KINGSTON, R.I. — Feb. 13, 2020 — In one week, the curtain will go up on the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s first theater production of the semester, \u201cRichard III,\u201d which has been transformed from Shakespeare\u2019s second longest play into a 90-minute, fast-paced, action drama.<\/p>\n
Written in 1593, \u201cRichard III\u201d follows the journey of King Richard III of England\u2019s rise to power. Richard will stop at nothing to take the throne from his brother Edward IV. Richard manipulates his brother\u2019s widow, Lady Anne, into marrying him, and has his older brother, Clarence, executed, only to shift the blame on to Edward. Edward is already dealing with great sickness, and this only accelerates his death. After Richard takes the throne, he murders any of the noblemen who are loyal to Lady Anne and sends his brothers\u2019 children to the tower, where they are executed. The people of England are enveloped in fear, and in France, the Earl of Richmond is preparing to invade England.<\/p>\n
The play is being directed by Joe and Josh Short, brothers and 溏心vlog免费B站 alumni. Joe Short works full-time at Harvard University as a theater technician and director, and Josh Short is the founder of The Wilbury Theatre in Providence.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the terrific things about acting with Shakespeare, is that it’s very easy to deepen into the work and get even more connected to the text as you say these beautiful and profound lines,\u201d said Joe Short. \u201cIt was fun watching the students fall in love with Shakespeare.\u201d<\/p>\n
To make the play appeal to a modern audience, the brothers collaborated with students to combine characters, eliminate scenes and incorporate music and dance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe live in a much more fast-paced and visual world, and we have to make sure we are speaking to the audience in a way that everyone will understand,\u201d Joe Short said. \u201cAll we are doing is picking up where Shakespeare left off, and we need to tell the story in a way that makes it easy for everyone to get onboard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard’s rise to power in the play displays a great deal of vanity and ambition, which can be reflected around the world today, Joe Short said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere we are today in 2020 and we\u2019re seeing a rise in right-wing authoritarian, fascist governments across the world,\u201d he said. \u201cShakespeare painted Richard as a tyrant and one question we\u2019re trying to explore is, \u2018What is the environment that we condone, support, and invite such leaders to come into power?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard is being played by Matt Oxley \u201821, who is majoring in math and theatre with a design concentration. This is Oxley\u2019s first mainstage role, and one that has proven to be quite difficult. Richard is on stage almost the entire time, forcing Oxley to memorize a significant number of lines.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of characters, a lot of events to keep track of and it\u2019s put together in a way that goes by very, very fast,\u201d said Oxley. \u201cThe events of the show go so quickly. It\u2019s been tough to keep up but at the same time it\u2019s energizing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oxley explained that he and the other actors have spent a great deal of time on tablework, sitting down and reworking the script as an entire group. He also has to remember to carry himself a certain way throughout rehearsal because of his character is a hunchback.<\/p>\n
One of Oxley\u2019s favorite traits in Richard\u2019s character is his complexity and his ability to manipulate others\u00a0and play games with them.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard is such an interesting character in that he\u2019s one of the few Shakespeare protagonists who is a villain,\u201d Oxley said. \u201cHe offers a lot of play in a show where he\u2019s constantly putting on a mask. So, I\u2019m acting as Richard who\u2019s acting as someone else with every interaction he has, and that\u2019s just super exciting to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The production also has an array of strong female roles. Mary Mullane \u201921 will be playing Richard\u2019s mother, the Duchess of York. Mullane is a theater major with an acting concentration, and made it to the finals of the Irene Ryan Scholarship auditions at Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n
This is Mullane\u2019s first Shakespeare production, and she was originally nervous about being able to accurately convey the powerful sense her character holds.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s not on the stage for a great amount of time, but all of her scenes have this powerful aura so I\u2019m very excited to tackle that,\u201d Mullane said. \u201cI\u2019ve never played an older, powerful woman before and I think her story is beautiful and powerful. I\u2019m excited for people to see this. She is really one of the only people who wins over Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
In order to properly portray the role, Mullane said she completed a lot of research on powerful women. However, once she is in costume, Mullane has no doubt that it will be easier to be as powerful and as strong as the role requires.<\/p>\n