an Writing Original Score for the Oxford Street Players of Lesley Universitys Production of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas: shore know how to git a man down by Terry Michael Chance, B.A., M.A. A DISSERTATION IN FINE ARTS Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillments of the Requirement for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved Dr. Linda Donahue Chairperson of the Committee Dr. Brian D. Steele Dr. Michael Stoune Dr. William F. Gelber Professor Melissa Merz
Accepted Dr. Fred Hartmeister Dean of the Graduate School December 2007
Copyright 2007, Terry Michael Chance
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to Dr. Linda Donahue, my mentor, not only for her excellent advice during the course of this project, but also for setting fine examples as an artist, scholar, and teacher during my PhD program at Texas Tech University. The others on my dissertation committee--Dr. William F. Gelber, professor in acting directing; Dr. Brian Steele, associate dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts; Dr. Michael Stoune, professor in the School of Music; and Professor Melissa Merz, costume designer--were very supportive and inspired me not only through my dissertation process but my PhD program. I extend my gratitude and appreciation to those in the Department of Theatre and Dance: Professor Fred Christoffel, the faculty, and the administrative staff for their support and encouragement. I would like to thank Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts for allowing me to work on this project as a visiting composer, musical director, and actor. A special appreciation I present to Dr. Anne Pluto for the collaborative working relationship and the opportunity to work freely with her staff and students. A sincere thank you to the cast and production team of The Merry Wives of Windsor: shore know how to git a man down for their dedication to this project. I thank my mother, Ozie O. Chance, for never giving up on me and encouraging me with love, support, and the hope that my dreams may be fulfilled. Many other individuals assisted me, sometimes without knowing it. To all, I express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION Professional Problem My Participation in this Project Background Researchers Qualifications Thesis Statement Methodology The Merry Wives of Windsor-Synopsis Directors Choices Selected Elements of the Original Text and the Adaptation Place: The Forest/Prairie Women: Education/Property/Marriage Character: Falstaff Organization Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III II. THE PROJECT Collaborative Process 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 6 11 11 13 18 20 20 20 20 22 23 ii iii
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
Composition Process Methodology Original Compositions I Want To Be a Cowgirl of the Prairie Background Music Choices Im the Romeo of My Time Background Music Choices Dream on Texas Cowboys Background Music Choices The Ballad of the Texas Twister Background Music Choices The Merry Wives of Windsor Background Music Choices Showin No Remorse Background Music Choices Blowin in the Wind Background
24 24 30 30 30 31 32 32 33 34 34 34 35 35 36 37 37 37 38 38 39 39 39
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
Music Choices Musical Director The Rehearsal Process February March April The Performance Summary Lyrics Musicians Instrument Choice Space Issues III. CONCLUSION Reflections on the Process Reflections on the Production Elements Summary of the Professional Problem BIBLIOGRAPHY CORRESPONDENCE
40 41 41 41 42 47 49 52 53 53 54 54 55 55 57 61 63 66
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
APPENDICES
A. The Directors Notes B. Administration and Patrons Evaluation C. Student Evaluations D. Poster E. Playbill F. Pictures G. License Agreement H. Musical Score 67 72 87 94 96 111 119 122
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
LIST OF FIGURES
D.1 Poster E.1 Playbill Cover Page E.2 Playbill-Special Thanks F.1 The Texas Twister F.2 Slide and The Outlaws F.3 Falstaff, Saloon Girls, and Cowboy Band F.4 Dr. Anne Pluto and Zofia Provizer F.5 Zofia Provizer F.6 Falstaff and The Merry Wives F.7 Cast 95 97 104 112 113 114 115 116 117 118
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
The Oxford Street Players of Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts presented The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas shore know how to git a man down an adaptation of William Shakespeares The Merry Wives of Windsor. This production was a musical set in Windsor, Texas in the late 1800s. The play opened on April 12, 2007 in the Marran Theatre at Lesley University and ran through April 15, 2007. Professional Problem Dr. Anne Elizabeth Pluto, the director of this production, chose to set the play in Windsor, Texas, circa 1880. My professional problem was to research the directors choices and compose an original score for of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas shore know how to git a man down My plan was to integrate cowboy music and songs with a mix of Shakespeares original Elizabethan language and Texas slang consistent with the chosen place and time period. My participation in this project: Understanding the directors choices and vision for the production. Adapting the Elizabethan language of the original script to the Texas language of late 1800s. Maintaining a relationship with the director over the distance of 2000 miles. Maintaining a relationship with the vocalists and musicians over the distance of 2000 miles. Composing the cowboy music of nineteenth century Texas.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Writing the scores using the Finale II computer program, first for rehearsal and then for a final draft. Preparing and recording rehearsal CDs for each vocalist and musician. Assigning an assistant musical director to conduct rehearsals during my absence. Directing the music while being an actor in the show.
Background The significance of this professional problem lies in its educational and entertainment value. How can a musical adaptation of The Merry Wives of Windsor set in nineteenth century Texas illuminate Shakespeares original themes? How, in turn, can The Merry Wives of Windsor illuminate the experience of nineteenth century Texas? What will this reconstruction of Shakespeares text offer the students of Lesley University in terms of their education and theatrical training?
Researchers Qualifications My educational and professional musical background and experiences provided a strong foundation for this project. Through the years, I have written a total of 86 songs, 58 of which have been performed on stage, and 32 published under LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS. For 34 years, I have been employed in the music industry, singing in the United States and internationally. For 19 of those years, I performed with nationally acclaimed country artist Conway Twitty as a background vocalist and rhythm guitar player, as well as with other Country Music Association groups. For 13 years, I performed on Associated Records as a contemporary and Southern gospel music entertainer. While singing on Associated Records, I contracted 10 albums as a solo artist and 30 albums as a studio engineer. I also performed at several professional rodeos, 2
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 including the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City. My experience as a solo artist and musician has taken me globally to every major cowboy or rodeo event. As a musician, I play several different instruments and know the principles of basic music theory. My vocal experience as both a soloist and a background artist, including singing harmony, was vital in my research and writing this original score. In 2004, I wrote my first script, She Always Smelled like Lilacs, which was ultimately produced as a successful main stage production for the 100th anniversary of Oklahoma City University. I also wrote six original songs that enhanced the production and created the atmosphere necessary for reinforcing the time and setting of Oklahoma in the late 1800s. In addition to my musical experience, the years of working on our family ranch, The Double Bar C Ranch [= C], with my father, provided me the unique knowledge of the authentic cowboy lifestyle. At an early age, I learned such necessary cowboy skills as working cattle, breaking horses, and attending the stockyards on Saturday to sell and ship cattle from the ranch. The terminology, or what some call cowboy lingo was present in every aspect of my life on the ranch. This experience greatly helped in adapting the language of the period with the many cowboy slang terms, necessary in a Western adaptation of Shakespeare. Thesis Statement My professional problem was to research The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare in order to compose an original score for The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas shore know how to git a man down that reflected both the style and vision of the production as reflected in the directors choices. The score enhanced the
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 audiences appreciation and understanding of the late nineteenth-century Texas by the use of the musical style of the Old West to transform poetic verse into a musical production. Additionally, my professional problem was to serve as music director for the production in order to bring the music and text to fruition. Methodology A. The Process Close reading, research, and analysis of Shakespeares The Merry Wives of Windsor. Study the history of the cowboy life of nineteenth-century Texas. Incorporate the directors choices. Discuss the directors vision on how to accomplish those choices. Write the songs and assemble a Cowboy Band, comprised of me and student musicians. B. Bring music to the director to solidify some choices. C. Rehearse songs with cast members and musicians. D. Utilize Finale II program in order to print the lyrics and music into musical form. E. Engineer the recordings of the shows music in soundtrack form. G. Record the production on DVD and CD. The Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare) Synopsis Sir John Falstaff (a knight), in the country village of Windsor, worries that he is running out of money. He decides to pursue Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page, who are both prosperous citizens wives, and sends identical letters to each, swearing his affections 4
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 (Act II). Two of his discharged followers, Pistol and Nym, are insulted and secretly decide to inform the womens husbands of Falstaffs intentions; the jealous Ford takes them seriously. At the Garter Inn, Ford, disguised as Master Brook, offers Falstaff money if he will arrange for him (Brook) to sleep with Mrs. Ford (in hopes of keeping Falstaff from doing so). He also gets Falstaff to woo Mrs. Page on his behalf and discovers that the knight already has an assignation. After the wives compare the letters, they prepare to trick Falstaff. Meanwhile, Caius, in love with Anne Page, challenges Parson Hugh Evans to a duel in a nearby field, because Evans has asked Quickly, the innkeeper, to help Slender to Annes hand. (Anne is in love with Master Fenton who has already recruited Quickly as an ally.) The doctor and parson (Act III) are reunited by the Host of the Garter Inn who has cleverly prevented the duel. Falstaff is carried from the Fords house in a laundry basket with dirty clothes. Later as Brook, Ford learns of a new meeting between Falstaff and Mistress Ford. This time (VI.2), Falstaff flees in the clothes of a maids aunt whom Ford beats as a witch. The wives get Falstaff to masquerade as the ghost of Herne the Hunter and to meet Mistress Ford in Windsor Forest when the moon is high. Falstaff is taken away by a group of Windsor children, disguised as fairies and hobgoblins. Caius and Slender are convinced to run away with boy fairies, thinking them to be Anne. Fenton and Anne appear to have been just married, and the end will be a trip home to laugh this sport oer by a country fire. Dr. Anne Pluto made the decision to change the setting and location of Shakespeares play. Below is a statement about her directorial choices.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Directors Choices Anne Elezabeth Pluto, PhD I am an Oxfordian and do not believe that William Shakespeare, the glovemakers son from Stratford upon Avon is the author of the plays and poems, but that Edward de Vere the 17th earl of Oxford is the true author. Im in good company; British actor Sir Derek Jacobi and Mark Rylance the first artistic director of the Globe Theatre in London are also Oxfordians. Since authorship cannot be proven, only debated, the true way of knowing Shakespeare is through the plays themselves. The Oxford Street Players 2007 production of The Merry Wives of Windsor Texas shore know how to git a man down was the second time I have directed the play. The first time was in 1994; that production marked my directing debut at Lesley University. As the composer for the 2007 production, Terry Chance worked with my choices and assisted me in adapting the script. The original play is set in Windsor, where Queen Elizabeth I had a castle. Theatre legend has it that the queen so loved the character of John Falstaff that she asked Shakespeare to write another play, this time about Falstaff in Love. The Merry Wives of Windsor is hardly Falstaff in love; it is Falstaff broke and in lust. The true love story is between the heiress Anne Page and the wild young aristocrat Master Fenton (Oxfordians read this as Edward de Vere and Anne Cecil, whom he later married). Fenton is the wild young man whom Annes parents reject as a suitable husband for their daughter. But their choices for her husband are ridiculous. Mrs. Pages choice is the French quack Dr. Caius and Mr. Pages choice is Master Abraham Slender. Either one of them is ludicrous. Although Caius seems in love with Anne, Slender is prodded into the marriage by his uncle, Justice Shallow and the Welsh parson. Sir Hugh Evans. From the text, it is evident that Master Slender is not interested in women and is most probably homosexual. In the end of Shakespeares play, both Caius and Slender are duped into marrying veiled boys. The Elizabethan audience would have found this very funny. I changed that as I cast a girl to play Caius servant, John Rugby. John became Jackie and that is whom Caius marries, much to his chagrin. Slender runs off with one of the saloon girls from the Garter Saloon and marries her. He also is not happy upon discovering he has not married Anne. John Falstaff, the fat dirty broke knight may be the top on the Elizabethan status ladder, as he is a knight, but The Merry Wives of Windsor is Shakespeares middle class comedy with the triumph of true love over parental control and the triumph of middle class money over titles as its central themes. We dont know the professions of Masters George Page and Frank Ford, but they have money and Anne Page is set to inherit 700 pounds of silver and gold when her grandfather dies. She is the marriage prize of Windsor. In my 2007 production, Anne Page is set to inherit 700 head of longhorn cattle. She is the marriage prize of Windsor, Texas. In both the original Shakespeare and my Texas adaptation, Master Fenton confesses that he first loved Anne for her money and then for herself. This was not changed, but I cast a Chinese-American graduate student to play Fenton. Our romantic hero was both Chinese and a 19th century Harvard graduate. The men of Windsor, Texas didnt like that he was the educated son of a Chinese immigrant. The men of Windsor England didnt like
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 that Fenton was wild and ran around with the Prince and Poins a reference to Henry IV part II. In both Shakespeares text and my adaptation the merry wives, Alice Ford and Meg Page are comfortable educated (remember they both read Falstaffs love letters and get the sexual innuendoes) attractive middle-aged women. They have their husbands love. Mrs. Page, mother of both Anne and William does not have a jealous husband, but the childless and sexy Mrs. Ford does. Her husband acts both as a man and a child, but he loves his wife and fears that she has taken Sir John Falstaff as her lover. Ford disguises himself as Mr. Brook and tells Falstaff that he is in love with Mrs. Ford and pays Falstaff to be their go between. The broke knight gladly takes Fords gold. In my Texas adaptation George Page and Frank Ford are rich cattle ranchers. Their wives are attractive educated middleaged women living comfortable lives by 19th century Texas standards. Anne Page is still the beautiful young heiress and her brother William was transformed into a young girl, Montana. Both times I have directed this play I kept the Latin lesson, Act Vi, scene I, in the production. In 1994 it was to show that William Shakespeare was not the author every time Parson Evans said William, hold up your heard, the actress playing the young boy held up a mask made from the suspect engraving in the First Folio. In my Texas adaptation, I wanted William to be a young girl to show the education of girls in 19th century Texas and I wanted to cast my nine-year-old daughter, Zofia in the role of William. As a child, Montana still wore jeans and when in school she dreamt of riding her pony with the cowboys who worked her fathers ranch. Montana and her older sister Anne were in all the scenes where the merry wives plotted against Sheriff John Falstaff. They were learning about the relationships between men and women by watching their mother and her best friend. Sir John Falstaff became Sheriff John Falstaff and Bardolph, Pistol, and Nym, the cony catching rascals of the original play became Sheriff Falstaffs bad deputies; all of them broke and corrupt. Falstaffs status is the highest in the eyes of the law. But by changing the setting to Windsor, Texas in the 19th century, I could not use the original ending with the merry wives tricking Falstaff into meeting them in the woods and putting on a play within the play with Falstaff dressed up at Hearn the Hunter. Instead, I went for an over-the-top Texas ending. I created the character of Twister, the territorial sheriff, higher in status than the slovenly Falstaff. Twister tells his story in the opening ballad; he is the lawman who had sworn in Falstaff many years ago and has spent many of the intervening years tracking him down to Windsor, Texas in order to arrest him. Twister is disguised as the leader of the Cowboy band at the Garter Saloon. Only Frank Ford in his disguise as Mr. Slide, what he calls himself when he plays slide guitar with the cowboy band and when he approaches Falstaff to be his go between, knows who Twister really is. Twister reveals himself after the merry wives confess to their husbands that they have been tricking Sheriff Falstaff in order to get back at him for the love letters he sent to them in the beginning of the play. Hence the merry wives. These women are hardly unhappy; they enjoy plotting against Falstaff and extracting their revenge. Twister deputizes the ranchers and the preacher and also asks the merry wives to assist him in arresting Falstaff. What
