Director's Project Takes On Richard III

Calm, tranquil, quiet. Besides the chatterings of a few techies doing last-minute painting, the Loeb Mainstage is empty two hours before dress rehearsal begins. The seemingly lifeless theater is like a bear in winter, hibernating until the next performance.

The stage is set for a production of Shakespeare's "Richard III," a joint project of students and visiting drama professionals--a unique mix that only find its way to the Loeb every other year. For this show, Tina Packer, the founder of the renowned theater company Shakespeare & Co. in Lenox, has collaborated with students on all aspects of the production.

The stage will come to life in mere hours, but it already shows hints of 15th-century England. Cocoa-shell mulch that crunches underfoot covers the stage floor. Three huge rocks--actually large chunks of styrofoam--lie on a large platform beside the main part of the stage. A curved and seemingly rickety ramp meanders its way from a height of about 10 feet down to the stage.

And it seems like ghosts or ghouls could emerge through the centuries from the dark "pit" in the center of the stage. Like a bear on the verge of spring, the theater is calm and restful but ready to roar.

Soon an epic play spanning three hours, two intermissions and four centuries will bring the set to life with

emotion and intrigue. The "Richard III" castwill bring medieval London to life with the taleof a lifelong fight for the English throne.

Playbill

"Richard III," which runs today through May 8,is the third Visiting Director's Project (VDP)--aHarvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club (HRDC) programthat hosts a professional director at Harvardevery other spring. Richard's cast and crew raveabout the program because it has allowed them toreceive first-class theater instruction normallylacking in a Harvard education.

"[Packer] became our first choice because ofher reputation," says co-producer Seth C.Harrington '00 who was involved in the search fora director.

Last September, Packer decided to take a breakfrom her position as artistic director atShakespeare & Co. to direct "Richard III." Shebrought to Cambridge techniques she learned whilestudying drama at the Royal Academy of DramaticArt and in many productions since.

Packer invited some of her assistants atShakespeare & Co.to help with the VDP production.Professional directors, voice coaches and fightchoreographers have helped train the cast,according to Joe C. Gfaller '01, who plays theArchbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Ely andthe Duke of Norfolk.

"The play becomes as much about the process asthe final performance itself--so that along theway you feel as if you are working as much towardsrefining a craft as you are towards mounting aplay," Gfaller says. When the play opens tonight,the audience will be treated to refinedShakespearean "lamentations" and a full-fledgedbattle scene.

But Shakespeare in particular is about thescript itself, according to cast members, andPacker has emphasized the importance of focusingon the words. To this end, she used a techniquecalled "dropping in," that was new to most castmembers.

The technique comes into play before the actorshave memorized their lines. Packer took theirscripts and fed them the words slowly--even one ata time--while asking them questions about theircharacters. Cary P. McClelland '02, who is theshow's assistant director along with Monica A.Henderson '99, says the technique means thatactors memorize their lines along with mentalassociations that help them play their characters.

"You become very intimately involved with thetext which makes it much easier to memorize linesbecause you've spent so much time with the words,"Gfaller says. Dropping in pulls meaning out of theindividual words instead of imposing meaning onthem, he says.

"Dropping in was a trip," says Peter D.Richards '01, who play Lord Hastings. "It reallyhelped you get a hold of your character early on."

Several actors said that at times the processcould be overwhelming since it demands so much oftheir own emotion. Frances C. Chang '00, who playsthe Duchess of York, says she couldn't help cryingthe first time she tried "dropping in."

"It's very intense," says Benjamin L. Kornell'02, who plays Lord Stanley, the Earl of Derby."It works very well for Shakespeare becauseShakespeare is as much about the words themselvesas about acting."

The intense learning experience these actorshave had with the VDP highlights what they say isa gap in Harvard's curriculum. With no theaterdepartment or concentration, Harvardundergraduates mainly rely on each other forguidance. The VDP is one of the few opportunitiesfor Harvard undergraduates to work with moreexperienced theatrical veterans or professionals.

"There are not enough chances forundergraduates to actually do a show withprofessionals," says VDP Coordinator Jessica K.Jackson '99, who has been working on the 1999project for two years.

Although Harvard offers students a plethora ofperformance opportunities, the lack of instructionis a "trade-off." Chang says the VDP has been arefreshing change from her normal theatreinvolvement.

"With student directors, no matter how goodthey are, you tend to second-guess them a bit,"she says.

Students involved in "Richard III" say theproduction has taught them the value of training,a value they will bring to their futurestudent-run endeavors.

"The more professional training we can get, themore Harvard is going to benefit from the actorsand artists that have their training here," saysMarisa N. Echeverria '00, who plays King Richard."I really respect the VDP."

