Directing Shakespeare : a scholar onstage / Sidney Homan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Homan, Sidney, 1938-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Dramatic production.

Shakespeare, William.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Criticism and interpretation.

Theater--Production and direction.

Theater.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (166 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Athens : Ohio University Press, c2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

An Impossible Question From A Chinese Actor - Why is Shakespeare eternal? - drove Sidney Homan after fifty years in the theater to ponder just what makes Shakespeare... well, Shakespeare. The result, Directing Shakespeare, reflects the two worlds in which Homan operates - as a scholar and teacher on campus, and as a director and actor in professional and university theaters. His concern is the entire process, beginning in the lonely period when the director develops a concept and moving into increasingly larger realms: interaction with stage designer; rehearsal; and public performances in which the audience's response further shapes the play. Homan recounts the experience of staging King Lear accompanied by a musical score for piano, violin, and cello played live onstage. He discusses the challenge of making and trying to justify cuts in Hamlet. A casual remark from an actress leads to a feminist production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. He describes the delicate collaboration between director and performer as he works with actors preparing for The Merchant of Venice, King Lear, and Hamlet. Other chapters treat a set designer's bold red drapes that influenced the director's concep

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Preface: Bridging the Gap between Text and Performance

Acknowledgments

1: Creating Lear Onstage

2: Cutting Shakespeare

3: A Director's Concept for The Comedy of Errors

4: Interacting with the Actors

5: Set Design and Theatrical Presence in Julius Caesar

6: Adapting A Midsummer Night's Dream for the Cast, Producer, and Theater

7: A Mirror for Staging Hamlet

8: "Why, Sir, Is Shakespeare Eternal?"

9: Never Too Young, Never Too Old

Notes

Sources

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-148) and index.

ISBN:

0-8214-4166-3

OCLC:

191947492