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 they plan is a masquerade at the Garter Saloon. Falstaff, believing this will be his lucky night with the merry wives, dresses in a Mariachi costume and gives his famous The Windsor Bell has struck twelve now the hot blooded gods assist me Jove, send me a good rutting time speech. The townspeople surround him and Twister has a shootout with him. No one is hurt, law and order are reestablished in Windsor, Texas, Falstaff is forgiven, the young lovers come back married and the parents accept the marriage. This is Shakespearean comedy at its best. I made other changes in my adaptation. The Garter Inn of Shakespeares play became the Garter Saloon run by the Hostess of the Garter Saloon, reminiscent of Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke. Sir Hugh Evans the Welsh Parson became Reverend Hugh Evans, an itinerant Methodist circuit rider preacher who is residing at Windsor, Texas and giving Latin Lessons to the school children. Mistress Quickly, Dr. Caius servant became Miss Quickly, Dr. Caius maid and the only woman to play in the Cowboy band. The other servants were transformed into cowboys and we had a saloon full of the Hostess girls. One actress decided her subtext was that she was the illegitimate daughter of the Hostess and Justice Shallow. In terms of adaptation, only 20% of the original words of Shakespeares original play were changed, the references to Texas, the Brazos River, references to cattle and expressions such as dehorned steer were inserted; but there is no Texas equivalent for cuckold husband, so I kept that. The play easily lent itself to a 19th century Texas setting. The parson High Evans; the Garter Inn; the young lovers; the clever funny middle aged women; their perplexed husbands; the foreign doctor I did keep Dr. Caius as a French doctor as the American West was a place for all misfits and fortune seekers; and the character of John Falstaff all transformed effortlessly to be transplanted into 19th century Windsor Texas (Pluto). For this project, I felt it was important to research not only Shakespeares text and the directors choices, but also the history of nineteenth century Texas. For example, it was important to address the relationship between men and women in Shakespeares The Merry Wives of Windsor in which the women challenged traditional roles of male dominance and managed, throughout the plot, to subvert these roles successfully. The director chose to portray the Merry Wives/Texas women as epitomes of strength and beauty who achieves dominance over the men, as embodied in dialogue and song. Understanding these characterizations and conflicts was necessary in order to establish the foundation for this project.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Several of the societal issues in Shakespeares script are as relevant today as they were in Shakespeares time, but the seventeen-century language and setting of The Merry Wives of Windsor might confuse or muddy a twenty-first century audiences understanding of these issues. Conversely, the directors choices and the transformation of the original script into a uniquely American production might allow the students, as well as the patrons, to gain a better understanding and appreciation of Shakespeares worldview. Adultery, arranged marriage, and the comedic themes of The Merry Wives of Windsor are common elements in much of Shakespeares writings. Through comedy, we can laugh at such serious issues, and through laughter, we can understand these issues in unique ways. For instance, in the original The Merry Wives of Windsor, Mr. Ford is obsessed with the possibility that his wife is committing adultery with Falstaff. She isn't. What makes this funny are his actions - Frank Ford disguises himself as Mr. Brook and offers Falstaff gold to be the go-between for him (as Mr. Brook) and Mrs. Ford. Both Falstaff and the disguised Mr. Ford/Brook talk about what a fool Mr. Ford is and call him a cuckolded husband. Falstaff is exaggerating and Mr. Ford is furious, as this is his biggest fear. The audiences, who know the truth, laugh. In the Texas adaptation, this remains the same, except Mr. Ford's alias is Mr. Slide and he also asks Sheriff Falstaff to be the go between for himself and his wife (Act II, scene 2 and Act III scene 5). The directors choices for this production/adaptation of The Merry Wives of Windsor attempted to combine these issues with the cultural values of the Old West in the late 1800s, thereby addressing the theme of adultery and marriage not only across time, but also across continents.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 This project proved to be a valuable educational experience which allowed for learning more about Shakespeare, examining the Elizabethan period, deducing Shakespeares possible motivations for his dramatic choices, and exploring the culture of the American West during the establishment of the state of Texas. Much can be learned by analyzing different cultures; this is essential to our understanding of the human condition. Through analysis, we can see the differences and similarities between populations and time periods. For this production, we worked with both the Arden edition of The Merry Wives of Windsor and the Cambridge University Press edition, but we primarily used the online script from Shakespeare.com. This online text was easy for the students to download and for Dr. Pluto and me to revise. Dr. Pluto made a few gender changes. For instance, the Host of the Garter Inn became the Hostess of the Garter Saloon, and William Page was transformed into a girl, Montana Page, as I will discuss in Chapter 2. These gender changes were necessary because casting the show with all male actors, as was the tradition in the Elizabethan ea, was unrealistic. The director felt that the Texas setting required women actors to play womens roles to establish nineteenth-century authenticity. Dr. Pluto did not want to alienate women from the production, and she especially wanted to provide exceptionally talented actresses, such as the young girl who played Montana Page, unique acting opportunities. After deciding on the period and style, we were amazed with how the language shaped a beautiful marriage between Elizabethan and Texas English. Although I had doubts in the beginning, the marriage proved itself to be quite effective. In writing the score for the production, I contemplated adding Elizabethan language to the lyrics of
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 the songs but decided ultimately that this wasnt necessary. Fortunately, the original script of The Merry Wives of Windsor easily transformed into a nineteenth-century Texas production. Selected Elements of The Original Text and The Adaptation My research on Shakespeares plays and the culture of Elizabethan and nineteenth-century Texas focuses on three areas: Place: The Forest/Prairie, Women: Education/Marriage/Property, and Character: Falstaff.
Place: The Forest/Prairie In most of Shakespeares plays, the sense of place is divided between the city and the forest (woods). Many times, the city imposed a sense of authority on its inhabitants, be it political, religious, or parental. Characters flee to the forest (the natural world) in order to escape these constraints. One example occurs when poignant and tragic King Lear is on the heath leading his blind friend, the Duke of Gloucester, as both Lears heart and kingdom unravel. In Macbeth, Burnham Wood actually walks, due to the fact that Malcolm and MacDuff have cut down the forest and camouflage themselves as the trees, as they advance on Dunsinane Castle to fulfill the prophecy of the Weird Sisters and bring the play to its tragic end (Act V, scene 5). In Shakespeares comedies, the forest can be a kinder place or a magical realm. In A Midsummer Nights Dream, it is a kingdom ruled by the fairy queen and king, Titania and Oberon (Act II, scene 1). In The Tempest, the forest is Prosperos wild island where he prevails over a new world order and uses magic to bring about reconciliation with the brother who banished him from Milan (Act V, scene 1). The Forest of Arden in As You Like It, is also a special place. It is a refuge for the politically exiled, the lovelorn, and assorted undesirables. Its not like
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 any other geographical place, its topography being the fantastical mixture of flora and fauna, including snakes, lions, and palm trees. Anything can happen in the forest (Epstein 129). In A Midsummer Nights Dream, the two sets of young lovers (Lysander and Hermia/Demetrius and Helena) escape Athens and run off into the forest to work out their complicated love plot with the help of the fairies. Modern audiences tend to resist the idea of magic, but many Elizabethans still believed in fairies (Epstein 111). The forest is then a place to hide, as is seen in the medieval stories of Robin Hood and his band of merry men who hide in Sherwood Forest and rob from the rich to help the poor and give the Sheriff of Nottingham a great deal of trouble. The Texas prairie, on the other hand, is a wild and beautiful place it extends seemingly forever as far as the eye can see and as the imagination goes. Like Shakespeares forests, the Texas prairie may act as a refuge, housing the politically exiled, the lovelorn, and the assorted undesirables, but unlike the woods, it cannot hide them. The prairie has its own unique flora and fauna in terms of wild wheat, cactus, sage, and the prairie chicken. The pioneers built sod houses and were exposed to the elements, the Indians tribes, and the outlaws. This was a hard life without much order. Conclusion In Shakespeares The Merry Wives of Windsor, Sir John Falstaff is lured into the forest surrounding the town of Windsor under the promise of meeting Mrs. Page and Mrs. Ford for a romantic rendezvous. Falstaff dresses as a forest creature, Hearn the Hunter complete with stag antlers, and he gives his famous rutting time speech. The merry wives trick him and the rest of Windsor, dressed as fairies, they pounce on him, drastically frightening him. This was believable to an Elizabethan audience. In the Texas 12
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 adaptation, Falstaff is not lured onto the prairie; the town of Windsor, Texas is already on the open range, vulnerable to both the elements and the undesirables. Instead, Falstaff is lured into the uproarious Garter Saloon, the meeting place for the town, the place of ill repute and where the townspeople help Twister, the territorial sheriff, arrest him.
Women: Education/Property/Marriage If a university education in sixteenth-century England was a privilege for men, for women it was nothing short of a miracle, but there were some exceptions. Henry VIIIs first wife, the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon herself was an example of a woman who combined learning with high-mindedness, for during her childhood in Spain she had been sufficiently well-educated to draw the tribute of Erasmus who stated she was astonishingly well-read, far beyond what would be surprising in a woman, and is admirable for her piety as she is for learning (Somerset 10). Her daughter Mary (later Mary I) was fluent in French, Spanish, and Latin. And Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn, received a university education from a tightly knit group of scholars from the recently founded St. Johns College, Cambridge (University) (Somerset 11). Sir Thomas Moores daughters had also mastered an impressive curriculum, which included classical languages, geometry, theology, and astronomy (Somerset 10). It is not surprising then that Shakespeares female characters of aristocratic and royal rank can read and write. In The Merchant of Venice, Portia the Countess of Belmont, disguises herself as Balthazar, the learned Doctor of Law to try Shylock in the Venetian court. Portia goes beyond being a lawyer; she is a judge, albeit in the guise of a man (Act IV, scene 1). In The Merry Wives of Windsor, both Mrs. Page and Mrs. Ford can read: we see it on stage as Mrs. Page shares Falstaffs love letter with
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 the audience and later when both of the merry wives compare the identical love letters they have received from Falstaff. But Portia and the merry wives are not of the same class. Portia is the Countess of mythical Belmont practically a queen in her own right, and Mrs. Page and Mrs. Ford are members of the emerging Elizabethan middle class educated women with money. Even though there were no schools for girls in sixteenthcentury England, having an educated woman sit on the throne of England, by her own right, changed how the English viewed women and education. Shakespeare was fascinated by women; I would go so far as to say he liked and admired them. A majority of his female characters are strong, articulate, able to express their feelings, and some of them can read and write. In the Texas adaptation, Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page remain educated, as in the original text. Anne Pluto gender switched the Pages son William. The new character, a nine-year-old girl, Montana, goes to school on the prairie. In Act IV, I, a scene typically cut by many directors, Montana is given a Latin lesson by Reverend Evans in front of her mother and Miss Quickly at Mrs. Pages insistence. The conjugations are skewed and make for sexual jokes that an Elizabethan audience would have totally appreciated, but our audiences laughed also. Our scene ended with Montana singing her song: I want to be a cowgirl of the prairie telling us that studying Latin was not her hearts desire. She wanted to be on the prairie, riding her pony with the cowboys who worked her fathers ranch. Although a college education for women was rare, she might have been given the opportunity to receive a university education if her family could have found a way for her to physically get to the university. Educational opportunities were on the rise with finally1854 the Governor Elisha M. Pease signed into law an educational measure with several
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 provisions. One of the articles of this measure created an educational endowment of $2 million to be derived form the $10 million that the United States had given Texas as a part of the settlement in 1850 where by the state surrendered its claim to the territory in New Mexico. Another part of the law made provisions for schools to be made available to all Texas children in common and mandated the creation of schools for the hearing and visional impaired in 1856. In 1858, by act of legislation, appropriate 3 million acres of public land for a university now known as University of Texas. (Calvert, De Leon, Cantrell, 131) The university-educated Elizabeth I never married, but she played a successful political marriage game for over a quarter century. She had excellent reasons not to marry. Even as the Queen of England, if she had married, she would have given her kingdom to the husband to rule with her. In The Merchant of Venice, Portia is deeply in love with Bassiano, who by marrying Portia, will obtain her wealth and share her title (Act V, scene 1). We dont see what happens after the marriage; that is where the play ends. In the original Merry Wives of Windsor, we are given a glimpse of married life with and without children. The Pages have children, the beautiful Anne and the little boy William. Anne is an heiress, set to inherit 700 pounds of gold. The Fords are childless, but Mr. Ford who acts as both husband and child; his antics as the jealous husband are part of the comedy. In the Texas adaptation, the Pages have two daughters, Anne the elder, set to inherit 700 head of longhorn cattle, and Montana the younger, still in grammar school. Both the Pages and the Fords are secure in their marriages; the Pages scheme separately to find the right husband for Anne. Mr. Fords dilemma is to prove that his wife is having an affair with Falstaff. Both of these themes: arranged marriage and adultery are representative of the predicaments of Elizabethan women and marriage. Men had lovers; this was accepted. Women also had lovers, but this behavior was not
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 accepted. In Shakespeares tragedy Othello, Othello, duped into thinking his chaste wife Desdemona is the lover of his friend Michael Cassio, eventually murders Desdemona and commits suicide (Act V, scene 2). Elizabethan marriages, for the most part or; were arranged to bring alliances, wealth, prestige, and power to both families. Shakespeare is fixated with arranged marriage, and in several plays young lovers risk their lives for love and the freedom to choose their own spouses. In Romeo and Juliet, they die for that freedom (Act V, scene 3). In Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice and Benedick are the older and wiser couple and Hero and Claudio the younger inexperienced couple. As it is a comedy, the play ends happily with both couples going off to their weddings, but the journey to that moment is fraught with disaster. Claudio is duped into believing Hero is not a virgin and leaves her at the altar; her father would gladly destroy her for that indiscretion and only because of the intervention of Friar Francis does she survive (Act IV, scene 1). In England, a daughter was the property of her father and then after marriage the property of her husband. Both Mary I and her half sister Elizabeth I were demoted from their title of Princess of Wales to Lady Mary and late Lady Elizabeth when their father discarded their mothers (William 70, 76). Their status went from child born in wedlock to bastard daughter at the flick of pen. They were Henry VIIIs property. Unless they were royals, women without brothers were not allowed to be the heirs of their fathers land unless they married and arrangements were made to give the land to husband; then and only then was she entitled to the land. Shakespeares tragedy King Lear is a family besieged by jealousy over royal land inheritance and a fathers love, which leads to war. The three daughters and the king are all dead at the end (Act V, scene 3). In The Merry
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Wives of Windsor, Anne Page chooses her own husband; he is not the man her parents want, and one of the reasons stated is his high status. Because of casting choices in the Texas adaptation, Fenton is the son of Chinese immigrants; that is enough to make Mr. Page and all of Windsor Texas, hate him. In both versions, Fenton confesses that at first he loved Anne only for her inheritance, but then he came to love her for herself. At the end of the play (both versions), Fenton tells the parents that he and Anne have been long contracted. This may mean that they had already had a secret wedding ceremony and have already had sex, which would have made the marriage legal and binding, but now a priest has married them. If the play were to continue in Windsor England, Fenton would get his wifes money. In the case of his death, a predetermined amount of money agreed upon at the time of the marriage contract would be allotted to her to live on as a rich widow. The suitors would be lining up at the door. In the Texas adaptation, Fenton would have to work the 700 head of longhorn cattle, as they are Annes to share with him as they began their married life. As far as Annes rights go, she would not be able to vote, but she could still operate her Texas cattle ranch if something were to happen to Fenton. Women did lose their husbands to the rugged conditions of the prairie. Whatever the case, the women continued living on the land they owned and defended. They were not as dependent as their Elizabethan counterparts on the men in their lives, be it a father, a husband, or a male guardian. Conclusion The women of Shakespeares England had a female monarch sitting on the throne for nearly 45 years. She was educated; she was brilliant; she was a shrewd negotiator on the worlds stage in an age when women had few legal rights. These qualities are well reflected in Shakespeares plays. In nineteenth-century Texas, women had more freedom 17
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 than their Elizabethan counterparts: freedom to attend university, freedom to own land and cattle, and the freedom to choose their own husbands.
