University of Oklahoma School of Drama

Weitzenhoffer Theatre

April 26 – May 4, 2019

Directed by:  Alissa Mortimer

Scenic Designer:  Nathan Hatfield

Costume Designer:  Ciara Smith

Lighting Designer:  Josh Robbins

Music Composer:  Micah Weese

 

Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare’s more light-hearted plays.  Twins are capsized and find themselves separated.  They wash up on the coast near the home of a Duke and a Countess.  Viola the sister dresses as a man and works for the Duke, whom she falls in love with.  The Duke sends her to try and court the Countess, and the Countess falls in love with Viola thinking her a man.  The brother, Sebastian, turns up and causes several cases of mistaken identity before all is revealed in the end.

 

When we first began discussing the show, the director was really interested in the water aspect of this show, of somehow using water on stage and having the shipwreck be the predominant visual element.  A large island covered in sand was the eventual scenic world, with a wrecked wooden ship floor being the platform surface.  Two water pools would exist for the performers to swim in.

 

The presence of water and the influence of the romantic nature of the show led me towards music by Debussy as the foundation of the music I would compose for the show.  The director also wanted one of the performers, Micah, to create some original music that would serve for the sung moments of the show.  As I was playing around with ideas, I came to a rehearsal to watch the opening segment of the show.  Other members of the ensemble had also grabbed instruments, and there was now a quartet of instrumentalists that played the dance music that opened the show.  It became apparent at that point that this ensemble of musicians was the correct direction for the show, and any underscoring I was thinking of would have trouble fitting into that world.  Thus, Micah was encouraged to provide additional music support for some of the moments, and my composition work would serve as music for the intermission.  Borrowing from the instrumentation being used by the members of the cast, I created original sea shanty music that transitioned us from part one to part two.

 

A good soundscape was still needed for the opening segment.  We would see the performers getting on the ship, and then dancing and celebrating before the storm would rip the ship apart.  This soundscape took many layers and individual moments to time out properly so that the physical action would work with the sound of the ship splitting apart.  When combined with the lights and scenic elements, it was a great collaboration of moments and designs.