Outdoors with the Bard

Much Ado About Nothing

Theatre is addictive; but can sometimes seem repetitive. Not the play itself but the way in which the audience and actors experience a performance. Always heading indoors to catch a play can, even for the most diehard theatergoer become, well, boring.

Enter outdoor theatre. If you’ve never been, you should try your hardest to go. It’s truly a unique way to spend an evening listening to the wordplay of, in this case, William Shakespeare with CanStage’s production of Much Ado About Nothing in High Park and ShakespeareWorks by the Lake’s’ The Taming of the Shrew at Ashbridges Bay along the waterfront.

Outdoor theatre is more than just theatre; it’s a way for all the senses to come alive with wonder. You can smell the air, hear the birds, see the bugs, and listen to the chirping of crickets. It’s quite mesmerizing.

But there are levels to the outdoor experience - some positive some negative. According to Peter Haworth, Associate Producer of ShakespeareWorks, this is definitely true.

“They (the audience) can open their senses to the sound of the breeze, the light changing, and enjoy the fresh air,” he said via email. “The event feels more like an adventure for the audience and actors. The outdoors/nature adds its touches to the performance which are different every night, giving the patrons the charm of knowing that their show is unlike any other.”

“The disadvantages are actually advantages for the above reasons, but rain can make the performance full of unknowns,” he continued. “Temperature of the theatre is always different. Sometimes the actors play in intense heat, other times the audience needs to put on warm clothing. The greatest disadvantage is that under severe circumstances even at a covered outdoor venue the show could be cancelled.”

Catching The Taming of the Shrew a few days prior to this year’s closing (Sun. Aug. 7) was truly enjoyable. The beautiful Home Depot Theatre (actually a covered tent) allowed the audience to feel very close to the actors while at the same time the large window-like opening at the back of the stage allowed the natural backdrop to bring the outdoors in.

Although you could hear the rustling of the trees, and see the various bugs fly in and out of the opening, it didn’t quite feel outdoorsy enough. For that, you must catch Much Ado About Nothing, playing until Sun. Sept. 4 in High Park. You want outdoor theatre, this is it: no tent, no chairs, just you, a stage, the grass, open sky and if you want some food, alcohol (many people popped a cork or two of wine during the two-hour show), and blankets.

The Taming of the Shrew

With so much nature to contend with, what do the actors think of playing al fresco? Before Much Ado… began, Jacklyn Francis (Beatrice) and Juan Chioran (Benedick) sat down for a few minutes to fill S&H.ca in on what it’s like to perform outdoors in such a big, open venue.

“This (High Park) is a huge space; you don’t only having to fill the space but also battle sounds of nature, airplanes, the Gardiner, people ruffling chip bags, young children running up and down, the demands are huge,” said Chioran. “We’re playing in a place where you have to exert so much physical and vocal energy that it’s exhausting.”

Francis agreed, going on to explain why Dream in High Park is such unique theatre: “One of things they (CanStage) try to do with this particular venue is to encourage people who don’t also go to theatre to get out, so it’s also an audience that’s free to get up and move around. Earlier on in the evening it takes a lot of focus because we’re use to an audience that sits quietly in their seats, this is very relaxed. It’s part of the park, that’s also part of its charm, but for an actor it just takes that much more energy to stay focused.”

Chioran summed up the feel when he said what you don’t get indoors is the switch of actual daylight into darkness into the show light – “that’s a magical time you can only get outdoors.”

For more info about Much Ado About Nothing call the Dream hotline at (416) 367-1652 or visit the CanStage website – www.canstage.com; ShakespeareWorks is done for this year, but visit their site for more info – www.shakespeareworks.com

Courtesy images