Character: Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is the only Shakespeare character to appear in four plays (Epstein 193). Shakespeare resurrects him from the dead at the command of Queen Elizabeth I who commissioned a play tentatively titled Falstaff in Love, which eventually became The Merry Wives of Windsor (Schoenbaum 50). The Merry Wives of Windsor, however, does not show Falstaff in love; it portrays Falstaff as fat, poor and lusty. Set in contemporary Elizabethan England in the town of Windsor where Elizabeth I had a palace, The Merry Wives of Windsor was also Shakespeares only middle class comedy. In Shakespeares original play, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Sir John Falstaff (a knight) is the not-so-clever, witty, fat con man, who, while being broke and down on his luck, dreams up the seemingly brilliant scheme to seduce both Mrs. Page and Mrs. Ford. After making love to each of them, he then cons them out of their husbands gold. In the original play, Sir John Falstaff as knight, is the character holding the highest rank. The Welsh parson, Sir Hugh Evans, appears, but his rank lies in the heavenly realm and Falstaffs in the earthly. Dr. Caius also appears. He is the French physician who, like Parson Evans, is also a foreigner. He is not above the status of an English knight, and his foreign status is not valued. There is also the old fool, Justice Shallow, who is an officer of the law, but he remains virtually ineffectual, and Falstaff disregards his status in Act I. In the Texas version, the creation of the character of Twister, the territorial sheriff, shifts the status ladder in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas shore know how
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 to git a man down . . .. In the Texas adaptation, Sir John Falstaff is now Sheriff John Falstaff--still fat, boastful, lazy, broke, lustful, and still with an eye on the merry wives and their husbands money. His status as Sheriff makes him believe he is invincible, but he is also afraid of Twister, the higher ranking territorial sheriff, and knows that if caught, he will be arrested and evicted from the town. This fear does not stop Falstaffs lust for the merry wives and his plan to con them out of their husbands money. In Act V of Shakespeares play, the merry wives and the entire town of Windsor move into the forest to stage a play that will ensnare Falstaff and reveal his lust and lechery. In fact, Falstaff is the star of this play and appears on stage in Act V wearing antlers in the guise of Hearn the Hunter. No one arrests him; it is enough for the wives, their husbands, and the townspeople to call Falstaffs bluff, taunt him, and then forgive him. In the adaptation, the trapping of Falstaff occurs in the Garter Saloon at midnight. Here it is Twister who has set the arrest in motion by enlisting the help of the merry wives, deputizing the ranchers and the reverend, and acquiring the backing of the entire town. The Texas Falstaff believes he is going to a masquerade and comes dressed in a mariachi suit, twirling his guns and ready for action. In both play versions, Falstaff is fooled and chastised. In the Texas version Falstaff is arrested by Twister. The entire town has its guns drawn on Falstaff, while the Pages, the Fords, and the Reverend Hugh Evans humorously make fun of the sheriff. As the plot unfolds and the secret marriage of Anne Page and Fenton is brought to light, Falstaff, as in the original script, laughs at the humorous situation of the Pages. Twister is ready to escort the Falstaff out of town, but Falstaff tells the territorial sheriff that he is now a changed man and the two adversaries shake hands. Twister, the character holding the highest rank, pardons Falstaff, and the
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 play ends happily, as all Shakespeare comedies do, with a song and a dance by the entire cast. In the Texas version, a hoe down takes the actors into their bows.
Conclusion John Falstaff, the incorrigible womanizer, is hard not to love. He is a theatrical tradition, a force of nature, a braggart, a buffoon, and easily transferable from Windsor England in the Elizabethan age where he was born to the Texas prairie where he is still fat and lazy, comparing himself to a bull on the loose with no pride, wearing the largest sheriff badge imaginable, in suspenders, red long johns, boots, and spurs, he still charmed the audience. Organization Chapter I Chapter One introduces the overall project. There is an explanation as to why this dissertation is important. The Introduction defines the project, and the background explains the research necessary to solve of the problem and presents my personal qualifications for this project. A description of the methodology is also presented. Chapter II Chapter Two will discuss the process of completing the project: What were some of the challenges? How were these challenges met? What was the working relationship between the director and the musical director? Chapter III In Chapter Three, I will reflect upon three areas in order to evaluate the success of the production. The first area will be Reflections on the Process. This will encompass 20
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 an evaluation of the rehearsal process with the actors and musicians. The second area provides Reflections on the Production Elements, an evaluation of the performance as experienced by the audience. The third area will be the Summary of the Professional Problem. I will contemplate such questions as: What was the overall consensus of the project in whole? Did it work? What can be changed for a future production? Can Shakespeare be set as a Western in a college production with student actors and musicians? This chapter will be a summary of the whole project.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
CHAPTER II THE PROJECT
This chapter contains a discussion of the collaborative process between the director and the composer, as well as the process of executing the project of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas shore know how to git a man down The primary focus is on my role as the composer; the secondary focus is on my role as the musical director and actor. The chapter is organized in four parts: first, the collaborative process between the director and the composer; second, the composition process, consisting of the methodology and songs; third, my role as the musical director, consisting of the rehearsal and production process; and fourth, the challenges presented by the relationship between the director and the composer/musical director/actor in the production. I wanted to pursue this opportunity and the myriad of challenges it presented not only as composer, but as musical director and actor. For example, I wondered if nineteenth-century Texas style cowboy music could be communicated effectively. How difficult would it be to understand the directors choices and vision for the production without knowing her style and approach to acting and directing, especially as we were attempting to present a Shakespeare musical set in Texas? How would we adapt the Elizabethan language of the original script with the Texas language of the late 1800s and compose lyrics that would be complimentary to the script? What would be the difficulties for the vocalists, musicians, and musical director working over the distance of 2000 miles? How would I confront rehearsal issues without being present at Lesley University? Would I need to assign an Assistant Musical Director, and, if so, how would he/she understand my choices and vision for the musical? How would I send the
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 musicians and vocalists their rehearsal materials, such as the score and CDs, and how would I direct the music of the production while being an actor in the show? How would I teach individuals to play instruments they had never played and rehearse vocalists who had never sung in public? Finally, what would be the benefits of such a project? These were some of the many challenges of this production; I will discuss how some of the challenges were faced with great success and others with not so much success. Collaborative Process I met Dr. Pluto in August 2006 at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) conference in Chicago where she was performing in a staged reading of Ed Stevens original script Texas, Religion and Murder. After the reading, I introduced myself as a PhD student in Fine Arts from Texas Tech University. I told Dr. Pluto that I could especially relate to the play, having grown up around horses while living in Texas and also having resided for a time on a ranch in Oklahoma. During our conversation, Dr. Pluto told me that she was the artistic director of the Oxford Street Players (OSP) of Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She asked what my profession was before returning to college, and I told her that I had been a musician for many years and still enjoyed singing and writing cowboy" ballads. I also told her that I had written a play and composed its music for my MA thesis at Oklahoma City University (OCU) She Always Smelled Like Lilacs. It was then that the wheels in our minds began to turn. In October, Dr. Pluto contacted me about her upcoming project and asked me to compose cowboy music for the OSP spring, 2007 production of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas her adaptation of Shakespeares The Merry Wives of Windsor. I met with Dr. Linda Donahue, my dissertation chair and mentor, who suggested I discuss with
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Dr. Pluto the possibility of using the composition as the base for my dissertation. Dr. Pluto agreed and then asked if I would also consider acting as musical director. Assuming the roles of musical director and composer for The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas became the professional problem for my dissertation. The College of the Visual and Performing Arts at Texas Tech University offers PhD candidates the choice of submitting, 1) a traditional research dissertation, focused on researching a specific topic, 2) an internship dissertation focused on the experience of research performed at a specific (arts) institution, or 3) a dissertation examining a professional problem, which involves taking a specific problem and presenting a solution. In this study, I would be able to explore the process and professional problems of being simultaneously a composer, musical director, and later on actor. (Yes, Dr. Pluto asked me to take a role in the production.) I visited Cambridge in November to meet with members of the cast and the production team. After discussing the directors choices for The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas, I wrote the theme song. Dr. Pluto then suggested we change the title to The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas shore know how to git a man down During this first visit we discussed time period, setting, language, design elements, themes, and the overall concept of the show. Dr. Pluto and I decided on the late 1800s in Windsor, Texas, and together we realized a Shakespeare cowboy musical was in the making. Tying together Shakespeare and Texas had been a long time dream of Dr. Plutos. Since I am a writer of cowboy ballads, this collaboration seemed to be the perfect solution. I had many challenges even before I began composing the music. A major concern of mine was the language. Some questions arose when we decided to merge the
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 original text with additional early Texas colloquialisms. How would these different languages (the original text with Texas slang) influence the musical lyrics? Would this Texas adaptation alter the marvel of Shakespeare by destroying the characters, plot, and themes in Merry Wives? This is where Dr. Plutos vision for this production revealed itself. Regardless of living in the sixteenth-century or the twenty-first century, Shakespeares works are still relevant to our time. I, along with Dr. Pluto, came to realize that we could create a beautiful marriage between Shakespeare and Texas. I returned to Texas and began the creative process with a close reading of the Arden edition of The Merry Wives of Windsor. I also watched the Royal Shakespeare Companys 1982 production of The Merry Wives of Windsor, starring Richard Griffiths as Falstaff, directed by David Jones, and produced by The British Broadcasting Production in association with Time Life Television in 2006. Also, I researched the western heritage of Central Texas in the late 1880s where Windsor is located. There are two towns in Texas named Windsor; we chose the one close to the Brazos River because the script required a river into which John Falstaff must be thrown (Act III scene 5). I learned that the Brazos River, also known as the arms of God, is the largest river in Texas. In the area around Waco and Windsor, portions of the river flow in less rugged terrain and provide for stream valleys that are wide and flat. It would be believable to throw a character (Falstaff) into a river with these geographical features (Calvert, De Leon, Cantrell 118). Dr. Pluto arrived in Lubbock after Christmas and together we reread the script. Further discussions with Dr. Pluto and revisiting the script aided us in determining the necessary changes in Shakespeares language to fit Windsor, Texas, 1880. The
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 combination of my ranching heritage and my research on Central Texas in the late 1800s provided me with insight into the cowboy language and the changes we needed to make in the text. Fortunately, growing up with three brothers and a father who were cowboys helped me learn at an early age how to rope, ride horses, and work cattle as a cowhand. These role models taught me the cowboy way of life. After we decided on the textual changes, the next point in the process was to compose music for the production. Composition Process As a songwriter, I have written many ballads. Some balladeers and composers begin by writing the lyrics and build the music around the message, but I usually work backwards. I always begin with the music before composing the lyrics; so, for these compositions, rather than being guided by music, I was guided by language. I had to take into consideration the plot, characters, and themes of the play, as well as the new Texas setting and time period. Because a ballad is an independent, individual song, the pieces for this production had to work within the play as a whole, as well as blend and work in conjunction with one another. Creatively, this process was also very different for me, as I had previously only written ballads for myself to sing. For this production, I had to write songs for other actors to perform. I will discuss the compositions in the order the songs were composed, not as they were performed. Methodology Like many musicians, I find myself writing in the late night hours. This quiet time allows me to work without being disturbed by the phone or visitors. At home, I have a sound system, a small recording studio with studio microphones, and a couple of
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 keyboards. One keyboard is specifically for use with my computer and recording studio software Evolution 2006 Studio II. With this program I can record vocals and several instruments, allowing me to play them back simultaneously, and I can create orchestral arrangements or combine vocalizations with music. Twenty-first century innovations in technology have facilitated my project, easing the process through cleaner digital recording and easier editing. Evolution 2006 Studio II is one of the best recording programs available, as is Finale. I used Finale for composing the scores of sheet music used for vocal parts. Finale can also create orchestral instrumentation utilizing one instrument or a full orchestra. The program also allows easy changes during rehearsals, without having to reconstruct the arrangements. Finale worked well for this process. Since I am a visual person, I prefer seeing physical printouts of music rather than using only a computer screen. Because of my atrocious handwriting, it would take a linguistic archeologist to understand my scribbling, so the advantage of printing out a hard copy at any time was most valuable and eventually saved the musicians and actors the trials of decrypting my handwriting. By December, Dr. Pluto and I had also decided which scenes would have musical numbers and which characters would be dancing and singing. Prior to composing a song for a scene, I examined both the character and the scene. I evaluated the mood, tone, and style and began to compose music for the appropriate feeling and setting. As a musician, I play multiple instruments, but I am most proficient on guitar, and brainstorming with that instrument is the first part of my composition process. I sat on my stool with my guitar and played different styles of music that were recorded on my sound system.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Sometimes I played for an hour or two until I got a feel for the desired sound and found the appropriate style for the score. Once I had a basic style and sound, I began working on lyrics for the song. To free my creative energies, I ignored the barriers of cultural differences between Elizabethan England and nineteenth century Texas. I didnt allow myself to be concerned with cultural inconsistencies but thought only of the story that needed to be told. This is the true task of a balladeer--to tell a story. In a musical, all characters must experience their songs within the context and movement of the musicals story. I considered using different acting methods in order to find each characters personality and motivations. I considered Antonio Artaud, with his emphasis on confrontation and physical acting, but decided his approach would not be appropriate for this script (Artaud). I also consider Bertolt Brecht, the father of epic theatre. He believed that the audience should be made not to feel, but to think. He wanted to discourage the audience from identifying with characters and to detach the audience, through action that was continually made strange, alien, remote, separate (Brecht). I finally decided to use Constantin Stanislavskis method because his approach is the basis for all realistic acting. His theory of the Method of physical actions would be the best approach for me. This meant analyzing the character using what Stanislavski called the given circumstances (McGaw and Clark 28). For example, his method demands answers to certain questions: Where was this character born? Where does she/he live? In which economic and social status does she/he belong? While working on this production, I applied Stanislavskis given circumstances to each character for whom I
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 was writing a song. A song must be justified not only within the context of a scene, but also within the context of the life and motivations of the character. All behavior is motivated with a desired result or action in mind. These actions then become the embodiment of the characters feelings. Examining the script through this lens, I was able to write songs and imagine the physicality of the characters for which I was writing (31). Combining my training as an actor with my experience as a balladeer, I simultaneously wrote songs both as a storyteller and a character within that story. When writing specific songs, I took on the role of the character just as I do in preparation for a role on stage. This is the method I used when I wrote I Want to Be a Cowgirl of the Prairie; I became a young girl in order to feel her desires. I had used this technique of given circumstances for years, but I did not associate it with Stanislavskis method until I studied acting in college. If I write a song about an ole cowboy, I put on an old cowboy hat. If I write a song for a young cowgirl, I put a scarf around my neck. I suppose this is why I write songs late at night. If anyone were to see me, I would probably be very embarrassed. For my creative process, though, embarrassment or not, each song I write must be sung through a voice I recognize. Writing ballads for myself for many years was simpler than composing songs for The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas shore know how to git a man down; those ballads were my own voice and externalized my own internal experiences. To write a song for a character, I first had to embody that character; Therefore, I also used the Uta Hagen approach to acting for this composition. Her love for acting revolved around a new technique of evolving into the character. She wanted to take her experiences in life and
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 reveal these experiences as they applied to the character she was performing. She quoted in her book Respect for Acting with Haskel Frankel, I teach acting as I approach it from the human and technical problems which I have experienced through living and practice (11-12) Through my experience of riding my pony to school, I applied these experiences in the lyrics of the song I Want To Be a Cowgirl of the Prairie. Original Compositions
I Want To Be a Cowgirl of the Prairie (2.2)
(See Appendix H) Background Thinking about a young child living on the prairie, I was drawn to my own ranching childhood. During my first through fifth grades, I rode Tony, my Shetland pony, to school on many occasions. I remember tying my horse up to a pole behind the school and taking the saddle off his back. I sat in the classroom, staring out the window at my horse, all the time wishing to be out of class and riding Tony. It was through this memory of desire (the Hagen approach) to be outside on my pony that I began to write the lyrics to the song I Want to Be a Cowgirl of the Prairie. This song was written for Montana Page, a character Dr. Pluto created that replaced William Page from the original The Merry Wives of Windsor. I felt it necessary to write a song specifically for the character of Montana Page, played by nine-year-old Zofia Provizer, to introduce the love of the prairie as seen through the eyes of a young cowgirl in late 1880s Texas. This character was a lovely addition to the script. The original character of William Page, and the scene in which he appears (IV.1), is left out of many productions. Both Dr. Pluto and I believed we needed this scene; it was a vital
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 opportunity to present the women of Texas and the pride they felt for their state as young children, as well as an insight into the life of children in late nineteenth-century Texas. Montana Page also provided insight into the struggles of the educational system of the time; in the scene Montana is enduring a Latin lesson from Parson Hugh Evans. This scene became integrated into the song I wrote: I want to be a cowgirl of the prairie coz these Latin lessons aint for me, revealing the conflict between culture and cowboys. It became a moment for the character to choose to act independently. (See Appendix F for photo.) Music Choices Through my years as a balladeer, I learned that some songs are best written in a simple form. However, as simply as this song was presented, the creative process was more complicated. I wrote this song with the idea that the verses would be sung with the innocence of a nine year old day-dreaming of living on the prairie as a cowgirl. As the dream progressed in her mind so did the intensity and action which led into the second section of each verse. The verses demonstrated her wish to live the life of a cowgirl, instead of studying Latin with Parson Evans. The second section represents the action of being on the prairie, in other words, doing something. For example, she sang the first line of the verse, I want to be a cowgirl of the prairie, where the grass blows free in the breeze, but then the second section of that verse elevated in intensity as she sang, Ridin my pony on the open range, singin song about little doggies. The verses encompassed the fact that she wanted to be a cowgirl, and the second section was what she would be doing if on the prairie. The beauty of this song lies in the minor chord which is used as a transitional chord from the second section back to the verse. This
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 minor chord brought the intensity of the action in the second section back to the dreaminess of being a cowgirl in the verse. I Want to Be a Cowgirl of the Prairie was performed in the style of a country shuffle. For this song, I wanted to recreate my own dreaminess when fantasizing, as a child, riding my horse home after school. Because this song illustrated simplicity and the pure dreams of a little girl, this moment required only one vocalist (Montana) and one guitar.
