Welcome to your dramaturgy page for….
Much Ado About Nothing
Hi, everyone! This is your dramaturgical team for your reading! If you have questions, please reach out to us.
Hi, my name is Martine Kei Green-Rogers (she/her). I am super excited to work with you all. Please feel free to reach out to me or anyone on the team if you have any questions.
I’m Michael Landes (he/him, call me Michael!). Feel free to email me with questions or thoughts anytime at mol2113@columbia.edu - happy to help!
Your Director: L.J.
The Playwright : Ranjit Bolt
Ranjit Bolt is one of Britain's leading translators for the stage. His translations have been produced by the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Sir Peter Hall, and by leading repertory theatres in the US. His work covers an enormous variety of classic plays, among them Les Femmes Savantes (The Sisterhood), Tartuffe, The Liar, Lysistrata, Cyrano de Bergerac and The Waltz of the Toreadors. Mr. Ranjit was awarded an OBE in the 2003 New Year honours list for services to literature.
The Dramaturg: Lydia Garcia
Lydia Garcia was a resident lecturer and teacher at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where she dramaturged more than 20 plays in 8 seasons including the world premieres of Sean Graney’s The Yeomen of the Guard, Alexa Junge’s Fingersmith, Tracy Young and Oded Gross’s The Imaginary Invalid and The Servant of Two Masters, and Octavio Solis’s Quixote.
She is also a trained staff facilitator for issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity. She holds a BA in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University and an MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism from the Yale School of Drama, and is a member of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA).
Much Ado About Nothing: Some History
From Shakespeare A to Z by Boyce
Date, Sources, Setting, and Inspirations
Much Ado is dated to 1598, around the middle of Shakespeare’s career, which lasted from 1590 to 1614 (source). It’s one of many comedies that he set in Italy (others include Two Gentlemen of Verona, Taming of the Shrew, the problem play The Merchant of Venice, and tragedies like Romeo and Juliet and Othello). Like most other Shakespeare plays, it’s based on several sources, particularly an Italian poem called Orlando Furioso and a story by Matteo Bandello.
Many of Shakespeare’s Italian plays have similar plot devices and character types: marital drama and romantic jealousy, servants as comic relief, and eruptions of violence over love. These shared plot beats and common settings are based in Italian comedy, or “commedia dell’arte”, which dates back to Roman comedy. This style of comedy is a big part of why today’s clowns wear colorful costumes, why sitcoms follow a certain structure, and how animated characters are designed.
Commedia and commedia-influenced characters behave very differently than we do, and they also behave differently than characters in other Shakespeare plays. This style of comedy and clowning appears throughout the text of the play, in some obvious ways (Dogberry, for example) and less obvious. - Michael
Listen up.
Here is some music to set the scene for our show for you! Enjoy!
More Info About Much Ado!
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Here is a link to an article about the Verse in Much Ado.
Style: 90s Rom-Com!
“The romcom can be regarded as a hybrid of the romance and comedy genres, featuring a narrative that centres on the progress of a relationship, and, being a comedy, resulting in a happy ending. The dynamic of the film rests on the central quest – the pursuit of love – and almost always leads to a successful resolution.
So what are the elements that compose the genre? A romcom certainly has a very distinctive narrative structure: boy meets girl, various obstacles prevent them from being together, coincidences and complications ensue, ultimately leading to the couple’s realisation that they were meant to be together. In keeping with the comedy genre, the narrative concludes with a happy ending, with the final union of the couple. The dominant theme is the ‘battle of the sexes’, which provides the central dynamic of the genre. The narrative often hinges around the central couple, who initially are antagonistic towards each other, but who come to recognise their inescapable compatibility in the face of great adversity and, often, mutual loathing. Their incompatibility may arise from social status, wealth, conflicting lifestyles and attitudes, or even purely their differing expectations of relationships. The warring couple clearly involves issues regarding gender…”
Mortimer, Claire. Romantic Comedy. Routledge, 2010. Read more (pdf).
Pretty Woman (1990)
Diamond-in-the-rough
Chance encounter
Unlikely pairing
Dating as a business arrangement
Rags-to-riches
Cinderella retelling
Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
Recently widowed
Long distance
Anonymous correspondence
Pining for great romance
Never Been Kissed (1999)
Undercover identity
High school
Makeover
Becoming popular
Falling in love with the teacher
You’ve Got Mail (1998)
Anonymous correspondence
Enemies to lovers
Feuding businesses
Unlikely pairing
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew
High school
Dating as a bribe
Unlikely pairing
“Enemies” to lovers
Softening a hard heart
But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)
Rigid, traditional gender roles
Strict family values
Religious, conservative attitudes towards sexuality
Glossary
Here, you’ll find definitions for the more obscure words and references in this text. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Contact us!
Definitions are pulled from the Folger Shakespeare Library notes and the Oxford English Dictionary.
Here is also a link to the No Fear Shakespeare version of this play.
Act I, scene 1
Signor Mountanto
Mountanto references a fencing term (A montant is an upward thrust.)
forsworn
Falsely sworn, perjured.
