Calm, tranquil, quiet. Besides the chatterings of a few techies doing last-minute painting, the Loeb Mainstage is empty two hours before dress rehearsal begins. The seemingly lifeless theater is like a bear in winter, hibernating until the next performance.

The stage is set for a production of Shakespeare's "Richard III," a joint project of students and visiting drama professionals--a unique mix that only find its way to the Loeb every other year. For this show, Tina Packer, the founder of the renowned theater company Shakespeare & Co. in Lenox, has collaborated with students on all aspects of the production.

The stage will come to life in mere hours, but it already shows hints of 15th-century England. Cocoa-shell mulch that crunches underfoot covers the stage floor. Three huge rocks--actually large chunks of styrofoam--lie on a large platform beside the main part of the stage. A curved and seemingly rickety ramp meanders its way from a height of about 10 feet down to the stage.

And it seems like ghosts or ghouls could emerge through the centuries from the dark "pit" in the center of the stage. Like a bear on the verge of spring, the theater is calm and restful but ready to roar.

Soon an epic play spanning three hours, two intermissions and four centuries will bring the set to life with

emotion and intrigue. The "Richard III" castwill bring medieval London to life with the taleof a lifelong fight for the English throne.

Playbill

"Richard III," which runs today through May 8,is the third Visiting Director's Project (VDP)--aHarvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club (HRDC) programthat hosts a professional director at Harvardevery other spring. Richard's cast and crew raveabout the program because it has allowed them toreceive first-class theater instruction normallylacking in a Harvard education.

"[Packer] became our first choice because ofher reputation," says co-producer Seth C.Harrington '00 who was involved in the search fora director.

Last September, Packer decided to take a breakfrom her position as artistic director atShakespeare & Co. to direct "Richard III." Shebrought to Cambridge techniques she learned whilestudying drama at the Royal Academy of DramaticArt and in many productions since.

Packer invited some of her assistants atShakespeare & Co.to help with the VDP production.Professional directors, voice coaches and fightchoreographers have helped train the cast,according to Joe C. Gfaller '01, who plays theArchbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Ely andthe Duke of Norfolk.

"The play becomes as much about the process asthe final performance itself--so that along theway you feel as if you are working as much towardsrefining a craft as you are towards mounting aplay," Gfaller says. When the play opens tonight,the audience will be treated to refinedShakespearean "lamentations" and a full-fledgedbattle scene.

But Shakespeare in particular is about thescript itself, according to cast members, andPacker has emphasized the importance of focusingon the words. To this end, she used a techniquecalled "dropping in," that was new to most castmembers.

The technique comes into play before the actorshave memorized their lines. Packer took theirscripts and fed them the words slowly--even one ata time--while asking them questions about theircharacters. Cary P. McClelland '02, who is theshow's assistant director along with Monica A.Henderson '99, says the technique means thatactors memorize their lines along with mentalassociations that help them play their characters.

"You become very intimately involved with thetext which makes it much easier to memorize linesbecause you've spent so much time with the words,"Gfaller says. Dropping in pulls meaning out of theindividual words instead of imposing meaning onthem, he says.

"Dropping in was a trip," says Peter D.Richards '01, who play Lord Hastings. "It reallyhelped you get a hold of your character early on."