Im the Romeo of My Time (1.4)
(See Appendix H) Background The next song I approached was Im the Romeo of My Time. Because John Falstaff is a fun-loving character, I wanted the music for his song to be light and cheerful, and I hoped to express his opinion that he is a gift to all women. I wrote this song intentionally alluding to Shakespeares own Romeo and Juliet. Romeo epitomizes romance, and Falstaff strives to achieve this role. The song expressed Falstaffs love of women, whether his love is wanted or not. Drunk and full of himself, he boasted to everyone in the Garter Saloon of his sexual prowess and his desire to seduce both Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page. This scene was set in the Garter Saloonthe Texan translation of the Garter Inn. With the Cowboy Band playing during this scene, as well as the saloon girls attending to their business, I felt it necessary and effective to have everyone on stage involved in this up beat and joyous song. The Cowboy Band was comprised of a bass guitar, a dobro (a guitar that plays and sounds like a steel guitar), two guitars, a small doumbeck, a harmonica, and a percussion instrument. The choreographer designed a dance that fit in 32
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 with the period and setting. By the end of the song, the chorus members gathered around Falstaff to cheer him on in his mission to win over Mrs. Page and Mrs. Ford. (See Appendix F for photo.) Music Choices I composed this song using Falstaffs internal given circumstances (Stanislavski method). He imagines himself a Romeo figure: a powerful, virile seducer who no woman can resist. His arrogance, coupled with his position as town sheriff, allows Falstaff to think of himself as superior to others. This was the justification for the line in the song, Im a bull on the loose with no pride. The song reflected Falstaffs personality with its increased tempo and joyfully playful qualities. The song also had the feel of country swing. Falstaff began the song with the paradoxical qualities of shyness and prideful arrogance. As the song built, so did Falstaffs boastfulness. The first verse, sung as a ballad, told the story. Soon the chorus began, and the song reached its crescendo into a nice swing that carried throughout the song. Only the rhythm guitar supported the vocalist; the timing might vary somewhat as the first two verses were spoken; however, when the chorus began, all the instruments joined in. By the end of the song, everyone on stage was singing and dancing, seemingly seduced by Falstaffs energy and playfulness. Some musicians may say that a ballad cannot be paired with a swing, but I disagree. A ballad is a fixed-structured story and country swing is a free flowing style, excellent for dancing. The combination of the restraint of a story structure with the looseness of swing fit Falstaffs character and appeal. He combined elements that were unattractive yet charming. This tied in nicely with the major theme of the production. By
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 combining the rigid, fixed story/poetry of the original Merry Wives of Windsor with the looser, more casual, Texas setting and cowboy characterizations, the song achieved the embodiment of Falstaff, both as a character and thematic center of the play.
Dream on Texas Cowboys (2.4)
(See Appendix H) Background In preparation for composing Dream on Texas Cowboys, I listened to songs about cowgirls dreaming about their absent boyfriends. In this production, however, it was the cowboys who were dreaming about their girlfriends. In the 1800s, cowboys spent most of their time on the trail and saw very few women. Cowboys sat around the fire at night talking, thinking, and eventually dreaming about cowgirls and the strong Texas women who maintained the ranches while their men were on a long cattle drive. These images inspired me to compose Dream on Texas Cowboys. As inspiration for the character of a Texan woman, I used Dr. Pluto. Even though she is not from Texas, she embodies strength, pride, and independence; she does not require a man to support her. Because I sought strength and beauty in this song, the score utilized minor chords for a dreamy feeling which evoked the feeling of the Windsor wives as they sang to their husbands. Music Choices Falstaffs character, the polar opposite of the Texas women, was evident in the lyrics of this song. Unlike the women of Texas who do not need men to complete them, Falstaff, Mr. Page, and Mr. Ford require the presence of a woman. I wanted a melody in this song to represent the free-wheeling spirit embodied in the attitude of the Texas
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 women; thus, I chose a waltz, inspired by Waltz across Texas, written by B. Talmadge Tubb (1965) and sung by Ernest Tubb. A waltz should be played in three-quarter time with the strong accent on the first beat. The two weaker chords should be on the second and third beats. This pattern repeats from bar to bar. An example of this beat would be, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3. There was a point in the performance of the song when Mr. Page took Mrs. Page into his arms and danced in a waltz style as he sang this line---they can waltz across Texas with a grace they bestow The song was performed with one guitar played by Ms. Quickly; in the role of Texas Twister, I accompanied on harmonica. The harmonica evokes dreamy scenes of sitting around the campfire or the harmonica music heard when settling the cattle at night.
The Ballad of the Texas Twister (Prologue)
(See Appendix H) Background Dr. Pluto created the character of Twister, the Territorial Sheriff, who became the authority to arrest Falstaff in the last scene. She asked me to play Twister and I agreed. Believing it would be helpful to establish the mood and setting in a prologue, we decided to also use the beginning of the play to introduce the character of Twister who sang a ballad, aptly titled The Ballad of the Texas Twister. For his song, I presented Twister as a balladeer who told a Tall Texas Tale that, presumably, was the embodiment of the play itself. This ballad revealed both the major plots of the play and important aspects of Falstaffs character: Falstaff chasing the Merry Wives of Windsor, Falstaff as a crooked Sheriff, Falstaff as a thief, and Falstaff as a young sheriff who Twister swore in many years ago. To write this ballad, I drew from 35
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 my own musical background as a balladeer. Playing on allusions and words, I introduced myself as a balladeer, creating for the character a unique niche within the production. Anyone who has ever lived in Texas understands how quickly a tornado (twister) can form and force its way through the land. The word twister had several different meanings, and this production played with these meanings. Just as a twister pops up on the prairie, Twister, as the Territorial Sheriff, had a way of popping up unexpectedly in the show. The image of a tornado is easily recognizable as a vivid symbol of power and possible destruction. Twisters physical appearance was the prototypical embodiment of a western sheriff. His face could have been seen on the cover of any childrens book about Texas lawmen, complete with a handlebar mustache so large it resembled the horns of a Texas Longhorn steer. A twister might also imply the six-shooter, which the character elegantly spun and twisted out of the holster in his final showdown with Falstaff. (See Appendix F for photo.) Music Choices One of the best balladeers of all time was Marty Robbins, and he wrote Big Iron, one of the greatest ballads ever written. His song inspired me to compose The Ballad of the Texas Twister. Big Iron is a ballad about an Arizona Ranger riding into town with a big iron on his hip. Twister, however, was in actuality a sheriff, who was disguised a gunslinger. Dr. Pluto created a twist at the end of the production, directing Twister to reveal himself as a sheriff at the point when he arrested Falstaff in the final showdown scene. Twister
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 and his ballad needed to be represented in a mysterious way, so I chose to compose the score in a minor key. The timing of the ballad was free flowing and written to be picked instead of strummed, aiding the country ballad feel. I repeated the chorus twice to emphasize that the Texas Twister is a strong equal to that of the protagonists; he is the authority figure of the production.
The Merry Wives of Windsor (1.1)
(See Appendix H) Background The opening number, final song, and theme song, The Merry Wives of Windsor, set and reinforced the tone, mood, and tempo for the show. The song had to be both energetic enough to launch the action, as well as representative of closure and happy resolution. Once the merry wives, their not so merry husbands, the entire town of Windsor, and the Texas Twister confronted Falstaff about his bad behavior, law was reestablished in Windsor, Texas, but the community order had changed. Fenton, against the wishes of the Pages, got his answer from the prairie wind and eloped with Anne Page. Annes other suitors, the French Doctor Caius, and the schoolteacher, Mr. Slender, didnt fare so well. Dr. Caius married his servant and Mr. Slender, a saloon girl. It was Fenton, the exuberant victorious new husband, who called everyone to dance in the finale. Peace was restored with a great celebration, and the realization of true love and the law prevailed.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Music Choice As all Shakespeare comedies end happily, I wanted the music to reflect this. This was the productions big number with the entire cast on stage singing and dancing, with the band playing. The all-cast opening song, The Merry Wives of Windsor, provided a driving force which revealed the heroines of this story. The rhythm guitar began alone, playing the introduction. It was then joined by the bass and dobro, repeating the introduction; when repeated for the third time, the remainder of the cowboy band joined in. This song is not picked or plucked, but strummed with passion. As the instruments joined in, the sound continued to build until all the dancers were on the stage. The piece was played with excitement and celebration at the plays joyful resolution.
Showin No Remorse (2.1)
(See Appendix H) Background Act Two began with a wet and defeated Falstaff walking into the Garter Saloon. He had just been duped and thrown in the Brazos River by Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page in revenge for his unwanted romantic overtures. The directors choice was to have the wet Falstaff walk into the Garter Saloon while the cowboy band was playing Oh, Bury Me Not on The Lone Prairie, which open the second act. After his entrance and dialogue, Boys those Merry Wives of Windsor, shore know how to git a man down, the band began to play Showin No Remorse which was sung by Falstaff. I thought it would be appropriate to compose a cowboy ballad with a country swing feel, written in 4/4 time, called Showin No Remorse. I believe that the second act in a musical should begin with a strong song to set the tone for the last half of the show.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Falstaff was feeling defeated for being caught in his own trap by two strong and smart Texas women; his pride has just been damaged. The song illustrated this. Music Choices Showin No Remorse should be played with energy, yet it should reflect Falstaffs broken male pride. It should be sung as a ballad, with a feel of penitence, and played with a country swing. I did not want a chorus for this song because, as far as Falstaff is concerned, there was nothing about this situation that he would like to repeat. A basic time signature of 4/4 kept the music consistent throughout the song. Although Falstaff was depressed and embarrassed, his humiliation was very comical. This song also did not need an introduction. The four pick-up notes in the first measure were all that was needed to cue Falstaff to begin singing.
