VALKYRIES ROAR: A preview of UNCW's all-female production of 'Measure for Measure'
- Chase Harrison
- Sep 22
- 5 min read
“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” It’s a phrase quite fitting for the trying times we find ourselves in. An age-old adage, yes, maybe not as “ye olde” as The Bard’s words themselves but well-worn in their own right. A crippling notation that history is doomed to repeat itself.
As the centuries have passed, though, the works of William Shakespeare have moved on from the struts and frets upon the stage meant to amuse the masses. It now mirrors parables of the modern world—damning indictments of terrible men’s rise to power; of love sacrificed due to bigotry; of countries falling into turmoil solely for personal vendettas. Time and time again Shakespeare’s words have cried out from the stage and echoed out into the world, matching it.
It is those battle cries, full of sound and fury, that the all-female cast of UNCW’s production of “Measure for Measure” prepares to roar out into the world now.
I sat down with cast members before their rehearsal Monday evening, along with the production’s “Facilitator” Christopher Marino. Marino, a well-studied student of the Bard, has gifted the Wilmington theater scene with a medley of outstanding and envelope-pushing productions in that past. Though here, the UNCW theater professor made it very clear that this production was in the hands of the women taking to the stage.
“I want them to tell the story," Marino explains. "I am here to help navigate the text, to make sure the staging tells that story, but I left key narrative elements up to them.” A philosophy put forefront by the staging’s adherence to the Riot Grrl punk principle, art for women, by women, by any means necessary.
The Riot Grrl concept found its footing in the underground art scenes of early '90s Washington State and Washington DC. Marino emphasized his role and the optics of a male director handling this style of production. “I wrote to the cast saying, I own that I could have cast myself as a very well-intentioned Duke by doing this," he jokes. "I’m a white male seeking to give anatomy, and that is why I’ve been very careful to say I’m facilitating.”
Marino outlined the depth of those conversations had in those early days of the rehearsal process.
“The cast had a really good question for me at the beginning, they came up to me and said, 'So what are your intentions with this show?'" he recalls. "Initially my intention was a group of women telling a story about patriarchy, the pitfalls of that, and the abuse of power.” He takes a silent pause and looks to the stage. “But then in asking their question, and rightfully so, it had me think more deeply on the subject of what we are saying.”
As we continue to discuss the timelessness of Shakespeare’s work, Marino hits the nail on the head: “It’s about human nature, we evolve but we don’t change.”
While this play is printed under the comedy section in the “First Folio,” because of its ambiguous tone, “Measure for Measure” is often cited as one of Shakespeare's most problematic plays—that's not even the "cursed" one! Here, the plot focuses on Angelo (Evelyn Bircher), a deputy in the fair city of Vienna, who is bestowed the power to rule by the blasé Duke Vincenti (Bela Gonzalez) in their absence.
After two decades of unenforced laws and Angelo’s newfound unquestionable powers, his puritanical views lead to persecuting a young lover Claudio (Makayla Brock) for the crime of fornication, sentencing him to death. Angelo is forced to face his own hypocrisy as he is stricken by “love” when Claudio's sister Isabella (Friar Peter), a chaste nun, arrives to beg for her brother's life.
After my one-on-one with Marino, I was ushered into the green room to meet the cast. It was at this point the irony of being a man sent to cover the story of an all-female production began to dawn on me. When my first question of “Why this show, why now?” was met with a moment of silence that turned into an infectiously knowing giggle that moved across the room. After a few glances around by the cast, Ellie Manfreda who plays Mistress Overdone, steps up to give an answer.
“The Riot Grrls movement was what heavily inspired our production, so it’s punk rock with political activism mixed with feminist ideology. It’s a really cool energy to be around a group of women sharing a pretty dark story and taking that back.”
“Historically speaking," Bela Gonzalez adds, "Shakespeare was performed with men playing every role. So back then the fact that it was only men allowed on stage, only men able to tell these stories, men dressing up as women portraying women. Okay ... so why can’t we, all women, play men as well. Why can’t we take that as well and take that power back by telling the story of 'Measure for Measure.'”
A theme much covered by Shakespeare is the concept that absolute power corrupts absolutely. From the highlands of Scotland to the Senate of Rome, The Bard made pointed stabs and witted cuts at those who seek out to rule. The character of Angelo here is no different, though appointed to the role of ruler the question is quickly asked and answered. Was it the unquestionable title of Duke that led Angelo astray, or was a repressed monster unleashed when he could not be questioned any longer?
It’s a subject that actress Evelyn Bircher has mulled around in her head, as she takes on the role. “As this character, studying this character, do I believe that power corrupted him?" she asks, rhetorically. "No, I don’t believe it was the power, I believe he had this chance to unleash something buried deep inside him to put upon others. Yes, that is using the powers for corruption, but I believe it was already inside him.”
As Bircher’s first Shakespeare production, she adds, “Playing a man, I was worried people wouldn’t follow it as well as 'normal theater' because when you watch a show you see the character, you don’t see the actor playing it. But with this I don’t want people just to see Angelo, or the man. I want people to see that it is a woman playing Angelo.”
A voice then emerges from the other side of the room. It is Cassie McAlister, who takes on the dual roles of Froth/Marina to embody male and female attributes between the two parts.
“Personally, I want people who roll their eyes at Shakespeare to realize that they can understand a deep and impactful story, even if it is in ye olde English. I didn’t know how much I would understand it by seeing an emotion tacked on to these words. The amazing jobs these ladies are doing conveying [meaning in] sentences that I never thought could be put together.”
The cast's unified front in their vision for the production is apparent; but it was Ava Banzhoff, who plays the Provost, who summed it up quite distinctly.
“As we have all said, the show is important for treating women correctly. Speaking for me personally,” Banzhoff says, pausing to look over her cast-mates, “I want people to be angry, and I want people to see this happens to women every single day. That’s why this show is so important, and I just want them to feel rage about that.”
Doesn’t get more punk rock than that. See this Grrrl-powered production of “Measure for Measure” running September 25-28 and October 2-5 on the main stage at UNCW.
Details
Riot Grrrls: Measure for Measure
Sept. 25-28, Oct. 2-5
Thursday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, 2 p.m.
UNCW Main Stage