Editing the scene Some guidelines General Principles The template for this assignment follows that of the Shakespeare in Production series, edited by J. S. Bratton and Julie Hankey, and published by Cambridge University Press, to date running to 14 volumes beginning with A Midsummer Night’s Dream (ed. Trevor R. Griffiths) in 1996 and ending with Twelfth Night (ed. Elizabeth Schafer) in 2009. The series promises ‘the fullest possible stage histories of individual Shakespearean texts’, offering ‘detailed, line-by-line evidence’ in the form of ‘interesting and vivid evocations of settings, acting and stage presentation’. For further details, see here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/series/shakespeare-in-production/A2EEB39B02682C1E932F662A287723FFWhereas the SiP volumes cover the entire stage history of the play, from the seventeenth century to the present, including hundreds of productions that the editors may or may not have seen, the scope of this 3000-word assignment is more modest, and more current. Editors work use multiple archival and library resources (listed below) to reconstruct past performances, and while this option is one you may pursue if you wish, you need only to refer directly to productions that are available on-screen and online (no fewer than 3 and no more than 5 is my recommendation). The pages that follow offer three examples from the series, ranging from a page of relatively minimal commentary on 28 lines of The Tempest to 458 words of commentary on 7 lines of Othello using examples range from 1662 to 1995. How you select and emphasise your material is up to you, though the emphasis on ‘vivid and interesting’ is important. Your choice of material should also reflect your view of what is at stake in the scene, as outlined in a brief introduction (max 700 words),which should also state the rationale for your selection of productions. Your essay should include a bibliography and list of productions (not included in the word count). Resources Shakespeare’s plays: The Arden Shakespeare, third series, available via Drama Online. For online screen versions: Drama Online and Digital Theatre +, as well as theatre company websites,YouTube, Vimeo, and others.Newspaper and periodical reviews: Theatre Record, for UK productions from 1981 onwards (your first port of call); general newspaper and magazine websites. Even if you don’t quote them, make sure you are familiar with the reviews of your production. Scholarly reviews: Shakespeare Survey, Shakespeare Quarterly, Shakespeare Bulletin, Cahiers Élisabéthains.General essays and books on performance history, actor biographies, works by directors, etc. 1
5 Steps Step 1
Identify your scene, and what is at stake in it, in terms of the challenges it presents, the options and opportunities it offers, the issues is raises. Note: it does not have to be a complete scene; a section of a scene – as long as it has a logical start and end point – is fine. Step 2 Make a copy of the text from a reputable scholarly edition of the play (the Arden Shakespeare third series is recommended). This is not included in the overall word count.Step 3 Choose your productions. Your 3-5 screen versions are primary, but you may refer toothers, or to the performance history of the scene/play if you wish.Step 4Assemble your commentary.Step 5 Write your introduction and create your bibliography
