Globe-trotting

For most working men today, even those in show business, getting
ready for work does not include putting on a corset, a bum roll, a
petticoat skirt and a bodice, followed by cross-gartered silk
stockings.

But for Peter Shorey, Michael Brown and Edward Hogg ““ male
actors portraying women in Shakespeare’s Globe
Theatre’s performance of “Measure for Measure”
““ putting on the elaborate Elizabethan garb is an important
part of getting into character.

All three actors agree that the confining nature of such a
costume dictates most of their movement onstage, as well as their
vocal characteristics during the show.

The theater company, on the second stop of their American tour,
brings its “original-practice” version of
“Measure for Measure” to the Freud Playhouse, starting
today and continuing through Nov. 26.

The Globe Theatre takes the meaning of original practice to
heart, as its various historical experts strive to transport the
audience back to Shakespeare’s day.

Every detail of the show is extensively researched and
replicated based on the original Shakespearean practices of his
Renaissance-era theater company.

Music features instruments that have long since been retired
from popular composition, and costumes are hand-stitched, starting
from the Elizabethan undergarments worn by each actor.

Most notable, however, is the practice of all women’s
roles being portrayed by male actors.

“(You) try and be as truthful as you can with the
character,” Brown said when asked how he approached his
female role in the play.

“Make it as real as possible. When you feel that’s
coming, you think about that it’s a woman and what kind of
woman (she is).”

Brown portrays four different characters throughout the course
of the production and said even though he has to transition between
three female characters and one male character, he does not
necessarily feel different when portraying women.

“A lot of it can come quite organically,” he
said.

Brown does admit, however, that when he steps into his costume,
he reacts very differently to playing an Elizabethan woman than he
would to playing a female character today.

Shorey agrees, emphasizing that although he does not consciously
alter his voice to play the role of a woman, wearing a corset
challenges him to breathe differently.

While actors are trained to use their lower torso for vocal
support, Shorey said that in a corset, most of his breath comes
from the upper chest. “It is sometimes difficult to get to
the end of the line due to the occasional shortness of
breath,” he said.

Vocal work is especially challenging when performing in the
Globe Theatre itself, an outdoor space that is round. Unlike
today’s traditional theater space, the round consists of
almost half the audience members behind the actors, so actors must
project their voices throughout the entire space.

Taking into consideration the modern-day traffic noises on the
neighboring Thames River, as well as in the air overhead, part of
the actor’s training is developing enough vocal strength to
compete with and overcome these obstacles.

But the demands of portraying a character of the opposite sex
reach far past that of the physical.

“I thought playing a woman would make me feel vulnerable
and less of a person, (but) I feel the exact opposite,” said
Shorey, discussing his reservations when first faced with a female
role.

“I think the women’s roles (in Shakespeare) are
particularly strong.”

However, there are few significant female roles in Shakespearean
plays for actresses, without those being taken over by men.

“I was scared of being judged by other women, especially
other actresses,” Brown said.

Despite its seemingly obscure style, original practice theater
has found quite a following with its revival in the 21st
century.

“It just works,” Hogg said, explaining that
especially in the environment of the Globe, the plays were written
specifically for that theater.

Performing Shakespeare without any technical help from scenery,
lighting or sound, except for Renaissance-style musicians,
essentially lets the writing speak for itself.

“Oftentimes when directors and actors try to draw modern
comparisons, it tends to overshadow the original work.” Hogg
said. “Original-practice theater strips away all angles and
sits it on a plate for people to see.”