INTERVIEW: ‘Twelfth Night’ chosen as Duende Productions’ first show ever

Duende Productions, a new theatrical company, is mounting a unique production of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night as its first official staging. The show runs April 4-21 at Alchecmical Studios on West 14th Street in New York City.

Director Amy Hayes, who also plays Olivia/Valentine, has crafted an interpretation of the classic text that is stripped down and driven by the eight-person ensemble. All of the comedic and romantic elements are accounted for, but this cast needs to work double duty to pull off the magic of the Bard’s words.

Hayes, who founded Duende, is a veteran of many Shakespeare productions. She studies at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts, and she has staged such works as The Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Her acting credits are numerous and include many Bard productions as well.

Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Hayes about Duende’s inaugural show. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.

• What makes this production of Twelfth Night different than others?

This is a pretty stripped-down, actor-, story- and language-driven production. It’s literally eight actors in an empty white box theatre with six white boxes for a set. It’s a blank canvas; the story and language are the paint, and the actors create the picture. I had seen Trevor Nunn’s 1970’s production of Macbeth on video years ago and loved the idea of all the actors being present for the entirety of the play, both as spectators and as players. I loved the storytelling feel of the actors being witness to each others’ experience on stage.

Years later I watched the Actors from the London Stage do this play and several other Shakespeare plays with only five actors, no set and only the props that would fit in a small suitcase. It was absolute enchantment, with every concession paid to the elegance and simplicity of theatre magic.

Shakespeare’s language feeds this so intuitively; there was no set on his stage, either, nor any lighting, so he made a forest appear or made it become night by having a character say, ‘Here we are in the forest’ or ‘And now it’s night.’

What else do you need?

He also loved to dance around the fine line of, Is this the character, or the actor playing the character? Realism and the fourth wall were not constructs when he was writing. Boys played women. Costumes were minimal or suggestive of a character at best. There was no set to speak of. I wanted the audience to see the actors create a world out of nothing with just their bodies and voices, a good story and good writing. I wanted the actors to be in on both the world of the characters and the world of the audience. 

• How have rehearsals gone with this ensemble?

These are incredibly smart actors, with a lot of experience and training in physical theatre and heightened language. They are brave and a delight to work with. It’s a true ensemble piece, with lots of collaboration.

• Given the resources you had, did you have to get imaginative when staging the shipwreck and other action of the play?

Yes. The whole concept of this production has to do with creating something with just ourselves and these six boxes. Props are non-descript and repurposed, and everything on stage, including the actors, becomes other things, anything that’s needed. There’s a real feeling of watching players tell a story. It’s all storytelling.

I have three children, and I remember telling them stories when they were little; their eyes would take on a distant glaze, and I could see the world of the story taking place in their imaginations. Remember when a big cardboard box could be a ship, a house, a prison, a hiding place? We made our own sound effects and our own music. Anything was possible because it all came out of our imaginations. Like Harold and the Purple Crayon. That’s the world of this production.

• Why choose this Shakespeare play for Duende Productions’ first show?

I’ve directed this play three times now and played all three women’s roles in it. I know it so well, and yet I can’t seem to be done with it. I keep learning from it. It keeps resurfacing for me. 

Anything that gets to the truth of what it means to be human in this world matters deeply, and matters more than ever right now. I appreciate and support the need for new work in the theatre, but for me and for our world, I believe Shakespeare continues to be new work. It’s always new, because it’s always true.  

• You have been associated with many Shakespeare productions throughout the years. What is it about the Bard that you love so much?

Shakespeare’s genius was recognizing a good story and then retelling it in language that illuminates the human experience. We need to laugh. We need to be moved. We need to be reminded of what it means to be human. That’s why these plays still speak. I’ve written more about this in my blog post “Why Women Love Shakespeare” (https://www.amyhayesartist.com/directors-thoughts).

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@Hollywood Soapbox.com

Duende Productions’ Twelfth Night, directed by Amy Hayes, is currently playing Alchemical Studios in Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.