Studio Theatre cast takes courage and creativity to the stage for Cymbeline

Cymbeline is a demanding drama, even by Shakespearean standards. An elaborate production with a labyrinthine plot and an even more complicated cast of characters, the enormous scope of the play is a serious undertaking for the BFA acting class of 2012.

The play revolves around the relationship between British princess Imogen (Alyson Dicey) and Posthumus (Evan Hall), childhood friends who fall in love and secretly marry. But when Imogen’s father King Cymbeline (Brent Gill) learns about their union, Posthumus is immediately banished to Rome — as the sole heir to England’s throne, Imogen is already promised to Cloten (Nikolai Witschl), the son of Cymbeline’s new queen and a supposedly more suitable man of noble birth. Determined to stay together, Imogen and Posthumus both begin their own quests to reunite, despite a seemingly endless stream of obstacles.

Cymbeline is a difficult play to pin down amongst the rest of the Shakespeare canon, defying the expected tragedy/comedy labels that categorize most of his plays. Written towards the end of his life, it takes familiar pieces from other works — lovers separated by family disapproval, a conniving trickster villain and characters lead astray by jealousy and ambition — and builds an elaborate maze of lies and confusion. With a setting that defies historical accuracy, jumping back and forth between Renaissance Italy and the medieval court of Britain, and elements of fantasy and magic woven into the story, it’s far from a traditional Shakespeare production.

“I like to look at it as a fairytale,” says Dicey, who plays Imogen. “That’s why you don’t question why all of a sudden we’re in Italy 100 years later, or in an enchanted forest.”

“It’s an epic play — kind of like a ‘best of’ Shakespeare,” adds Hall, in the role of Posthumus. “It doesn’t have a set world. It’s set in a non-specific past, basically.”
“It’s set in magic land,” Dicey adds with a laugh.

While the play may seem like a fantastical fairytale, the heroine Imogen is no damsel waiting for her prince to rescue her. Considered one of Shakespeare’s most compelling characters, she’s determined to take her fate into her own hands. After defying her father in order to marry Posthumus, Imogen’s search for her husband eventually leads her to disguise herself as a man and go to war with the Romans to get closer to him.

“Imogen represents honesty and virtue. She isn’t a sweet princess or a weak, lame person. She’s really tough, and she fights for honesty — she goes as far as dressing up as a man to fight for it. And in Shakespeare’s time, that will destroy your reputation. Because you’re going to war with a bunch of men sleeping in tents, sleeping with men, dressed up as a man.”

“It’s Mulan all over again,” Hall adds, laughing with his castmate.

“Imogen is strong, but she has her faults too,” Dicey continues. “She’s not just a two-dimensional paper doll. She has to do bad things sometimes to get to her ultimate goal of finding the truth.”

The actors’ own search for truth within the play is just as complicated. Tasked with believably portraying a huge range of intense emotions, the cast constantly balances the intense level of drama with a sense of restraint. 

“These are just such huge circumstances that are hard to relate to because they’re life and death circumstances, which I don’t encounter very often myself,” Dicey says.

“It can be a challenge with Shakespeare, with how emotionally overwrought these characters become,” Hall continues.

“Luckily, it’s all in the words, really,” Dicey replies. “And if you say the words the way they are written, it’s powerful — you’ll be surprised at what comes out of you emotionally. It’s kind of crazy and magical.”

In the midst of their hard work meeting the steep emotional and artistic demands of Cymbeline, the Studio Theatre cast and crew is also facing a difficult personal tragedy after the sudden death of classmate Tristan Mi, who was preparing to play the role of Cloten, three weeks ago. Despite the loss, the show is continuing as planned, with 2010 BFA grad Nikolai Witschl stepping in to play Cloten. And after some initial uncertainty about the production’s future, the cast of Cymbeline doesn’t have any doubts about moving forward with the show, which will be dedicated to Mi.

“In a way, for us — for me, anyway — the show had to go on no matter what,” Hall explains. “And it’s tough, because (Tristan) is one of 11 people that I spent more time with over the past three years than my entire family and my girlfriend, who I live with.

“It’s difficult, but I think it had to go on. There are people who are waiting for it. It’s good to do, too.”

“It was important to do the show for Tristan,” Dicey adds.

With the anticipated challenges of performing this incredibly complex Shakespearean epic combined with an unexpected and tragic loss, the cast of Cymbeline is resiliently continuing the show. And with graduation just around the corner for this year’s BFA theatre class, the personal and professional lessons they take from this play only motivate them to work even more.

“The play has definitely been a challenge,” Dicey acknowledges. “But all the hard work has paid off.”

“And there’s always more work to be done,” Hall says. “It’s made me work very hard and made me want to work harder … I feel like there’s so much to learn from this play, and Shakespeare give it to us to learn over time.”

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