You don’t have to be an avid Shakespeare lover to know the timeless classic, Romeo and Juliet. This weekend the Undergraduate Theatre Association (UTA) is putting on a production of Romeo and Juliet February 9-11th at the Memorial Union in the Fredric March Play Circle at 7:30 pm. The UTA’s production is student co-directed. One of such directors, is junior Theatre and Drama major, Darby Fitzsimons.
What is your position in the show (what title do you hold)?
I am one of two co-directors.
What is Romeo and Juliet about?
Particularly because it’s such a well-known story in Western literature and drama, it was a fun challenge to think of what this play is about outside of just its plot. Romeo and Juliet is a very different story depending on when you read or see it in your life. I know high schoolers who love it because they see themselves in Romeo, Juliet, or Mercutio, and I know adults who see themselves or their own parents in the Capulets and Montagues. For the purposes of directing this particular production, my co-director and I have focused on a story about connections. The connections between friends, the connections (or lack thereof) between children and parents, romantic connections, and connections that are mixtures of all three of these. Everyone is searching for connection, so finding where those sit for every character at different stages of the story, has been fascinating.
When did you start acquiring an interest in directing?
I’ve been a part of theatre from very early in my childhood, but I had always been an actor. It hadn’t occurred to me that directing was a “Real Adult Job” that I could aim for until I was fortunate enough to co-direct The Importance of Being Earnest, my sophomore year here at UW. I’ve worked with a great many directors, and I’ve borrowed techniques from nearly all of them. If I had to choose, though, both Chelsea Anderson (who directed me my freshman year in my first college production) and Jim Stauffer (who is my academic advisor, my first co-director, and someone with whom I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working on a few different projects with) have been huge influences on my own directing style, and my drive to continue directing.
What was the first show you directed?
The first show I directed was The Importance of Being Earnest with UTA.
What do you love about directing?
My love for directing splays out in quite a few directions, but primarily, I love getting to work on a fantastic and beautiful new project every few months with new groups of fantastic and beautiful new people. One of the best things about theatre is that it combines the beauty and human depth of art, with the active and intellectual collaboration that is so necessary to pulling a show off successfully. My “big two” in life, are art and people, so what’s not to love?
What is the hardest part about directing?
It comes in waves. The first wave comes during the creative process, when it’s very easy to doubt your own abilities as a director, and whether or not you are taking the show in the right direction. I’ve spent quite a few nights up thinking about those kinds of things. The second wave comes after a show opens, and you have to let go of it. Every show is unique in that way: you will never work on the same show with the same people in the same way that you just did. It’s an experience you can’t replicate, but that’s a big part of the beauty of it.
Why did you choose to direct Romeo and Juliet?
I have an unhealthy love of Shakespeare! More importantly, my co-director and I fell in love with the story and the characters in a script analysis class, and decided that it would be a great fit to put on with UTA, which is made up primarily of actors, and talented ones at that. There has also been a dearth of Shakespeare around campus in past years, so we are very excited to be performing in the same semester as Twelfth Night.
What have you enjoyed about the process of directing Romeo and Juliet?
I’ve loved working with this particular group of actors and designers. We have people who have next to no experience, and people who have been doing this for years. It’s been a great experience for me, personally, to learn how to work with people from all sorts of levels, and it’s made my heart so full to see all of them working hard to put on a fantastic show, and further their talents in the process. It’s also been fun co-directing with my boyfriend (barf, I know). We come from different theatrical backgrounds, and it’s been awesome pushing each other to become better directors through this show.
What has been a challenge while directing Romeo and Juliet?
Our design team was smaller than ones I’ve been on in the past, so taking on the role of props master along with my directing duties was a fun new challenge. My co-director and I also instituted devising techniques and Viewpoints exercises with the actors, to help create the set and the world of the show. Neither of us had ever directed this way before, and it was an eye-opening experience that has definitely influenced the way I’ll work with actors in the future.
What is your favorite part in Romeo and Juliet?
My favorite part of this play is the opening scene. We’ve worked very hard to use it as a tool to immediately pull the audience into the world of Chicago, 1929. I don’t want to spoil anything, but there may or may not be a fight that involves everything from a baseball bat to a garbage can lid. It’s been a wild scene to direct, and I’ve loved every second of it.
Who is your favorite character in Romeo and Juliet? Why?
While I’ve grown to personally love nearly every character in this play, Juliet is probably my favorite. She reminds me very much of who I was as a teenager, which is another reason that I’ve enjoyed working on this so much as a young adult. Romeo and Juliet is one of those plays that creates very different, and very poignant feelings for everyone who sees it, myself included.
Would you direct another Shakespeare play in the future? If so, which one(s)?
There is a very special place in my heart for Hamlet, as I experienced it at just the right time in my life for it to have a big impact on me, so that would probably be my number one choice. Richard III is another personal favorite, although I’ve probably watched too much House of Cards to help create a production that isn’t at least a little bit Frank Underwood.
What is your dream show you’d like to direct?
My dream show changes with every new play I read, but I’m very interested in directing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at the moment. It feeds my love of Shakespeare, and I’m also extremely interested in directing nonrealistic plays. It would be an enormous challenge, so I’d love to put one up in future.
What other shows have you directed on campus?
I co-directed The Importance of Being Earnest my sophomore year, and I was able to direct Returning Home this past summer just up the road at the Bartell Theater.
Why do you continue to direct?
Directing is a position I’ve very quickly come to appreciate because it allows me to challenge myself both intellectually and creatively. I get to help mold nearly every facet of a beautiful live experience, while also discussing large-scale themes and problem-solving on a level that you just can’t get outside of theatre. I will keep pursuing directing because it is a challenge to me in all the good, crunchy ways.
Why should everyone come out to see Romeo and Juliet?
Everyone involved in this show is ridiculously talented! Our design team, creative team, and actors have been fantastic to work with, and they surprise me with their genuine emotion and discoveries every time I see them. The 1920s aesthetic is also very fun; we have the fashion, the street fights, the music, and the swing dance, which is a delight to watch. It’s a story that anyone can enjoy and identify with, regardless of where they are in their lives.
If you haven’t bought tickets yet to come see the wonderful production of Romeo and Juliet that the extremely talented and hardworking Darby has helped produced, then you should run to the box office (at Vilas or the Memorial Union) as fast you can and purchase some. Student tickets are only $12! Or, if you aren’t feeling like going to the box office, you can purchase them online using this link.