Measure for Measure
by William Shakespeare
Director, Michael L. Aulick
Scenic Designer, Christopher Rees*
Lighting Designer, Alex Franke*
Technical Director, Spencer Thomas*
Stage Manager, Jordan Derring**
Costumes, Cast and Crew, Moxxie Brandt**
Assistant, S.M. Klisty Snider**
Sound Design Team, Michael Aulick, Aidan Kosol**
Head of Props, Morgan Tusing**
Lightboard Op, Hannah Ellis**
Soundboard Op, Olivia Mitchell**
* denotes the person is a WLU Theatre alumni
** denoted the person is a current WLU Theatre student
Please silence and put away all phones as the noise (even vibrate) and light is bothersome to other patrons. Thank you.
Measure for Measure runs approximately 105 minutes with no intermission.
Measure for Measure
Cast of Characters
Duke Vencentio Len Batson
Escalus Isabella Costantini
Messenger Rowland Dodd
Lucio Oliver Marks
Froth Asa Krinov
Mistress Overdone Cassandra Majetich
Pompey Aidan Kosol
Claudio Benjamin Mounsey
Provost Eva Tennant
Friar Peter Mason Stall
Isabella Daisy Deaton
Sister Francisca Joy Deaton
Elbow Mason Stall
Abhorson Asa Krinov
Barnadine Cassandra Majetich
Marianna Traelynn Alton
Friar Peter Mason Stall
Julietta Joy Deaton
Patron Spotlight
Tom “TC” Cervone and Susan Creswell, are proud and pleased to support the WLU Theatre Program and the Hilltop Players. Both Susan and TC (1975 graduate of WLSC) have spent the vast majority of their respective and respected careers working in, advocating for, and investing in the non-profit art and culture industry. Susan, as a visual artist, employed by the Knoxville Museum of Art, and TC, as an educator, administrator, and an occasional actor (when time permits and there isn’t a global pandemic) within the Department of Theatre/Clarence Brown Theatre, the professional LORT theatre in residence at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Susan manages the KMA gallery/gift shop, which serves as the primary hub for local artists to feature and sell their work. TC, too, labors, blissfully, each day, working from both sides of his brain, the left-side, fueling and minding (with MBA in hand) the administrative and fiscal fires within the Department of Theatre, and the right-side (with his MFA), in collaboration with the creative and dynamic artists within the Clarence Brown Theatre, producing relevant and impactful live theatre. TC has served on the WLU Foundation Board and currently and proudly serves as a member of the Board of Governors. Susan and TC are also proud parents of two sons, John and Jonathan, and over-the-moon honored to be grandparents to Amelia Blake Creswell.
Bill Brenner, in remembrance of his wife, Loretta “Lucky” Brenner. Lucky graduated from West Liberty in 1965 and the following year married Bill Brenner. Lucky began her career as an English and art teacher, then went on to earn her Master of Social Work at Case-Western Reserve and spent the rest of her career as a social work professional in the Washington, D.C. area. Thanks to her lifelong mentor, Stanley Harrison, former Theatre Director at West Liberty (from 1962-1979), Lucky maintained her involvement with theatre as a member of the Chevy Chase Players.
At West Liberty, Lucky was a member of the Hilltop Players and performed in numerous plays directed by Stan, including the musical, Oklahoma, the role of Ensign Pamela Whitmore in South Pacific (April 1964), and leading role of Anne Sullivan in The Miracle Worker (November 1963). Stan and Lucky stayed in touch and met in New York City every few years, the last time in 2012, to see a production of Richard III, a play very familiar to both as Lucky played the role of Margaret, widow of King Edward VI, in the Hilltop Players production of Richard III in November 1964 under Stan’s tutelage.
Whether acting on the stage, working in a clinic, or spending time with family and friends, Lucky affected countless lives for the better. Lucky’s husband Bill wished to continue her positive impact through an extremely generous gift of $10,000 directed to West Liberty University’s Theatre Department in her memory and in honor of her mentor Stanley Harrison. West Liberty thanks Bill for his generosity and for sharing Lucky’s heartwarming story and the profound influence of her mentor, Stanley Harrison.
Friends of the Theatre
The Friends of the Theatre campaign is an effort of ours to help our students with scholarships, travel money, production costs, etc. We would love for you to consider becoming a Friend of the Theatre by joining the names below with a contribution to one of our Foundation accounts. The following list are from our 2022-2023 campaign.
