Collectors Post

NEWS and DISCUSSION GROUPS

Records of Early English Drama (REED)
Information about the publications,
newsletter and discussion group,
all based at the University of Toronto, Canada.

PERFORM – Medieval and Renaissance Performance Listserv Discussion Group
     Home page of the group based at the University of Indiana, listing subscription information, monthly logs, course syllabi and other links.
 

PERFORMANCE & SET DESIGN

a. Performance

Everyman
     Account – with photographs – of a production by the Medieval Drama Group of the University of Dundee.

Poculi Ludique Societas – Medieval & Renaissance Players of Toronto
     The home page of the University of Toronto company that, since 1964, has presented some 90 productions (involving 200 individual plays) of medieval and early Renaissance drama. Also on the site are photos of productions by Poculi Ludique Societas, 1977-1997.

The Mystery Plays – 25 Years On
     An informative article by Richard Rastall about the staging of plays with pageant wagons from the York Cycle at the University of Leeds and elsewhere over the last 25 years.

York Mystery Plays – 1951 to the Present Day
     An excellent site presenting information about the presentation of the plays in York that includes video clips. There are also 32MP3 Audio Files of original music used in productions.

The York Cycle of Mystery Plays, Toronto 1998
     The pictures on this website were taken during the performance of the York Cycle of Mystery Plays in Toronto on June 20, 1998. The performance was organized under the auspices of the Poculi Ludique Societas, a society dedicated to the preservation and performance of early English drama. The Toronto performance was the first outdoor processional presentation of the entire cycle of 47 surviving plays since the final performance in York in 1569. The event was a useful experiment for theatre historians interested in determining whether the entire cycle could be performed processionally on a single day. Even more importantly, however, it was also a genuinely entertaining and profoundly moving theatrical experience for audience and actors alike.’

Theatre Company Marot
     This excellent group (based at Groningen in the Netherlands) presents exciting versions of medieval Dutch dramas. The opening is written by one of the joint producers, Femke Kramer (and is one of the pages presented by Peter Greenfield, the University of Puget Sound).
There are photos of the following productions:

1996-97: Zand erover 1997: Een abel spel van Esmoreit 1998: Schaamstreken 1999: Pek en veren

Three Plays from the York Cycle annotated for performance
     Based on their experience of performing these plays, students of Peter Greenfield at the University of Puget Sound have produced an interesting annotated text of
           1) The Fall of Man;
           2) Joseph’s Troubles about Mary;
           3) The Harrowing of Hell.

York Corpus Christi Play Simulator      This highly recommended resource provides a treasure-trove of information about the staging and performance of the York Cycle.

   1.  The Staging of the York Corpus Christi Plays
   2.  Religious, Political, Economic and Artistic Contexts
   3.  Origin and History of the York Corpus Christi Play
   4.  Glossary of Terms: Medieval Religious Drama
   5.  Pageant Simulator (computer software that models the motion of pageant wagons
           during a simulated York Corpus Christi Pageant)

This important site has been produced by Dennis G. Jerz.
 

b. Set Design

Medieval Stages  
     Part of an interesting article on ‘Medieval Writing’, written by Dr Dianne Tillotson, this page includes several illustrations, including the one above of a Passion Play presented in Valenciennes in 1547.

Medieval Illustration of Tents and Pavilions (which, as the illustration above shows, had much in common with stationary medieval theatrical sets)

1. A Royal Medieval Pavilion and a Modern Reconstruction  Using as a model an illustration in King Rene d’Anjou’s ‘Book of Love’, Stephen Bloch and Deborah Peters built their own medieval pavilion.
2. Building a Period Pavilion  An excellent article with detailed plans written by Elizabeth Cook for ‘Cariadoc’s Miscellany’.
 

PROPS & MAKE-UP

a. Props
 

Medieval Flags and Banners

A most useful collection,
compiled by Donna Hrynkiw,
of many illustrations
(arranged according to period and type)
and several interesting, illustrated articles.

b. Make-Up

Making Masks with Buckram (A Milliner’s Approach to Mask making)
     Jon Cardone of the Yale School of Drama describes the making of lightweight theatrical masks using buckram applied to a cast of the actor’s face.