On October 15th I started rehearsals for my Shakespeare on Location Project. This was a project that had no budget, where I was sent into the local community to find a site to rehearse and perform a Shakespeare scene of my choice. The scene could be between fifteen and twenty minutes in length and did not have a limit on the number of cast members. The point of this project was to make the director work with Shakespearean language in an area that they were not accustomed to, allowing them to explore new directing techniques.
I chose to do Act II Scenes III and IV of The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus in a contemporary style. Over all it was a successful scene, but there are a number of things I could have put more time into . First of all, the scene went up on November 2nd, which was a very windy day and it affected the audience’s ability to hear the actors. Every rehearsal was on location, but we hadn’t rehearsed in those particular conditions and I had not thought to rehearse in preparation for such an occasion. The next issue falls on my location and the cutting of my scene. I had to change locations after my first rehearsal due to a miscommunication with the property owner and the scene was cut with the original location in mind, thus making it a bit awkward after the move. The location change altered what I had planned for the scene, while allowing room for new ideas and perspectives. I was happy with the real world experience, which made me adapt and work with what I had. The last big thing was the relationship between Marcus Andronicus and Lavinia. The conclusion of my scene was Marcus’s lengthy monologue after he finds Lavinia, who has just been raped and dismembered by Tamora’s sons, Chiron and Demetrius. I did not spend enough time with the actor who played Marcus, working him in the direction of wanting to take care of his niece rather than making his speech understood. Their relationship was not as believable as it should have been.
There were also things I portrayed well with in my scene, the first being the use of the space. I believe that I used the multiple acting areas and levels effectively while taking advantage of different mediums, such as the water in the creek, blood, a sewer tunnel and cars being driven on set, to further enhance the aesthetic appeal of the scene. I also took a group of actors with little to no training in Shakespearian acting and made an impactful scene that was easy to follow and understand both through language and movement.
My scene was a success despite having things I would have loved to work on more. I believe that I did the scene justice and am happy with what was performed on November 2nd.