Jagan 2
Sangeetha Jagan
THEA B12A - Introduction to Shakespeare
Professor: Brian J. Sivesind
22 October 2018
Measure for Measure Critique
Measure for Measure a comedy by William Shakespeare directed by Cody Ganger was performed by The Bakersfield College Performing Arts Department. Watching this play live was a gratifying experience. However, while reading the play is more strenuous and involves a lot of mind space. It provides room for unlimited imagination. Hence, I would prefer to read the play and then watch the version of it in live theater as it would add a different perspective to the original play.
The dumb show in the beginning of the play had some ribald scene. Assuming the fact that all the actors in Shakespeare’s period were male made it very astonishing to relate those scenes to his era. The apparel which were used by actors in the play wouldn’t have been the same as the once used by Shakespeare’s actors as they had a different dressing style. During Shakespeare’s time, plays were lit by sunlight or candles. As a result, plays had to take place during the daytime, usually at high noon and only during good weather. Whereas, we saw the play at night with perfectly lit stage with artificial lights.
The language used by the actors is the equivalent to the language used by Shakespeare for his play’s. Shakespeare comedy most often reflects on dark side of our own morals. Which the play Measure for Measure depicted well through their acting and seemed to be in tangent with Shakespeare’s plays. Also, in all Shakespeare’s comedies there seems to be similarity in the end, nobody dies and most of the characters end up being married like Twelfth Night and Midsummer’s day Night which was the theme for Measure for Measure as well.
The scenic designer Kevin ganger did a splendid work. There was desk placed at different levels of the stage to show distinction in the place and office. However, the stage for the most part seemed empty with little to no decorations with several exit points within the stage. It would have been an extravagant experience if a few adjustments would have been accommodated in the stage with a few silhouettes or paintings in the backdrop to enhance the look of the stage rater then it being just a dark black screen.
The costumes used by the actors were contemporary. The costume designer Olivia Vega & Ensemble clearly used attires specific to the characters. They clearly showed class distinction like the apparel of Escalus (Alissa Morrow) and Lord Angelo (John Spitzer) mostly wore pant suits, Mistress Overdone wore tavern wench costumes, Isabella (Mariah Bathe) wore a very modest dress with a scarf covering her head a scarf as a religious symbol, ...
