The call to delve into a series of scenes from Shakespeare’s lovers came from our desire to produce an uplifting romantic series for Valentine’s Day.
Our deadline was delayed when an actor got Covid and, again, when a frightening surge of the virus brought another stay-at-home order. The rain, although a welcome gift to our scarred, fire-weary Napa Valley, prevented outside rehearsals from taking place. Perseverance in finding ways to rehearse and videotape, including Zoom rehearsals, fueled our efforts to begin airing our plays in early spring.
UpStage has managed to keep producing work for our community during the pandemic. Thinking outside the stage has been my goal in 2020-2021. The “Shelter in Place” episodes and “Until the Flood” production have pushed my skill as a theater director into the virtual realm of video.
Looking back in history, London’s theatres closed when another severe bout of plague hit from April 1603 to April 1604. During these times, the only option for Shakespeare’s company and other actors was to tour the provinces. For us, at UpStage Napa Valley, it is finding locations to video our work outdoors. If Shakespeare wrote “King Lear” in quarantine, it certainly shows in Lear’s desolate outlook as he cries into the storm, “Vengeance! Plague! Death! Confusion!” We can all relate to these exclamations as we experience daily upheaval and devastating loss.
The setting and props for the “Love Gone Awry” series are contemporary, yet the dialogue is pure Shakespeare. In Two Gentleman of Verona, Shakespeare leaves us with:
Hope is a lover’s staff
Walk hence with that
And manage it against despairing thoughts.”
“Love Gone Awry”, are a series of short, light-hearted, comedies on the love affairs in William Shakespeare’s plays. The six plays will begin streaming this spring on the theater’s website www.upstagenapavalley.org and will be available to watch at your convenience. With performing arts theaters dark across the country, UpStage Napa Valley has needed to think “outside the stage” and its cast of volunteers are producing on-line productions as gifts to the community.
“Love Gone Awry” will add a much-needed bit of humor to the Covid-sequestered days of our community. Twelve local actors are rehearsing their lines in Elizabethan English for these clever modern-day interpretations of Shakespeare’s works, which are filmed on-location and directed in the Napa Valley by Artistic Director Sharie Renault.
“The 12th Night” will be performed by Bruce Miroglio, Antonia Allegra and Rob Barlow. “The Merchant of Venice”, acted by Alexis Forni and Barbara Barling, will be followed by two episodes of Two Gentlemen of Verona,” with Shannon McDermott and Danielle Devitt performing a duet and then Fred Ireland in performing a monologue. David Evans becomes Benedict in “Much Ado About Nothing.” To give you the flavor of the modern-interpretations of The Bard’s love scene in Antony and Cleopatra, actress Elaine Jennings plays an eccentric woman, who is convinced that she is Cleopatra waiting for a letter from her lover, Mark Antony. Howard Fisher is the mailman (as he is in real life, too) who fights off Jenning’s attempts to steal a letter, while the character of Cleopatra’s maid of honor, Charmian, is captured by Deborah Todd.
“Love Gone Awry”, are a series of short, light-hearted, comedies on the love affairs in William Shakespeare’s plays. The six plays will begin streaming this spring on the theater’s website www.upstagenapavalley.org and will be available to watch at your convenience. With performing arts theaters dark across the country, UpStage Napa Valley has needed to think “outside the stage” and its cast of volunteers are producing on-line productions as gifts to the community.
“Love Gone Awry” will add a much-needed bit of humor to the Covid-sequestered days of our community. Twelve local actors are rehearsing their lines in Elizabethan English for these clever modern-day interpretations of Shakespeare’s works, which are filmed on-location and directed in the Napa Valley by Artistic Director Sharie Renault.
“The 12th Night” will be performed by Bruce Miroglio, Antonia Allegra and Rob Barlow. “The Merchant of Venice”, acted by Alexis Forni and Barbara Barling, will be followed by two episodes of Two Gentlemen of Verona,” with Shannon McDermott and Danielle Devitt performing a duet and then Fred Ireland in performing a monologue. David Evans becomes Benedict in “Much Ado About Nothing.” To give you the flavor of the modern-interpretations of The Bard’s love scene in Antony and Cleopatra, actress Elaine Jennings plays an eccentric woman, who is convinced that she is Cleopatra waiting for a letter from her lover, Mark Antony. Howard Fisher is the mailman (as he is in real life, too) who fights off Jenning’s attempts to steal a letter, while the character of Cleopatra’s maid of honor, Charmian, is captured by Deborah Todd.
Bruce Miroglio, as Sir Toby Belch,
Antonia Allegra as Maria
Rob Barlow- Sir Andrew
David Evans - Benedict
Fred Ireland - Lance
Danielle Devitt - Julia
Shannon McDermott - lucetta
Alexia Forni - Portia
Barbara Barling - Nerissa
Elaine Jennings - Cleopatra
Howard Fisher - the messenger
Deborah Todd - Charmian
