Ah, the joys of reading a script for the fourth or fifth time and realizing that you haven’t cast one (or more) of the parts!  Sigh…But it does make for a fun story!

I went through the script for The Taming of the Shrew with a fine-tooth comb…I swear I did!  I think what happens for me, however, is that I work so hard on the first half of the script - comparing various versions of the play for punctuation and spelling, even checking the First Folio on occasion to make sure I am sticking to the text the way Shakespeare intended it (as much as I can - I know it’s not possible all the time, but I do try) - but then my brain starts to shut down by the second half of the play.  It’s really an odd scenario - Even if I take a break, then go back to the second half another time, it’s like I still don’t focus as intently on the second half as I do the first half.  But all that aside, here is what happened -

I fixed all the punctuation, changed names of characters (if necessary) to suit their updated gender, double and triple checked everything in the frame story as well as the play-within-a-play; sent the scripts to the printer; picked them up (they look wonderful!); handed them out to the students.  There was much rejoicing and I was pleased with a job well-done…until I read through the script at home one evening and discovered that I hadn’t filled the part of the Officer who is called in to arrest Vincentio or the part of the Tapster at the end of the frame story.

I know what happened with the Tapster.  You see, the Tapster is the tavern-owner at the end of the frame story who finds Christopher Sly, passed out again on the tavern floor.  He wakes him up, then hears about this strange “dream” of Sly’s, in which he is a noble, wealthy lord.  The Tapster offers to walk Sly home, as a sort of bodyguard against Sly’s wife, who is bound to be upset by her husband having stayed out all night.  Sly assures the Tapster that he now knows precisely how to tame a shrew, so there are no worries!  My initial thought concerning this role was that the Hostess, who is present at the beginning of the Induction, could have those lines to finish the play.  But after re-reading the Tapster’s lines, it occurred to me that it just didn’t sound “right” - it didn’t seem proper - for the Hostess to be the one escorting Sly back home to prevent Sly’s wife from being mad at him…Seems like that would have angered the woman even more!  So I was able to switch some people around a bit and the role of the Tapster was filled.

But as I was reading through the script, I realized that there is a non-speaking role, an Officer, who comes in during Act 5 because the Pedant (disguised as Vincentio) and Tranio are calling for a policeman to come arrest the real Vincentio!  Good grief, I utilized all of the people who auditioned, and even had a few people with more than one role…where was I going to find someone new to be the Officer?  As I was sitting at my desk, considering the possibilities, I happened to look up at one of my students, poor unfortunate soul, who just happened to be in the room at the time this conundrum hit home with me.  I said, “Hey, ______, would you do me a favor?”  Very hesitantly, he replied, “I guess.”  The boy’s not dumb - he’s gotten used to the fact that my “favors” are usually a bit more involved than simply getting me something from the office.  I said, “I know you hate to be on stage, but what if you had a super small role with no lines?”  Very hesitantly, he said, “Uh…hmmm….” and probably more noises along those lines.  I promised him that there would be next to no acting at all involved - all he would have to do is come on stage when the officer is called for, look like he’s ready to arrest Vincentio, then make a quiet exit after the confusion is settled.  Very hesitantly, he said, “Ummm…okay.”  Honestly, I didn’t expect him to say yes, but I am SOOOO grateful that he did!  He did make noises along the lines of, “You really owe me now, Mrs. Bogut!”, but I suspect he’s actually pleased to have been drafted into the production.

So I believe my cast is officially finalized…24 actors in 27 roles…and I don’t think I want to re-read my script again for quite awhile!

Posted Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:16:20 and filed under Schools, Staging Shakespeare, Actors, Much Ado About Nothing, Comedy, The Taming of the Shrew, Acting, Education, Theatre. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.