Blowin in the Wind (I.11)
(See Appendix H) Background On a summer night in 2006, I sat on my balcony and wrote about the hard blowing prairie wind. This wind never seems to stop because of the openness of the prairie. Despite the hardness and relentlessness of the wind (or because of it), lifes answers come to us with the wind. At the time I wrote this song, I never imagined that a year later it would be in a Shakespeare musical set in Texas. This song was perfect for the character of Fenton, the youthful romantic hero singing about his love and longing for the young and beautiful ranch heiress, Anne Page. On the Texas prairie, the winds sing with a harmonious echo. Keeping these prairie winds in mind, I decided to place the rest of the cast, singing harmony, backstage
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 in the wings behind stage left and right. Fenton stood by himself at center stage. Fentons central isolation became a moment of prayer, which emphasized the songs passion and love. His solitude had a feel of desperation and fervor beyond that which accompanies prayer; he was begging the universe for the answer. I was very happy to see how this song gave Act I a nice closure, leaving the audience excitedly anticipating Act II. Music Choices After spending several months in Spain on a study abroad program through Texas Tech University, I had the opportunity to study flamenco music. In the introduction of Blowin in the Wind, I played a flamenco run on the guitar that gave the Spanish flare I wanted for this song. This was a love song and should be played with the passion of a Spanish flamenco song. The introduction could be played as long or short as needed. The key to the beauty of this song was the dobro. The beginning of the first few bars was played in a slower flamenco style, but the second half of the phrase picked up with a brisk allegro tempo as the song transitioned to a pop rock style. Sometimes the answers we seek are in the quiet subtle times of life. My inspiration for this song came from my remembrances of feeling and listening to the wind on a prairie on a cool summer night. One minute there is a slight breeze and then suddenly there is an unexpected gust of wind. Sometimes the winds of the prairie offer answers to our desperate questions, as this song illustrated.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
Musical Director
The Rehearsal Process Evolution Studio II recording studio software and the Finale software for music composition made it possible to send rehearsal sheet music to the musicians and vocalists. Because of this twenty-first century technology, I was able to record the songs using the Studio II program onto a CD disk for each vocalist, as well as to compose the sheet music on my Finale program. Without this technology, it would have been virtually impossible for me to act as musical director of the production. February In February, I met with the entire cast for the first time in the theatre during a Valentines Day snowstorm in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At the beginning of the meeting, I introduced myself to each student and expressed my excitement for this production. With my guitar, I performed every song I had composed for the production. It was the first time the cast had heard the songs, and although I was confident enough in the songs to perform them to the cast, I was still making corrections to them. The theatre space in which we would present our performances did not have an orchestra pit. As a group, we decided to place the musicians on stage, characterizing them as a cowboy band performing in the Garter Saloon. This required me to limit the number of musicians to only six, including Twister. Upon my request, Dr. Pluto had instructed all student musicians to bring their instruments. After I performed the songs, I auditioned the musicians and was excited to see great potential in the small group. I had planned to audition the musicians with the songs I had composed, but I quickly realized that the seemingly simple cowboy music
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 might not be as common in Massachusetts as in Texas, and the students lack of exposure to this type of music might hinder their auditions. My own songs might be too difficult for these musicians to play, as this was, for many, their first introduction to cowboy music. There were four transitional public domain songs throughout the production, Back in the Saddle, Home on the Range, Oh, Bury Me Not, and Red River Valley. In the audition process, I used these specific traditional, somewhat easier cowboy ballads, familiar even to those inexperienced in the style. In doing so, I was able to hear each musicians gift for hearing and playing in a small ensemble, while coaching the group to play this style of music. After selecting the musicians, the transition from the familiar cowboy ballads to the original score was less intimidating and threatening. The best way to frighten a musician is by intimidation. I wanted to create a safe environment in which all the musicians could explore and bring to the surface their hidden talents. In early March, six weeks before the production, I mailed a master composition disc with both lyrics and score to Dr. Pluto. Her assistant burned multiple copies for the vocalists and musicians, enabling them to hear the material before I returned to Lesley University. March My first March visit was somewhat troublesome. There were vocalists and musicians who had spent a lot of time in their own personal rehearsals, but some of the more experienced vocalists and musicians took the private rehearsal process lightly, and their lack of effort was obvious. I had assigned a student assistant musical director to conduct music rehearsals during my absences. Although this seemed like a great
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 solution, I was disappointed to see that it did not work. The inexperienced assistant musical director did not maintain a consistent rehearsal process. Re-evaluating this process, I realized my own extensive professional experience could have given me a distorted expectation of the students, who were obviously, and through no fault of their own, not yet professional. However, I wanted to believe in their potential to achieve a level of professionalism by rising above their student status and lack of experience. Confidence was the main attribute I wanted the inexperienced musicians to achieve. Granting them the personal responsibility to govern their own rehearsals, I had hoped to instill this confidence. I believe this challenge failed because of my own lack of understanding. As a graduate student, there are many requirements and commitments presented in multiple areas of study. Most graduate students understand the importance and reality of their commitments, but, this was not the case at Lesley. With the exception of three actors, I was working with a cast of undergraduates who were carrying full academic loads and/or part-time jobs or participating in internships. There was a lack of maturity in many cases, and with some students, I expected more than they were able to give. Realizing this, I spoke to the students about taking responsibility for their own actions and not putting the pressure on any one individual. As opening night was drawing near and the rehearsal process was becoming more essential, Dr. Pluto told me she was willing to help in my absence. This was one of the greatest reasons for the success of the production--the collaborative relationship between the director and musical director. Once the students understood our commitment to the
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 vision of the production, they in turn developed their own excitement and enthusiasm. From this point on, my perspective changed and the rehearsals took on a whole new light. In academic theatre, it is necessary to understand both the students commitment to their studies and how overloading the students with additional responsibilities will result in a tired, unenthusiastic group of artists. I am proud to say the Oxford Street Players rose to the occasion. At the beginning of March, during my spring break, I had the opportunity to return to Cambridge in order to focus more on the production at Lesley. I had hoped to spend more time with the students during the break, but unfortunately many students had family vacation commitments. I was able to rehearse with some individuals who chose to spend the break at Lesley and quickly realized this was a perfect time to work one-on-one with singers and musicians. There were a couple of occasions I spent with Lou Lim, the graduate student in the role of Fenton. Lou is Asian American and his song Blowin in the Wind required a Spanish flare. He worked extremely hard to overcome dialect issues as well as to hear the proper pitches. After much work, Lou overcame this challenge with great success. I worked with Dave Cocco, an extraordinary student of many talents (who played Falstaff). The songs that I wrote for Falstaff were perfect for Dave. He is not what one would call a lead vocalist, as his voice isnt yet strong enough to handle most lead roles in musicals, but Falstaffs songs did not require a lead voice in the role. Fortunately, the songs fit Daves voice well. Working with Falstaffs given circumstances, Dave created characterizations that made natural the transition from spoken dialogue to singing. He came to rehearsal prepared, knowing the lyrics well, and I was able to spend
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 quality time with his singing. It is always much better to expect the actors and vocalists to know their material prior to rehearsals so they may focus on development of techniques. Dave set a good example for all. I was fortunate also to spend time with nine-year-old Zofia and her song Cowgirl of the Prairie. She is a bright young lady and has the maturity of a much older student. She knew her lines and lyrics the first day of rehearsal and sang with a heart-melting pure innocence. Zofia needed to focus mostly on some pitch issues, but she is a quick learner with a great future in theatre, if she so chooses. After rehearsing these students, my time was my own. This gave me the opportunity to work on my own character and the ballad prologue. During rehearsals I was continually working on new lyrics, and in the evenings I had the opportunity to rehearse my song on stage. In most musical theatre programs, there are many students who have been trained to be triple threats: acting, dancing, and singing. Lesley is not one of these schools. Lesley has a troupe of wonderful innately talented students, but some have never acted, danced, or even sung in public. Some musicians had never played the instruments to which they were assigned. Additional rehearsals were set aside so I could teach the new musicians of the cowboy band how to play. Lora, a talented and trained flautist with a great deal music theory and practical experience, had never played a bass guitar before. Mike Manahan, an upcoming guitarist, had to learn to play the dobro, requiring additional rehearsals. Emily Lonardo, who also played guitar, had never played in public and was petrified to do so. She learned the songs, however, and by opening night she over came her fear and had fun playing her part skillfully. I spent much time one-on-one with Emily
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 and continually praised her successes and encouraged her to continue practicing on her weaknesses. This combination of praise and encouragement was effective in developing her work without intimidating her. The cowboy band had adopted the nickname of Slide and the Outlaws. (See Appendix F for photo.) Mike played the dobro with a slide like that of a steel guitar player, and throughout the rehearsal process I gave him the nickname of Slide. This led everyone to call the band Slide and the Outlaws. This helped establish camaraderie, an atmosphere of fun, a safe zone in which to make mistakes, and, above all, trust. Though the nickname seems unimportant, it illustrates the extent to which this group of musicians made the band their own, and how hard I worked to make it so. Despite their fears of playing in public and worried over their own abilities, they were able to enjoy the experience. While Dr. Pluto did most of the blocking in the show, I was given the freedom to direct the actors in the musical numbers and work with the choreographer. The technical director supervised the set construction in its last stages, and I worked with Julie Pease, the student choreographer, on the opening scene and with Dave on some movement and vocal work for Im the Romeo of My Time. Julie did a wonderful job and made my work so much easier by developing choreography could that flow more smoothly. Nightly rehearsals began with the band arriving an hour earlier than the scheduled time for rehearsal in order to play for thirty minutes alone. The vocalists then arrived thirty minutes prior to rehearsal to review their songs, which were backed by the band. After this one-hour pre-rehearsal period, we worked on scenes. This pattern established a very efficient rehearsal process.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Also during this rehearsal period, I had the opportunity to spend time examining the sound system to be used in the production. Lesleys sound system is at least 35 years old and we had huge problems with some used equipment purchased in 1992. There were no soundboards or microphones, except for three old microphones that were used for a conference room. Although the Marran Theatre has decent acoustics, this was not a suitable situation for a musical. Experience on the road as a professional musician and sound engineer was useful in confronting this dilemma. I rented power amps for the guitars, used the built-in public announcement system for sound, and borrowed three microphones on boom stands from the library. Thus, I was able to create a semi-passable sound atmosphere for the audience. I had to leave Cambridge for a couple of weeks to fulfill commitments at Texas Tech, but I spoke on a daily basis with Dr. Pluto on the progress and challenges of the students. The rehearsals were progressing well. After being absent for a couple of weeks, I returned to Lesley for our last week of rehearsals and for the run of the production. April I returned to Lesley only eight days before opening night. As with many productions, there was still a tremendous amount of work to be done. It was the first time many of these actors performed in a musical production, and an array of emotions was ready to surface. The students were nervous because I had been gone for a couple of weeks, and they were afraid they were going to disappoint me. I assured them that I was proud of their accomplishments, and their fears quickly disappeared. I must admit I privately was somewhat nervous for all of us, but my own fears quickly dissipated after seeing the students determination to succeed.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Before the beginning of the run, there were a couple of problems requiring immediate attention. One was the transition of the prologue into the first scene, which began with a dance. The 1960s television series Bonanza began with the burning of the territorial map of Nevada and revealing the Ponderosa Ranch with the Cartwrights riding toward the camera. It was unforgettable and embodied a cultural reference for the Old West. Dr. Pluto borrowed this image and began the opening scene with the burning of the map of Texas, and just as the map was nearly burnt (it was projected on a large screen which was lowered from a rail), the cast ran on stage and formed a big hoe down dance. The theme song that I composed for the show, The Merry Wives of Windsor, was upbeat and full of excitement. The transition from the prologue, The Ballad of the Texas Twister, a somewhat slow ballad, to the up beat theme song was difficult. I decided we needed a blackout after the prologue; after a few seconds, the lights came up and I, as the Texas Twister, now played with the Cowboy Band. At the moment the lights came up, I began the theme song in conjunction with the map burning, and the scene was in full swing. This created a highly energetic opening to the show. The cast and audience were yelling and shouting enthusiastically. This was the beginning of an extremely successful run, a salute to everyone involved in this production.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
The Performance
I was extremely pleased with the run of the show. Every night we had appreciative audiences and nearly a full house. An interesting thing I observed was that most of the performers did not recognize this production as a groundbreaking experience, nor did they appreciate fully this unique opportunity. This is understandable considering their lack of experience, but this production provided them with a rare educational endeavor that they will hopefully come to appreciate. Shakespeare as a western musical with original music is somewhat rare in both professional regional theatre and educational theatre. The opportunity to tackle such a project at Lesley, considering the lack of equipment and experienced talent, was truly amazing. After this production I personally feel prepared to tackle anything in experimental theatre. There are other things I wish I could have accomplished with the actors, especially the vocalists and musicians, but with the given time constraints could not. Besides dealing with obvious issues, such as sound equipment and musical equipment, I wish I had spent more time working with the vocalists. The singers needed to learn how to develop their characters while singing their numbers. Staying in character for a speaking actor is difficult enough; adding singing makes it even more complicated. Because of the time factor and the lack of experience in musical theatre training, I had to adjust my expectations. I had to be satisfied with the actors learning to sing cowboy songs with a cowboy band without freaking out. When composing the score for this production, I had specific ideas I needed to convey to the actors. For example, most of the vocalists had never been to Texas, and there is a pride in Texas I believe can only be understood by those who live the farm and
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 ranch life. The cast had no idea of the beauty the prairie holds, especially in West Texas. I wish we had time for research on Texas through reading, films, and television programs. Additionally, they might have visited some Texans I know in the Boston area. Nine year old Zofia could have been introduced to the cowgirls, younger and older than she, who grew up on ranches in West Texas and who have stories that would have made a strong impact on Zofia. My mother would have been a great resource for Zofia; she is truly a strong Texas woman who lived the ranch life. This research would have also been valuable also for the merry wives when they sang Dream on Texas Cowboys in which they told the story of their lives as Texas women. Some of the actors truly grasped the idea of Texas, but others unwittingly went over the top with their accents and actions. Research might have improved their understanding of Texas people. Lou could have benefited from additional Texas research for his song Blowin in the Wind. Lou had never heard the sounds of the prairie late at night. It would have helped Lou tremendously to have experienced the winds or spoken with people living on the prairie. I wish Lou could have visited with the farmer who stands on the back porch of his home, looks out over the newly planted cotton, hopes for another good year, and prays that the answers will be given in the winds. It might have helped to talk to a young woman who has spent the night on her horse, watching over the stock before herding them to the shipping dock. Writing this, my mind goes back to those moments; here at my desk late at night, I can hear the winds blowing through the cracks around the sliding glass doors of my apartment. This emotional wind song takes me back to the ranch to where I once lived.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Composing these songs made me homesick for those moments on the prairie, and I believe these emotions became transparent in the score. I based Showin No Remorse, Falstaffs song that began the second act, in part on my experience of being thrown in the Red River, whose cool and swift waters ran over me. Although, the actor portraying Falstaff conveyed these emotions quite well, I would have liked for him understand the Brazos River, and how quickly its water can flow and cool after a fresh rain. The performances showed a lack of experience of singing in public and some of that was natural. Had I been at Lesley more, I would have set up opportunities to take the students to public functions to learn how to become more involved with an audience. This would have been a time of instruction with some vocal training, as well as an opportunity to impart some tricks of the trade that I have learned through the years of singing. Another helpful experience would have been to take the musicians to several locations, such as the banks of the Charles River, which divides Cambridge and Boston, to help them learn to listen to each other despite distractions. The performances lacked this element of experience from the musicians. The rehearsal process was short, as most rehearsals are. However, there were things I did to help the actors in the performance. During only one performance, a musician was late for the second act and walked on stage while lights were up. Fear ran across the bands faces, so I took the lead musically, and everything went fine. When a group performs enough together, the group becomes confident in its playing skills and fear is banished. This group had not mastered its confidence at this point, but had they continued playing together, Im sure they would have eventually attained it. Some of the
