The Stage And Set: The stage was a proscenium Arch Stage, which is the most common type of stage. The cast sometimes even used the apron portion of the stage to do their monologues. It was strange to see a play that did not have an orchestra. Usually most plays do but they used cd's to capture their music. The actors also did a great job at performing upstage and downstage, so they used their entire working area to capture the scenes. They used flats with different designs to show the different parts of the world and that was it. They did not really have much on the stage but these flats, and a bed.
The Plot: The plot is much like Romeo and Juliet. Two people from different sides fall in love, they are placed apart, and in the end they both commit suicide. The drama situation begins when Antony changes sides and fights his recent leader Octavius. Also, Cleopatra is asked to kill Antony, and that causes a lot of problems. So the inciting moment is when Antony switches sides, and the complication is fighting a war against Octavius. The climax is when the fight begins, and the resolution is both the main characters commiting suicide. The denouement is both being dead and Cleopatra does nto have to live under Octavius.
The Characters: The main characters are Antony, Cleopatra, Octavius and Enobarbus. The lovers and Antony and Cleopatra, the leader is Octavius, and Enobarbus is Antony's most loyal partner. The minor characters are Octavia (Octavius sister), Charmian, Iris, and Agrippa. Antony was played by a member of Days of Our Lives, and you can tell because he was very dramatic. Cleopatra was played by a girl in California who has also done many plays. All the characters had been in plays before, and most originated in the Shakespeare Acting Co.
Staging: I would have to say the scenic design was pretty bland. It never changed but shape of the flats. The costumes though were amazing. It really lookes believable, and made the play seem so much more interesting. The lighting was almost always the same as well, just from dark to light, and also a few spotlights. As stated earlier, the sound was just from a CD, but it was a great choice of music for the play.
Acting, Writing, and Directing: We actually got the chance to stay afterwards and speak with the director. He said that casting was by performing two different monologues, and that it took a long time to get the pace and blocking down. He also said he took out many scenes to shorten the play, but not the obvious ones. He did a great job in my opinion. In my opinion, the genre was social, but had a bit of philosophical in it.
My Experience: I absolutly loved attending this performance. It was a nice night out, and was really fun. I think they did a great job at casting, costumes, and keeping the play with the script.
Here is a play showing Antony and Cleopatra dying, but I could not find the real one I went too!
