Shakespeare Theatre Actors Mix With Audience Outdoors

If you go see the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's latest show at its outdoor venue, don't be surprised if an actor steps off the stage, sits down next to you and begins a whispered conversation.

That kind of thing happens in "The Servant of Two Masters," which runs through Aug. 1 at the Greek amphitheatre on the College of St. Elizabeth campus in Morris Township.

Actors also run through the audience to get to the stage and occasionally take a seat among the ticket holders to watch the play carry on without them.

Jason King Jones, who directed the play written by Carlo Goldoni in 1743, said outdoor theater allows actors to develop more of a relationship with the audience than shows on the indoor stage in Madison.

He encouraged the cast to speak directly to audience members and wait for their response—something that is impossible indoors, where actors can't see beyond the end of the stage because of theatrical lighting.

While the "Servant" cast sticks to the script, it has to be ready to deal with the unexpected, such as planes landing or taking off from nearby Morristown Airport, Jones said.

Therefore, he chose actors who are nimble, can think on their feet and have a sense of play.

Alex Morf, who has those qualities in abundance, plays the main character, Truffaldino, who agrees to become a servant to two different people, then spends the rest of the play trying to keep each from discovering the existence of the other.

Morf, who is new to the Shakespeare Theatre, had performed outdoors at the California Shakespeare Theatre, including a 2008 production of "Twelfth Night" in which he played both twins: Viola and Sebastian.

While Morf has a big burden to carry in the play, he has "handled himself with grace and great skill," Jones said, adding that the audience responds to him.

Most of the rest of the cast are Shakespeare Theatre veterans, including Jeffrey Bender, who was in the outdoor show last year and plays the innkeeper—and keeper of secrets--Brighella in "Servant," and Caralyn Kozlowski, who plays the constantly whining Beatrice.

Bonnie Monte, the Shakespeare Theatre's artistic director, translated "Servant," which was written in an archaic Venetian dialect. Jones helped her cut the script and decide which parts of the play to highlight.

He started as a directing intern with the company in 1999 and directed the first show on its outdoor stage in 2002 as well as "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)," which was done there last summer.

Many classical theater companies produce "Servant" because it is one of the few scripted examples of the Italian theater style called commedia dell'arte. Many commedia dell'arte troupes traveled from town to town in the mid- to late 1500s putting on shows made up of improvised skits. The performers, who included women for the first time, wore masks and became known for playing various types, such as the old man, the lovers or the clown. Some experts trace the roots of modern comedy, such as television sitcoms, to commedia dell'arte.

In addition to its historical significance, "Servant" has a fantastic story and a great main character in Truffaldino, Jones said. The main love story involves a man and a woman, dressed as her dead brother, who both hire Truffaldino. A secondary story concerns Beatrice, who is about to marry her love, Silvio, until her father learns that the man he previously agreed could marry her is not dead as reported.