Stage

Directions and
Interpretations
SHAKESPEAREAN PLAYS KING LEAR
 Discussion Questions
1. What do you visualize when you read King Lear? Are the minimal stage directions helpful
when trying to visualize the play?

2. Do you visualize the same way when reading a Shakespearean play compared to a novel or
short story? Do you visualize at all? Why or why not?

3. How did the movie compare? Did anything surprise you? Was the movie different than you
pictured?

4. Have you seen any other adaptations of King Lear? How did they compare? Could you
visualize another interpretation?

5. Do you think there should be more stage directions?

King Lear Cover Art
 Terminology
Above/Aloft Flourish
speech or scene played in the balcony above the stage fanfare of trumpets, usually announcing the entrance
level or from higher up in the loft of royalty
Alarum Omnes
a loud shout, a signal call to arms all, everyone
Aside Sennet
spoken directly to the audience or to a specified trumpet announcing the entrance of a procession
character and not heard by others on the stage Severally
Below, beneath actors enter from, or exit in, different directions
speech or scene played from below the surface of the Torchbearers
stage. The actor stands inside an open trap-door actors carry torches, a clue to the audience that the scene
Exit takes place in the dark, either at night or in an area that is
he/she leaves the stage not naturally lit
Exeunt Within
they leave the stage words spoken off-stage in what the audience would
Falls assume is an unseen room, corridor or the outdoors
the actor is wounded or falls
Hautboys
musicians enter playing wind instruments
 Stage layout
This diagram will be useful for
identifying large character movement.

Ex. Lear runs furiously from UL to DS

1. Why do you think stage directions in King Lear are used infrequently?

2. Do you know of any hidden stage directions? If no, can you guess
what some might be?
 History
There was no rule book for grammar while Shakespeare was writing so, there was little consistency in
punctuation and spelling among writers and printing

Shakespeare used colons and commas to cue actors and readers where to pause and what words to
emphasize
Many of these are kept in modern editions, although they might not be grammatically correct

Used stage directions very sparingly

Shakespeare was directly involved in the production of the plays so there was little need to record them

The bare stages of Shakespeare's day had little or no scenery except for objects required by the plot,
like a throne, a grave, or a bed.

Exits and entrances were in plain view of the audience, but they included some vertical options: actors
could descend from the "heavens" above the stage or enter and exit from the "hell" below through a
trapdoor. Characters described as talking from "above" might appear in galleries midway between the
stage and the heavens.
Stage Directions Search
Make 5 groups (1 for each Act)
Count the number of stage directions throughout the Act you can split this
up within your groups to add up at the end
Find a modern day script online and compare the amount of stage directions
in that script with King Lear
What do you notice? Did anything surprise you? Etc. Make notes.
The Globe
The globe theater had a very interesting sort of
structure to it. Indeed, it was a fine piece of
architecture, and it was built solely
to accommodate large audiences. Since nobody
has ever actually seen the globe up close and
personal, most of the things known about the
Globe structure are actually just well educated,
theoretical guesses.
From what we know, the Globe theater was a
three story amphitheater. An amphitheater is an
open air theater, typically one with no ceiling. It
was approximately one hundred feet in
length. The basic outline of the theater (as
research suggests) was some sort of polygon.
Lavishly decorated pillars supported random
bouts of the theater, especially the stage, which
was roughly 15 feet in height.
 Shakespeare Today
With limited stage directions, how do you think directors of Shakespearean plays today, decide
how their actors/actresses are going to perform?
Do you think any two plays put on by different companies are the same? Why or why not?
 Prompt Book
The Prompt Book is the master copy of the script or score, containing all
the actor moves and technical cues, and is used by the deputy stage
manager to run rehearsals and later, control the performance. Its
sometimes known as the book, Prompt Copy or Prompt Script. The
member of stage management cueing the show is said to be On the Book.
As well as the script and/or score of the show, the prompt book also
contains contact lists for all concerned with the production, information
about the venue(s), show reports, local amenities, emergency procedures
and any other information that may be needed during the run of the show.
Its rightly known as the production bible.
The book is usually laid out so that the script is on one side of a folder, and
the cues are on the opposite side, with a line between the cue word / line,
and the cue itself.
Now lets create
a prompt book
together before ------Do an example with your class here-----

you create your

own in groups in
class tomorrow.
 Guiding Questions
1. Where does the action take place? Questions about the characters:
1. What motivates these characters to say what
2. Who is speaking to whom? they say?
3. What happens in this passage? 2. Do the characters objectives change in this
passage? If so, when and why? Or do only tactics
4. Where should the characters be positioned change?
on stage? From where and to where are
entrances and exits made? Why? 3. What obstacles stand in each characters way?
What happens when objectives meet obstacles?
5. What props are required by the passage? 4. Where would you place vocal pauses?
5. In what tone of voice is the line spoken? Why?
6. How would the characters move here?
7. What facial expressions might accompany the
delivery of this line?