The adventures of Dram Tree Shakespeare continue with comedy
By Nicholas Gray
When Dram Tree Shakespeare thrust forth into our flourishing theater scene in 2015 with their inaugural production of Macbeth, they had much to prove. And prove it they did. Their departure from a typical “downtown director” (acclaimed UNCW theater professor Chris Marino), their high-risk utilization of an unconventional theater space (McEachern’s Warehouse), and their near-introduction of theater-in-the-round to Wilmington all led to an immensely successful first-born.
Then they went and did it again last year with The Tempest, this time with a multi-Emmy Award winner at the helm (Michael Granberry) and a supreme spectacle of puppetry and theatrical magic our city had yet to see.
So, how does one follow one success after another without falling into same-ol’, same-ol’ territory? This go-around, they’ll be making us laugh, thanks in much part to the creative mind behind their next endeavor, Philadelphia-based director Kathryn MacMillan. MacMillan joins us via Dram Tree Shakespeare’s nationwide search for their next director, an in-depth process asking for both the what and the why. What show and why do it? Her answer to the what? The Comedy of Errors. The why? Through her research of the company’s brief history, MacMillan crafted an intriguing triangulation with her proposal — where MacBeth was regarded for its masculinity, and The Tempest for its ethereality, the next logical step for DTS is to serve comedy. And so it was written.
The Comedy of Errors indulges in the silly. Two sets of identical twins, one pair in stature and one pair in servitude. As with any “Freaky Friday,” mistaken identity ensues in great comic form. And furthering the comic strain, Shakespeare invites us into a delicious world of his wordplay and strange slapstick.
Taking cues from Will’s wily slapstick, MacMillan vows to veer us straight into vaudeville with her take on this classic. She draws her vision of vaudeville from “the familiar tropes of commedia dell’arte, a form he would have seen since his childhood,” she says.
“One of my goals when directing Shakespeare is to reveal to modern audiences how accessible Shakespeare can be,” says MacMillian. “I wanted to use a familiar comedic form as a way into Shakespeare’s world. Although vaudeville was at its height 100 years ago, its elements are still familiar to contemporary life: comedy duos, sister acts, song and dance, burlesque. Like Shakespeare and commedia, we’ve grown up with vaudeville. And many of the elements are the same, rendering the foreign — Shakespeare’s language — familiar.”
In a rather unique event, the public was invited to attend the first round of auditions at TheatreNOW, as somewhat of a vaudeville show itself, seeking those skilled in “playing a musical instrument, juggling, singing and dancing, partner acts, tumbling, hat moves, unicycle, (and/or) stand-up.” Notably, they were also seeking a pet that can do tricks. We’ve learned to expect only the ambitious from DTS.
As for how she might win with her twinning, MacMillan had several strategies at hand as to how she could illustrate her two sets of identicals. But it would all come down to casting. As history reminds with DTS, is there little doubt we will be seeing some of Wilmington’s finest actors come opening night, perhaps squirting seltzer in each other’s faces or smoking exploding cigars? We can’t say.
Despite all of the silliness, MacMillan brings much stature to her time here and the continuation of DTS with an urging to bring “clarity, accessibility, and joy” in making Shakespearean text “easy on the ear” to our audiences. And, as with any “comedy of errors” — as the term has come to evolve — personal, public, political or provincial, it’s only clarity and accessibility that allow us to find the joy in it all, after all.
The Comedy of Errors runs April 13-30 at the DREAMS Garage, 901 Fanning St., Wilmington. Thursdays – Saturdays, 7:30 p.m., Sundays 3 p.m. Tickets: $25 adults, $20 students/senior/military, $10 theater and film industry professionals (opening night only). Info and tickets at www.dramtreeshakes.org.
Nicholas Gray is the former artistic director of City Stage Co.
