Accounting for Space: Choreography

Play-texts only record the words to be spoken and a few stage directions, some of doubtful authenticity, and so it may seem that Shakespeare has left little guidance about staging for present-day actors and directors. But, on the contrary, implicit in the dialogue is a network of instructions that, in today’s language, can be called the choreography of each play. Shakespeare was very knowledgeable about physical performance. He wrote for a company of actors with whom he had daily dealings over long periods of time. In his formative years he had acted among them on stage in a large repertoire of plays that included his own. As a consequence, when he wrote dialogue he would have seen actors in his mind’s eye, aware of how they might move and interact with each other. If we read the texts with open eyes, we can trace the imprint of this very close and specialized knowledge, an awareness as lively and careful as his understanding of words and speech.