Christine Kahane
Christine Kahane (Director)
Shakespeare in Love
FEBRUARY 11 — MARCH 20
Tell us about you. Will our audiences have seen you or your work before at Vintage?
I’m Christine Kahane and it’s my first time directing for Vintage Theatre Productions. I’ve appeared as an actress in a number of shows for Vintage over the last few years. (see my bio). I love working in both theatres, each brings their own special challenges and magic to stagecraft. I truly believe in ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ – and if invention is synonymous for inspiration, I’ve been able to harness that in devising the staging of Shakespeare In Love. (see my directing bio)
What excites you the most about Shakespeare in Love?
It is a blending of two of the greatest playwrights in the English language, one in William Shakespeare, whose voice is as vibrant 400 years on as it was in the day his plays were first performed, and Tom Stoppard, who’s contemporary voice has shaped modern theatre and is one of the most prolific and important of our time. What Stoppard and Lee Hall, who adapted the Stoppard’s screenplay for the stage, have done is layer themes in such gorgeously rich fashion, as to literally have the play leave no audience member untouched or unaltered. There is literally something for everyone in this marvelous work.
The play is about alchemizing what is base in us, into what is golden about us. Because it is staged against the backdrop of the Elizabethan Age where darkness was giving way to light in every aspect of life from literacy, to medicine, to art, architecture, daily life, industry and the socio-political stage, the very notion of alchemy becomes so important.
Unlike the film, the play’s love story takes a backseat to what it means to be alive in the Elizabethan Age, where everything was in tribute to being in the light of reason and of course, the Queen Elizabeth I. Living into one’s full potential was a possibility after coming out of the Dark Ages – so we see a young playwright, Will Shakespeare, become William Shakespeare over the course of the play. We see his character become, who we refer to today when we use the word ‘Shakespearean’ to describe what is beyond our emotional comprehension, or as it applies to the vastness of our collective consciousness.
It is also a play about gender, and in so being, brings to light some of the most groundbreaking Movements of our time by having the genius of a woman move against all odds to play one of the greatest characters of all time, Juliet, for the first time on a stage ever, as a woman!
The love story between Will and Viola is borne out of their admiration for one another’s work. She will become Shakespeare’s living muse for the remainder of his career. And while not historically accurate sets the stage for Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
The Queen brings this powerful theme to light when she expresses her challenge to the Court – ‘Can a play show us the very truth and nature of love?’
The play goes on to prove that yes, indeed a play can show the nature of love, and suggests that perhaps the stage is a sacred place for the devising of that magic.
There is the theme of the historical characters who are largely responsible for the telling of this story. A full half of the characters are historical. The play is set in 1593, when the London Plague has just been overcome, and the theatres opening for the first time in just over two years. Actors who fled to the provinces and performed in the backs of wagons (bus and truck) to escape the Plague are returning to the city. Actors were considered vagabonds and not given the respect and admiration we have today – Richard Burbage, Ned Alleyn and Christopher Marlowe changed the way actors and playwrights were acknowledged and welcomed as members of society.
(see note in program – I think I will ask if we can put a page in with one-sentence descriptions of each of the historical characters).
And finally, there is a theme which holds a tender place for we who work in the craft. It is the love letter Stoppard and Lee Hall have written to the business of theatre itself. Throughout the play, we see how actors, producers and playwrights struggle to mount and perform a play – and that nothing will keep them from their passionate quest. In Henslowe’s words, ones he repeats over and over through the plot’s twists and turns, ‘it all works out in the end – don’t know how. It’s a mystery.’
What is the biggest challenge in directing this show?
The odyssey of Shakespeare In Love began just before COVID hit and closed theatres in March of 2020. I was Assistant Directing for Craig Bond, Vintage’s founder and Executive Director at the time. We were a few weeks into rehearsals and had to shut the show down as the world went into quarantine. The set, very different from the one you’ll see when you come to the show, was already complete!
It’s a large cast, one of the biggest in recent Vintage history – and we have replaced every actor but three – Jayce Johnson, Troy Lakey and Eric Carlson have been with this production for over 2 years.
And, the biggest challenge has turned out to be the superpower driving the passionate engine of this show. The recent pandemic surge has meant we’ve had between 3-6 actors out at every rehearsal. We have yet to have a complete cast for a single rehearsal, and we are walking into tech week.
Our design team has changed several times, because people fall ill or are simply overwhelmed with work and life. As a result, we are behind, and it has an impact on the cast’s ability to build the momentum and flow of this show.
But here’s the secret sauce. . . it has turned every actor into nothing short of heroes. Actors routinely step in to take over roles at a moment’s notice. They have become expert at finding solutions for missing props, costumes, fellow actors. Just when I believe they couldn’t possibly do more to hold the passion of this play any longer, they do.
And, here’s another secret – the cast is living the heart of this play which is, in Henslowe’s words, that he repeats over and over through the plot’s twists and turns, ‘it all works out in the end – don’t know how. It’s a mystery.’ They keep reaching for, and finding the mystery.
What do you hope audiences will take away from Shakespeare in Love?
What I hope audiences will take away with them, what a marvelous question. Perhaps it is a reimagining of who they are and can become, a reclaiming of their own magic, inspiration to try what they haven’t dared, a reconnection to their own dreams and aspirations after 2+ years of the pounding our humanity has taken from this pandemic. Perhaps they will find they want to believe in love again. Perhaps they will kindle the spark of magic they had left behind. And, of course, because it IS a comedy, I hope they will laugh, and laugh and laugh, and feel how good it is to be in the midst of laughter – as people laugh at the foibles of the men and women on the stage, and at the humanity in us all.
Describe yourself using only three words.
Courageous, Persistent, Compassionate
