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A Shakespearian shortcut

Slocum House mounts a humorous, breakneck revue of the Bard's work

By Mary Ann Albright
Published: January 8, 2010, 12:00am

All’s well that ends well when the likes of Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth collide, complete with a dash of Julia Child and a nod to Luke Skywalker, in what’s sure to be a tempestuous comedy of errors.

The fictitious Slocum House Shakespearean Society has decided to stage all 37 of the Bard’s plays in one two-hour production, and this undertaking is the premise of “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged).”

o What: “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged).”

o When: 8 p.m. Jan. 8-9, 15-16, 21-23 and 28-30, as well as 2 p.m. Jan. 10, 17, 24 and 31.

o Where: Slocum House, 605 Esther St., Vancouver.

o Tickets: $10, $8 for seniors 60 and older and children 12 and younger.

o Information: slocumhouse.com, 360-696-2427.

The shows opens Jan. 8 and kicks off the 2010 season for The Slocum House Theatre Company. It’s part of Slocum House’s effort to boost attendance by focusing more on comedies and well-known plays, said Tony Bump, Slocum House board member and director of “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged).”

o What: "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)."

o When: 8 p.m. Jan. 8-9, 15-16, 21-23 and 28-30, as well as 2 p.m. Jan. 10, 17, 24 and 31.

o Where: Slocum House, 605 Esther St., Vancouver.

o Tickets: $10, $8 for seniors 60 and older and children 12 and younger.

o Information: slocumhouse.com, 360-696-2427.

The show, originally created by the California-based Reduced Shakespeare Company, tackles Shakespeare’s comedies, histories and tragedies in one humorous, improvisational show.

“It’s just kind of a wacky, slapstick run through all of the Shakespeare plays. It’s quite funny,” said Bump, a 43-year-old Vancouver resident who’s been involved with the theater group at Slocum House since 1980. Bump works in customer service for a pet-supply company and also teaches piano and voice and directs the community choir Metro Arts Ensemble.

In the original “Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged),” three men played all the parts. The Slocum House production comprises four women and two men, with women playing mostly male roles and men playing mostly women.

The cross-dressing adds to the humor but also has some historical relevance. In Shakespeare’s time, women were not allowed to act on stage, so men played all the roles.

In the play, Titus Andronicus becomes Titus Androgynous, a Julia Child-type character who condenses the drama into a cooking show. Actor Brandon Daniel, 29, tackles the role, opposite autism specialist Martina Paris-Fully, 46, as his daughter, Lavinia.

Lavinia becomes collateral damage in Titus Androgynous’ cooking segment.

“I have to try to talk like I’ve had my tongue chopped off,” said Paris-Fully, who is vice president of Slocum House’s board of directors. “It sounds morbid, but it’s really funny.”

Irreverent humor flows throughout the show. The cast conveys the drama “Othello” as a rap. The histories play out as a football game, and the comedies are combined into one show.

“It’s all the plots thrown in together,” Bump said of melding shows such as “The Tempest” and “Much Ado About Nothing” into “one really hysterical narration.”

The Slocum House production mostly follows the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s template, but Bump did make some changes. In “Hamlet,” which takes up the bulk of the second act, he traded swords for lightsabers in a fight scene. The show also has audience participation components, so it’s different every performance.

That uncertainty can make it a challenge for performers when the giggles threaten to take over.

“Someone might decide to add something that wasn’t there the night before, and you have a hard time keeping a straight face,” said Stephanie Daniel, who’s doing the show along with her husband, Brandon. The couple, who live in Vancouver, appeared together as Kate and Petruchio in “Taming of the Shrew” at Slocum House, and Brandon was in “Twelfth Night,” but “(abridged)” is a drastic departure from purist takes on Shakespeare.

“This is unlike any play, Shakespeare or not, that I’ve done before,” Stephanie Daniel said.

Daniel, a 25-year-old KinderCare infant teacher, was an English major in college and particularly enjoyed Shakespeare’s writing. This unique treatment is a good introduction for those intimidated by Shakespeare, she said.

“It’s a lot more accessible for people,” she said.

That’s because the play focuses on the absurdity of Shakespeare’s various plots and doesn’t get caught up in the language, added Brandon Daniel, a Comcast technician.

“The thing that I really like about ‘Shakespeare (abridged)’ is that you don’t need to know Shakespeare to enjoy it,” he said.

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