Act I, scene 3
Stoic virtues
Stoic philosophy values repression of emotion, indifference to pleasure or pain, and patient endurance.
Act II, scene 1
precocious
Prematurely developed or showing an unusual degree of advancement in some faculty, ability, or proclivity; Frequently mildly derogatory, with connotations of overconfidence, self-assertiveness, or pretension.
Philemon’s roof
In classical mythology, Jove, king of the Roman gods, was entertained by a poor man, Philemon, in his thatched hut.
usurer
One who practices usury or lends money at interest; a moneylender, especially one who charges an excessive rate of interest.
Hercules and Omphale
In mythology, Hercules killed his friend Iphitos and was punished by an oracle to be a slave for Omphale, a widow. He was forced to wear women’s clothes and do women’s work. They eventually married. Read more.
harpy
Sharp-tongued woman; A monstrous mythological creature with the face and breasts of a woman and the wings and talons of a bird.
Act II, scene 3
drum and the fife
Military music. A fife is a small flute.
spurn
To reject with contempt or disdain; to treat contemptuously; to scorn or despise.
vociferously
With great noise or vehemence.
jackdaw
A small kind of crow.
saunter
To wander or travel about aimlessly or unprofitably.
Cleopatra and Nefertiti
African queens renowned for their beauty.
comprehend all vagroms
Dogberry often mistakenly uses the wrong words for things, to comedic effect. Here, he means “apprehend all vagrants" (vagabonds).
constables
Peace officer with limited policing authority.
bills
Same as “pikes”; the constables’ weapons.
reformation which very much discerns you
Perhaps he means, “information which concerns you.”
tedious as a king
These lines indicate that Dogberry thinks tedious means “rich.”
auspicious
A mistake for “suspicious.”
harlot
A female prostitute; a mistress, a concubine. More generally: a wanton, lascivious, or sexually promiscuous woman. Also as a term of abuse or contempt for a woman.
ruffian
A brutal or lawless villain; a violent criminal, a thug. Also in weakened sense: any rough or disreputable person.
antisepticise
To treat with antiseptic, to disinfect.
auspicious
Ominous, especially of good omen.
dissembly
A mistake for “assembly.”
redemption
A mistake for “damnation.”
Act V, scene 1
maligned
Slandered, abused.
spurious
Superficially resembling or simulating, but lacking the genuine character or qualities of, something; not true or genuine; false, sham, counterfeit.
recurred
A mistake for “occurred.”
give you leave
A mistake for “ask your leave.”
purse
Payment.
pikes
Spikes in the center of bucklers.
The wheels of Phoebus
The chariot of Phoebus, god of the sun.
rake
A fashionable or stylish man of dissolute or promiscuous habits.
eked
To increase, add to, lengthen, prolong.
offing
In the offing: nearby, at hand; imminent; likely to happen in the near future.
clod
Either, (1) a piece of earth, or (2) a vapor (like cloud)
repenting
Regretting
The Hundred Merry Tales
A popular joke book. Read here.
dissolute
That has thrown off the restraints of morality and virtue; lax in morals, loose-living; licentious, profligate, debauched.
drover
Cattle driver
scullery-maid
A kitchen-maid
civil as an orange
Play on words. Like a Seville orange, described as between sweet and sour. Seville oranges are native to Southeast Asia and popular in Spain.
harbinger
Figuratively, one that goes before and announces the approach of someone; a forerunner.
tabor and the pipe
A tabor is a small drum, used with a tabor-pipe to accompany dancing.
Hector
A Trojan warrior noted for courage.
embassy
A political or diplomatic mission or negotiation.
swine
A pig.
Act III, scene 1
carping
To talk querulously, censoriously, or captiously; to find fault, cavil.
a simple imbalance of humours, or a worm
In Elizabethan thinking, toothache was caused by humors (morbid secretions) descending from the head or rising from the stomach, or by worms invading the tooth. Read more.
lapwing
Plover, a ground-nesting bird.
grotesque
A kind of decorative painting or sculpture, consisting of representations of portions of human and animal forms, fantastically combined and interwoven with foliage and flowers.
derision
The action of deriding or laughing to scorn; ridicule, mockery.
brushes his hat
In order to clean it (presumably, a mark of fastidiousness that the soldierly Benedick would have forgone).
countenanced
Admitted, accepted, tolerated.
vigitant
A mistake for “vigilant.”
when the age is in, the wit is out
The proverb actually states: “When the ale is in, the wit is out.”
examination
A mistake for “examine.”
lecherous
Having or displaying excessive or offensive sexual desire.
allege
To claim (something unproven) as true; to assert or affirm without proof, or pending proof; to make an allegation about someone or something.
slurring
To smear, stain, smirch, sully.
glib
Of a speaker or writer, of the tongue, etc.: ‘Well-oiled’, ready and fluent in utterance. Chiefly in contemptuous use, implying lack of thought or of sincerity.
exhibition
Perhaps a mistake for “commission.”
foils
Light fencing swords.
turncoat
A person who deserts one party or cause in order to join an opposing one.
stuffed shirt
One who is pompous and conservative, but usually ineffectual.
importunate
Persistent or pressing in making requests or offers, especially to an irritating or distressing degree.
gouty
Affected with gout; swollen or bulging, so as to be out of shape or disproportioned; distorted with swellings or protuberances; tumid.
boarded
Board: To come close up to or alongside (a ship), usually for the purpose of attacking.
maligned
To speak ill or wrongly of, to traduce, slander.
