Performance Report 1

On March 26, 2010 at 8pm, I attended the opening night of Shakespeare in Song. It was conveniently located on campus and free of charge to all that wanted to attend. Not only did this help turnout it was also after classes but not too late either, nor was it a long performance; ending before most eateries and other entertainment facilities in the area closed. So students, the majority of the audience, and busy parents could attend. So canceling the rest or your plans for the night wasn’t immediately necessary. It was casual and if you absolutely had to leave or the opposite, it was no big deal; people were walking in and departing throughout the performance’s entirety. There was also a short intermission so people could politely exit and enter at that time as well. Even with all of this the crowd remained relatively sparse, maybe 70 people in attendance.
During the intermission there was a lot of movement, but not necessarily to the restroom. Since the crowd was mainly comprised of students, that means it was also comprised of friends. The crowd separated in to little “clicks” even a few singers came from backstage to get a few words in with their friends. I chatted with a parent next to who coincidently wearing the same brand of black flats. She told me that her daughter studies biology, “absolutely loves Shakespeare”, and actually ended up majoring in music. Apparently, many of her peers up there on stage have similar stories. Many of them have completed their fine arts requirements but are drawn to this group just because of a sheer love for music. And the few senior members we saw on stage just love Shakespeare and wanted to be a part of it anyway they can.
Throughout the performance there were so cases of the group’s strongest voices, and even one of their weakest… or most improved?? Anyway, the soloist voices ranged from the soprano voice all the way done to the bass voice. Maybe it was to demonstrate the group’s texture. Not only did several singers take turns coming down and showing off their skills, they even became actors and actresses. Paired with the appropriate tune, they traded off reading the dialogue from the high points of Shakespeare’s play; sometimes before the song and sometime after. To add to the effect everyone was in costume, even the pianist and conductor. Other than the costumes there weren’t many props. The young man who played Trinculo, who is a drunk, jerked a bottle around with him as he swayed and swigged during his act. So when the wind came “…knocking at the door” the sound was created by a vocalist stomping on the floor.
The costumes helped bring the past alive, as well as the style used during the performances. It wasn’t readily accepted by all the performers but as the play went on more and more of them began to either read their dialogue with an accent or at least contributed to it during the group sections. The songs were sung literally as they were written. Instead of “Oh, robin” like you would hear in our area, but instead “Ay, robyn” sounding more like “Eye, row-bin” which is more characteristic of Shakespeare’s time. Surprisingly, only a handful of the songs performed were from Shakespeare’s era or before (Director’s Notes). Most of the songs performed were written by a Julliard graduate named Mathew Harris who seemed to have a knack for composing song that captured what is perceived as the essence of Shakespeare (Director’s Notes).
I stuck around for a while to listen what people had to say about the performance. And to my surprise almost all of the conversations that I was eavesdropping in (haha) weren’t about the performance at all. It was centered on “what’s next” or “yeah call them and let’s go” or just plain texting. I have to say based on what I say and what I was hearing, this performance was more of just a chance for friends and family to see their loved ones do something they love. Maybe attending the second performance on Saturday could have filled in the blanks.

 
Works Cited
Evans, Kathryn . "Director's Notes." Shakespeare in Song. Richardson: Kathryn Evans, 2010. 4-5. Print.