PlayShakespeare.com: The Ultimate Free Shakespeare Resource
PlayShakespeare.com: The Ultimate Free Shakespeare Resource
PlayShakespeare.com: The Ultimate Free Shakespeare Resource
PlayShakespeare.com: The Ultimate Free Shakespeare Resource
  Monday, 27 August 2012
  2 Replies
  2.1K Visits
  Subscribe
Hi guys,
I'm directing a production of "MAAN" and I wanted a second opinion on where to put the interval.
At the moment I've decided to put it just after Borachio and Conrade get arrested, which is act 3, scene 4.
Any advice/experience would be great.
Thanks in advance!!!!!!!
11 years ago
·
#4045
I'd break it at the end of 3.2 where Don John has convinced Claudio to publicly disgrace Hero in the church the following day. It builds a certain amount of tension about what's to come.

Then you return from the intermission by introducing the Watch for the first time—a comedic turn to get the audience back into the plot.
11 years ago
·
#4046
Hi Eugene,
I've directed two different productions of this fun play very recently. In the first production we had a single intermission and placed it exactly as Ron suggested. To make the most of this position ensure your actors are aware of the need to create a high degree of tension in the set-up of Claudio by Don John as this feeds into a hanging suspense for the audience. We then returned from intermission with the watch scene. A common feature in my productions is to send out actors for informal, often self-directed, comedy scene at 5 min before interval finishes and in this instance we had the watch, one-by-one, arrive on stage and they had a little skit they had developed. At start of 2nd half Dogberry & Verges burst onto stage forcing a instant end to skit as the watch fall into line.

The other production I did was an outdoor version and we decided to have two intervals (involving moving the audience). The first was after II:ii with the plotting between Don John & Borachio. The audience moved to a tree underwhich Benedick was sleeping off a hangover from the party - when the audience was set, the costumed usher awoke him by pouring the remains of his wine bottle over him for a stuttering start into his monologue. The second interval was after III:iii and the arrest of Borachio & Conrade. This interval worked well as a second interval but I feel it is too deep in the script for a single interval.

Good luck with it - its a fun play.
  • Page :
  • 1
There are no replies made for this post yet.
Get the Shakespeare Pro app