Duke of Buckingham

Within the last hour, I received word; I have been given the role of the Duke of Buckingham in the production of Richard III.


I'm still processing everything at this point. I have not yet reviewed the edited script, as I am in the midst of a busy day. (How privileged you should feel, loyal blog readers, that I took time to write to you in the midst of it!) Yet based on the original text, there are some dangers to the role that I hope to avoid, though much of that will depend on the director's vision of the play overall. Namely I hope to avoid being a talking plot device, which is a trap actors who play Buckingham often fall into. The script as given doesn't make the role an especially poetic one, from what I recall, though there are a few nice lines here and there. So my initial impression is that stage presence will be key in order to compensate for what the role lacks within the script itself. I can do this, and have done it before with other characters. Yet it is particularly tricky with Shakespearean characters that are not well-known or often quoted, so depending on the nature of the rest of the cast and the production as a whole, I have my work cut out for me.

Several of my local friends also ended up in this production.

The first read-through is not yet scheduled, though a tentative date for this Saturday evening has been suggested. I don't yet know if I will be able to attend that or not, though of course I will try to do so.

Whatever the case about roles and schedules, I thus embark on my third Shakespearean journey with this play, and I hope you will all follow along as I blog about it here, as always.