Designing Shakespeare
“And I hope here is a play fitted.” —A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (1.2.63) There's an old Broadway saying (sometimes attributed to Richard Rodgers) that "No one ever walked out of a theater humming the scenery." Nevertheless, costume and scenery designers can be vital to the success of a play. In this episode of the Shakespeare Unlimited series, Steve Martin talks with Denise Walen about the sweeping changes in costumes, scenery, and other staging choices in the 400 years since Shakespeare's time. From elaborate settings and carefully researched costumes that were meant to educate audiences, to modernist stripped-down sets or fanciful reimaginings, Shakespeare productions have long responded to the theater choices of their day. As for the future, Walen is sure: whatever changes lie ahead, Shakespeare's plays will still take the stage. Denise Walen is an associate professor in the Department of Drama at Vassar College. She was the curator of "Here Is a Play Fitted," a Folger Shakespeare Library exhibition. ------------------- From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast series. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. Written and produced for the Folger Shakespeare Library by Richard Paul. Garland Scott is the associate producer. Edited by Gail Kern Paster and Esther Ferington. Steve Martin is the former program director of WAMU public radio in Washington, DC.

Episoder(298)

Why Shakespeare's Stories Still Resonate

Why Shakespeare's Stories Still Resonate

"I prithee speak to me as to thy thinkings," (Othello, 3.3.152) How do Shakespeare's works, written so long ago, still speak to us today? Just as actors and directors strive to work out this questio...

20 Mar 201516min

Shakespeare LOL: All Mirth and No Matter

Shakespeare LOL: All Mirth and No Matter

"I was born to speak all mirth and no matter." (Much Ado About Nothing, 2.1.323) Let's face it: Modern audiences sometimes go from roaring with laughter to scratching their heads when it comes to enj...

20 Mar 201527min

Shakespeare in Translation

Shakespeare in Translation

"Bless thee, Bottom, bless thee! Thou art translated!" (A Midsummer Night's Dream, 3.1.120-121) What happens when Shakespeare’s work is translated into foreign languages? Is it still Shakespeare? Or ...

20 Mar 201524min

Punk Rock Shakespeare

Punk Rock Shakespeare

"Here will we sit and let the sounds of music / Creep in our ears" (The Merchant of Venice, 5.1.63-64) How can young people connect with Shakespeare? It's a question that confronts each generation. ...

20 Mar 201514min

Shakespeare Outdoors

Shakespeare Outdoors

"Under the greenwood tree / Who loves to lie with me / And turn his merry note / Unto the sweet bird’s throat, / Come hither, come hither, come hither. / Here shall he see / No enemy / But winter and ...

20 Mar 201531min

In Search of the Real Richard III

In Search of the Real Richard III

"I, that am rudely stamped..." (Richard III, 1.1.16) Shakespeare not only talked about his own times; he also wrote history plays that showed us the past—though it was a past filtered through the pol...

20 Mar 201529min

Actresses on Shakespeare

Actresses on Shakespeare

"All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players." (As You Like It, 2.7.146-147) In Shakespeare's time, only men appeared on stage, with teenage boys playing the women's parts. Tod...

20 Mar 201520min

The Robben Island Shakespeare

The Robben Island Shakespeare

While Nelson Mandela was incarcerated on South Africa's Robben Island, one of the other political prisoners managed to retain a copy of Shakespeare's complete works, which was secretly circulated thro...

20 Mar 201518min

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