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CONCEPT

The Comedy of Errors is argued to be Shakespeare's first comedy...and perhaps a bit on the trivial side.

I wanted to explore the darker side of Shakespeare's comedy. The play begins with an immigrant father condemned to death for entering a city illegally (Hello!) and concludes with a family that has fought for redemption and reunification. It's a play about rediscovering yourself and understanding where you come from.

I've chosen to keep the setting vague, with a dark raked stage that would allow the eclectic and lurid costumes designed by Janetta Turner to jump out at the audience. This provided freedom to mine the darker themes while honoring Shakespeare's wit and humor.

Music creates and concludes the mood of this production. The opening scene contains a monster of a monologue by the father, Egeon. I thought the audience would follow the story better with less exposition and more visual stimulation. Animation designed by Juan Hernandez, a student in the Digital Media department, will assist in the storytelling during this initial scene.

Our twins are separated at sea, and to remind us of how they got to where they are, I asked the designers to create a surface that was somewhat reflective, as if the actors were walking on water. Their reflections are always available to the characters, as is the opportunity for rebirth.

The world we've attempted to create is mystical, musical, and magical, populated with "deceivers, gamblers, and cozeners." Madness takes over in Ephesus, giving me artistic license to direct a crazy, dark, and off-beat comedy...al la Tim Burton with nods to Fellini and the Marx Brothers.

This is a very diverse and talented cast, that includes my friend and actor extraordinaire, Manuel Roybal. Pay close attention to these students...you'll be seeing them on professional stages and films in the near future. This is my directorial debut as Assistant Professor at CU Denver. I'd like to thank the university for allowing me to share my passion with the students.

TECHNICAL/DESIGN

TIME PERIOD - The time period is set as being the early 19th century, and the location is some costal shoreline seaport city in the Mediterranean.

COSTUMES - Costume silhouettes should stem from Romantic 19th century due to an exaggeration of lines. There ought to be overtones of the contemporary seen in the makeup and hairstyles.

COLORS - The palette will be dark with lots of black, dark blues and deep reds. The accent colors would be very bright, probably neon circus colors. The costumes will be predominately in gray tones, with splashes and accents of color

SHIP WREAK - As discussed, I'd like the mast & shipwreck as part of our scenery...a looming reminder of how the twins were separated.  More like an abstract representation behind that is revealed only at the beginning (during Egeon's monstrous monologue) and at the end. This might be accomplished with a projection on the upstage cyc.

STAGE FLOOR - I would like the floor to have a reflective quality, as in Tom Stoppard's the Coast of Utopia.  It reminds us of the water, the shipwreck, the mirroring effect...the twins discovering themselves for the first time.  I'm wondering if film could be used? My concern is that the actors will be tumbling and dancing on the floor. The stage floor should be reflective, and at best, mirror like. This is to echo the mirroring of the duo characters, It is also a metaphor for things associated with water; rebirth of the twins discovering themselves, baptism of a new life. The stage floor should be raked, if possible. Probably a 1 in 12 rake, 28 feet wide downstage and 20 - 24 feet deep from downstage to upstage.

PROLOGUE - Before the text begins, I will have the cast parade through on stage revealing the corruption and commerce: pickpockets, magicians, tumblers, prostitution, hustling..etc.  the audio will be a song by the Gotan Project called "Diferente." Props for this parade are to be developed.

EPILOGUE - At the conclusion of the play, the cast will return for a fun dance number to Fatboy Slim's "Rockefeller Shank," as part of the curtain call.

WALKING INTO THE SUNSET - At the plays end, the twins need to be walking into the "sunset", an this can be seen as a kind of resurrection of their lives. It would work well to have a projection on the cyc of a sunset here, and perhaps the set pieces can peel away to revel the sunset.

ROLLING DOOR - There will be a rolling, stand alone doorframe with door insert that will serve as the entrance to the house of Eph Antipholus. This door may also be used as the entrance to the abby.

FORESTAGE STEPS - The may be a set of steps in the audience along and in front of the front lip of the stage to indicate where small boats pull up to discharge passengers from boats in the harbor.