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“The weight of their grief”

In a brief essay about the role of grief in Romeo and Juliet, production dramaturg Kristin Leahey writes, “The young, ill-fated couple, who unite only four brief times, engage in the greatest literary love story for the ages. For grief is … the greatest expression of love. And as much, or however little, we witness Romeo and Juliet experience the joys of love, we empathize with the weight of their layer upon layer of grief: for their embittered families, for the loss of their friends and relations, for his banishment, for her supposed death, for their few options, and for their lack of hours, days, and years. And we know Hamnet, Shakespeare’s 11-year-old son and a twin, died in 1596 [possibly the first production date of Romeo and Juliet]. Julia Kristeva and other scholars argue that Shakespeare turns a play of folly and romance to tragedy at the apogee with the death of Mercutio and Tybalt (and subsequently the demise of most of the play’s young), as an expression of grief for the loss of his son.”

A dramaturg’s notes

For a fascinating look inside the dramaturgy process, Romeo and Juliet dramaturg Kristin Leahey generously shared a few of her notes that she used in preparation for this production. This outline of literary tidbits helped the cast and crew think about characters and plot points while they worked their way through the staging of this play.

A Shakespeare overview

Shakespeare scholar Marjorie Garber, author of Shakespeare After All and many other accessible, engaging works of theatre criticism, has a series of lectures at Harvard that are available on YouTube. Get ready for hours of thought-provoking ideas about Shakespeare and his times, soliloquies, public hangings, happy endings, and a play-by-play guide to a few of his most famous works.

“The legacy of so-called manifest destiny”

Director Nataki Garrett, who hails from Oakland, California, purposefully set this production in a California community of unhoused people. (See her From the Director note.) Anyone who lives or travels in the Bay Area sees these encampments, and their very existence is a direct outgrowth of West Coast economic disparities. Here are links to some thought-provoking articles on the West Coast unhoused—and even the language we use to describe the issue.

· From The New Yorker: “False Choices and Familiar Stories in a California Homeless Encampment.” Excellent, comprehensive, investigative journalism on Bay Area encampments, including policy and the life and future of these sites and their inhabitants (10-minute read).

· From the New York Times (possible paywall): A 4-minute multimedia presentation on encampments in California, making a comparison to similar sites in Mexico City.

· From USA Today: “More cities and states make homeless encampments a crime, leaving low-income people with few options,” a fascinating comparative overview.

· A map of encampments and hygiene sites in Oakland, California.

· Guides to the changing language around the houseless, from Planetizen, “How We Talk About Homelessness: Why Language Matters,”—and Architectural Digest, “Time to Retire the Word ‘Homeless’?”

Thanks to Romeo and Juliet Dramaturg Kristin Leahey for the resources.

Against the backdrop of Romeo and Juliet’s love and tragedy, Sound Designer T. Carlis Roberts prepared a playlist for the cast and crew—with a strong infusion of Bay Area hip-hop—to set the mood as they worked and rehearsed. You can listen to all 72 songs with a free Spotify account.

Hella Iambic—blending Shakespeare and hip-hop

Starting this summer, experience Hella Iambic—a mobile experience designed to be played during the OSF production of Romeo and Juliet. Hella Iambic explores the space between live theatre and immersive play, and blurs the line between classical literature and hip-hop. Hella Iambic takes Nataki Garrett’s artistic vision of a West Coast–influenced Romeo and Juliet and transports players to the streets of Verona, where you can interact with the characters and pen lyrical responses to the themes in the play. The app is created in partnership with Glow Up Games, the award-winning game studio behind Insecure: The Come Up Game, the official tie-in game to HBO’s Insecure. Available starting mid-June. Stay tuned to osfashland.org/romeoandjuliet for more info!

OSF Study Guides offer resources and links to use in preparation for reading, streaming, or attending a play. These materials also offer teaching suggestions, discussion questions, research topics, related websites, and additional resources for each production. Visit the Romeo and Juliet Study Guide to delve into the story’s themes, historical background, and contemporary interpretations.