Friend of the Theatre
(donation of $50-$99)
Anonymous Donor Anonymous Donor
Dr. Linda Cowan Anonymous Donor
Ms. Melody Meadows Nick and McKenna Musgrave
Brian Myers Cooper Anonymous Donor
Susan Trowbridge-Postlethwaite
Patron of the Theatre
(donation of $100-$199)
Mr. and Mrs. Louis H. Aulick Jr. Patricia Clark (class of 1975)
Brian H. Huggins Stephen F. Krempasky
Ms. Karissa Martin Anonymous Donor
Mr. and Mrs. Craig Reed Walt and Sue Beth Warren
Designer of the Theatre
(donation of $200-$499)
Ms. Marcie Carroll Anonymous Donor
Anonymous Donor
Director of the Theatre
(donation of $500-$999)
Drs. Thomas and Catherine Rushton
Producer of the Theatre
(donation of $1,000-$2,499)
Jo Lynne Nugent Kristian D. Nugent
Anonymous Donor Jennifer L. Takacs (class of 1995)
Angel of the Theatre
(donation of $2,500 and above)
Bill Brenner Thomas “T.C.” Cervone
Faye Argentine Susan Creswell
If you would like more information about how you can become a Friend of the Theatre, please contact Michael L. Aulick at 304.336.8103 or maulick@westliberty.edu.
Measure for Measure
Plot Synopsis
ACT 1 SCENE 1
The play opens in the palace of the Duke of Vienna. The duke tells Lord Escalus that he is leaving the city and is handing power to Angelo. Angelo arrives. The duke transfers his ‘authority’ and leaves the city.
ACT 1 SCENE 2
On the streets of Vienna, we meet characters from the seedier life of the city, the pubs, and brothels. Lucio, a colorful bachelor, is joking with Froth when, when Mistress Overdone, a brothel-keeper, appears with news that Lucio’s friend, Claudio, has been arrested for getting his fiancée pregnant and now faces the death penalty for it. Pompey, who works for Mistress Overdone, arrives with further news that all the brothels are to be torn down.
ACT 1 SCENE 3
The Provost leads Claudio through the streets to jail. Lucio spots Claudio and questions him further about his ‘crime’. He asks Lucio to visit his sister, Isabella, who is about to enter a convent, and persuade her to appeal to Angelo. Lucio agrees and goes to find Isabella.
ACT 1 SCENE 4
The duke visits Friar Thomas and asks him to hide him in the monastery. The duke feels the people would think he was a tyrant if he suddenly started punishing them for things, he’s been allowing them to do so he’s leaving it to Angelo. He intends to disguise himself as a friar and return to the city to see if the ‘precise’ Angelo is changed by the power he’s been given.
ACT 2 SCENE 1
Escalus advises Angelo to be less heavy-handed with the law, but Angelo wants Claudio executed by 9am the next morning. A constable called Elbow enters with two prisoners, the foolish Froth and Pompey the ‘bawd’. Elbow gets his words confused and a comical row starts between him and Pompey about Elbow’s wife.
ACT 2 SCENE 2
Elsewhere, the Provost questions Angelo about his decision to execute Claudio. Angelo chastises him to do his ‘office’ or lose his job. Isabella enters and tells Angelo that she hates Claudio’s crime but asks for mercy. Isabella and Angelo debate the nature of ‘punishment’ and Angelo is about to leave when Isabella offers him a ‘bribe’. She means that she will pray for his soul and leaves. In a soliloquy, Angelo struggles with his sudden sexual attraction to Isabella.
ACT 2 SCENE 3
The duke, now disguised as a friar, visits Juliet in prison to help her with her sin. The duke tells her he is leaving to visit Claudio who will die tomorrow. Juliet is left alone and distraught, knowing that she only escaped execution herself because she’s pregnant.
ACT 2 SCENE 4
Angelo struggles with his feelings for Isabella and struggles to hide them when she arrives. Isabella says she has come to know his ‘pleasure’, meaning his ‘wishes’, but Angelo reads more into it. He tells her Claudio is to die but asks if she would commit a sin to save his life. Isabella doesn’t understand and Angelo takes a while to be direct but eventually gives her a choice, to ‘lay down the treasures’ of her body and sleep with him or let her brother die. Disgusted, Isabella threatens to reveal him as a hypocrite, but Angelo says no one will believe her because of his ‘unsoiled name’. Alone, Isabella realizes in a soliloquy that Angelo is right and goes to tell Claudio, believing he will be equally disgusted.
