I am a proud alumna of the University of Kansas’ theater department. In the summer of 2000 they sent a group of us to Greece to perform “The Birds” by Aristophanes in an amphitheater that dates back to 500 BCE in the ancient city of Oiniades. It was a life-changing experience. KU’s theater department has never tired of challenging its students and this new project I’ve learned of is a perfect example of that. I’m excited to share that Professor Paul Meier is directing a production of William Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” in its Original Pronunciation at the University Theatre, opening November 11th in a run of eight performances. This production is the FIRST of its kind in the United States, and has only been done three other times before in Europe. With the linguistic assistance of David Crystal, the use of OP will give the audience the privilege of hearing how the actors would have sounded when the plays were first performed.
One of the more valuable experiences in my time at KU was studying under Paul Meier. His vast knowledge of vocal techniques, accents and dialects were inspirational to me. Learning accents and dialects is an essential tool for any actor. But the depth of our studies about the evolution of dialect went above and beyond. And his use of Shakespeare to teach what the human voice is truly capable of killed two birds with one stone for many of us. Not only did it empower our vocal skills, it gave us an understanding of how to find meaning within the specialized text.
In a world plagued with BAD Shakespeare, Paul Meier is a man on a mission to help actors understand the intricate text. Obviously, an audience will not get what’s going on if the actors have no idea what they are saying. Attention to detail in the text itself is key to acting Shakespeare. Beyond the need to understand the definitions of the words at the time, an actor can take so much from interpreting what sounds mean. Some basics, for example: When a character is speaking of an urgent matter, you will find many consonants used to punch the words, heightened by intense alliteration to drive the point across. If a character is sad or musing about the one they love, you will find many round sounds and vowels within the text, with assonance accentuating their sorrow or burning desire. The list of tools used to understand the text goes on and on and can be applied to modern performance as well. Through Paul, not only did I learn new text-based acting methods with very little technique shining through, I learned a new, conversational language. Despite the richness of the text and the rhythm of pentameter, Shakespeare is just talking.
Professor Meier has found himself realizing a dream come true with this play. Though I do not know many details about how this production has come to light, I imagine that Paul has always wanted to do something like this. I remember when he introduced us to the concept of Original Pronunciation in class one day by showing us footage of Patrick Stewart (with hair!) performing a soliloquy in OP style. I swooned at the sound of its soothing combination of lingual influences. Its familiarity struck me even though I had never heard anything like it before. Did mine ears deceive me? Its lilt sounded so Irish and rural English…the hardness in the letter R so…Midwestern.
Many theories have gone in to figuring out how the dialect sounded back then. The one I’m most familiar with comes from rhyme. To our modern English speaking ears, some words do not rhyme in certain couplets, even across the distinction between American and British dialects. This leads to an obvious conclusion; if everything else rhymes, these mismatched words had to have rhymed originally. I’ve learned that Paul picked this particular play to experiment with partly because of the tricky rhyme scheme itself. Understatement alert: There is a lot to work with. “Midsummer” is already a fun, fantastical romp so I can imagine what the actors must feel like getting to add a whole other layer to the wackiness. Now perhaps dialect, in addition to conventional interpretation of the text, can heighten meaning.
Shakespeare’s work is universally important because his understanding of the human condition is timeless. By performing his work using the voices of the time, these actors will be channeling an intimate, personal connection to him and the actors who first brought his characters to life. This is a special gift. My hat’s off to this amazing project. If you are in the Lawrence area, go check it out.
I will leave you with a video featuring a scene from the play performed in OP as well as this link to The History Blog to learn more. Photos of the costume design by Dennis Christilles and the rehearsal process can be found in this link.
The Open Dora 
