The poster for Goshen College’s production of “Cymbeline: Interrupted.”
GOSHEN — The Goshen College Theater Department has produced an interactive web adventure or its fall mainstage, titled “Cymbeline: Interrupted,” based on Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline.” The production was originally slated for the stage last March, but was postponed due to COVID-19.
The online experience will be available from Nov. 6 through Dec. 6 at cymbeline.goshen.edu, and a radio broadcast will take place on 91.1 FM (WGCS) The Globe (globeradio.org) Nov. 8 at 3 p.m.
FALL MAINSTAGE
Cymbeline: Interrupted
Interactive Online Experience: Nov. 6- Dec. 6
Radio Broadcast: Nov. 8, 3 p.m.
Location: Cymbeline.goshen.edu, 91.1 FM WGCS
Cost: Donation suggested
“I had several goals as we modified our production: to honor the amazing work that had already happened in the spring; to maintain the interactive element of theatre that primarily happens when events are live; to reach as wide an audience as possible; and to acknowledge the world we are living in now,” said Michelle Milne, Cymebline’s director. “Each audience member can have a unique experience, choosing their own adventure as they find their way through the interactive website. I hope people have fun with it.”
According to information provided by Goshen College, “Cymbeline: Interrupted” is a romantic and humorous tale of love, betrayal and mistaken identity. Shakespeare pulls from a stockpile of his famous tropes and devices in Cymbeline.
Goshen College theater student Dali Rodriguez shoots a scene from “Cymbeline: Interrupted.”
The play follows loyal Imogen as she takes fate into her own hands to reunite with the man who betrayed her. Other characters include a scheming queen, a devoted servant, a hotheaded fool, a jealous husband, a demanding King, a lying lecher, a kidnapper, two ghosts and the almighty Jupiter, to name a few.
“The creativity displayed by Michelle and our students during this time has been very impressive, as well as their ability to shift gears, problem solve and adapt to daily changing circumstances,” said Anna Kurtz Kuk, associate professor of theater. “Although we’ve drawn on principles of the theater discipline, this process has incorporated a lot of new elements and challenges as we’ve worked with audio and video.”
The unique nature of this production has resulted in collaboration between the theater, broadcasting, film production and computer science students.
“We were proud of the work that was done in the spring,” Kurtz Kuk said. “I think that would have been a compelling production. However, we’ve been able to create something this fall we never would have dreamed of before COVID.”