ACT 3 SCENE 1
The disguised duke visits Claudio in prison to prepare him for death. Isabella arrives and the duke hides to listen to their conversation. Isabella tells Claudio he must die. Claudio asks if there’s ‘no remedy’ and Isabella says only one that would strip away his ‘honor’. Isabella tells him about Angelo’s offer. Claudio is initially outraged but quickly changes. Claudio admits he is afraid to die and suggests that sleeping with Angelo is the ‘least’ of the ‘seven deadly’ sins. Isabella curses him, calling him a “faithless coward” and that it’s best he dies quickly. The duke steps forward and, taking Claudio aside, tells him that Angelo is only testing Isabella and Claudio will die tomorrow. The duke then tells Isabella he has a plan to save her virginity and Claudio’s life.
She should agree to Angelo’s demands, but they will put his ex-fiancée, Mariana, in her place so that Angelo sleeps with her instead. Mariana still loves Angelo and is still engaged to him, so it won’t be a sin. Angelo will think he has slept with Isabella and spare Claudio. Isabella agrees.
ACT 3 SCENE 2
Constable Elbow brings Pompey into the jail. Pompey sees Lucio and asks him to pay his bail. Lucio refuses and Pompey is led away. The duke is disgusted by their bawdy conversation. Lucio, who doesn’t recognize the duke in his disguise, criticizes the duke for leaving and putting the ‘ruthless’ Angelo in charge. He tells the ‘friar’ the duke is a drunk who was more forgiving of lechery because he was guilty of it himself. The disguised duke can’t defend himself but promises to report Lucio when the duke returns. Escalus and the Provost bring Mistress Overdone into the prison for running a brothel. She blames Lucio for giving ‘information’ against her and reveals he has a child with a woman he promised to marry but hasn’t. The disguised duke asks Escalus what kind of man the duke was. Escalus replies a ‘gentleman of all temperance?’ who ‘truly wanted to know himself’. Escalus adds that Angelo will not change his mind about Claudio. In a soliloquy, the duke criticizes Angelo for being a hypocrite.
ACT 4 SCENE 1
The love-sick Mariana sings a song but breaks it off when the disguised duke arrives. He speaks privately with Isabella who tells him that Angelo has given her two keys and told her to meet him in a locked garden in ‘the heavy middle of the night’. She has told him they must stay in the dark and she can’t be long. The duke tells Isabella to explain everything to Mariana. Mariana, who still loves Angelo, agrees to everything if the ‘friar’ wishes it. The duke tells her that Angelo is still her husband ‘on a precontract’ so to sleep with him is ‘no sin’.
ACT 4 SCENE 2
It is the next morning and Mariana has slept with Angelo. The Provost asks Pompey to be the executioner’s assistant as they are a man short. Pompey accepts. Claudio enters and the Provost tells him to prepare for death. The duke arrives in disguise, asking if anyone has come with a pardon for Claudio but hears that the ‘bitter deputy’ has ordered Claudio’s head be sent to him that afternoon. Realizing Angelo has broken his word, the duke arranges for Barnadine’s head to be sent to Angelo instead, trusting that Angelo won’t realize as ‘death’s a great disguiser’. He gives the Provost a letter with the duke’s seal saying the duke will be returning in two days.
ACT 4 SCENE 3
Pompey says in a soliloquy that he knows everyone in the prison because it’s full of customers from Mistress Overdone’s brothel. Barnadine refuses to be executed, saying he’s been drinking all night and isn’t ready. The Provost suggests they send Angelo the head of a pirate who has died of ‘a cruel fever’. Left alone, the duke says he intends to write to Angelo to say he’s returning ‘publicly’ to Vienna. Isabella arrives, hoping to hear about Claudio’s pardon. The duke decides to tell her he’s been executed so the truth will bring her ‘heavenly comforts’ when she ‘least’ expects it. Isabella is distraught and curses the ‘Most damned Angelo!’ The duke tells her that she and Mariana must accuse Angelo publicly at the city gates tomorrow. Lucio enters and sympathizes with Isabella. He criticizes the duke, unaware that he is talking to him.
