Richard III tells the tale of the medieval King Richard III whose short reign has for centuries been haunted by stories of murder, deceit and treachery. Shakespeare paints a gleefully evil, deformed monarch who must murder and lie his way to the throne, only to be killed in the bloody Battle of Bosworth Field. In fact, there is little evidence to indicate that the actual King Richard III neither was a tyrant nor physically deformed. His historic legacy is a peaceful border with Scotland, forward-thinking monarch, loyal Englishman, and a respected military strategist.

Performing Shakespeare
Performing Shakespeare’s Richard III is no small task. The original list of characters called for over 45 actors, only five of which are female. Shakepseare’s acting company routinely featured young and old men in female roles, but that is not a customary practice in today’s theatre. Add to this the fact that most college and university departments typically have more female majors than male majors and you have a production that on the surface may leave out the larger part of your acting pool. Therefore, the decision was made to cross gender cast over half the roles. “We are not making a statement about femininity, nor are we trying to prove anything by casting women in male roles,” says Martin. “We are simply solving a very practical challenge. It would be irresponsible of us to eliminate Shakespeare or other pre-modern playwrights’ work from our production schedule simply because they called originally for more male performers.”

Language, too, becomes a primary concern. Most American actors revere Shakspeare’s language to the point of fear. His use of iambic pentameter (a series of five stressed and unstressed syllables per line) and his imagery are difficult for the young actor to take on. “We are striving to balance the need to make the language accessible to our contemporary ear, while at the same time honor the beauty and poetry of the language,” says Martin.

The Battle Scenes
One of the greatest opportunities offered in the text is the battle scene, in which Richard is defeated by Henry Tudor, who is later crowned Henry VII. Berea College brought to campus a certified fight choreographer, Robert Radkoff-Ek this season’s Arronson Scholar and Artist in Residence, who taught, with Martin, the short-term class entitled Shakespeare in Performance.

Martin met Ek while both were at the University of Alabama. “When the decision was made to include Richard III in our 2003-2004 season, I thought Rob would be a wonderful addition to the production team. His rapport with students as well as his advanced experience in fight choreography made him a perfect choice for Berea College,” says Martin. Ek’s contribution to the course, in addition to the choreography of the battle and individual combat scenes in the play, has been training in unarmed and armed combat for the stage. The Theatre Laboratory, through the support of the Arronson Fund, purchased rapier and dagger sets, small swords and cavalier swords for the class, production and for future needs.

The short-term class was created for the cast and crew of Richard III. “When performing Shakespeare, you must take it a step beyond understanding the text as a beautiful piece of literature. The students have to embody the character, voice and movement of these roles,” says Martin.

Ek is an accredited member of the Society of American Fight Directors and is a member of the Associations of Theatre Movement Educators and Theatre in Higher Education. Currently teaching movement and voice at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Ek earned an MFA in Directing from the University of Alabama and enjoyed a diverse performing career at the Old Globe Theatre, The Goodman, Steppenwolf and the Illinois Repertory Theatre.

Research for the Production
This year’s Richard III is assisted by a dramaturgical team of five students who traveled with Martin to England for the month of July last summer. There, they attended many contemporary and Shakespearean plays in both London and Stratford, in addition to traveling to the many historic places that were key to the life of the medieval king. Each student - Susan Bond, Justin Dearing, Miranda Kau, Stephen Drabicki and Laura Jordan - had a specific research topic that ranged from the myth and truth of King Richard III to gender identity in Shakespearean performance.

Back at Berea, they have been asked to speak to a variety of classes that are required to see the Theatre Laboratory production in addition to the Teaching Colloquium series sponsored by the Office of Institutional Research.

“It’s been wonderful to see these students rise to such creative and academic heights,” says Martin. “We have been living with Richard III for nearly a year and are ready to share our research and knowledge with the community. Many of their research findings are on display in the larger display cases in both the Draper and Jelkyl buildings.

Richard III opens in the McGaw Theatre February 27 and runs through March 6. Tickets are on sale now and can be reserved by calling the Box Office at (859) 985-3300.

Note: This production contains chemical fog and sounds of combat including cannon fire and gunshots.