On the Scene

"Richard III" has demanded longer hours fromits cast and crew than most Harvard productions.The students say the show has become their life,overwhelming their academic and social lives.

"The long hours started much earlier than theydo for normal plays," says cast member AhanaKalappa '01, who plays the Marquis of Dorset.

The first read-through was in the first week ofMarch, and rehearsals began the week before springbreak. During the past two weeks, they have beenat rehearsal, on-call from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. everynight.

Thandi O. Parris '02, who plays Henry, Earl ofRichmond and the Second Murderer, says her socialrelationships are either nonexistent or rapidlydeteriorating because she doesn't see other peoplebesides the Richard cast. But she accepts thisbecause she "loves the cast and the theaterexperience."

"You deal with it," she says. "Everyone wantsthis production to be really good...we want to seethe results."

Some of the actors say the play is more of apriority than their academics. Most say they cancatch up on their classes after the curtain hasclosed for the last time.

"This is a job, more so than my school-work,"McClelland says.

Last Sunday was the longest day of rehearsal.It was the beginning of "wet tech"--in whichtechnical elements such as light and sound wereslowly introduced into the play. At noon the castcommenced the three-hour production, which draggedon until midnight because of stops and starts tocoordinate lighting and sound.

Some actors express dissatisfaction with havingto be at rehearsal all day, even when theircharacter was not on stage.

"There's no reason why I should be heretonight," Parris says as she snuggled under ablanket in the Loeb's "Green Room" on Sundaynight. She soon went back to sleep.

Short-Staffed

The "Richard III" crew was forced to worklonger hours than usual in part because of acampus-wide shortage of students experienced intheater work.

Set designer Daniel O'Connell Scully '99 becamea "de facto" technical director when a permanentone could not be found. He estimates that he hasnow spent at least 200 hours working on the show.

Co-producer Harrington attributes the failureto find a permanent technical director to ashortage of "TDs" on campus.

"For the most part, most of the people thatcould have done it were already busy," he says.

As a result, Scully, co-producer Elizabeth H.Feakins '99, Harrington and others picked up theslack in building the set.

"While we don't have a TD per se, we do havepeople fulfilling the roles of a TD in addition totheir other roles with the show," Harrington says.

Starting with load-in on April 18, tech workhad been done at the Loeb. But the productionprocess began long before that. The producers hadan initial meeting with Packer in December, andScully met with Packer in January to discusspotential designs.

Harrington says he has spent six to 10 hoursworking on the show each day during the past twoweeks. Though Harrington is not "on call" atspecific times like the actors, he said he has tobe prepared to do something for the show at alltimes.

"Producers are like a doctor, you're on call 24hours," seven days a week, he says.

In the Wings

When the curtain rises tonight, the actors onstage will not be the only ones with a hand in theproduction. Even though "Richard III" has stadiumseating, there is still a production team in thewings. From the producers and stage manager to thelight ops, there are over 70 members of the"Richard III" production team.

But while the actors have been working togethersince March, most of the crew joined only in thepast few weeks.

What is it like to mesh together the cast andthe crew late in the game?

"It's like when you bring a picture you drew inschool home to your parents and you want them toapprove of it," says set designer Scully. "Youalways like someone to validate your work," namelythe actors, in this case.

The set is one of the more risky aspects thisshow, which features stadium seating, an exitbeneath the stage (the aforementioned "pit") andcocoa-shell mulch, posing as dirt, on the floor.

According to Scully, stadium seating has notbeen used at the Loeb since about 1980.

"It presents a whole new set of problems [inexecution,]" he says.

With stadium seating, the actors are surroundedby the audience on both sides.

"It's sort of giving the Mainstage the feelingof a black box," Gfaller says. Black box theatresare flexible in design and can change to fitalmost any type of set. Like Harvard's Loeb Ex,most black boxes host experimental, short-runproductions.

Actors say the stadium seating was a challengebecause they need to make themselves heard on allfour sides. Some say the setting makes them feelvulnerable, since they can not hide from theaudience's eyes.

"It's a real challenge to be both subtle and[be] heard at the same time," Juri Henley Cohn '00says.

"Stadium seating] makes me think big," Henry D.Clarke '00 says. "You have to talk out of yourback, you really do."

After becoming accustomed to the set, someactors called it "thrilling."

"I like having people all over the place,"Clarke adds. "Hopefully it will make the audiencefeel like more a part of the show."

Tripletake

In "Richard III," the title role of Richard isactually split up among three different actors,including one woman, Echeverria.