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 musicians had never played on stage before, and with every performance I could see the confidence begin to come alive in their attitudes and playing skills. They were having fun. The performance lacked the professional skills from every vocalist and every musician, but each successful performance gave them the confidence to try again. The performances also allowed me to hear and see the changes necessary in my score to bring it to another level as a work-in-progress, making it more complete. Finally, the performances also allowed Dr. Pluto and I to see hidden talents in nearly every student. Presenting an experimental piece brought these hidden gifts to the surface, and the audiences were very responsive to the show and forgave any mishaps that might have occurred. Summary The working relationship between the director and musical director was quite remarkable. Fortunately, my initial expectation that it was going to be very difficult to form a working relationship was false. Because of twenty-first century technology, we were able to work closely by using the internet, sending emails daily, and calling frequently on cell phones. Beginning in November, Dr. Pluto and I alternated flying back and forth from Lesley University to Texas Tech University one week or weekend out of each month until February. After this time, each month I spent one week at Lesley until the run of the show in April. Considering myself an expert on ranch life in Texas, and Dr. Pluto an expert on Shakespeare, our experiences and knowledge complemented one anothers work. The 2000-mile distance was not a major issue; however, it would have been nice to have had spent more time on location to work, not only with the director, but also with the vocalists and musicians.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Lyrics The nineteenth century Texas style cowboy music communicated quite nicely. In the beginning, I thought I was going to have to add Elizabethan language to the lyrics but did not find it necessary. There was such a beautiful union between the two forms of English that the Elizabethan language was not missed in the lyrics. Student Assistant The student assistant musical director did not work out as well as I hoped. If confronted with this issue again, I would hire a professional assistant. I would not recommend an unqualified student assistant; there are just too many difficulties to confront. Before my arrival in February and before rehearsals began, I was able to send hard copies of the score to Dr. Pluto. Her assistant ran off the necessary copies and gave them, along with a CD of the songs, to the musicians and vocalists. The students rehearsed before my arrival, which sped up the process. Zofia, the nine year old, had her music memorized before the first rehearsal, unlike the rest of the cast. This is something to consider in a long distance working relationship--the cast must fully memorize the score prior to rehearsals. Musicians Also, before my arrival, I sent my own personal instruments to the musicians who were going to play them. They had the opportunity to become acquainted with the instruments before rehearsals began. Spending time one-on-one in the beginning helped them to grasp the concepts of their instruments, and it was not long before we could all play together. It was helpful that they already knew how to play guitars, which made the transition to different instruments less stressful. It was difficult, however, to get the students to bring extra sets of strings for their instruments and to have their instruments
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 tuned. Experienced musicians would not have to be told or reminded. Again, this was another valuable lesson I learned early on while playing professionally on the road. Eventually, I learned not to have professional expectations from students, but to give clear and concise instructions. Instrument Choice Another musical choice I wish I had made includes the addition of an upright piano to the band in the bar scenes. The piano would have given a rawness of sound, which would have been traditionally heard in a nineteenth-century saloon. The choices of adding hand percussion instruments, such as the doumbeck drum and the hand shaker, however, allowed other characters in the bar scene to play with the cowboy band. Sound and Acoustics Because of the lack of time, there was not an available soundboard for rent in the Boston/Cambridge area. Not only did the audience find it difficult to hear, the musicians and vocalists also experienced the same difficulty. Without a proper sound system, the musicians found it difficult to hear what they were playing and to listen to the vocalist on stage. Space Issues There were also difficulties for the musicians when they needed to exit and reenter the stage during the show. At times the band had to exit on one side of the stage, walk outside the building and re-enter on the other for a different scene. There needed to be sufficient time for these transitions; this was the reason why our player was not in position to play when the lights came up on his scene. Even with these and other challenges, the performance was a resounding success.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
CHAPTER III THE CONCLUSION
In January 2007, Dr. Pluto took a group of students to London. I expressly remember her story about the Shakespeare workshop they attended at the Globe Theatre. Geoffrey Tower, the British actor who presented the workshop, said that Americans could not do Shakespeare and the English could not do a Western. As Texas pride runs deep, I beg to differ, as we did Shakespeare Texas style. Reflections on the Process Dr. Pluto and I have had the opportunity to discuss the choices and justifications of the production and what could be done for future performances of, not only this script, but other possible musical reinterpretations of Shakespeare maybe a Hamlet in the roaring twenties. The choice of time period and setting for The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas shore know how to git a man down proved that Shakespeare remains a universal work of art, capable of adaptation to new settings and time periods, requiring few additions to the original script. In retrospect, the director and music directors creativity were major assets. The Oxford Street Players showed exuberance; yet, there were many things that could have been done to make this production even more successful than what it was. Some things worked well. The choice of a cowboy band was a good substitution for a large orchestra. The band performed character roles, adding authenticity to the setting as well as to the production. The choice of having a minimal set provided a good solution to the lack of stage space and wing space, as well as the lack of time available for the master carpenter and small crew to construct the scenery. 55
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Musical problems did come up and two of them involved a guitar player. During one performance, she had her guitar tuned a half step higher, which meant that the harmonica was not in tune with the guitar. I was not able to play the harmonica, and the song, Dream On Texas Cowboys, took on a somewhat different feel. Amateur musicians will sometimes tune acoustic guitars by ear, but they should always use electronic tuners. This sounds elementary, but it is surprising how often musicians play out of tune. When touring with a live band, instruments flow and adjust, and tuning can easily be done. In theatre, however, everything is noticeable, and discreet tuning isnt possible, especially when the musicians are present onstage during a performance. Everything in a theatrical production is comprised of exact timing and cues, and the music needs to be played the same way every time, without having to stop and tune instruments. The second musical problem involved an actress who had trouble when her accompanist was not playing in tune. Being so well rehearsed with her song, the actress remained on pitch and sang well; however, the accompanist kept missing the minor chord in the second section following the verse. The song acquired a somewhat different sound, and because the singer could not hear her pitch, she sang the song differently than it was written. It was frustrating to the actress who worked so hard to maintain pitch, only to have to struggle with an out-of-tune accompanist. Despite the audiences rousing enthusiasm for the scene, I made a grave error in the performance of this song. I wanted the actress to feel comfortable and relaxed while singing her song, and in doing so, I chose the wrong accompanist for her. This created another two-fold problem. First, the accompanist drew too much attention to herself and her mistakes, thereby upstaging the singer. Second, I could have taken the role of the accompanist myself. Even with this
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 occurrence, this scene and song were without a doubt one of the most applauded moments in the production. Another area of concern was the running time of the show. The addition of songs and dances lengthened the running time, as did the Texas accents. The speed-through rehearsal, led by the productions vocal coach, Keely Eastley, demonstrated that the students were struggling with the Texas accent, and when they spoke quickly, many of them could not be understood. We had to add twenty minutes to the production for songs/dances and another fifteen minutes for slowing down the speaking of the Texas slang with Texas accents. Reflections on the Production Elements Lesley University has neither a theatre department nor a full-time a production program or team. While many universities might have a full-time technical director, lighting designer, sound designer, costume designer, make-up designer, or set designer, Lesley University does not. The only full-time position in theatre is held by Dr. Pluto who has been on faculty twenty years in the Humanities Division of Lesley College (the undergraduate school at Lesley University). In order for Dr. Pluto to produce a theatrical production, she had to hire the designers and a master electrician. Only three of these hired people hold degrees in theatre. For the past 14 years, Lesley has maintained a dedicated low-paid out-sourced production that has been a vital asset to Dr. Plutos productions. This is important to mention when discussing the production elements of this show. Over the years Lesley University has acquired a collection of useful costumes. The costumes for The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas shore know how to git a man
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 down were appropriate for the nineteenth century Texas setting and somewhat appropriately over the top. For example, Falstaff wore an oversize padded stomach fat suit vest that gave him the girth he need to be the fat greasy sheriff. The audience enjoyed the look of Falstaff and the way he carried himself on stage. The saloon girls wore sexy dresses that perfectly described their profession and intentions toward the cowboys. The cowboys wore boots, hats, and guns in holsters. Some even wore spurs. As mentioned earlier, I performed the role of the territorial sheriff, and I brought my own costume for the production. The actors make-up, as seen by the audience, enhanced the role of the characters by their appearance. As a make-up designer (yet another role), I was asked to design specialty make-up for the actors. I wanted the cowboys to look as rough as the time period they represented. Some of the cowboys wore scars on their faces and had weekold beards. The cowboys looked as if they had not seen a watering hole in several weeks; they were quite dirty except for the more distinguished character roles who looked wellkept. Over all, the make-up represented the social position of each character. Again, the audiences did enjoy the style and period represented. The set was simple but effective. It would have been difficult for any set designer to present a larger or more elaborate set with the spatial issues backstage. Wagons were used and shifted into different settings. For example, on one side of a wagon, the front porch of the Fords house was represented, and the parlor was seen on the other side. The wagons could not be moved off stage, so wagons remained on stage throughout the production.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Lesley University does not have a suitable theatre space, which limits Dr. Pluto in her production choices. The Marran Theatre itself was not built for dramatic or musical productions; originally called Welch Auditorium, the building was designed to be an auditorium for speakers, and piano concerts, and a large classroom space. The acoustics were less than desirable. As mentioned previously, the lack of adequate left and right wing space and backstage space didnt allow for the scenery wagons to be moved offstage, which limited the dancing area. Without an orchestra pit, the musicians, out of necessity were placed onstage. The small wing space was problematic. For example, the wing space stage left and stage right and the space behind the scenery wagons were no larger than Harry Potters staircase cupboard. There was hardly any standing space and nowhere to go when actors had to move from stage left to stage right. The actors had to go outside the emergency exit door and enter on the other side of the auditorium through outside exit doors. A rainstorm during the Sunday matinee made it difficult keep to the actors and instruments dry. Lesley University does not have proper dressing rooms for the actors. There are no men and ladies dressing rooms for privacy, which meant there were no places for quick changes. The shortage of mirrors in the one dressing room made it difficult for the actors to properly apply their make-up. With the lack of a greenroom, the actors had no place to go between their scenes; they sat in the overcrowded dressing room or mingled in the hallway behind the dressing room. Though these problems and inadequacies are commonly faced and expected by a traveling theatrical troupe, an adequate facility could ease and lessen the anxiety and stress on the management and actors.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Most unfortunately, there was a lack of an adequate sound system. The available headphones and walkie-talkies were outdated. All calls for the show had to be done from the booth, and communication to the backstage was virtually impossible. Though most theatrical productions are faced with different types of issues that cannot be avoided, the use of an efficient sound system is crucial for clear communication between the house manager, the stage manager, the backstage manager, and the actors. Few educational theatres have the opportunity of bringing in a guest artist, such as I, who has performed around the world with several prestigious entertainers, at some of the largest venues imaginable. This could have been a wonderful chance to expose Lesley University to the concept of a guest artist, and to alert the community of an unusual situation. Dr. Pluto and I felt this was a missed opportunity for the promotion of this production. A university budget line for promotion could have helped in providing advertising for the show. With more support, the promotion of this show, including the news of a guest artist-in-residence, might have garnered even more support from the university and the Cambridge community. The audience for the Oxford Street Players, however, celebrated the production through standing ovations and praise. Since the inception of the Oxford Street Players of Lesley University in 1991, no newspaper has ever reviewed the companys productions, and the production of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas shore know how to git a man down was no different. Press releases were sent out to all the newspapers in the Boston/Cambridge area. Only Theatre Mirror, an online journal, responded. The web paper, The Lesley News, which serves the entire Lesley University community, did not interview me, Dr. Pluto, or any of the students involved in the production. The print magazine, Lesley Magazine, didnt
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 write an article on the production. Dr. Pluto spoke to the reviewer at the show, but no review appeared on the website. Lesley Colleges student newspaper is not published regularly, and there was no review for The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas shore know how to git a man down Regrettably, the production did not receive any outside measure of success. What the production did receive were positive responses from the audience, comprised of faculty, staff, administrators, friends, and families. (See Appendix B). Summary of the Professional Problem Comments from the president, provost, dean, and Dr. Plutos program director were extremely positive. The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas shore know how to git a man down was the first Shakespeare musical performed by the Oxford Street Players and the first musical ever directed by Dr. Pluto. That fact alone was a great achievement. The parents who approached me at the end of the show only had praise and positive comments, as did Dr. Plutos friends and colleagues. Several parents made it clear that they hoped The Oxford Street Players would produce more musicals, and they enjoyed the fact that the production had original musical compositions. The only criticism we received was that the students sometimes were could not be heard at times their Texas accents could not be understood. Some thought the show was too long. It ran three hours and three minutes, which included and intermission and a raffle. (The raffle consisted of items donated by local merchants to the Oxford Street Players to raise money to help with the production costs.) While the shows length was not too unusual for a Shakespeare show, Dr. Pluto wanted the production to be two hours and forty-five minutes, including the intermission raffle.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Dr. Pluto asked the cast of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas shore know how to git a man down to evaluate me as the music director of this show. The five question survey came directly from the official Lesley University teacher evaluation form. This was sent out in an email and the students answered the questions anonymously. The overall student responses were extremely positive. Using the Likert Scaling Method in rating this evaluation, each question can be rated on a 1-to-5 DisagreeAgree response scale where 1, is strongly unfavorable to the concept; 2, somewhat unfavorable to the concept; 3, is undecided; 4, somewhat favorable to the concept; 5, strongly favorable to the concept. There were twenty-two questions, and out of these questions there were sixty-nine responses with a rating of 5, and six responsesof the rating of 4. (See Appendix C). Difficult and incomprehensible might apply to Shakespeares original setting, jokes, and culture, but adapting the setting for The Merry Wives of Windsor in nineteenthcentury Texas attests to the fact that Shakespeares work proved once again to be thematically relevant for all eras. Reinterpreting the script might change the playwrights original intent, but this isnt necessarily negative. In this case, the changes increased accessibility, enlarged plays relevance, and reframed The Merry Wives of Windsor for an American audience. Geoffrey Tower may believe Americans cannot do Shakespeare; Im saying Americans can, and we can do it in an original and purely American way.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, Mark. "Shakespeare" By Another Name. New York: Gotham-Penguin Books, 2005. Arden, Forest of. Shakespeares World and Work. Ed. John F. Andrews. 2001. Charles Scribners Sons, New York. eNotes.com. December 2005. Artaud, Antonin. The Theatre and its Double. New York: Grove Press. 1958. Basil, John. Will Power. New York: Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, 2006. Bate, Jonathan., and Russell Jackson. ShakespeareAn Illustrated History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Blakemore, Evans. The Riverside Shakespeare. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974. Braunmuller, A.R., and Michael Hattaway. English Renaissance Drama. 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge Unversity Press. 2003. Brecht, Bertolt, and John Willet. Brecht on Theatre: the development of an aesthetic. New York: Hill and Wang. 1964. Briggs, Jennifer. Texas Speak. Austin. The Great Texas Line Press. Austin. 2006. Bryant, Helen. Fixin to be Texas. Maryland. The Rowland & Littlefield Publishing Group. Maryland. 1999. Burgess, Anthony. Shakespeare. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1970. Calvert, Robert A., Arnold De Leon, and Gregg Cantrell. The History of Texas, 3rd ed. Illinois: Harlan Division. 2002. Chiljan, Katherine. Letters and Poems of Edward, Earl of Oxford. Oxford: Oxford University Press.1998. The Complete Dramatic Workshop of William Shakespeare. Videocassette. Ambrose Video Publishing. 1986. . Crystal, David, and Ben Crystal. Shakespeares Words A Glossary & Language Companion. London: Penguin Books, 2002. Dunton-Downer, Leslie, and Alan Riding. Essential Shakespeare Handbook. New York: DK Publishing, Inc., 2004.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Epstein, Norrie. The Friendly Shakespeare. New York: Viking. Penguin, 1993. Hagen, Uta. Respecting for Acting. New York: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 1973. Hope, Warren and Kim Holston. The Shakespeare Controversy. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland & Company, 1992. Linklater, Kristin. Freeing Shakespeares Voice. New York: TCG, 1992. Linklater, Kristin. Freeing the Natural Voice. New York: TCG, 1976. Macrone, Michael. Brush Up Your Shakespeare. New York: Harper Perennial, 1990. McDonald, Russ. The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare (2nd Ed.). Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2001. McGaw, Charles, Larry D. Clark. Acting is Believing (7th Ed.). Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1992. Middlebrook, Ron. Songs of the Cowboys. Fullerton, CA: CenterstreamHall Leonard Publishing Corporation, 1990. The Norton Facsimile. The First Folio of Shakespeare. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1968. Ogburn, Charlton. The Mysterious William ShakespeareThe Myth and the Reality. MacLean, VA: EPM Publications, Inc.,1984. Oliver, H.J, ed. The Merry Wives of Windsor. London and New York: Methuen, The Arden Shakespeare, 1973. Olivieri, Joseph. Shakespeare without Fear. Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers, 2001. Onions, C. T. A Shakespeare Glossary. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. Pitts, Lilla Belle, Mabelle Glenn, and Lorrain E Watters. Singing Together. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1951. Pluto, Anne Elizabeth. Directors Notes. 2007. Quennell, Peter,Johnson, and Hamish. Whos Who in Shakespeare. New York: Oxford Paperbacks, Oxford University Press, 1995.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Riggio, Milla Cozart, ed. Teaching Shakespeare through Performance. New York: MLA, 1999. Royal Shakespeare Company. Playbill. Merry Wives-The Musical. Stratford: Royal Shakespeare Press, 2006. Sammartino, Peter. The Man Who Was William Shakespeare. New York, London, Toronto: Cornwall Books, 1990. Schoenbaum, S. Shakespeares Lives. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991. Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works of Shakespeare. New York: Random House Value Publishing, Inc.1975. Shakespeare, William. The Merry Wives of Windsor. Enotes; Shakespeare.com. 2007. http://www.enotes.com Sobran, Joseph. Alias Shakespeare. New York: The Free Press, 1997. Somerset, Anne. Elizabeth I. New York: Knopf, 1992. Stritmatter, Roger A. Edward De Veres Geneva Bible Diss. University of MassachusettsAmherst. Department of Comparative Literature, 2001. Taylor, Gary. Reinventing ShakespeareA Cultural History from the Restoration to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1989. Texas Women on the Cattle Trail. Ed. Sara Massey. Texas A&M University Press. Austin. 2006. Turegeon, Thomas, S. Improvising Shakespeare. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. William, Neville. The Tudors. Ed. Antoinia Fraser. Berkley: The University of California Press, 2000. Wright, George. Shakespeares Metrical Art. Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oxford: University of California Press, 1988.
