We are growing near to the opening of the Twelfth Night! During a fierce storm and devastating surfboard accident, twins Viola and Sebastian are separated. Viola surfaces on a beach, and, believing her brother disappeared, finds acceptance by disguising herself as a man named Cesario. In a classic case of mistaken identity and unexpected love, hilarity ensues as we meet this 1960’s beach movie cast of characters. Let’s hang ten with show director, Elizabeth Pringle!
Elizabeth: I have been working as an actress, playwright, director, and teacher in DC in theatre and media since the last century when I moved here from Minneapolis and Chicago where I grew up dancing and doing theatre. I have always worked in theatre but at the start of the 21st century I began working in international broadcasting creating arts and media initiatives and programing for children and educators. I’m fascinated by storytelling in all media and the intersection of digital media and tools and the mind. With MHz Networks I created one of the first classroom filmmaking programs that aligned with and international film festival for the original film created by young people. Recently, I worked with the In Series adapting Mozart’s 1st opera, Bastian and Bastiana as well as creating a show around the work of Latina composers. I’m also working with the Kennedy Center on the 25th anniversary of the New Visions New Voices celebrating and supporting the creation of new plays and musicals for young audiences and families as well as teaching and acting this spring with Theatre Lab in DC.
Encore: Can you describe the era for Twelfth Night and what inspired that decision?
Elizabeth: Shakespeare’s plays are so perfect for adapting to other contexts. It is not really about a specific place or time but about love and how it affects different kinds of people. So, why not set it in another seaside community? Why not California in the style of a 1960s beach movie? All of the same elements are present.
Encore: This is your second show with Encore in a black box theatre this season! What can the audience look forward to in a theatre such as this, and what does it provide for your cast or show?
Elizabeth: The black box is such a wonderful place for theatre and for young actors to really connect with an audience. With the audience on three sides the actors have to be aware of sharing the play with the audience sitting all around them.
(Photo from A Fairy Tale Christmas Carol (2015), Directed by Elizabeth Pringle)
Encore: What do you enjoy most about directing Shakespeare?
Elizabeth: Shakespeare had embedded in his text all kinds of clues about character and movement and meaning. The plays are just waiting to be unpacked. And still there is so much room to add your own context and connect to more contemporary meaning.
Encore: Can you share a memorable moment you had at Encore?
Elizabeth: It is always so much fun to see what the design teams have devised for a play. I’ll be in rehearsal and as we get closer to tech week and performance, design elements will add to the production. It’s wonderful to have the input of other artists on the production and to see what the adult and student designers have created for the show.
Encore: Can you describe what makes children’s theatre and Shakespeare special?
Elizabeth: The language of Shakespeare is very imagistic and physical. You see young actors connect with the text and understand the meaning and how they can express both the poetry and the plot. It is so amazing to see 400 year old scripts come alive through young actors to a modern audience. And suddenly, we’re connected – thanks to theatre – to our shared humanity, no matter what age or experience.
There you have it! Catch the waves and join Encore for Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, running May 13 through 22 at Gunston Arts Center (2700 S. Lang St. Arlington, VA 22206). Buy your tickets today!
(Photos by Larry McClemons and Susan Keady)