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Shakespeare play hitting stage in Marietta park

Photo by Michael Kelly Sir Toby Belch (Dylan Brown) and Antonio (Nathanal Maciag) rehearse a sword-fighting scene from Twelfth Night, the Marietta Summer Theater production opening today in Muskingum Park.

MARIETTA — With stage lights spiked into the soft soil of East Muskingum Park, and boulders, logs and other maritime props laid up against the steps of the gazebo, some actors milled around the set and mugged for one anther while some stood still as their costumes received last minute adjustments. The light faded on the day as the dress rehearsal began.

“Anyone who doesn’t do vocal exercises before we start is a fool!” boomed the voice of director Andy Felt. At the edges of the set, trills, rumbles and an occasional line of hip-hop falsetto floated on the damp air toward the river.

Shakespeare moves outdoors again this week as the Marietta Summer Theater production of “Twelfth Night” opens at the gazebo Thursday night in East Muskingum Park.

It’s the fifth year for Shakespeare by the River, and “Twelfth Night,” like all the bard’s work, speaks presciently across 400 years.

The plot is a meticulously built mess of swapped identities, gender confusion and one of drama’s most elegant love triangles. Felt’s vision of the play keeps it in Elizabethan times but with added action-adventure elements.

“I’m always conscious of the modern audience, and I’m really turned off by what I call ‘museum piece theater’ because audiences now are very different than they were in Shakespeare’s time,” he said.

The script, of course, remains the same, but the setting and design is swashbuckling, piratical and romantic, he said. There already were swordfights in the script, he said, and the plot starts with a shipwreck, so the embellishment was a natural one.

“It’s as if the concept for presentation is a beautiful wine bottle, it could be jeweled, it could be rustic, it could be space age, but you don’t want to change the wine. We kept it classical, kept the fencing, but we really wanted to play up the romantic aspects of if it,” he said. “It’s been fun to do, setting it in the golden age of piracy as a swashbuckling, romantic take.”

In the play, twins Viola and Sebastian are separated in a shipwreck, and Viola as a protective measure assumes the identity of a boy, Cesario. She becomes a page in the service of Duke Orsinio, who is in the process of courting Olivia and uses Cesario as a go-between to press his suit. Olivia, instead of responding to the duke’s attentions, falls in love with Cesario, who finds herself increasingly attracted to the duke. And that is only the beginning.

Shakespeare by the River draws actors and theater technicians from several states away, all of whom live in Marietta College dorm rooms for the summer, get five meals a week and a small stipend for their work.

Staging a play outdoors has its own peculiar challenges and rewards.

“The weather, it happens every year, that’s one of the dangers of outdoor theater,” co-director Kevin Paskawych said. “We plan on having one or two performances rained out.”

But “Twelfth Night” runs about two and a half hours, is out in the open, free of charge, and attracts audience members that might not otherwise experience drama.

“Every year, we have people who just happen to be walking by and sit down,” Paskawych said. “They’ll go up to an actor when it’s over and say they’ve never seen Shakespeare before. It’s free and accessible, that’s part of our mission. It’s not inside a stuffy theater, you don’t have to dress up. Some kids have never seen a play before, this is their first time.”

Felt said audiences have gone from an average of 40 a night the first year to 200 or more last year.

“We put seating out, but people are welcome to bring lawn chairs,” he said.

Tyler Hecht, who plays Sir Andrew Aguecheek, is back for his second summer. The 21-year-old student from Rochester, N.Y., studying for a BFA in musical theater, Hecht said he hopes to become a professional actor. The experience last year introduced him to “great directors and actors” and brought him back, he said.

“It’s a real world experience, and I love this town. Last year the audiences were great,” he said.

It’s also work. Hecht said rehearsals have been going on for about five weeks

Sarah Gabric, 24, came from Pittsburgh to be the production stage manager. She graduated from college two years ago.

“I didn’t study theater, but it’s what I love,” she said. “It’s seeing what actors bring to the character, every time it’s different.”

Marietta, she said, is a theater town.

“We have actors from all over the place, they’re really good, and people just really take to it,” she said.

Gabric’s role is to make sure everything’s in place when it needs to be, that the lights go up and shift when they’re supposed, that the actors are looking after themselves — “These costumes are heavy, they’re in danger of overheating” — and generally that the physical set works flawlessly and safely.

“I have a low-key love of chaos,” she said.

Sarah Saho, 19 and a Marietta native, landed the role of Viola/Cesario, and she feels a kinship with the character.

“It’s the first time I’ve played Viola, and it’s a lot of fun,” she said. “Shakespeare has a special place in my heart, so it’s really an honor. She is one of the most famous leading ladies in Shakespeare.

“I really think we have a lot in common, she gets what she wants done, a very powerful character. I’m honored to tell her story. This is a good time to do this show because women have to do so much to get recognized, and it shows that you can still get things done even if you have to pretend to be a man.”

The role is daunting, she said, because so many great actors have played Viola.

“I don’t really like to watch others’ performances when I’m preparing for a role, but I really like the way Anne Hathaway did it,” she said.

Saho is excited about Felt’s vision for the play.

“It really changes the mood of the show, it makes the stakes so much higher,” she said. “It’s so gung-ho, so sexy, it heightens level of energy in the show. There are a lot of really cool elements.”

Felt said the play includes original music by one of his Marietta College colleagues, David Tadlock.

The company is ready for this, Saho said.

“We could have had an audience at that last rehearsal,”she said.

The play opens 8:30 p.m. today. It’s free, and chairs are first-come, first-served. The shows continue 8:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, June 30 and July 1.

***

At a Glance

Performances, “Twelfth Night,” Shakespeare by the River

* What: “Twelfth Night” by Marietta Summer Theater

* When: 8:30 p.m. today, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, June 30 and July 1

* Where: East Muskingum Park at the gazebo

* Cost: Free

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