The Spanish Tragedie by Thomas Kyd, Baron's Men at the Curtain Theatre, October 17 - November 9, 2013

(www.thebaronsmen.org)

by Michael Meigs

Villainy was afoot and revenge was hot at the tidy Elizabethan-style Curtain Theatre on opening weekend, but Karen insisted that I bundle up as if I was going hiking in the winter mountains. And she was right; the temp must have sunk to around 50 F. by the time C. Robert Stevens as Hieronimo had coaxed the malefactors at the Spanish courtinto the play-within-a-play that's the climax of The Spanish Tragedie.

This costume drama by Thomas Kyd leaves almost as many dead and dying littered about the stage as Shakespeare did, between ten and twenty years later, at the conclusion of Hamlet . Kyd's work established the fashion for the revenge tragedy and endured on the Elizabethan and Jacobean stages until the Puritans shut the theatres in 1642.

Robert Stevens (photo: The Baron's Men)

The Baron's Men in Austin are proud to claim that theirs is the first 'original practices' staging in North America of this influential work that comes close to the status of a classic. As usual, they do a gorgeous job of it. The bare boards of that Elizabethan stage become a display case for lots of actors wearing the creations of some of the town's most accomplished costumers. Cherie Weed's casting and energetic direction keep the Tragedie lively throughout, a surprising and gratifying blend of comedy and revenge. The company enjoys its pre-Halloween shiver-makers -- they have twice staged their own compendium titled Medieval Macabre -- and this lengthy but never dull evening fits very well into the run-up to Halloween. Not least because it features the hovering figures of Death (Jennifer Fielding) and Revenge (Leanna Homquist) throughout the action.

Kyd was certainly playing to his public when he situated these elaborate deceits and plots at the Spanish court. Londoners feared and hated the Spanish, who sought to attack England with their glorious armada in 1588 (within five years, plus or minus, of the play's first staging). The playwright presents a triumphant Spanish king (Michael Saenger) who has just defeated the Portuguese, taking prisoner Crown Prince Balthazar. With Spain's dominion reasserted, the court is eager to unite the two kingdoms with an arranged marriage between the Portuguese Prince and Bel-Impera, Spain's lovely royal niece.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com. . . .

THE SPANISH TRAGEDIE by Thomas Kyd, Baron's Men at the Curtain Theatre, October 20 - November 9, 2013

[performing at the Curtain Theatre, Garriot estate, 7400 Coldwater Canyon -- click for map]

present











directed by Cherie Weed 

Thomas Kyd’s groundbreaking play of murder and revenge
Thursdays-Saturdays, October 17, 2013 through November 9, 2013
Pre-show starts at 7:30 pm; Show starts at 8 pm
at The Curtain Theater, 7400 Coldwater Canyon - click for map

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Auditions for The Spanish Tragedie by Thomas Kyd, Baron's Men, May 2 - 4, 2013

The Spanish Tragedie is an Elizabethan tragedy written by Thomas Kyd between 1582 and 1592. Highly popular and influential in its time, The Spanish Tragedie established a new genre in English theatre, the Revenge Play or Revenge Tragedy. Containing several violent murders and a wide variety of characters, personifications and dumb shows, The Spanish Tragedy was often referred to (or parodied) by other Elizabethan playwrights, including William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and Christopher Marlowe.


The Baron’s Men will perform The Spanish Tragedie at The Curtain Theater in October/November of 2013. This show will be performed in a near uncut state, in period costumes, and with period effects.


Audition Information

The Baron’s Men are looking for men and women ages 18 and up. The roles of Bel-Imperia and Isabella are pre-cast. All other roles are open.


To view the cast list, download a free script or get more information, click here!


Actors should prepare a 1-2 minute monologue.


Please email audition@thebaronsmen.org to set up an audition appointment with your preference of a north or south date/time (see audition dates and locations below). If you are unable to make the Thursday/Friday audition dates, let us know and we will find an alternative time slot for you.


Audition dates: 
May 2, 2013 (North Austin location) – Time slots begin at noon with evenings available

May 3, 2013 (South Austin Location) - Time slots begin at noon with evenings available

May 4, 2013 – Callbacks – (Central Austin location)

Rehearsals will begin in late August.


Performance Information

Actor and crew call times will begin at 6:30pm. October 17, 18, 19; October 24, 25, 26; October 31, November 1, 2; November 7, 8, 9

All shows will begin at 8pm. Run time will be approximately 2 hours with one 15 minute intermission.


Crew Information

Are you interested in working as stage crew, or helping with costumes and props? The Baron’s Men work to provide a total experience. We are always looking for volunteers to assist with costumes, props, parking, vending, and much more. If you would like to help out, please contact audition@thebaronsmen.org and let us know what interests you.

Production for The Spanish Tragedie begins in May 2013.


Production staff:

Director - Cherie Weed; Producer - Katy Thompson; Stage Manager – Chris Casey; Make-up and Effects – Sarah Lee Schroeder

Upcoming: Twelfth Night, Baron's Men at the Curtain Theatre, May 6 - 22

Received directly:

present

Twelfth Night

by William Shakespeare

Fridays & Saturdays, May 6 – May 28, 8 p.m.

The Curtain Theater

7400 Coldwater Canyon (click for map)

Coming off of their triumphant production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” last fall, The Baron’s Men are back with Shakespeare’s timeless comedy of mistaken identity, unrequited love and drunken buffoonery. Directed by Samantha Smith, this latest offering by The Baron’s Men features long time Baron’s Men players Casey Weed and Katrina O’Keefe and Austin theater mainstay Bridget Farias as the love triangle of Duke Orsino, Viola/Cesario and Countess Olivia. Rounding out the cast are Baron’s Men veterans Kevin Gates, Aaron Niemuth, Brian Martin and Liegh Hegedus and new Baron’s Men players J Nathan Day and Lindsay Palinsky.

This production, featuring live Elizabethan music, from Music Director Cherie Weed and authentic costumes from Costume Designer Pam Martin, presented in Austin’s only Elizabethan replica theater promises to deliver an evening of Shakespeare as only The Baron’s Men can deliver.

Click to read more and view links at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . .

The Tempest, Baron's Men at Castleton Village, May 1 - 10

The energy and the innovative staging of The Tempest by the Baron's Men go a long way toward overcoming the considerable disadvantages of their "green world" theatre.

"Castleton" lies in a narrow meadow along the lake, just west of the 360 bridge, and owner Richard Garriott has furnished it with quaint cabins, fancifully decorated. It reminded me very much of the "cabin camping" practiced in Scandinavia, where a family leases a tiny dwelling instead of pitching a tent.

The major and inescapable disadvantage to the locale is the boat traffic along the lake. Trees and reeds hide the playing space from inquisitive view, but the thump and roar of overpowered boat engines vies with very loud, very crappy music. And sound travels a long, long way along the surface of the water. So from your 7:30 start time until about Act III, it's easier to suspend belief than to suspend indignation.

Garriott's fantasies include a pretty impressive landbound pirate ship on the meadow's south side and a fortress/stockade slightly elevated to the north. Director Athena Peters offers seating on some wooden benches to the west, but also provides an array of mats in the center. Some of us took the mats, while others came with their own folding lawn chairs and placed them in front of the benches.

This is theatre in the round, but not in the usual sense. Instead of the spectators settling on all sides of the acting space, the Baron's Men move all around and through the spectator space. One never knows where the next scene will begin -- and consequently, for those of us on the mats, whether we will have to twist around, crane our necks to see past another groundling, or find ourselves pleasantly surprised by a player popping up close by from some unwatched quarter.

Read More at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .