Sleep with Perturbations

Hastings (Ryan Meers) blesses Richmond (Philip Eoute)
in rehearsal for the ghost scene.

One of my favorite parts (of many) in Shakespeare's Richard III is the scene in which all of the people Richard has murdered (or had murdered) come to haunt him. King Richard (who is really losing it about now) is on the battlefield in his tent. As he sleeps, the ghosts appear and curse him (listen for the special sound effects/voice reverb) and then proceed to bless Richmond, who lies in his tent elsewhere on the battlefield.

Dr. Ryan Meers, chairperson of the division in which I teach, agreed to take on the role of Lord Hastings. He has developed his character well over the course of the rehearsal process—I love watching the characters grow throughout the rehearsal process. (And I think he's enjoying the whole spook thing a little too much.)

For this production, I decided to outfit the ghosts (there are 8 of them) in exact replicas of the clothing they wore in life—only in soft greys. The effect, some of which we saw for the first time last week, is absolutely stunning. The costume personnel really did some fine work on these pieces. My wife actually gasped when she saw these costumes.