I will find out the length of the King of Abyssinia’s foot… I will pluck you a hair from the Mogul’s beard
The original line is: “bring you the length of Prester John’s foot, fetch you a hair off the great Cham’s beard.” Prester John was, in legend, a priest and monarch of a vast empire in Asia or Africa. Great Cham was an emperor of China. The King of Abyssinia (current-day Ethiopia) was known for accepting Muslim pilgrims in the 7th century. The Mogul likely refers to the head of the Mughal Empire of current-day India. I.e. Benedick will go to great lengths.
chaste
Pure from unlawful sexual intercourse; continent, virtuous. (Of persons, their lives, conduct, etc.)
Dutchman’s uncle
“Dutch uncle” refers colloquially to one who issues severe criticism. The phrase is also used to express surprise on discovering that something improbable is in fact true.
entreated
Negotiated or engaged in discussion with.
pointless lance
A dull spear.
calumnies
False and malicious misrepresentations of the words or actions of others, calculated to injure their reputation; libels, detractions, slander.
Act III, scene 2
buried face upwards
Don Pedro pursues Claudio’s double entendre by implying that she who loves Benedick will only be buried while ‘dying’ under his body in the sex act.
Act III, scene 3
pikes
Long-handled pointed weapons carried by watchmen.
Act III, scene 4
you’ve turned Turk
You’ve renounced your old faith.
Carduus Benedictus
The herb “blessed thistle,” allegedly “a salve for every sore.” These lines pun on carduus–which means “thistle” and which sounds like the Latin cordis, “of the heart”–and on benedictus, which means “holy” and contains Benedick’s name.
Act III, scene 5
pocas palabras
Spanish for “few words.”
excommunication
Another mistake for “examination.”
Act IV, scene 1
Act IV, scene 2
bucklers
Small shields used in sword-fighting (there is a double entendre on swords and bucklers).
consumptive
Having consumption, wasting disease (such as lovesickness).
cudgel
To beat or thrash with a cudgel (a club).
reverend
Worthy of veneration.
opinion
A mistake for “pinion,” meaning to tie up or bind.
calumny
False and malicious misrepresentation of the words or actions of others, calculated to injure their reputation; libel, detraction, slander.
plaintiffs
A mistake for “defendants” or “prisoners.”
cur
A dog: depreciative or contemptuous; a worthless, low-bred, or snappish dog.
prohibit
A mistake for “permit.”
vice
I.e. vise (a clamp used in carpentry or metalworking).
dispatching
To get rid of or dispose of (a person) by putting him or her to death; to make away with, kill.
Leander
In Greek mythology, a famous lover who drowned swimming across the Hellespont to see his sweetheart.
Act V, scene 3
As once Europa did at lusty Jove
Jove, king of the Roman gods, fell in love with a girl named Europa, transformed himself into a bull, and, when she climbed on his back, carried her off to Crete.
epigram
An inscription, usually a short poem in verse.
double-dealer
(1) Someone no longer single, but part of a couple; (2) One who acts duplicitously.
tipped with horn
(1) With a tip of ivory or other animal horn; (2) Wearing the cuckold’s horns.
lechery
Excessive sexual desire. He may be mistaken, and mean “villainy” or “treachery.”
poultice
A moist, usually heated mass of a substance with a soft, pasty consistency, applied to the skin, usually by means of a bandage or dressing, in order to promote healing, reduce swelling, relieve pain, etc.
the humble duke’s officers
A mistake for “the duke’s humble officers.”
comprehended
Again, he means “apprehended.” He can’t comprehend much, it seems.
catechized
Questioned.
carped
Contended, fought.
epitaphs
Inscriptions upon tombs.
excuse
A mistake for “accuse.”
pious
A mistake for “impious.”
raisins
A mistake for “reasons.”
reformed
A mistake for “informed.”
God save the foundation
God bless the founder (said at the doors of charitable religious houses).
Act V, scene 2
Troilus
Famed for his love for Cressida, whose uncle Pandarus made their affair possible.
Act V, scene 4
recompense
Compensation or return for trouble, exertion, services, or merit.
cowed
Dispirited, overawed, intimidated.
staff
Wood or ivory rod carried as a symbol of a position’s authority (hence, here, a high-ranking man like Don Pedro).
Relationship Tree
History of the Sitcom.
Iis an eight-part CNN documentary television series that traces the development of the American situation comedy show from the 1950s to the 21st Century. The show features 184 interviews with creatives, actors and directors including Norman Lear, Mel Brooks, Yvette Lee Bowser, Marta Kauffman, and Carl Reiner (in his last recorded interview).
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