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Edited Shakesepare

  • 1.  Edited Shakesepare

    Posted 05-01-2015 15:58

    For my winter play next year, I am wanting to produce Much Ado About Nothing. Does anyone know where I can find a greated edited version of the show? I am looking to have maybe a 90-120 minute run time. Also has anyone done the show and had a great concept they think worked for the show? I have performed in the show twice where the action took place on a military base in Hawaii and another took place in the Old West (Leonardo was changed to Madame Leo). Both were mildly successful but I am definitely looking to do something different. Thanks!!!!

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    Andy Ballnik

    Lakeridge High School

    Lake Oswego, OR
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  • 2.  RE: Edited Shakesepare

    Posted 05-02-2015 09:42

    You might look at the Kenneth Branagh movie. It's a nice cutting. Or just download the script and start cutting!

    Kentucky Shakespeare did a version that took place after the Civil War, women in hoop-skirts, men in Civil War uniforms, etc. I tend to go for a very neutral concept, Naked Shakespeare I call it. Simple costumes, focus on the acting and text use.

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    John Perry
    Drama Instructor
    Atherton High School
    Louisville KY
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  • 3.  RE: Edited Shakesepare

    Posted 05-02-2015 09:55
    I did it 19 years ago as my fist show at a brand new school (because I had no budget and Shakespeare is free) and set it with them coming back from Vietnam. It was fun to costume and we used musical transitions so it was very reminiscent of Forrest Gump. Still one of my favorite productions. ------------------------------ Robin Clayton Wilmington NC ------------------------------
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  • 4.  RE: Edited Shakesepare

    Posted 05-02-2015 11:20
    I find the best Shakespeare cuttings to direct are the ones you cut yourself. It's very individual what you get out of it and what you want to convey. When I read published cuttings or adaptations, it's always missing the essence of the story that was most meaningful to me. Take it one act at a time. You can always go back and add to it.

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    Hugh Fletcher
    Performing Arts Coordinator
    IS 229 Dr. Roland Patterson Middle School
    Bronx NY
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  • 5.  RE: Edited Shakesepare

    Posted 05-02-2015 11:34

    Hi Andy,

    I shamelessly recommend my Community Shakespeare Company adaptations, which are edited down & in verse, with a little bit of modern language mixed in. They were developed in my youth theater company & are (shamelessly) the most user-friendly texts on the market for anyone who has never been exposed to Shakespeare, from elementary school through adults. See my website below for testimonials which confirm that it's not just me saying this. They are also available via EdTA, where I give annual conference workshops using the scripts. Sample scripts can be viewed at: www.communityshakespeare.org 

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    Richard Carter

    Teacher/Theatre Director
    Lopez Island WA
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  • 6.  RE: Edited Shakesepare

    Posted 05-02-2015 12:42
    Several years ago, I set it in a hippy commune in the sixties.  The lines of the clothing are similar to renaissance clothes.  The one problem I had was the references about returning from the war.  But I reasoned that I had often heard references in the 60's to fighting in the revolution, so I reasoned that commune residents would occasionally leave to fight the "culture war"

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    Robert DiMartino
    Theatre Teacher
    Cumberland High School
    West Warwick RI
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  • 7.  RE: Edited Shakesepare

    Posted 05-02-2015 14:25
    I've done Much Ado as though they were returning from World War II to San Diego.  It gave a chance to use historical posters (recreated from the internet), of locales around San Diego during WWII, and gave us a chance to use WONDERFUL music!  We used everything from Glenn Miller to Frank Sinatra, and the kids loved swing dancing at the party.  We also made "Balthazar" into "Jennifer Balthazar," a nightclub singer, and she sang "Where or When," which repeated when Benedick and Beatrice finally got together.   Also, if you want an edited version, I really have enjoyed getting a copy off the internet, then not only doing some editing (maybe the most obscure of the archaic jokes), but also writing some notes for the students directly into the text.  When you print it out and copy it, the kids have a personalized script that they know you've studied and thought through.  (It also has the advantage that you can make it into a PDF and they can rehearse it with their phones, which are less cumbersome than a script).  

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    Kathleen Herb-Baker
    San Diego CA
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  • 8.  RE: Edited Shakesepare

    Posted 05-03-2015 07:58

    I love Much Ado About Nothing!  I directed it several years ago with such fun and success!  Our setting was the University of Messina and they weren't returning from war but from a basketball championship (hey, I am in Kentucky!)  - The team name:  Messina Revelers.  We had a pep rally with cheerleaders, fans, and a percussion line.  The party was a toga party and we incorporated different bits of music between each conversation.  Leonato was the college president and his daughter head cheerleader.  We made the watch security guards and added a small scene (no dialogue) where they used their flashlights to catch couples making out in the dark.  It was a concept that the kids could easily grasp, plus they loved making their own MU tee shirts, hats, and tote bags - you have to love iron-ons!