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CORRESPONDENCE
Grace, Lori. Play. E-mail Dr. Anne Pluto. 17 April 2007. Jagan, Nath Khalsa. Merry Wives. E-mail to Terry Chance. 18 April 2007. Lanza, John. Merry Wives of Windsor. E-mail to Dr. Anne Pluto. 18 April 2007. Lim, Lou. Thank You for the Theatre Experience. Email to Terry Chance. 8 August 2007. Logan, Bruce. Congratulations. E-mail to Dr. Anne Pluto. 13 April 2007. Lucozzi, Elisa. Thank You. E-mail to Dr. Anne Pluto. 16 April 2007 Olson, Jessie. Hello from the Past. E-mail to Dr. Anne Pluto. 17 April 2007. Periale, Judith. Merry Wives. E-mail to Dr. Anne Pluto. 18 April 2007. Pluto, Anne Elezabeth. Letter to Humanities Divison. Lesley University. Cambridge. 18 May 2007. Reynolds, Elizabeth. Terry. E-mail to Terry Chance. 13 August 2007. Roth, Robin L. Great! E-mail to Dr. Anne Pluto. 15 April 2007. Traupe, Moyra. Hats Off To You and The Whole Cast. E-mail Dr. Anne Pluto. 4 April 2007.
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APPENDIX A
LESLEY UNIVERSITY
DIRECTORS NOTES
For The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas: shore know how to git a man down
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Directors Notes Shakespeares The Merry Wives of Windsor is often sub-titled Falstaff in Love. If this is indeed a play about Falstaff in love, we must then define love as delusion, since Falstaff believes that the attractive clever wives of rich citizens will have sex with an old fat drunk and afterwards give him money from their husbands coffers! That is not the love story in The Merry Wives of Windsor the true love story is between Fenton and Anne Page. Like its tragic counterpart Romeo and Juliet theirs will be a secret marriage one that goes against the desires of Annes parents. The comedy is Falstaff and his romantic antics towards Alice Ford and Margaret Page - the Merry Wives. An Oxfordian reading of the play would place Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, as Master Fenton a young, wild spendthrift of too high birth for the daughter of a wealthy, albeit, middle class Elizabethan. Take it further George Page would then be the theatrical counterpart of Oxfords own father-in-law, William Cecil, the lawyer who had saved the life of the one time 2nd Lady of the Realm, Princess Elizabeth. She rewarded him when her destiny was fulfilled and she was crowned Elizabeth I. William Cecil was her chief minister, her right hand. She made him Lord Burghley, to elevate the status of the Cecil family, which would allow for the marriage of Anne Cecil to Edward de Vere. De Vere had grown up in Cecils household, where he was sent after the death of his father. The rest is literary history, should you be of the camp that believes de Vere was Shakespeare. If not, file it under English History. Shakespeare is a universal name, the universal playwright, whose plays endure time and setting, whose plots can be set in locals other than their intended original place. This past January I took students to London, where we did a workshop at the Globe
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Theatre. The actor who led the workshop said that only the English could do
Shakespeare, but they couldnt make a Western. The Western and the Cowboy belonged to America. If Shakespeare were the foremost English poet and playwright and the Cowboy the foremost American icon, what would happen if you put them together? The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas Shore Know How To Git a Man Down was born from that coupling. The Merry Wives of Windsor was the first play I ever directed. That was 14 years ago. Partially, I wanted to revisit the script to access my directing skills; I loved the play; the characters raise important questions about comedy and the language is oddly 90% prose and only 10% verse. While in England, we also had the opportunity to travel to Stratford and see the Royal Shakespeare Companys production of Merry Wives the Musical. A wonderful surprise we all loved it. Adapting it into a western with an original musical score would be a collaborative effort. Last August in Chicago at the ATHE conference (Association for Theatre in Higher Education) I met Terry Chance from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. In the fall when I decided to do this production as a Western, I asked Terry if he could get me some cowboy music. He agreed, but it was his Ph.D. Advisor, Dr. Linda Donahue, who had the forethought to suggest he ask me if he could write an original score and take on the role of Music Director for the production; this music would become part of his dissertation. Terry comes to us with a rich musical background; he has been a
professional guitar player and singer for over 34 years. He was with Conway Twitty for 19 of those years, while also having a solo career with Associated Records. In addition to
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 the music Terry grew up on a cattle ranches in both Texas and Oklahoma and is familiar with Texas cowboy lingo. We have worked since the late fall in adapting the script, although we didnt need to change much of the original language. Shakespeares text lent itself beautifully to 19th century Windsor, Texas (we even had two towns in Texas to choose from!). In order to remain true to the Texas setting, it was necessary to rewrite the play within the play that Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page stage in order to punish John Falstaff for his wickedness. We have sworn in John Falstaff as the Sheriff of Windsor, Texas, and made Bardolph, Pistol, and Nym his deputies. We have transformed the Garter Inn to the Garter Saloon, complete with a Madame and saloon girls; we have a live musicians the Cowboy Band comprised of Terry and five students: Mike Manahan, Lou Lim, Lora Walburn, Emily Lonardo, and Dave Cocco. We have a student choreographer, Julie Pease, and my nine year old daughter, Zofia, makes her Shakespearian debut on the Marran Theatre Stage, as Montana Page, the little girl who would rather be a cowgirl on the prairie than at her Latin lessons. My heartfelt thanks to all the cast and crew coming from the Lesley College, AIB, and GSASS, for the remarkable task of putting the musical production together. We welcome Terry Chance as our Music Director and Composer, Ellie Boynton as our web designer and top stitcher, and Eric Grunwald from the Writers Room of Boston as both Justice Shallow and Pistol. Returning are Keely Eastley, for a fourth season as our Linklater Voice/Text coach, Marwa Eid as our Costume Designer, and Jill Mackavey as Movement Coach. This year marks thirteen seasons for our Stage Manager Andi
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 Wakefield, and eight for Randy Higgins, our Technical Director, set and lighting designer and creator of this version of Windsor, Texas. A special thanks goes out to President McKenna, Provost McKenna, Dean McNiff, and my program director Dr. Christine Evans for their continued support and patronage of the Oxford Street Players, without which this theatre would not exist. To Kevin Murphy, Glenn Shenken, Danielle Sullivan, Al Carmona, and all our friends in Operations and at Physical Plant for their generosity in supplying building materials and trips to Home Depot. To Jim Holmes and all our Security Officers for unlocking doors on those nights when we forgot our keys. To Annette Lacey for dealing with my numerous requests for rehearsal space and room changes, and especially to Sarah Jones and the Office of Student Affairs for saving the day. To Texas Tech University in Lubbock, a big thank-you to Fred Christoff, the chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance and his faulty for allowing Terry the time off from some of his university responsibilities to take on the role of Music Director and Composer for this show. I dedicate this production to my father, the blacksmith, who, when I was nine, taught me how to ride horses, took me to the cowboy movies every Saturday afternoon, and with whom I religiously watched the wealth of 1960s westerns from Bonanza to Gunsmoke The Virginian to The High Chaparral Bat Masterson to The Big Valley, and beyond. They ignited my imagination. I too wanted to be a cowgirl on the prairie. Sit back, but make sure to stand up and clap, stamp your feet, sing along, and most of all enjoy. The Cowboy and Shakespeare belong to all of us. Annie Pluto Artistic Director, Oxford Street Players of Lesley University
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
APPENDIX B
LESLEY UNIVERSITY
ADMINISTRATION AND PATRONS EVALUATIONS
For The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas: shore know how to git a man down
The following emails and letters were sent to Dr. Anne Pluto or myself from the administration and patrons who attend the show who wanted to express the feelings toward the production and my future in theatre. For the most part, actual wording straight from the internet is reproduced; some comments have been edited if they addressed personal issues not related to the show or dissertation.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
FW: Play
ADMINISTRATION AND PATRONS EVALUATIONS
-----Original Message----From: Grace, Lori Sent: Tue 4/17/2007 12:52 PM To: Pluto, Anne Elezabeth Cc: Evans, Christine Subject: Play Hi Annie, My student writings about the play were among the best I've read thus far in my work at Lesley; it clearly demonstrates a really strong working relationship with the cast and a vibrancy that was expressed in the humor. Here are a few student comments: " The music was terrific and really gave off the Texan vibe. It immediately struck the audience's attention. The amount of vocal talent was undeniably evident." "The costuming...there was really not doubt that it was set in deep Texas a while ago." "The set choice reflected my experiences as an audience member. It thought the best set was the one that showed them at the saloon... I really felt that I was a part of the atmosphere..." "..each actor was expressive in {their} vocal intonations, which added to the believability of the experience..." ".. evidence of the creativity and careful thought that was put into the production..." Thanks for a great show! And a great experience for my students... :) lori ________________________________________________ Lori Grace, MFA, MCMHC Instructor, Writing and Literature -Humanities Division, Lesley University [e-mail] --
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
Merry Wives
From: Jagan Nath Khalsa ([e-mail]) Sent: Wed 4/18/07 10:55 PM To: [e-mail]
I saw your production of Merry Wives at Lesley U Boston last weekend and was astounded by everything. I rarely have seen Shakespeare on stage and this was really great. The synopsis looked so complicated I was afraid I wouldn't be able to follow it, but it was no problem. Loved everything about it. My favorite portrayals were Reverend Hugh (what a distinctive accent) and Mr. Ford, but everyone was excellent. I saw the Saturday night performance. Best of luck in everything. I am a classical violinist and appreciate music and theater art. I've played quite a few musicals over the years, but the only thing that barely comes close to cowboy or Western music was Rogers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!"
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
FW: Merry Wives of Windsor
-----Original Message----From: Lanza, John Sent: Wed 4/18/2007 1:21 PM To: Pluto, Anne Elezabeth Subject: Merry Wives of Windsor 18 April 2007 Dear Annie, What an over-the-top enjoyable evening we had the other night watching the production of Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas! It was incredible on so many levels. My wife shares my enthusiasm for all the talents and work involved. The cast members were wonderful actors AND accomplished musicians. Your adaptation and direction were hysterically funny AND appropriate -- OK roll over in your grave Shakespeare, but you're laughing too. Randy's set kept unfolding endlessly in surprising flexibility. He is a gem! And I thought his set last year for Much Ado About Nothing's Messina was fantastic. Terry Chance's score, music direction, and performance were splendid. I sincerely hope Lesley will see a lot more of him. He clearly brought a great sense camaraderie to the production -- both professionally and personally. What a terrific opportunity for the community! What a wonderful collaboration! (Feel free to share my sentiments with all involved.) My sincere congratulations, John John Lanza, Professor The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University 700 Beacon Street Boston, MA 02215 [phone]
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
Re: Thank You for the Theatre Experience
From: Lim, Lou ([e-mail]) Sent: Mon 8/13/07 9:04 PM To: [e-mail]
Dear Terry, Thank you so much for your involvement this past spring with the show "The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas." I am grateful to have a colleague, director, and coach who understands my values and work ethic. Knowing that you believed in me and that we also had an authentic connection through this experience are both things I wouldn't trade for the world.
Lou Lim
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
FW: Congratulations!
-----Original Message----From: Logan, Bruce Sent: Fri 4/13/2007 9:04 AM To: Pluto, Anne Elezabeth Subject: Congratulations! Annie, Congratulations all around! What a wonderful show (and your daughter was so poised . it was fun watching her). Bruce Bruce M. Logan, Ph.D. Associate Professor Lesley University [e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]> 617.349.8349
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
FW: Thank you!
-----Original Message----From: Elisa Lucozzi [mailto:[e-mail]] Sent: Mon 4/16/2007 9:57 AM To: Pluto, Anne Elezabeth Subject: Thank you! Thank you so much for the personal invitation to the show. It was a great production. I loved the subtext stuff especially Terry looking like Shakespeare in western garb! I hope you get some post show recovery time. Much love, Elisa
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
FW: Hello from the past
-----Original Message----From: Jessie Olson [mailto:[e-mail]] Sent: Tue 4/17/2007 9:34 AM To: Pluto, Anne Elezabeth Subject: RE: Hello from the past Hi Annie, It was great to see you and the show last Thursday. Beth and I really enjoyed it. The music was fun. The set was amazing! I appreciated a new take on it, but also the strange nostalgia of hearing all the words uttered in that auditorium again. I directed it four years ago in Central MA... and had a blast doing it. I'll let you know if the other gig happens. Once again, a wonderful show! Hope the run was a success! Jessie
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
FW: Merry Wives
-----Original Message----From: Periale, Judith Sent: Wed 4/18/2007 10:49 AM To: Pluto, Anne Elezabeth Cc: Evans, Christine Subject: Merry Wives
Annie, I want to congratulate you on Merry Wives of Windsor: Texas. It was great fun and probably my favorite of your productions over the years. I know what a monumental job it is. Big kudos on finding Terry Chance for the music; it really added to the play and was definitely as good as the music for the production of Merry Wives we saw at the RSC in January. Your students all seemed gaga about him - good choice. Yippee ty aeee! (I have no idea how to spell that, but I sure you catch my drift) J
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
Humanities Division Lesley College 33 Mellen Street Cambridge, MA 02138 May 5, 2007 Dear Dr. Christine Evans and Members of the Performing Arts Position Search Committee: As you well know, Terry was the Composer/Music Director of the OSP spring 2007 production of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas shore know how to git a man down and I had the opportunity to work closely with him and our students for the past several months. Our collaboration gave Lesley University its first Shakespeare musical, complete with original songs and a live student band, Slide and the Outlaws led by Terry. He comes with a professional background as a versatile musician, and is able to move easily between musical genres. His knowledge as a professional sound engineer was invaluable; he was able to work miracles with the equipment Lesley had and the amps we rented from Cambridge Music. For this production, Terry wrote six original songs with lyrics from Shakespeares script and music that was true to Texas circa 1880, the time and setting of our production. He helped me research the cowboy lingo of the period when we had to change a word or a phrase of the original text to bring us into Windsor, Texas and the world of Sheriff John Falstaff and his cronies. When I had to rewrite the play within the play to have it work in Windsor, Texas, and added the character of the Twister, the Territorial Sheriff, Terry took the role and we were able to make Twister the bandleader of Slide and the Outlaws the cowboy band in the Garter Saloon. Because we could not find suitable instruments in Boston, Terry purchased both an acoustic bass and a dobro in Lubbock Texas and had them shipped up for the students to play. With the band alone he taught Lora Walburn to play the bass, Michael Manahan to play the dobro (steel guitar) and gave Emily Lonardo the necessary confidence and coaching to play guitar on stage with others. He worked closely with Julie Pease, our student choreographer, in staging the dance numbers, thus giving her a leadership role in the production. He staged all the musical numbers and we worked together in directing those scenes. Terry worked tirelessly with all the students on the music: the playing, the singing, and the staging of the musical and dance numbers. He was the Renaissance man of the Oxford Street Players, wearing several hats. Backstage, he helped the students with their make-up and put scars on the cowboys while effectively aging Falstaff and the ranchers: Page and Ford. For the first time in 14 years I had an equal in the theatre, a collaborator with whom I could work effectively and honestly. Collaboration is of the utmost importance in the theatre, especially in a school where the theatre program is small and the budgets for plays not what they are in a large university. Creativity goes a long way, wearing several hats is necessary. Having a good sense of humor with a strong but kind and honest demeanor goes a long way. Terry has all of those qualities and the personal charisma that made the students feel close yet challenged. 81
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 As you can see from his CV, in addition to his extensive career as a professional musician, Terry will be getting his doctorate in Fine Arts from Texas Tech University in Lubbock this year, and we at Lesley can proudly say that our production was an integral part of his dissertation. He has the perfect mix of the professional music/entertainment world the scholarship of academia. Terry brings with him all the qualities and skills required for the position: excellence in teaching, musicianship in both performance and composition; the ability to play several instruments; theatre and musical directing for dramas, musicals, and choirs, the teaching of dramatic literature, with the addition of playwriting, technical theatre (sound, set, lighting, make-up, and costume design) and arts administration all of which would work beautifully here at Lesley University. His research interests lie in the study of Bipolar and Actors, which fits seamlessly with our new Expressive Therapies major, as would his interest in putting together student music and vocal ensembles. Fourteen years ago in 1993, when the university sent me to Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA. I had the great fortune to have Tina Packer as my teacher. I learned many skills under her tutelage, but I also learned invaluable lessons from watching her interact with her peers, lessons that cannot be brought to a classroom. Shakespeare & Company has worked for almost 30 years because the teachers compliment each other and work well together. Theatre only succeeds when those working/teaching together respect and support each other. He is a brilliant, energetic, passionate teacher with a fine wit and a bright sense of humor and purpose, someone familiar with hard work and long hours, someone we would all be proud to call our colleague. If you have further questions, I can easily be reached at ext. 8984. I have also enclosed the student evaluations of Terry from the cast of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas. (The questions come directly from the Lesley College course/instructor evaluation forms.) As you can see, Terry made a lasting impression on them too. Sincerely,
Anne Elezabeth Pluto, Ph.D. Professor Artistic Director of the Oxford Street Players of Lesley University
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
FW: Terry
-----Original Message----From: Reynolds, Elizabeth Sent: Tue 5/29/2007 12:28 PM To: Pluto, Anne Elezabeth Subject: Terry Annie, Here is a copy of the email I sent to Dean McNiff and Provost McKenna about Terry. I thought you might like to read it. I send my "good luck vibes" to him for Thursday. Please keep us updated as to whether or not he's hired! Thank you! -Lizzy Reynolds Dear Dean McNiff and Provost McKenna, I worked with Terry Chance this spring in the campus production of The Merry Wives of Windsor Texas. I have to "sing" my phrases for him, because he was one of the most inspirational and wonderful people I've ever worked with on a show. I would first like to talk about Terry's commitment to our show. First of all, Terry wrote and taught every original piece of music performed in the play. He did not send an audio recording of the pieces; he physically came to campus multiple times through the run of rehearsals. The man lives in TEXAS and flew to Cambridge for long weekends to work intensively with the cast. I saw Terry during these visits and got to know him on a surface, professional level. I learned then that he had become a committed, respectful, talented asset to our show. But, it wasn't until the actual week before the show that I really saw Terry's spark. We had left the two biggest dance numbers for Terry to choreograph when he arrived. When he arrived he was focused and in-charge. He delegated work to cast members as he helped tune guitars. Terry sat proudly next to Anne as the two of them worked seamlessly together on the scenes that needed work. Terry's tact, sensitivity and creativity fit like a puzzle piece to Annie's rationality, thought and resourcefulness. The two of them worked like a team to create wonderful ideas for our show. Terry was no longer seen as an outsider, coming to work in pieces on the show. He became so willingly involved in every aspect of the show, we all considered he and Anne equal co-directors. Terry became a cast member, director and mentor to everyone, no matter how small their role, in the play. He directed from the sidelines, tuned guitars, and even did makeup. He never stepped back from a task that seemed insignificant or below him, he never "pulled rank" or spoke unprofessionally. Terry's interactions with the cast lead to a mutual respect visible to any onlooker. Terry Chance is a passionate, talented, committed professional who could help Annie turn Lesley's theatre program into one of the University's finest attributes. Thank you. -Elizabeth Reynolds Undergrad Class of 2010
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
FW: great!