"I've actually really enjoyed it," she says ofthe traditionally male role." I just try to getreally physically and mentally charged and have agood time."

Echeverria says her character is veryenergetic.

"He's really wily and resourceful andintelligent and he's on his toes all the time,"she says, adding that Richard has many physicalattributes both men and women can relate to, suchas seduction and manipulation.

"Richard has a lot of seduction inherent inhim," she says. She says she "can play with theseduction of Buckingham" a major male character,as well as with a feminine side.

Monteleoni also plays Richard, in the firstpart of the play. He says that "it's scaryA-9PLAYCrimsonSunana Sohi

emotion and intrigue. The "Richard III" castwill bring medieval London to life with the taleof a lifelong fight for the English throne.

Playbill

"Richard III," which runs today through May 8,is the third Visiting Director's Project (VDP)--aHarvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club (HRDC) programthat hosts a professional director at Harvardevery other spring. Richard's cast and crew raveabout the program because it has allowed them toreceive first-class theater instruction normallylacking in a Harvard education.

"[Packer] became our first choice because ofher reputation," says co-producer Seth C.Harrington '00 who was involved in the search fora director.

Last September, Packer decided to take a breakfrom her position as artistic director atShakespeare & Co. to direct "Richard III." Shebrought to Cambridge techniques she learned whilestudying drama at the Royal Academy of DramaticArt and in many productions since.

Packer invited some of her assistants atShakespeare & Co.to help with the VDP production.Professional directors, voice coaches and fightchoreographers have helped train the cast,according to Joe C. Gfaller '01, who plays theArchbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Ely andthe Duke of Norfolk.

"The play becomes as much about the process asthe final performance itself--so that along theway you feel as if you are working as much towardsrefining a craft as you are towards mounting aplay," Gfaller says. When the play opens tonight,the audience will be treated to refinedShakespearean "lamentations" and a full-fledgedbattle scene.

But Shakespeare in particular is about thescript itself, according to cast members, andPacker has emphasized the importance of focusingon the words. To this end, she used a techniquecalled "dropping in," that was new to most castmembers.

The technique comes into play before the actorshave memorized their lines. Packer took theirscripts and fed them the words slowly--even one ata time--while asking them questions about theircharacters. Cary P. McClelland '02, who is theshow's assistant director along with Monica A.Henderson '99, says the technique means thatactors memorize their lines along with mentalassociations that help them play their characters.

"You become very intimately involved with thetext which makes it much easier to memorize linesbecause you've spent so much time with the words,"Gfaller says. Dropping in pulls meaning out of theindividual words instead of imposing meaning onthem, he says.

"Dropping in was a trip," says Peter D.Richards '01, who play Lord Hastings. "It reallyhelped you get a hold of your character early on."

Several actors said that at times the processcould be overwhelming since it demands so much oftheir own emotion. Frances C. Chang '00, who playsthe Duchess of York, says she couldn't help cryingthe first time she tried "dropping in."

"It's very intense," says Benjamin L. Kornell'02, who plays Lord Stanley, the Earl of Derby."It works very well for Shakespeare becauseShakespeare is as much about the words themselvesas about acting."

The intense learning experience these actorshave had with the VDP highlights what they say isa gap in Harvard's curriculum. With no theaterdepartment or concentration, Harvardundergraduates mainly rely on each other forguidance. The VDP is one of the few opportunitiesfor Harvard undergraduates to work with moreexperienced theatrical veterans or professionals.

"There are not enough chances forundergraduates to actually do a show withprofessionals," says VDP Coordinator Jessica K.Jackson '99, who has been working on the 1999project for two years.

Although Harvard offers students a plethora ofperformance opportunities, the lack of instructionis a "trade-off." Chang says the VDP has been arefreshing change from her normal theatreinvolvement.

"With student directors, no matter how goodthey are, you tend to second-guess them a bit,"she says.

Students involved in "Richard III" say theproduction has taught them the value of training,a value they will bring to their futurestudent-run endeavors.

"The more professional training we can get, themore Harvard is going to benefit from the actorsand artists that have their training here," saysMarisa N. Echeverria '00, who plays King Richard."I really respect the VDP."

On the Scene

"Richard III" has demanded longer hours fromits cast and crew than most Harvard productions.The students say the show has become their life,overwhelming their academic and social lives.

"The long hours started much earlier than theydo for normal plays," says cast member AhanaKalappa '01, who plays the Marquis of Dorset.

The first read-through was in the first week ofMarch, and rehearsals began the week before springbreak. During the past two weeks, they have beenat rehearsal, on-call from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. everynight.

