaptations often alter the age, gender, profession, or relationships for a character in a way that feels appropriate to the new setting or context. REPLACING LANGUAGE Live performance makes it impossible to pause, replay, or research a section of dialogue, no matter how rewarding the insights from careful study and textual notes may be. The philosophy of this adaptation is to remove the most archaic phrases that sound foreign to our ears, while leaving the rest of Shakespeare s language intact. Substituting an outdated word with its modern form can be straightforward: Thou know st no less but all. I have unclasp d To thee the book even of my secret soul. Becomes: You know no less but all. I have unclasped To you the book even of my secret soul. In some cases, the original words are unfamiliar; some others are words we still use, but modern audiences will only recognize unhelpful meanings: Come, come, I ll go burn some sack; tis too late to go to bed now. In this case Burn and sack are known to us, but the reference (to warm and spice some sherry for drinking) is obscure. Today a replacement may better communicate the sense of the line, even if it does not perfectly match what we believe Shakespeare intended. Come, come, I ll go fetch some wine; tis too late to go to bed now. Finally, this adaptation also trades some labels more appropriate to its new setting. For instance, because this production doesn t take place among royals, references to Orsino s court are replaced by a new phrase instead. There is evidence that even when they first appeared, Shakespeare s plays were either cut for performance, or expanded for publication. Find a scene or a speech in one of Shakespeare s plays, and try cutting it yourself. Can you make it half as long without losing necessary information? Even less? Does it still make sense? Theatre artists can also choose to rearrange the order of scenes for dramatic effect, and not just to cut length. Find an article about the 2015 production of Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch, which stirred up a lot of commentary by moving the most famous soliloquy to the start of the play. Do you think a change makes audiences more interested? Why? Jen Wineman begins this Twelfth Night differently than the original text. Why do you think she did so? Did you find her choice effective? The printing and publishing process of Shakespeare s time led to inconsistencies and variations in the written record of his plays. Research why there is no pure source for what Shakespeare intended or how his plays were first heard, and an example of an important disputed line. SPOILER ALERT!!! Reading or learning about this play may have inspired you to conceive your own new setting for this play. Where should it happen? What situation could it possibly resemble today? If you are imagining your own production and wish to be surprised by our interpretation, please save the final two pages of this guide and our online resources until after you have seen the performance! Do you enjoy performing Shakespeare in the original language? Would you ever want to perform an adaptation in contemporary speech? Do you study the parts of the play that were cut out? Why or why not? 8

10 WHAT LAND IS THIS? A Modern Illyria Review the cast of characters, as conceived for this production. Read a scene from the play with this interpretation in mind. Does it change the way you understand the scene? How does Jen s idea for the setting connect with the historical idea of Twelfth Night? (page 4.) As a class, collect information on camp to combine and share. You might find an example of camp in pop culture, or a photograph that expresses the essence of summer camp. Research popular camp songs. Find an essay, memoir, or other nonfiction account of camp. Based on these observations, how would you describe the camp experience? Are people s experiences of camp all positive? Which Twelfth Night characters may have negative experiences at camp? What is the difference between pranking, hazing, and bullying? You may want to use a resource or reference real-events to form a definition, but describe each in your own words. What happened to Malvolio? Is he responsible for what happens to him? Does he trick himself? Was he pranked, or bullied? Why? If you ve read the play, do you have a different impression from the full-length text than you did from the performance? Twelfth Night has a mischievous spirit of abandon and freedom: there s so much love, pranking, and people trying to convince other people that they re crazy in this play. Summer camp is that place where you get to reinvent yourself away from the hierarchy of school and the real world, and of course it s exactly the place for a midnight prank, or a disguise, or an unrequited love. Jen Wineman, Director This is the cast of characters as imagined for this production, along with some costume sketches by Production Designer Melissa Trn. Look for what has changed from the original, and what has stayed the same. Olivia: The owner of Camp Illyria. She has recently inherited the camp and is mourning the death of her father and brother. Orsino: Boys Head Counselor, in love with Olivia Maria: The Athletic Director, one of the guys Toby Belch: The Camp Chef, cousin to Olivia, big partyer Andrew Aguecheek: The Riding Instructor, very wealthy Fabian: The Arts and Crafts Director, a hippie Valentine: The Lifeguard, brave and studly Malvolio: The Nature Director, a real stick in the mud Feste: A camper at Camp Illyria, likes to entertain everyone Viola: A counselor at Camp Messaline, very resourceful Sebastian: A counselor at Camp Messaline, Viola s twin brother Antonio: Sailing Director at Camp Messaline, a big fan of Sebastian Left to Right: Feste, Toby and Olivia Costume Designs by Melissa Trn. Does the specific summer camp job you have help you understand your character? Has every actor been to summer camp? If not, was it harder for you to interpret the play this way? How did you work on that? 9