     Wishing you great success...I may have to take your own advice...it has been a long time since I did that show! 

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    Carolyn Greer
    Owensboro KY
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  • 9.  RE: Edited Shakesepare

    Posted 05-04-2015 18:52
    We performed it in the early 80's. I didn't have much money and my costume stock was not as full as it is now.  We had been donated a bunch of 70's style clothes, we had things already in stock that were adaptable and the kids could adapt some of their clothes for the look. So I placed it in the 70's. The men were navy officers. The girls were into "women's lib." The party was a masquerade disco event complete with everyone doing the hustle. Someone had a Darth Vader costume. Someone had donated a r/w/b gym suit so one of the guys came dressed as Mark Spitz (w/seven gold medals around his neck), etc. Just saw it in Ashland at the Shakespeare Festival and it was set in the present with the guys returning from the middle east. 

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    Helen Dixon
    Oakley CA
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  • 10.  RE: Edited Shakesepare

    Posted 05-03-2015 13:50
    I just did Much Ado and had a blast! I set it in the 1920's and the "war" was mafia wars. The Don titles worked well for this. Leonato's house was filled with "Gatsby" style partiers and Balthazar was a blues type lounge singer. We used the same text for the songs, but changed the melodies. I also added a couple of choreographed dance numbers at the masquerade & the end "wedding." I did a sound design filled with jazz for transitions as well and the kids loved creating 20's costumes. I did my own cutting. It's easier to cut it yourself to fit your unique vision. For example, my Don Pedro was a woman so I cut all references to a relationship with Beatrice & Claudios jealousy of them. ------------------------------ Jeana Whitaker Theatre Director Mesa AZ ------------------------------
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  • 11.  RE: Edited Shakesepare

    Posted 05-03-2015 21:55
    Hugh said it already, but wanted to second it; you gain much more familiarity with the script by cutting it yourself, and spend much more time wrestling and feeling satisfied that the final edit is the edit you want, with the lines you've kept the lines you wanted, and not someone else's view. Plus, it's just plain fun!

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    Phillip Goodchild
    Theatre Arts Instructor/Assistant Department Head of English
    Hillsborough County Schools
    Ruskin FL
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  • 12.  RE: Edited Shakesepare

    Posted 05-06-2015 20:50

    I just finished a production of Much Ado About Nothing set in a 1970's era disco. You can see pictures here:

    https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.379804885550532.1073741837.272121849652170&type=3

    We used a lot of 70's music  and featured some dancing. Don Pedro and his company entered and danced to Stayin' Alive, and for the ball scene, we played Blame It on the Boogie, then the Hustle, which flowed nicely from Beatrice saying "We must follow the leaders."

    We also adding a DJ and a "hypewoman" who reacted to Beatrice's and Benedict's insults "Oh, no thou didst not!"

     We had a great response from the audience, and the English Teacher loved it, in part because it made Shakespeare more accessible to the students.

    if you're interested, I can send you a copy of the script with the cuttings. The main things we cut were Act 1, 3 and Act 3, 4. 1,3 seems an unnecessary repeat of information, and 3,4 relies on outdated puns and weakens the character of Beatrice.



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    Kenneth Buswell
    Drama Teacher
    Peachtree City, GA
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  • 13.  RE: Edited Shakesepare

    Posted 05-11-2015 01:12

    "Much Ado" was our spring show, and we set it in the Roaring 20s.  Don Pedro's group were dressed in golf clothing of the period on their first entrance, with two actors carrying golf bags--with only clubs with wooden heads.  Our show clocked in at a tidy two hours, including a 15 minute intermission.  I'd be happy to send a file of my abridged script.  Just email me.  

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    C. J. Breland

    Asheville NC

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  • 14.  RE: Edited Shakesepare

    Posted 05-19-2015 19:14

    I recently found a Shakespeare Library with different levels of cutting for lots and lots of shows. It's certainly worth a peek:

    Scripts

    Shakespearefreelibrary remove preview
    Scripts
    Big old libraries have "stacks"- up and down from the ground floor, shelves and shelves of BOOKS! (Always a great place to make new friends!) In our stacks, you'll find our lightly-edited scripts to download and use for your next Shakespeare production or research project.
    View this on Shakespearefreelibrary >



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    Summer Heartt
    Director of Drama
    American Canyon CA
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  • 15.  RE: Edited Shakesepare

    Posted 05-19-2015 20:55

    I just saw Something Rotten on Broadway. Hilarious. May take the Tony for Best Musical. 

    This doesn't contribute to the Much Ado discussion (and treads close to being a commercial post), but can't help posting this pic of the tees they sell at the show. Perfect for Shakespeare fans, although a wee bit pricey at $35.


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    Michael McDonough
    New York NY
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