{"id":169,"date":"2016-07-07T16:45:57","date_gmt":"2016-07-07T16:45:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/shakespeare-and-his-sisters\/?page_id=169"},"modified":"2018-05-08T07:55:48","modified_gmt":"2018-05-08T07:55:48","slug":"dramatizing-penshurst-site-script-sidneys","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/shakespeare-and-his-sisters\/dramatizing-penshurst-site-script-sidneys\/","title":{"rendered":"Love in the Landscape"},"content":{"rendered":"

6th and 10th July 2016<\/h4>\n

We\u2019ve all seen plays in different venues, how can the performance venue affect the way we enjoy it?<\/h2>\n

We helped perform Shakespeare inside a prison at\u00a0Lancaster Castle<\/a>, in contrast we performed sections of Lady Mary Wroth\u2019s Love\u2019s Victory <\/em>within the house and gardens of Penshurst Place that were once her home. Over two days we explored the questions\u00a0how different and \/ or important is it to express feelings of love?\u00a0How were love stories made in the romantic setting of Penshurst Place in the seventeenth century?\u00a0Should we conceal how we feel or shout it to the world? And where\u2019s the best place to do that?<\/p>\n

We went\u00a0on a journey around the house and gardens to find answers to these questions, with a workshop staging an exchange between Venus and her mischievous son, Cupid. Visitors were invited to watch director Martin Hodgson and professional actors (Frances Marshall and Craig Hamlyn) work on getting love our into the open by staging the confessions of Wroth\u2019s romantic hero, secretly overheard by Wroth’s heroine.<\/p>\n

Professor Alison Findlay’s talk, which began the great adventure around Penshurst Place, is available in full on our\u00a0Youtube.<\/u><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Below are sections from the feedback forms kindly completed by members of the workshop expressing particular highlights and suggestions:<\/p>\n

After viewing the performances of the script inside and outside, which did you think was most effective and why?<\/strong>
\nOutside due to the atmosphere and felt more involved<\/p>\n

The Hall was good due to the acoustics but the outside was more real and engaging and interactive
\nThe script is full of lovely words and the actors did a wonderful job but it would be beneficial to the audience to be slowed down<\/p>\n

Inside was good for the acoustics with projecting voice and emotion
\nThe mixture of both from indoor and outdoor venues gave further opportunity for audience participation<\/p>\n

In The Hall with the elevation of Venus and Cupid being down and able to connect with the audience ie. Venus Godly and Cupid interacting with mortals<\/p>\n

Acoustics slightly difficult at Diana\u2019s Bath and possibly too enclosed in The Stage Garden. It would be great for the production to have a mixture of both indoor and outdoor venues as the style of the garden could provide some lovely settings<\/p>\n

Inside due to the concentration being better at this stage and listening to every word was easier, this set the scene well<\/p>\n

The Barons Hall worked well but The Terrace was the least effective and Diana\u2019s Bath produced audio problems<\/p>\n

Moving for every scene would require too much adjustment, performing in the Barons Hall would work well but one scene outside, e.g. at the end would be memorable if a fairly intimate environment is chosen<\/p>\n

In the Barons Hall with Venus above and Cupid below \u2014 this worked well, particularly as Cupid could interact with the audience, which added to the audience\u2019s understanding of the text.<\/p>\n

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Were any of the actors\u2019 positions in the acting space, movements or gestures particularly effective?<\/strong>
\nKisses in the Orchard – even falling over!<\/p>\n

The angles of the actors are important so their backs are not turned away from the audience, the actors were aware of this and used the spaces well<\/p>\n

Cupid \u201cthreatening\u201d with his arrows<\/p>\n

Venus\u2019 gestures in The Hall, from The Minstrels\u2019 Gallery, had impact, as did Cupid\u2019s movements towards the audience, giving involvement early on in the play<\/p>\n

Cupid\u2019s use of an imaginary bow reminded me of his traditional image<\/p>\n

Were there any variations in pace or volume (whispering, calling out, anger) that you thought were effective?<\/strong>
\nVenus delivering her speech angrily set the scene and made Cupid react more effectively<\/p>\n

The very opening words from Venus had immediate impact and was well projected<\/p>\n

Venus\u2019s calling of Cupid at the beginning made an effective way of catching our attention<\/p>\n

Did you feel as if you were included in the scene or lines at any point in the exchange in any of the settings?
\nInvolved \u2014 particularly in Orchard<\/p>\n

Yes, we felt included in the dialogue and The Hall made us feel part of the \u201cacting\u201d in that we felt we needed to recoil\/bow, etc<\/p>\n

I felt included particularly in The Hall which made me feel more involved with Cupid<\/p>\n

\u201cWound them but kill them not\u201d was a moment when I felt particularly involved<\/p>\n

Did you feel part of the scene or were you addressed as someone watching from outside?<\/strong>
\nPart of the scene<\/p>\n

I like the idea of being part of the environment the actors are engaged in, but there is also the historical aspect of reenacting how the play was originally performed<\/p>\n

\u201cI really enjoyed this opportunity. Great admiration for all! Thank you\u201d
\n<\/em>\u201cWe wish you the best of luck, and hope to see the finished product\u201d
\n<\/em>\u201cPlease keep in touch\u201d
\n<\/em>\u201cPlease contact me to see the production\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n

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Stage Garden<\/p><\/div>\n

Cupid and Venus Baron’s Hall<\/p><\/div>\n

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Post workshop discussion by the Orchard<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

Grey and White Garden Musella and Philisses<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Musella

Musella approaches Philisses in the Orchard<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

6th and 10th July 2016 We\u2019ve all seen plays in different venues, how can the performance venue affect the way we enjoy it? We helped perform Shakespeare inside a prison at\u00a0Lancaster Castle, in contrast we performed sections of Lady Mary Wroth\u2019s Love\u2019s Victory within the house and gardens of Penshurst Place that were once her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":462,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-169","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P7IR4b-2J","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/shakespeare-and-his-sisters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/shakespeare-and-his-sisters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/shakespeare-and-his-sisters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/shakespeare-and-his-sisters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/462"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/shakespeare-and-his-sisters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/shakespeare-and-his-sisters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":890,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/shakespeare-and-his-sisters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/169\/revisions\/890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/shakespeare-and-his-sisters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}