Thandi O. Parris '02, who plays Henry, Earl ofRichmond and the Second Murderer, says her socialrelationships are either nonexistent or rapidlydeteriorating because she doesn't see other peoplebesides the Richard cast. But she accepts thisbecause she "loves the cast and the theaterexperience."

"You deal with it," she says. "Everyone wantsthis production to be really good...we want to seethe results."

Some of the actors say the play is more of apriority than their academics. Most say they cancatch up on their classes after the curtain hasclosed for the last time.

"This is a job, more so than my school-work,"McClelland says.

Last Sunday was the longest day of rehearsal.It was the beginning of "wet tech"--in whichtechnical elements such as light and sound wereslowly introduced into the play. At noon the castcommenced the three-hour production, which draggedon until midnight because of stops and starts tocoordinate lighting and sound.

Some actors express dissatisfaction with havingto be at rehearsal all day, even when theircharacter was not on stage.

"There's no reason why I should be heretonight," Parris says as she snuggled under ablanket in the Loeb's "Green Room" on Sundaynight. She soon went back to sleep.

Short-Staffed

The "Richard III" crew was forced to worklonger hours than usual in part because of acampus-wide shortage of students experienced intheater work.

Set designer Daniel O'Connell Scully '99 becamea "de facto" technical director when a permanentone could not be found. He estimates that he hasnow spent at least 200 hours working on the show.

Co-producer Harrington attributes the failureto find a permanent technical director to ashortage of "TDs" on campus.

"For the most part, most of the people thatcould have done it were already busy," he says.

As a result, Scully, co-producer Elizabeth H.Feakins '99, Harrington and others picked up theslack in building the set.

"While we don't have a TD per se, we do havepeople fulfilling the roles of a TD in addition totheir other roles with the show," Harrington says.

Starting with load-in on April 18, tech workhad been done at the Loeb. But the productionprocess began long before that. The producers hadan initial meeting with Packer in December, andScully met with Packer in January to discusspotential designs.

Harrington says he has spent six to 10 hoursworking on the show each day during the past twoweeks. Though Harrington is not "on call" atspecific times like the actors, he said he has tobe prepared to do something for the show at alltimes.

"Producers are like a doctor, you're on call 24hours," seven days a week, he says.

In the Wings

When the curtain rises tonight, the actors onstage will not be the only ones with a hand in theproduction. Even though "Richard III" has stadiumseating, there is still a production team in thewings. From the producers and stage manager to thelight ops, there are over 70 members of the"Richard III" production team.

But while the actors have been working togethersince March, most of the crew joined only in thepast few weeks.

What is it like to mesh together the cast andthe crew late in the game?

"It's like when you bring a picture you drew inschool home to your parents and you want them toapprove of it," says set designer Scully. "Youalways like someone to validate your work," namelythe actors, in this case.

The set is one of the more risky aspects thisshow, which features stadium seating, an exitbeneath the stage (the aforementioned "pit") andcocoa-shell mulch, posing as dirt, on the floor.

According to Scully, stadium seating has notbeen used at the Loeb since about 1980.

"It presents a whole new set of problems [inexecution,]" he says.

With stadium seating, the actors are surroundedby the audience on both sides.

"It's sort of giving the Mainstage the feelingof a black box," Gfaller says. Black box theatresare flexible in design and can change to fitalmost any type of set. Like Harvard's Loeb Ex,most black boxes host experimental, short-runproductions.

Actors say the stadium seating was a challengebecause they need to make themselves heard on allfour sides. Some say the setting makes them feelvulnerable, since they can not hide from theaudience's eyes.

"It's a real challenge to be both subtle and[be] heard at the same time," Juri Henley Cohn '00says.

"Stadium seating] makes me think big," Henry D.Clarke '00 says. "You have to talk out of yourback, you really do."

After becoming accustomed to the set, someactors called it "thrilling."

"I like having people all over the place,"Clarke adds. "Hopefully it will make the audiencefeel like more a part of the show."

Tripletake

In "Richard III," the title role of Richard isactually split up among three different actors,including one woman, Echeverria.

"I've actually really enjoyed it," she says ofthe traditionally male role." I just try to getreally physically and mentally charged and have agood time."

Echeverria says her character is veryenergetic.

"He's really wily and resourceful andintelligent and he's on his toes all the time,"she says, adding that Richard has many physicalattributes both men and women can relate to, suchas seduction and manipulation.

"Richard has a lot of seduction inherent inhim," she says. She says she "can play with theseduction of Buckingham" a major male character,as well as with a feminine side.

Monteleoni also plays Richard, in the firstpart of the play. He says that "it's scaryA-9PLAYCrimsonSunana Sohi