Taming of the Shrew - Justification Essay
Taming of the Shrew - Justification Essay
Act l Scene ll
Shakespearean texts have revolutionised the language of English, with many directors of theatre, opera, music, film and radio adapting Shakespeare’s works to convey their interpretation of his texts. As a director, I wanted to incorporate aspects of my life in the classic Shakespearean romantic comedy, Taming of the Shrew, without forgetting the conventions that make Shakespeare’s texts classics.
The stage chosen for our production was slightly slanted downstage, allowing the audience to clearly see the movements of actors. The stage design was rectangular, however, instead of the usual straight edge of the downstage wall, a semicircular design was used. This design allowed the actors more space to move. A large curtain separated the rectangular and the semicircular structures of the stage, which provided space for an actor to act their soliloquy, while behind the curtain, the stage would be remodelled for the next scene, which was signified by the drawing of the curtains.
In Act l Scene ll, Petruchio and Grumio share a comedic misinterpretation outside of Hortensio’s house. I decided to keep within the era, but change the physical environment, from Padua to the city of Venice, as it held great meaning to me, while still honouring the classical Shakespearean setting. The change to Venice would mean that Hortensio’s house would be situated on the water, and Petruchio and Gremio would be travelling upon the water in a gondola prop to depict this. With the scene change, also comes minor dialogue changes for the actors, ‘I trow this is his house hereby water’s edge’.
At the start of the scene at centre -stage left, Petruchio is seated at the front of a gondola prop, with Grumio rowing, positioned toward the back of the gondola prop. The water of the canal they are on is depicted by a projection of a pool of water onto the stage floor from above and the sound of rushing water. A bridge prop is located
Act l Scene ll
Shakespearean texts have revolutionised the language of English, with many directors of theatre, opera, music, film and radio adapting Shakespeare’s works to convey their interpretation of his texts. As a director, I wanted to incorporate aspects of my life in the classic Shakespearean romantic comedy, Taming of the Shrew, without forgetting the conventions that make Shakespeare’s texts classics.
The stage chosen for our production was slightly slanted downstage, allowing the audience to clearly see the movements of actors. The stage design was rectangular, however, instead of the usual straight edge of the downstage wall, a semicircular design was used. This design allowed the actors more space to move. A large curtain separated the rectangular and the semicircular structures of the stage, which provided space for an actor to act their soliloquy, while behind the curtain, the stage would be remodelled for the next scene, which was signified by the drawing of the curtains.
In Act l Scene ll, Petruchio and Grumio share a comedic misinterpretation outside of Hortensio’s house. I decided to keep within the era, but change the physical environment, from Padua to the city of Venice, as it held great meaning to me, while still honouring the classical Shakespearean setting. The change to Venice would mean that Hortensio’s house would be situated on the water, and Petruchio and Gremio would be travelling upon the water in a gondola prop to depict this. With the scene change, also comes minor dialogue changes for the actors, ‘I trow this is his house hereby water’s edge’.
At the start of the scene at centre -stage left, Petruchio is seated at the front of a gondola prop, with Grumio rowing, positioned toward the back of the gondola prop. The water of the canal they are on is depicted by a projection of a pool of water onto the stage floor from above and the sound of rushing water. A bridge prop is located