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previewBare Theatre Preview RALEIGH THEATER WILL STAGE “TWELFTH NIGHT” Raleigh, NC-based Bare Theatre will perform TWELFTH NIGHT on Sept. 21 and 22 at the Holly Springs Cultural Arts Center in Holly Springs and on Sept. 27-30 at Common Ground Theatre in Durham. Bare Theatre managing director Heather J. Hackford will direct the show. Hackford recalls, “My first experience with this script was in middle school when my class took a field trip to see a very modern production of it. I don’t remember details about the trip, but I do know that I understood what was going on in the play and I laughed a lot. I became very familiar with the script when my college theater department (Flagler College, St. Augustine, FL) produced the show. I was cast in the role of Maria, and I laughed even more.” She adds, “This script contains some of my favorite characters in Shakespeare. They are all filled with so much heart and desire and without apology. Personally, this process has been a refreshing reminder to live life with an open heart and to take joy in what surrounds us. I wanted to direct this play for a couple reasons: The first being the group of actors that I would get to work with that possess every ounce of heart that their characters do. The second being the journey of discovering not only the tremendous humor in the script, but the touching stories as well, and the challenge of being true to both.” First performed in 1601-02, TWELFTH NIGHT; OR WHAT YOU WILL is one of the most popular romantic comedies by the Immortal Bard, legendary English dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616). It is a frequent choice by Triangle theater groups. “At the beginning of the show,” says director Heather Hackford, “there has been a terrible shipwreck. Viola (Carmen-maria Mandley) finds herself washed onto the shore of Illyria believing that her twin brother, Sebastian (Seth Blum), is dead. A sea captain (Joyce Davis) tells Viola of a nobleman named Orsino (Khoa Pham), who is love with the lady Olivia (Rebecca Blum). Viola decides to disguise herself as a man by the name of Cesario and goes to work in the household of Duke Orsino, quickly becoming his favorite over Curio (Richard Butner) and Valentine (Ann Forsthoefel). Orsino is pining away for Olivia as she continues to refuse him because she is mourning her dead brother. The perfect love triangle is created when Orsino, believing Viola to be a young boy, sends her to woo Olivia on his behalf and Olivia falls in love with Viola. “Meanwhile,” Hackford explains, “members of Olivia’s household are getting into their own trouble: her drunken uncle, Sir Toby (Matt Schedler); her gentlewoman, Maria (Kacey Reynolds); a servant, Fabian (Loren Armitage); and her fool, Feste (Tara Pozo), along with a foolish knight that is trying to woo Olivia, Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Jeff Buckner), are plotting against Olivia’s prudish steward, Malvolio (Sarah Schmitt).” Hackford adds, “Sebastian, Viola’s twin brother whom she believed to be drowned, also arrives in Illyria with the help of Antonio (Chuck Keith). Antonio swears to protect Sebastian even though he is wanted by the law in Illyria and follows him [into Duke Orsino’s realm]. With both twins in the same place unbeknownst to each other, mischievous pranks underfoot, and all of these characters falling love, the probability for mistaken identity, drunken debauchery, and bloody coxcombs is high in Illyria.” Besides director Heather J. Hackford, the TWELFTH NIGHT production team includes lighting designer Andy Parks, costume designer Jeremy David Clos, sound designer G. Todd Buker (a.k.a. Proxy), clown trainer Kat Randle, and stage manager Beth Rayburn. TWELFTH NIGHT also features original music by Buker. Hackford says the show’s set consists of “simple, black platforms signifying Orsino’s house and Oliva’s courtyard.” She adds, “[Lighting designer] Andy Parks creates beautifully rich pictures, moving the story from sea coast to courtyard to throne.” Heather Hackford notes, “The show will be costumed in elaborate Elizabethan fashions created by Bare Theatre costume designer Jeremy David Clos, with assistance from Sarah Schmitt, Krissina Newcomb, and Greensboro College student Jennifer Aiello. Brocades, velvets, jacquards, and lavish trims have been used to create the historically inspired fashions, some of which are adorned with cut crystals and replicas of period jewels -- all created especially for this production.… “This production will be performed at two different venues, which is a first for me as a director,” admits Hackford. “It has been a challenge to keep in mind both spaces and try to shape the show for both.” However, she adds, “There is really no telling what will happen, given the fierce and dynamic personalities that inhabit Illyria.” Bare Theatre presents TWELFTH NIGHT Friday, Sept. 21, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 22, at 2 and 8 p.m. at the Holly Springs Cultural Arts Center, 300 W. Ballentine St., Holly Springs, North Carolina; and Thursday-Friday, Sept. 27-28, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 29, at 2 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Sept. 30, at 2 p.m. at Common Ground Theatre, 4815-B Hillsborough Rd., Durham, North Carolina. $15 ($7 students, seniors, and active-duty military personnel). HOLLY SPRINGS PERFORMANCES: 919/567-4000 or etix.com. COMMON GROUND PERFORMANCES: 919/771-3281 or http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/19067. BARE THEATRE: http://www.baretheatre.org/next.html. HOLLY SPRINGS CULTURAL ARTS CENTER: http://www.hollyspringsnc.us/dept/park/culture. COMMON GROUND THEATRE: http://www.cgtheatre.com/. SHAKESPEARE RESOURCES (courtesy University of Virginia): http://etext.virginia.edu/shakespeare/. E-TEXT (courtesy UVa): http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/ShaTNF.html (1623 First Folio Edition) and http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/MobTwel.html (1866 Globe Edition). |