triumph of love alw study guide

8/11/2019 Triumph of Love ALW Study Guide

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By Pierre Carlet de Marivaux

Adapted and directed by Lillian GroagTranslated by Frederick Kluck

The Triumph of Love

A Study GuidePresented by

For more information contact Karen Altree Piemme,Director of Outreach (408) 367-7291



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Pierre Carlet de Marivaux

ierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux livedin a pivotal time in French history that waspoised between major shifts in social behavior,

contemporary sensibility, philosophy, and art. Themovement from Classicism to Enlightenment andthe conflict between raison (reason) and sentiment infused his work, allowing him to represent histime and French culture better ant any playwright.The thought of opulent French society usually con-

jures images of the Louis XV era—the shell-likecurves and swirls of rococo design, titillating andluxurious clothing, powdered wigs, lavish balls andsucculent feasts. Louis XV ruled from 1715-1774and, in that time, altered the dynamics of French

culture. A famous lover, Louis’ pen-chant for mistresses led the monar-chy and his court in Versailles tonumerous public scandals through-out his 59-year reign. While mar-ried to Maria Karolina Zofia FelicjaLeszczynska, a Polish princess who

bore him ten children, he carriedon a long affair with the bourgeoisecourtesan and arts champion Ma-

dame de Pompadour, installing her in her own pri-vate apartments in the Palace at Versailles. Thislove of love infused all of society with its frivolity.Dubbed “Louis the Well Loved,” he elevated courtlife, romance, and privilege to new heights and leftmost of the actual ruling to his advisors.The joie de vivre of Louis XV’s reign was exceed-

ingly different from his great-grandfather’s who preceded him.Louis XIV ruled for 74 years andbecame known as the “Sun King”or “The Great Monarch” becauseof his unwavering commitment tothe greatness of France in not justthe eyes of its people, but in theworld. He was a huge proponent

of the arts, elevating Moliere tothe stature he holds today in thecanon as well as establishing theComedie-Francaise, the world’s first national thea-ter. Classicism and Aristotelian ideas flourishedunder his rule. Voltaire compared Louis to Augus-tus and called his reign an “eternally memorableage,” “Le Grand Siecle.” Marivaux was 27 whenLouid XIV died, and thus was entering his prime asan artist when the timbre of the court changed,from the principled and disciplined Louis XIV tothe bohemian anarchy of Louis XV. The salon life

of literature and philosophical gatherings wasprominent in the 18th century and played an es-sential role in the writings of Marivaux. French sa-lons were hotbeds of gossip, literary intrigue andtheoretical debate. A frequenter to the highly influ-ential Marquise de Lambert’s salon, which operatedfrom 1710 to her death in 1733, Marivaux was ex-posed to the ideas of the new morality of sentimentor “the belief in the beauty and goodness of feel-ing”; early feminist theory; and philosophical

P

Louis XV painted by

Alexis Simon Belle.

Louis XIV, painted by Rigaud

CHATEAU DE VERSAILLES

Chateau de Versailles is not only a famous

building, but it is known as a symbol of the ab-solute monarchy. The Chateau was the official

residence of the Kings of France 1682 until 1790. It was originally made a hunting

lodge by Louis XIII, but was expanded by Louis XIV beginning in 1669. The French

classical architecture was complemented by extensive gardens.

By Kirsten Brandt



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...Pierre Carlet de Marivaux

of the Age of Raison. Lambert’s salon typified the society Marivauxwould model in his work. Although for a majority of his career, finan-cial woes kept Marivaux from devoting himself totally to the salonculture, he remained engaged in the philosophical rhetoric. Marivauxwas thought to have been a friend of Madame de Pompadour and thusfrequented her salons at Versailles.In these circles, Marivaux’s personal views formed. He held a distinc-tive preference for “freedom over dogma in moral and religious mat-ters” and was an ardent supporter of free-thinking. He rebuffed thematerialists for their one-dimensional view of man and spurned the

ideas of an ethical system based on self-interest and the pursuit ofpleasure. An advocate for the divine authority of the monarchy, healso was a chief critic of sexual license and indulging in extravagantluxuries.Many of the brain trust that would promote the doctrine of Enlight-enment were present at these salons, among them Rousseau, Fonten-elle, Montesquieu and Diderot. The dawning of the Age of Enlighten-ment meant that reason, science and rationality dominated; emotion-ality and sentiment were shunned. Perhaps as a direct revolt againstthe frivolities of Louis XV’s court, this thinking led by Voltaire,helped cultivate the ideological foundation that would prompt theFrench Revolution of 1789 in which the monarchy was overthrown

and tens of thousands of aristocrats were executed.Although he wrote his first play, Pere Prudent et Equitable, at the ageof 18, it was the novel that brought Marivaux national attention andadmittance into the salons; he penned three between 1713 and 1715.In 1717, Marivaux began writing for various publications and thestyle attributed to him “marivaudage” (double entendre and flirta-tious bantering) would begin to take shape. Lambert and other salonpatrons would encourage his writing style. (continued page 5…)

The Age of Reason &

The Enlightenment

The Age of Reason can be linked to

the era of Enlightenment, some refer to

it as one long period. The Enlighten-

ment succeeded the Age of Reason by

the beginning of the 18th century, for

both movements emphasized reason,

science and rationality. Influenced bythe revolution of science and knowl-

edge, initiated by Galileo and Newton,

the thinkers of the Enlightenment es-

poused a systematic way of thought

that could be applied to all areas of

human life as well as the political

sphere: individual, society and the

state. Enlightened thinkers believed

that the world could be lifted from the

age of darkness and ignorance by

thinking through science, rationality

and equality. The essential change dur-ing this period was that philosophers

applied rationality to every problem

versus emotionalism. The Age of

Enlightenment spread to nearly all

continents and sprouted several theo-

rists, some of the most familiar were

John Locke, Mary Wollstonecraft,

Jean Francois-Marie Arouet, Jean-

Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Jefferson,

Benjamin Franklin and John Hobbes.