-----Original Message----From: Roth, Robin L. Sent: Sun 4/15/2007 10:39 AM To: Pluto, Anne Elezabeth Subject: great! The play was the absolute best you have ever done! It was funny, wonderfully directed, great music, acting, fabulous sets . . . just great. Some of your students were just standouts. The new men were great addition, really broadening the acting rolls. Sweet Sotero thanked us in the program notes. He was very, very funny, always in role, less swishy than the Stratford interpretation, but right on target. Zofia was so good too -- song was great, she really held up so well and added great dimension. Music was terrific and Terry was such a great on-stage presence, perfect as Twister. His music is great and the band was just wonderful. This production really moved OSP into new level -- perfect for setting the stage for expanding what is done and hiring of new performing arts/musical prof. Since your wonderful musical director is applying, he has to have an inside lane given the tangible success we saw here on campus. You need some time off! R. Robin L. Roth, Ph.D. Director, Social Science Division, Lesley College Professor of Sociology & Social Policy Lesley University 33 Mellen Street Cambridge, MA 02138 tel.: [phone] fax [phone]
84
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
FW: Hats Off to You and the Whole Cast!
-----Original Message----From: Traupe, Moyra Sent: Fri 4/13/2007 1:03 PM To: Pluto, Anne Elezabeth Subject: Hats Off to You and the Whole Cast! Hi, Annie This is my first opportunity today to get this email off to you. What a HUGE success the Spring production is! And, what talent we have right here at Lesley. After a rather l-o-n-g day at work, I wondered on such a dank day whether I would stay awake to the end of the performance. However, I'm so glad I made it since the ending was so funny. You should feel VERY good indeed about all of this. Thank you for bringing such an interesting interpretation of The Merry Wives of Windsor to campus. Once things quieten down a bit - I wonder when that will be?! - let's try and get together.I'd love it. Again, my congratulations on a super production! Kind regards, Moyra T. J
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
APPENDIX C
LESLEY UNIVERSITY
STUDENTS EVALUATIONS
For The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas: shore know how to git a man down
The students evaluation of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas: shore know how to git a man down was administered by Dr. Pluto without my involvement. The evaluation was based upon five questions. The evaluation was rated on a scale of one-five; one being the lowest and five the highest.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
Example Copy of the Student Evaluation
The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas OSP Spring 2007 Music Director - Mr. Terry M. Chance Administered by: Dr. Elizebeth Anne Pluto Lesley University
(1) The instructor communicated well.
(rate this on a scale of 1-5; 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest)
(2) The instructor provided constructive feedback when appropriate.
(rate this on a scale of 1-5; 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest)
(3) The instructor was available for consultation and assistance.
(rate this on a scale of 1-5; 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest)
(4) The overall quality of the instruction was...
(rate this on a scale of 1-5; 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest)
(5) Additional comments on the instructor.
(rate this on a scale of 1-5; 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest)
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
THE INSTRUCTOR COMMUNICATED WELL
5-Terry is an excellent communicator. He is able to recognize the type of group with which he is working and explain his ideas in such a way that they will be able to accomplish these objectives. He makes his expectations clear, and explains them thoroughly, ensuring that everyone understands.
5-Terry expressed his intentions passionately and there was no doubt what needed to be done. He worked well with the actors, especially the Cowboy Band, describing what must be accomplished to better the production on the whole. And it wasnt a one-sided conversation either; Terry took ideas and suggestions from the students as well. 5-He knew when to work on something with the cast and when to pull away. As time move forward, Terry knew when to pull back from criticism and offer mainly positive feedback in a sense that everything would work out. For me, Terry was the balance of a great teacher who pushed my limits in learning and fostered a positive atmosphere through constant encouragement.
4-As I worked with Terry, he constantly adapted his expertise in directing and leading to accommodate various views of communication. With me, he was thorough in his approach to clearly express how the music should be performed. When he clearly expressed his goal for me and how I should accomplish it, I completely understood what he wanted. From my observation, he is able to work with visual learners, auditory learners, and everyone in between regardless of mentality or view. 88
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
THE INSTRUCTOR PROVIDED CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK WHEN APPROPRIATE
5-He knew when to work on something with the cast and when to pull away. As time move forward, Terry knew when to pull back from criticism and offer mainly positive feedback in a sense that everything would work out. For me, Terry was the balance of a great teacher who pushed my limits in learning and fostered a positive atmosphere through constant encouragement.
5-Terry encouraged our strengths and provided support and kind words when necessary. He also didnt sugarcoat the truth when various aspects were under par. 5-Terry was very constructive when helping us into our frozen musical theater poses. I found it very helpful because I find performing in that manner highly awkward. The atmosphere was made to be comfortable and friendly, so alot of the awkwardness was forgotten quickly.
5-Terry was very constructive with his feedback. He was even giving us feedback on performance nights, which was very effective to keep the performance above and beyond anything we had done in the past.
5-If Terry felt that the integrity of our work was in jeopardy, he let us know just what he thought. Also, he helped us to work for a common goal and what very effective in doing so.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
THE INSTRUCTOR WAS AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION AND ASSISTANCE
5-The amount of consultation Terry was able to offer was astounding given the fact that he lives in another state. He was able to write, teach, and perform an original score with a bunch of amateur musicians. It was no small feat, and he did it brilliantly.
4-The fact that Terry lives in Texas, and yet still made time to fly out to Cambridge says enough on its own. He did his best, given the distance, to be available should any questions or comments arise. He even designated a communication person who he was in constant communication with. Grrrreat!
5-When Terry wasnt in Texas, he was very much available during the course of show when he was in Massachusetts. He was always very punctual to rehearsals and performanceseven there way before show call!
5-Despite the distance, Terry was able to communicate regularly. He answered emails promptly and was able to explain his ideas and solutions thoroughly.
5-Terry was always hanging around backstage or in the theater if someone needed to find him. He and I talked about makeup and fashion.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
THE OVERALL QUALITY OF THE INSTRUCTION WAS
5-The quality of instruction was superb. Being a theatre student from another undergraduate university and currently a graduate student at Lesley University, I experienced a great teacher in Terry Chance. My background in musical theater emphasized my acting and dance/movement. Although trained for numerous semesters vocally, it was not until Terry Chance that I had the opportunity to hone that skill and present it in a performance capacity. Playing the role of Fenton and singing his original song Blowin in the Wind, I would not have been ready and as happy as I was with my performance if it were not for him.
5-Excellent. Terry is a patient teacher with high expectations for his students. He knew his subject matter forwards and backwards. He brought a whole new side of theater into the equation. His teaching style was unique, well-organized and friendly.
5-Terrific. He did a wonderful job at rallying our group together. There were a number of Freshmen in the cast, including myself, who felt very much on the outside as the upperclassman have worked together before. His instruction helped us all to come together and work for the good of the cast and the good of the show.
5-Terrys instruction was above and beyond my expectations. He was clear and concise and just overall talented in what he does. He was very effectual in delivering his ideas and visions and it was an overall wonderful experience working with him.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS ON THE INSTRUCTOR
5-Terry was wonderful to work with. His presence had a really positive effect on the whole cast, and he made really fantastic contributions to this production. Id love to work with him again.
5-Terry is an excellent teacher who is thoughtful and patient with his students. He has high expectations for his students, and works diligently with them to ensure their success.
5-Working with Terry gave me an incredible sense of purpose. He treated us all like adults; he was both respectful and diligent, he never lost his temper (despite us sometimes being unruly!), and personally, Terry broadened my understanding of the many different aspects of theater besides acting (esp. the technical, the musical, the harmony of instructor and instructed). His expertise will be sorely missed. I dont believe there is a single person that contributed to Merry Wives that Terry hasnt touched on an emotional level; his compassion towards the people he works with is unrivaled.
5-Terry knows so much about the music business, staging, performance, and collaboration. Although he wrote the music, I feel as we all had a hand in the creation. None of us could have asked for a more knowledgeable, amiable, and dedicated instructor. We couldnt have been a success without him.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
APPENDIX D
LESLEY UNIVERSITY
POSTER
For The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas: shore know how to git a man down...
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
POSTER
Figure D.1
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
APPENDIX E
LESLEY UNIVERSITY
PLAYBILL
For The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas: shore know how to git a man down...
95
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
PLAYBILL
Figure E.1
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
98
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
99
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
100
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
101
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
102
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
Figure E.2
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
107
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
108
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
APPENDIX F
LESLEY UNIVERSITY
PICTURES
For The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas: shore know how to git a man down
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
TERRY CHANCE AS THE TEXAS TWISTER THE TERRORITIAL SHERIFF
Figure F.1
PERFORMING THE PROLOGUE THE BALLAD OF THE TEXAS TWISTER
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
THE COWBOY BAND
(Slide and the Outlaws)
(IN THE GARTER SALOON)
Figure F.2
PERFORMING OH BURY ME NOT, ON THE LONE PRAIRIE
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
CAST (FALSTAFF , SALOON GIRLS, AND COWBOY BAND)
Figure F.3
PERFORMING IM THE ROMEO OF MY TIME
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
DR ANNE PLUTO & ZOFIA PROVIZER (Montana Page)
Figure F.4
IN REHEARSAL TAKING A MOMENT TOGETHER DURING A BREAK
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
ZOFIA AS MONTANA PAGE AND MS. QUICKLY
Figure F.5
PERFORMING I WANT TO BE A COWGIRL OF THE PRAIRIE
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
FALSTAFF AND THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, TEXAS
Figure F.6
A SCENE FROM ACT TWO A DANGEROUSLY CLOSE ENCOUNTER!
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
CAST OF THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, TEXAS shore know how to git a man down
Figure F.7
TEXAS WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD OF THESE WONDERFUL STUDENTS OF LESLEY UNIVERSITY!
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
APPENDIX G
LESLEY UNIVERSITY
LICENSE AGREEMENT
For The Original Musical Score of THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, TEXAS: shore know how to git a man down
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS 1617 27TH, Suite 1410 Lubbock, Texas, 79411
617-447-1658
License Agreement
As President of LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS, I am excited to offer you original products for your theatrical or musical production under the terms and conditions stated below. This agreement is not to discourage, but encourage the use of LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS products without financial pressures. The products you receive are under copyright law and will be enforced if necessary. Enjoy the full range of products from theatrical and musical score, dramatic text, and literary material for your special events. All material is original. Thank you for your interest in our products. Terry Chance, President LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS LICENSE AND PROTECTION 1. License Grant. LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS grants to you, subject to the following terms and conditions, to lease original products offer under this lease agreement. All LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS products remain the property of LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS and are licensed to you only for use as part of a dramatic or musical performance. This license expressly forbids resale or other distribution of these products or their derivatives, either as they exist on the distributed media, reformatted for use in another digital sampler, or mixed, combined, filtered, resynthesized or otherwise edited, for use as sounds, multisounds, samples, multisamples, wavetables, programs or patches in a sampler, microchip or any hardware or software sample playback device. You cannot sell them or give them away for use by others in their sampling or sample playback devices or synthesizers, or in any original written form. In the event LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS terminates this Agreement due to your breach, you agree to return the original and all other copies of the dramatic and musical scores, dramatic text, literary material and documentation to LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS. LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS reserves all rights not expressly granted to you. 2. Protection of products leased. You agree to take all reasonable steps to protect this product and any accompanying documentation from unauthorized copying or use. You agree not to modify the enclosed product to circumvent any method or means adopted or implemented by LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS to protect against or discourage the unlicensed use of copying of the enclosed product.
119
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007 3. Ownership. As between you and LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS, ownership of, and title to, musical scores, dramatic text, and literary material as well as any enclosed digitally recorded sounds and/or software (including any copies) will be held by LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS. Copies are provided to you only to enable you to exercise your rights under the license. 4. Term. The agreements and fees for use products can be arranged by contacting the office of LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS. This Agreement will remain in full force until termination. This Agreement will terminate if you break any of the terms or conditions of this Agreement. Upon termination you agree to return to LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS all copies of this product and accompanying documentation. 5. Restrictions. Except as expressly authorized in this Agreement, you may not rent, sell, lease, sublicense, distribute, transfer, copy, reproduce, display, modify or time share the enclosed product or documentation. 6. All LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS products are Copyright 1985 LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS, 1617 27th Suite, 1410 Lubbock, Texas 79411 USA All rights reserved. 7. For improvement purposes, the contents of LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS products are subject to change without notice.
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
APPENDIX H
LESLEY UNIVERSITY
MUSICAL SCORE
OF THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, TEXAS: shore know how to git a man down
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
I Wanna be a Cowgirl
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in the breeze. in thestream.
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Last Chance Productions 2007
Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
I Wanna be a Cowgirl
14
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'cause these 'cauz these
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for for
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
25
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
I'm the Romeo of My Time
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I'm the Romeo of My Time
46
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
I'm the Romeo of My Time
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Texas Tech University, Terry Michael Chance, December 2007
Dream on Texas Cowboy
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