A very happy 457th birthday to our buddy, William Shakespeare!
Though centuries old, we continue to turn to Shakespeare’s work at A.B.L.E.. Our actors love putting their own stamp on these revered and well-known stories. Shakespeare’s stories allow us to play with complex language, process big emotions, and explore universal themes. And, because Shakespeare’s work is in the public domain, we have the freedom to adapt it however we want. Over the years, this has meant cutting characters, combining characters, re-arranging scenes, casting multiple actors in the same role, gender-switching roles, replacing characters with puppets, and adding music, narration, and dance sequences to show off the interests and talents of our actors. We can take a well-known story and truly make it our own!
Here are 3 productions to help you celebrate The Bard…A.B.L.E. style:
1) Twelfth Night (2016)
In this 2016 production, 20 young actors with Down syndrome took to the stage at Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier for a one-night-only performance of the Bard's tale about identity, ambition, and love. The actors share roles, with each playing 2 or 3 characters throughout the story, allowing them to showcase different sides of their personalities and giving everyone a chance to be in the spotlight. Twelfth Night was produced in partnership with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre at Navy Pier as part of Shakespeare 400 - an international festival celebrating the vibrancy, relevance, and reach of Shakespeare. This was our first collaboration with Chicago Shakespeare, but certainly not our last. They have since hosted Cyrano de Bergerac (2018), Thereby Hangs a Tale (2018), and As You Like It (2019).
Put on your yellow stockings, and rent or purchase this title from our Vimeo OnDemand channel:
2) O for a Muse (2019)
In the fall of 2019, A.B.L.E. remixed some of Shakespeare’s classics in a unique evening of storytelling. Actors used recognizable props from Shakespeare stories - a goblet, a staff, a dagger, and a flower - do devise a completely original tale. When rehearsals for a production of Midsummer Night’s Dream are interrupted by an actual love spell, a group of actors must journey to a mysterious antique shop to untangle the secrets of their props. They soon learn every object has a story. Weaving together the actors ideas with snippets from 21 different Shakespearean classics including Romeo & Juliet, Titus Andronicus, Hamlet, and The Tempest , A.B.L.E.’s O for a Muse celebrates the magic of everyday objects.
You can watch O for a Muse for free through A.B.L.E. at Home.
This project was so fun, we even created an O for a Muse Part 2 in the spring of 2020! Because of the pandemic, rather than a play, we produced a collection of 5 short stories around a new set of objects - a ring, a handkerchief, a skull, a crown, and a lantern.
3) Comedy of Errors: The Webseries (2020)
Our ensembles were 3 weeks into rehearsals for a stage adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic comedy about mistaken identity when COVID19 forced us to reimagine how we work. We always say that theatre teaches life skills, and we used our adaptability, creativity, and teamwork to shift to online rehearsals. Working in this new format, we developed a 5 part webseries, adapted by A.B.L.E. teaching artist Braden Cleary. Filmed entirely on Zoom, actors created their own costumes, props, and Foley sound effects using items found in their homes. Each actor played multiple roles throughout the series, giving everyone a chance to showcase different sides of their personalities. New episodes premiered via livestreams on Facebook, which also featured Q&A sessions with different actors every week.
Here’s our episode #1 livestream:
And….save the date for Friday June 18th to watch our ensembles take on Shakespeare’s classic tale of love and hate in Romeo & Juliet Remix!
Clashes in the streets, people yearning for connection but being kept apart, a citywide plague...Shakespeare’s 400 year old tale feels as timely as ever, and even more so when told through the eyes of A.B.L.E.’s ensembles. Each actor is taking on one specific moment in the story. Actors will share roles with 9 different Romeos, 11 different Juliets, 3 Tybalts, and many other citizens of Verona. Romeo & Juliet Remix will weave Shakespeare's words with original monologues, scenes, songs, and dances developed by the cast. Some of the original pieces include a monologue from the perspective of Juliet’s suitor, Paris, devised and performed by actor Martin Conway, and a dance piece by actors Sandia Coleman and Marissa Bloodgood inspired by the imagery of “the nightingale” and “the lark” in the lovers’ final goodbye. Follow our rehearsal process here on the blog and stay tuned for announcements about how you can watch our big premiere on June 18th!
