Author Topic: SHOWS: Henry IV, Part I  (Read 4132 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

geoffsm

  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 68
  • Gender: Male
  • If we could read minds, we wouldn't need headsets.
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: SMA (Associate), SAFD (Actor-Combatant)
  • Experience: College/Graduate
SHOWS: Henry IV, Part I
« on: Nov 26, 2007, 10:10 am »
Anyone SMed Henry IV, I before?  I found out yesterday that I'll be SMing my College's production of this show.  I'm Just looking to troubleshoot and catch any potential disasters or difficulties in production before we start rehearsals.  I'm aware that stage combat is present and will need to be carefully monitored and rehearsed, but anyone who could offer other advice from this or similar productions would be of great help.  I know that there is a thread about Shakespeare somewhere on here, but I'm more interested in specifics.
Thanks.
« Last Edit: Jun 09, 2009, 01:32 am by PSMKay »

hbelden

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 412
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Henry IV, Part I
« Reply #1 on: Nov 29, 2007, 11:38 pm »
I worked on this last summer.  Actually, we did Parts 1 and 2 in rep.  There's no real trick to it, it's a fairly straight-forward Shakespeare show.  As always, keep your envelopes and letters straight!  The hand props in the Tavern can get pretty crazy too.  Ask for tankards that can take a beating from being thrown around, and plenty of dishtowels if you're using real liquids.

The first thing to do is to get the particular script the director wants, and make sure that the cuts are precise.  It's best to get the cut script to the actors, rather than the full script.  Especially in this show, where Falstaff's gang of thieves will probably be cut down to fewer bodies and their lines re-assigned.  Our adaptation ran two hours twenty-five minutes with one intermission (which I believe was right after Hal's return to court "I know not whether God will have it so...") and a full version would come in over three hours, I bet.

The fights in Act V can get pretty hairy, it's true, but you'll probably end up with only three or four two-handers plus the single Henry/Hal/Douglas three-hander.  Keep an eye on the choreography and suggest that Falstaff's choreography be kept to the absolute minimum (he'll be struggling with lines!)  If you're using broadswords, make sure your fight captain knows how to maintain them, and keep giving the note to slow down the fights once you're in performance.

About Falstaff - if your actor is padded (i.e., not a plus-size himself), work with the costumer to keep his costume breathable and lightweight, so he doesn't die of heat exhaustion onstage!

That's all that occurs to me right now, if I think of anything else I'll try and enter it.

Have fun!
--
Heath Belden

"I'm not good, I'm not nice, I'm just right." - Sondheim
--

geoffsm

  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 68
  • Gender: Male
  • If we could read minds, we wouldn't need headsets.
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: SMA (Associate), SAFD (Actor-Combatant)
  • Experience: College/Graduate
Re: Henry IV, Part I
« Reply #2 on: Nov 30, 2007, 01:40 pm »
Awesome, you've just reaffirmed my suspicions.  Thanks!  :)

Aerial

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 199
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, SMA
  • Current Gig: The Winter's Tale, Gamm Theatre
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Henry IV, Part I
« Reply #3 on: Dec 03, 2007, 12:38 am »
Regarding Falstaff, when we did it a few years ago, our actor was quite padded, and got very hot, so we came up with some great ways to help him cope.  We had a fan set up in the green room, pointing at the couch, where he could turn it on for himself whenever he got a scene offstage.  We also filled all his bottles and flasks with gatorade instead of colored water, to keep him better hydrated.

We did a combination of parts 1 & 2 that our director cut herself (it was mostly part 1).  It came in 5 minutes under 3 hours with 2 intermissions (one of which was right after the big fight, because I remember spending most of the intermission crawling around on the deck with a towel and a bucket, cleaning up the spatters of the crab apple sized blood pack we'd used).  Speaking of blood, you'll want to find out if they are planning to actually do blood packs and such.  There are so, so many different ways to do stage blood and the specifics (does it need to come out of a costume?  Is the actor allergic to any detergents?, etc).

Have fun!  This show is one of my favorites.


 

riotous