11 AFTER THE PERFORMANCE PLAY ON! An opportunity to win more theatre Students who see Twelfth Night have the opportunity to earn a free Youth Pass for the entire season at Asolo Rep and the FSU/Asolo Conservatory. Unlimited plays, all year long! In order to enter, please share your response to one of these Follow the visual diary of the tour on Instagram. Describe the experience of seeing Twelfth Night and why this play mattered to you. Please tell us about what you saw that felt true or important in this performance. Why do you want to see more plays this year? The theme of this year s season is Times of Change. You can read about all the upcoming plays at asolorep.org/this-season. Share what excites or inspires you about two or more of this season s productions. What kinds of change interest you, and what do you imagine or hope to see onstage? Express your answer in any one of these forms: Personal essay Poetry or song lyrics Original two-dimensional artwork, with a brief artist s statement about your creation (We recommend that any original artwork should be hand-delivered to the theatre for safety.) Letters to the artists (while you may mention individual performers, your letter should be appropriate to share with the entire ensemble of actors and creative staff who work on a production) Every entry must include your name, school, grade level, mailing address and telephone number. An address is optional. Entries should be sent to: Play On! Asolo Rep Education & Outreach 5555 N. Tamiami Trail Sarasota, FL Or, to education@asolo.org with the subject line Play On! Entries must be received by December 1, Winners will be notified by December 15. Asolo Rep Youth Passes are also available for purchase for $35. asolorep.org/ticketing/subscriptions or Kelsey Petersen and Kevin Barber from Asolo Rep s presentation of the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training production of Twelfth Night. (Photo by Annamae Photo.) 10

12 UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES AT ASOLO REP Shakespeare Family Series: Family-friendly Twelfth Night performances are preceded by a warm-up and introduction to the play, and followed by a meet and greet with the cast. Shakespeare in the Gardens Saturday, October 24, 1pm Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Reservation recommended: Selby.org Shakespeare Under the Stars Saturday, November 14, noon Bishop Planetarium at South Florida Museum Reservation recommended: SouthFloridaMuseum.org Shakespeare at Bay Preserve Sunday, November 22, 3pm Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast Reservation required: , Arts Journalism application deadline: Selected students in grades 9-12 gain behind-the-scenes access to the worlds of professional theatre and arts reporting with Sarasota Herald-Tribune theatre critic Jay Handelman and artists and staff from Asolo Rep. November 30 at midnight Information and application available: asolorep.org/education/student-journalism West Side Story music video shoot: Learn simple movement to this musical s famous songs, and perform alongside members of our cast with your neighbors, family, and friends! Saturday, December 5, noon-1pm Free, RSVP requested education@asolo.org or ext Family Day at West Side Story: An affordable way to see this classic American musical, with special activities to show how magic is made at Asolo Rep. Saturday, December 5, pre-show activities begin at 1pm, 2pm matinee Four tickets for the price of one; call box office for ticket package details Box office: or tickets.asolorep.org Career Night: We welcome students, educators, and parents for a backstage tour of Asolo Rep, followed by a panel discussion with representatives from the many different departments of our robust regional theatre. Friday, February 5, 5:30-7:30pm Free, by reservation only education@asolo.org or ext Education & Outreach at Asolo Rep asolorep.org/education education@asolo.org ext Instagram.com/AsoloRep Youtube.com/user/AsoloRep Facebook.com/AsoloRepEDU Twitter.com/AsoloRepEDU Asolo Rep s New Stages Tour is made possible, in part, by the following: LEAD SPONSOR: MAJOR DONORS ($5000+) Anonymous Asolo Repertory Theatre Guild Charles and Margery Barancik David and Betty-Jean Bavar Cordelia Lee Beattie Foundation Mandell and Madeleine Berman Foundation Susan and Jim Buck Margot and Warren Coville Linnie E. Dalbeck Memorial Foundation Trust Andrew R. Ferrell Foundation Leslie Glass Larry and Debbie Haspel Pamela Hughes Judy Zuckerberg and George Kole FRIENDS OF EDUCATION ($1000+) Peggy and Ken Abt Bob and Pat Baer Walton and Deborah Beacham Jennie Branagan Tom and Ann Charters Kathy Cole George and Diane Davis Susan Dweck Herman and Sharon Frankel Jelks Family Foundation Ron Legere Carolyn Keystone and Jim Meekison Melvy Erman Lewis John and Elenor Maxheim Jonathan and Cynthia McCague Melanie and Sean Natarajan Anna Nekoranec and Bengt Niebuhr Plantation Community Foundation Maurice Richards and Jack Kesler Laurence Saslaw Ted and Mary Ann Simon Ronald Taub* and Marcia Jean Taub Leon and Marysue Wechsler Stephen V. Wilberding and Teri A Hansen Z Foundation FRIENDS OF EDUCATION ($500+) Richard and Noreen Ackerman Richard and Pat Anderson Michael Donald Edwards Stephen and Maureen Horn Charles Knowles Randy and Susan Mallitz Molly Schechter Michelle Senglaub Ed and Mary Lou Winnick *in memoriam VISIT US ONLINE AT ASOLOREP.ORG/EDUCATION 12