Shakespeare in the park
The Sun Valley Shakespeare Festival brings ‘Twelfth Night’ to
Ketchum
By ADAM TANOUS
Express Staff Writer
Productions of Shakespearean plays sometimes get short shrift by the
public. And, of course, it isn’t always our fault.
While we know intellectually that works of Shakespeare are replete with
beautiful language, puns, and complex plots, the artistry can be lost on us because it is
dense to the point of being inaccessible.
The Sun Valley Repertory Company, in association with New Theater Company,
is hoping to overcome this inherent hurdle when they bring Shakespeare’s
"Twelfth Night" to the Sun Valley Shakespeare Festival, opening Sunday, Aug. 17
at the Forest Service Park in Ketchum.
Instrumental in achieving this goal, according to Kathy Wygle, one of the
founders of the Festival along with Kimberly White, is the participation of Shakespeare
and Company, a Lenox Mass., theater school and company. The production of "Twelfth
Night" will be a truly collaborative effort employing local actors and musicians as
well as members of Shakespeare and Co.
Sarah Hickler, a faculty member at Shakespeare and Company, is directing
the play. Last week she spoke with a reporter about the play.
"Twelfth Night" was chosen not only because it is a
"hilarious comedy but very poignant as well," Hickler explained.
Shakespeare’s play is the story of a shipwrecked Viola who falls into a web of love
and mistaken identity. Hickler added that "Twelfth Day" (Jan. 6) was
traditionally a holiday marking the Epiphany. "It was a carnival of feasting, drink,
and misrule, where everything was topsy-turvy."
To capture this festival-like atmosphere, Hickler chose to set the play on
the island of Bali. She brought back all sorts of costumes and materials from her last
trip to the island. The production will also incorporate traditional Balinese music with
compositions by local musician, Chad Stewart.
Hickler recounted how the idea of using Bali came to her. She was on her
second trip to the island, sitting in an outdoor, café when a procession came by with all
of its exotic colors and fanfare. She thought then, this was the way to put on
"Twelfth Night."
By employing live music, a fun plot of mistaken identity, and colorful
costumes, Hickler hopes to create a show that will appeal to adults and children alike.
While the set, costumes, and music can make a production more appealing, a
great deal of responsibility still rests on the acting. This is where the expertise of
Shakespeare and Company comes into play. Their mission, according to Hickler, is to make
Shakespeare more understandable. She said this is done through "voice work," by
teaching the "actors to embody the language so the audience can connect to it."
She encourages the "actors to be specific in knowing what they are saying." She
also emphasized the importance of "direct audience interaction, in other words,
talking to the audience." She added, "More people are drawn into a play when
they are watching people who are emotionally and intellectually connected to what they are
saying and to their relationships to each other.
Wygle and Hickler hope that the Festival will grow in the future. They
were both enthusiastic about the way local actors and musicians and the Shakespeare and
Company people had been collaborating. The large cast of 20 has been rehearsing nearly 12
hours a day. So far, Hickler said, everything has been going well. "The cast has been
very good-humored."
The production runs Aug. 17-20 and Aug. 24-27 at the Forest Service Park
in Ketchum. All shows will be at 6 p.m. Wygle said that there will be bleacher seating,
but she encouraged people to bring blankets and beach chairs as well. Food will be
available on the grounds. Advance tickets are available at Chapter One Bookstore in
Ketchum.
