Shakespeare and Realism

Peter Lichtenfels is a professor in the Theatre and Dance Department at University of California, Davis. He teaches in the undergraduate, MFA in dramatic arts, and PhD performance studies programs.Josy Miller is arts education programs specialist for the California Arts Council. A theater director and scholar, she received her PhD in performance studies from the University of California, Davis.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionJosy MillerPart 1Realism and Shakespearean Character1The Trouble with Bertram:Experiencing Stanislavsky inAll’s Well That Ends WellRoberta Barker and Kim Solga2Shakespearean Character at the Fin du SieclePeter Kanelos3Violence and Consensual Imagination in A Midsummer Night’s DreamYu Jin KoPart 2Shakespearean Realism(s) and the Audience4“Never, Never, Never, Never, Never”: On Shakespearean Realism and the Question of Empathy Josy Miller5Allo-Realism and Intensive-Extensive Shakespeares: Transversal Theater Company’s Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Titus AndronicusSam Kolodezh & Bryan Reynolds6Directing RealismPeter LichtenfelsAppendix A. Theatre, Now: A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Shanghai Dramatic Arts CenterWorks CitedIndexAbout the ContributorsAbout the Editors

In her introduction to this brief but fascinating volume, Miller (California Arts Council) writes that the purpose of the book is to examine how "contemporary practitioners have utilized Shakespearean play texts in ways that illuminate aspects of how realism as a style is currently being fashioned and how and why Shakespeare’s texts are particularly potent vehicles for that fashioning.” The volume is intentionally neither comprehensive nor cohesive; rather it is meant to serve as a starting point for discussion of the intersections of Shakespeare in contemporary performance and realism as genre. The first essay explores the implications of imposing emotional realism on the heroes of the problem plays. The other five essays consider historic productions of Shakespeare during the period that spawned realism and transformed understanding of character; realism and Midsummer Night’s Dream; how King Lear uses realism to create empathy in an audience; and allo-realism in three tragedies (Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Titus Andronicus). The book certainly meets its objective of serving as a conversation starter. It also succinctly identifies places where Shakespeare and realism collide to mutual benefit.Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, professionals.