ACT 4 SCENE 4
Angelo and Escalus discuss the duke’s instructions and make arrangements to meet him at the gate. They reveal that the duke has ordered ‘that if any crave redress of injustice, they should exhibit their petitions in the street’.
ACT 4 SCENE 5
Isabella is nervous, but Mariana tells her that she must obey the ‘Friar’, who has said that she must continue the pretense that Angelo has taken her virginity. Friar Peter arrives to take them to meet the duke.
ACT 5 SCENE 1
At the city gates, the ‘returned’ duke greets Angelo and Escalus where Isabella cries out for ‘justice, justice, justice, justice!’ and calling Angelo ‘a virgin-violator’. Angelo accuses her of turning mad because of her brother’s death and the duke has her arrested. Isabella mentions ‘Friar Lodowick’ (the duke’s disguise) and Lucio adds that he heard Friar Lodowick slander the duke. Isabella is led away, and Mariana enters, veiled. Mariana claims that Angelo is her husband and that he has ‘known’ her body. Angelo confesses he knows Mariana and explains their broken engagement but says she and Isabella must be ‘instruments’ in someone else’s plot. ‘Friar Lodowick’ is sent for, and the duke explains that he must leave for a while. He returns, disguised as the friar and claiming to be an outsider who has watched ‘corruption boil and bubble’ in Vienna. Lucio accuses him of slander against the duke and pulls his hood off, only to reveal his true identity. The duke has Lucio arrested. Angelo confesses his crime and asks to be sentenced to death, but the duke sends him away to be married at once to Mariana.
The duke apologizes to Isabella for Claudio’s death, saying that he could not reveal his identity before, and that Claudio died sooner than he expected. Angelo and Mariana are brought back in, married. The duke orders that Angelo should be executed like Claudio: ‘Like doth quit like?, and measure still for measure?’. Mariana begs Isabella to join her in pleading for Angelo’s life. Isabella agrees, saying that Angelo’s ‘behavior was sincere’ until he met her. The duke then reveals Claudio, still alive. The duke pardons both him and Angelo and punishes Lucio by ordering him to marry the woman that he made pregnant, despite Lucio calling her a ‘whore’. The duke asks Isabella to marry him, but she does not answer.
Director’s Note
First and foremost, I have loved working on this play with these people. Acting in a Shakespeare play is infinitely more taxing on a young performer than a contemporary script. It really is like acting in a foreign language where the performer must start with ‘what the heck does this mean’. It is therefore harder to memorize, it doesn’t stick in your brain the way contemporary dialogue does so the process is delayed due to having to just try to remember the words, then add in the meaning, then the verse, and then try to create subtext that feels natural. It is hard, and I have been impressed that they show up night after night and work this hard to make the play make sense. I am sure they are tired of hearing me ask, “What does that mean? (they answer) and I say, “I know what you are saying but why are you saying it?”
I have really enjoyed myself and do look forward to seeing each of them at my next audition.
For me, this is a play that deals heavily with morality, the role of government in a society, law, and order, and in particular what happens when corrupt men use religion as the law – some people may believe that these are still relevant themes today.
I wanted to do this play because it’s messy and juicy. I don’t think it gets enough attention, in part, because it is odd. It has a sinister underbelly, odd plot complications, some wildly comedic scenes (do you want a comic scene after a terribly uncomfortable, indecent proposal?), and the ending is not happy, nor sad. Really, the duke thinks he should propose to Isabella moments after he reveals that he was the Friar all along (makes you wonder why he didn’t stop this plot a lot sooner). It’s referred to as one of Shakespeare’s problem plays in part because it’s neither a true comedy nor tragedy. In my research I have learned that it is kind of a trend to end this play happily, with Isabella joining the duke inside for the ‘feast’. However, as we worked on it, we kept asking the question, “Why didn’t the duke stop Angelo well before he did? Why didn’t he intervene? Or at least why didn’t he tell Isabella who he was? Instead, he made her believe her brother was executed. With all of that in mind, I wonder how any actress could justify ‘forgiving’ all these things and being happy at the moment he proposes. That was a problem for us, and we enjoyed working out our answers. Hope you enjoy (or at least understand most of it).
M. Aulick