Students this semester, either currently taking a Shakespeare class or have already taken a class on the famed playwright, had the opportunity to travel with Dr. Roberta Milliken and her husband to Stratford, Ontario, Canada for the town’s annual Shakespeare Festival. The class had access to the trip through the Betty Hodgden travel fund.
The ten selected students took two mini-vans for the 11 hour journey, which proved a bit grueling due to a few traffic delays. However, it was very interesting because for many of the students as it was their first time entering a foreign country. Once we got through the checkpoint, we exchanged our American dollars for Canada’s new plastic money.
After crossing the border, the class still had about an hour’s travel through Canada before reaching the destination of Stratford, Ontario. The town itself has a larger population than Portsmouth, but it has a small town feeling. It is very similar in appearance to Athens, with all of the small businesses lining the city streets. The major difference that sets this city apart from the rest is that it contains five performance theaters. The theaters themselves, during their season, generate $60 million in revenue for the city.
Probably one of the best parts about the town was the immense Shakespearian spirit. There are street names such as Waterloo or Romeo and plenty of bookstores with Shakespeare. Even when walking down the street, the people were very interested in what the next Shakespeare play they would be seeing.
The plays that the students saw were King Leer and two very different productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. King Leer was set in the main theater, called the Festival Theater, which has a thrust stage instead of a back-drop. Leer was played by the town’s famed actor Colm Feore. His performance was truly splendid and had the entire audience with a standing ovation. The storm during the play was particularly well done and was among the many of the highlights of the play.
The first version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that the class saw was also in the Festival Theater, but they took some liberties about performing it with the traditional way. The traditionally male character of Lysander was played by a woman and the queen of the fairies was played by a man. The play was absolutely hysterical and, despite these liberties, it was incredible to watch. Beloved characters Bottom and Puck were among those that stood out the most in this play and both had the audience laughing.
The second version was a chamber play, therefore it was held in a very small theater that was actually a former church, and only had four actors to play an entire cast. Instead of the written play’s upbeat and comedic values, this version (written by Peter Sellars) was very dark where the actors said their lines with a very sad, dark characteristic. This version was not meant for everyone, for there were loud atmospheric noises and the actors would also yell some of their lines. Many acted lines were also on the edge of violence.
The students also participated in two tours during the trip. The first tour was of the Festival Theater itself. They took them through the back-stage area where most of the play comes together. They were able to see where the props were stored and where they worked on the costumes for the show. The tunnels were also shown on how the actors go through the theater for the several entrances and exits that were used for the plays. Students also viewed the armory through a glass window and double-locked door where only two people had access to the keys–and the director of the theater isn’t one of them!
The second tour was of the costume warehouse. This tour was very amusing as the tour guide kept describing the costumes and props and used the word “perfection” several times. He was right, however, with the detail that these clothes and props showed. Other impressive aspects were that they hand-made all of their wigs buying real hair from London, England. At the end of the tour, the students were allowed to try on costumes. They were all surprisingly heavy.
The entire trip was spectacular and it was sad to leave the city, but everything was worth it. Many of the students intend to go back next year with their own personal funding, so obviously Stratford has made a lasting impression on them for good.
The Chronicle 