Romeo and Juliet and a VCR

by Andy Montano, Voices Found Co-Founder and R&J Text Coach/Assistant Director

One of the things I enjoy the most about working with Shakespeare is the examination of the text. One of the ways we found to best describe the work is through metaphor, and over the past couple of weeks we've been thinking of Romeo and Juliet as a VCR.

Initial plans for Jurassic World included this VCR as the new dinosaur.

Why a VCR you ask? Well, it's a tool and piece of technology that many people used for many years. It revolutionized home entertainment and was rendered utterly obsolete by DVDs. This year the machine turns 60 years old. It's the source of a lot of our childhood memories. letting us watch and rewatch classic films, or re-live family memories made on a camcorder. Much like Romeo & Juliet, this machine was a vehicle for comedy, drama, and nostalgia; it let us re-live, or try to capture, the moments we love.

Pictured: Memories.

In the middle of (most) VCRs, there's a polished metal wheel that sits at a 45 degree angle. This wheel acts as a motor for the tiny mechanisms and gears inside, which, together, play the tape. Extending the metaphor, there must be a wheel in the center of Romeo & Juliet that keeps all the (very complicated) mechanisms in motion. The same curiosity that drove me to pull apart my VCR with a screwdriver has fueled our late night text sessions. Jake and I have taped the script to our living room wall, marked it up with pencils, crayons, and markers; we're pulling it apart to see how it works.

There has never been a dull moment in this exploration process, but all of our theories about what this gear does, and if that screw is necessary, and if we're going to be able to put it all back together before our parents come home -- they're going to be put to the test when we start rehearsal next week. We're beyond excited to explore this text with our amazing team, and really get immersed the camcorder tapes Shakespeare left us.

Grab a seat, and push play.

---

Romeo & Juliet will play during the second weekend of August, 2016 at the In Tandem Theater. Buy tickets here, and subscribe to our blog to follow the production and get updates on what we’re working on!