UW School of Drama Reimagines Shakespeare in ROMEO AND JULES

The University of Washington School of Drama will present Romeo and Jules, a gender-expansive reimagining of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, featuring a large cast of undergraduates from across the UW-Seattle campus community, April 17 - 28 in the Jones Playhouse at UW.

The script is co-adapted by School of Drama Associate Director Geoff Korf and freshman Darby Sherwood, and directed by Korf, with additional text and acting coaching from School of Drama faculty member Amy Thone (who is currently appearing in ACT Theatre's production of Romeo + Juliet!) and choreography by local choreographer Alice Gosti.

"It's important to me that theatre is timely and relevant to its audience," says Korf. "We are thrilled that so many members of the community love to come and see our shows, and we also understand that we are here first and foremost to serve students, and I think this adaptation relates very clearly to what's going on with students right now. I think that the School of Drama is a little late to the party when it comes to acknowledging gender-expansive identities, so I'm really happy that this production is doing that. It's also important to me that the production reflects the specific students who are in the show, and so the process has been very deliberate in trying to solicit the unique skills, expertise, and points of view that came into the room once we had a company."

Korf continues, "Our intent with this adaptation is not at all to undermine Shakespeare, but to expand on what he gave us. We are embracing and relishing Shakespeare, but adapting it to fit a different world than the world of 500 years ago-or even five years ago."

The play's co-adapter, freshman Darby Sherwood, adds, "This production has given me a new outlook on Shakespeare and helped me realize that the power of plays like Romeo and Juliet comes from the way that a group of people can bring the messages and relationships to life, not necessarily from hearing each word spoken exactly as it was written centuries ago."

Korf has been a member of the UW Drama faculty since 2002. Geoff previously served as Head of Design, and now holds the Floyd U. Jones Endowed Professorship in Lighting Design, as well as being the Associate Director of the school. Korf previously directed our production of A U-Dubber's Night's Dream, which similarly engaged a large, cross-campus community in an adaptation of a Shakespearean work. Korf has been a member of the ensemble of Los Angeles' Cornerstone Theater Company since 1996. Considered a pioneer in the field of community-based theatre, Cornerstone makes new plays "with and about" communities, bringing together ensembles of professional artists and "people who would never think of themselves as artists" to produce "works of excellence based on the stories, concerns and issues of a given community." [https://cornerstonetheater.org/about/]

The production is a master's thesis for costume designer Lindsey Halfhill and lighting designer Ranleigh Starling, and the UW Drama mainstage debut for set designer Em Allen.

Tickets can be purchased at drama.uw.edu or through the ArtsUW Ticket Office: 206-543-4880, ticket@uw.edu.

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