Measure for Measure<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThis is a play about a fucked-up place where people like you and me are trying to survive, and the morals we compromise while doing so,\u201d Chiang said. \u201cIt\u2019s gritty, ugly, but teeming with real life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chiang has been curious about Shakespeare since her earliest memories.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMy interest in Shakespeare started as a young child, primarily for narcissistic reactions,\u201d she said. \u201cI knew that my parents had named me after a Shakespeare play, so when I was nine, I picked up a copy of Othello<\/em> from the library and tried to read it.\u201d<\/p>\nBut this investigation didn\u2019t proceed easily. \u201cThe play was utterly incomprehensible to me at the time, and I always assumed that Shakespeare was a thing that smart Americans were supposed to understand,\u201d Chiang said. \u201cSo, as a culturally displaced Chinese immigrant kid growing up, I was determined to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
And figure it out she did, with an eye toward sharing Shakespeare with others. \u201cAs I found my way into a life in the theatre, it became apparent to me that the work of Shakespeare is meant for everyone (not just the educated or the elite), and I try to dispel any myths about accessibility or class when it comes to directing his plays.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chiang has found links to today\u2019s social issues in many of Shakespeare\u2019s works, particularly her latest project. \u201cMeasure For Measure is most exemplary of this as (in my opinion) a populist and social justice play, written about and for the people and the harshness of civilian life in Vienna,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are no kings and queens here, no gardens, gossamer fairies, or ladies-in-waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n
She is excited that the opportunity to direct this play arose at Seattle Shakespeare Company. \u201cI was very lucky to have George Mount (SSC Artistic Director) attend a few shows I\u2019ve directed in the past with Azeotrope (my company with Richard Nguyen Sloniker), and we\u2019ve been talking about working together for a couple of years,\u201d Chiang said. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to direct Measure For Measure<\/em>, and it\u2019s been 12 years since SSC produced the play, so it was the perfect fit.\u201d<\/p>\nA production of this magnitude entails a number of different elements. \u201cShakespeare\u2019s writing is about as good as it gets,\u201d Chiang said. \u201cThe tough part is that for most people, it\u2019s indecipherable on the page.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is where the director\u2019s work begins, along with that of the artistic team. \u201cIt takes work and patience to break down the meaning, grammar, and syntax,\u201d Chiang said. \u201cBut when those words are clear and alive in the bodies of skilled actors, they can express some of the most deeply held truths about human existence. You just can\u2019t be lazy about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
And a crucial step in creating this translation from page to stage is casting the best actors available. \u201cI find and cast people who look like the people that I see in my daily reality,\u201d Chiang said. \u201cThat\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Concurrently, as director, Chiang also works with the design team. \u201cThis is all about design,\u201d she said. \u201cMeasure For Measure largely vacillates between what is public and what is private.\u201d<\/p>\n
The play also contrasts these two concepts in what is typically considered public space. \u201cEvery scene takes place in a civic location,\u201d she said. \u201cWe go from a courthouse to a street, to the brothels, to churches and prisons.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chiang credits her design team with a significant portion of the necessary translation of Shakespeare\u2019s work for contemporary audiences. \u201cPhilip Lineau (scenic designer) has conceived a space that can be played in many formations,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndy Smith (lighting designer) and Evan Mosher (sound designer) use light and sound to carve out the distinct spaces that feel either interior or exterior,\u201d she added. \u201cAnd Christine Tschirgi (costume designer) has dressed our brilliant cast of 19 actors to cover a wide range of civilians and citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chiang hopes that a broad spectrum of Seattle residents will find this play relevant and entertaining. \u201cI think when all the pieces come together, it becomes quite transformative.\u201d<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.iexaminer.org\/2015\/01\/desdemona-chiang-brings-the-bards-truths-to-todays-stage\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Survival was tough in Shakespeare\u2019s day, as it often can be today, and director Desdemona Chiang wants to bring that struggle to modern Seattle audiences with Shakespeare\u2019s Measure for Measure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1597,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desdemona.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desdemona.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desdemona.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desdemona.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desdemona.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1543"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.desdemona.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1546,"href":"https:\/\/www.desdemona.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1543\/revisions\/1546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desdemona.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desdemona.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desdemona.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desdemona.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}