The first reading of Voltaire’s“ L’orphelin de Chine” illustrates asalon discussion in 1725, presidedover by a weathly woman(pictured here in the blue dressand black bonnet on the right ofthe photo).



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The main character of the Italian's com-media dell’arte was a frolicking, fun

clown-type character who took the name

Arlecchino. The English found this namedifficult to pronounce, so they changed it

to Harlequin. Eventually the Harlequin

character became King of Pantomime, by

many degrees, which truly defined dra-matic art and its evolution in Britain.

Arlecchino, in the Italian’s version, wore

a distinctive attire and makeup. Clothed

in shabby, baggy pants patched in varioucolors, Arlecchino resembled a clown

with oversized shoes and a staff. His face

appeared pale, smeared with dirty marks.His appearance naturally indicated that he

was, indeed, the “comic.”

Harlequin, however, was never a

“comic.” He was a figure of mysticism—

King of magical romance and magic. Hisdress did take on the same characteristics

as Arlecchino, but the dirty marks on the

face became a mask, a black mask that

every Harlequin wears. The attire worn by Harlequin developed and transformed

to an appearance of more organizedcolor, patches of silver, gold, black, blueand red. Baggy clothes remained for a

long time, until 1800, when a perform-

ance at Drury Lane Theatre changed the

baggy attire to become skin tight, whichhas remained the tradition of Harlequin.

In the 1720s Marivaux married, but his wife died leaving him with adaughter. He then lost his inheritance and was forced to live by his pen.Although his plays were done at the Comédie-Française, he found ahome with the Comédie-Italienne, which had transplanted itself to Parisin 1716. Also supported by the King, this theater troupe attempted togain more audiences by embracing French playwrights and eventuallyperforming solely in French. For more than 20 years Marivaux collabo-rated with them writing specifically for the talent. The group wassteeped in the traditions of commedia dell’arte and Marivaux’s work,while remaining quintessentially French, took on an Italian air. Italiandrama was infused with the idea of love.

Marivaux embraced classical French structure, form and language butrejected “excessive systematization.” He borrowed liberally from the Ital-ian commedia but rejected its “crude eroticism and distain for structureand language.” Marivaux did not want to have reason and sentiment ex-isting side by side merely as fodder for debate. Instead, the two conceptsneeded to be unified with each other at the core of the characters.Marivaux excelled at observing the inner drama of human feelings. Helooked at the world as an “artist and psychologist, not a philosopher,”thus his characters have an inner complexity unlike anything his con-

temporaries penned.

Marital Poirson of the Université Paris X-Nanterre said, “By giving equalimportance to both experience and feelings, Marivaux thus embodies the‘experimental humanist’ who—as a man of the theater as well as a novel-ist and journalist—was committed to attaining a full understanding of

the successive states of the human mind beforeattempting to describe them.”

In a career spanning more than 50 years,Marivaux wrote over 30 plays including: TheDouble Inconstancy (1723), The False Servant(1724), Island of Slaves (1725), The Game ofLove and Chance (1730), The Triumph of Love (1732), False Confessions (1737), and The Dis- pute (1744). In 1731 the first two parts of hisnovel Marianne (perhaps his greatest literaryfeat and an important step in the developmentof the French novel) were published but neverfinished. Prevalent in all his work is a uniqueawareness of the ideas of his time and a deepunderstanding of the contradictions that existwithin us.

...Pierre Carlet de Marivaux

Pierre Carlet de Chamlain de Marivaux(1688-1763, as painted by Joconde.)

Kirsten Brandt is Associate Artistic Director at San Jose Rep.



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California Shakespeare Theater and San Jose Repertory Theatre’s rendition of The Triumph of Love was not only anadapted piece of work, but it is also a translated work from 18th century France. Adaptation and translation of a playare tricky and somewhat dangerous because a play is an exchange of words, each with specific implications andwithin a specific culture. Translation means the “changing” of text from one language to another, and adaptation iswhat makes a source translatable. It is a technique that can “recreate” new wordplay and situations that parallelthose in the original text. Managing the translation from one language to the next is enough in itself, but the lan-guage of love and falling in love can make the process even more complicated.

Without changing too much of the original form, the translation and adaptation undergo a process that considerslanguage as well as culture and projected audience. Working with a piece by Marivaux brings up several languagecomponents that set him apart from other playwrights—qualities such as time period, comedy and its arrangement

in the story and, of course, that little thing called love. Marivaux was a master of “delicate irony.” He shows that lovedoes triumph, but the price is high, which turns what could be a simple translation process into quite a challenge.

“What works in another language does not always work in our language,” states director LillianGroag. “Our audiences have changed over the centuries,” which is indeed true, especially with com-edy. What may be hilarious in pop culture right now, may not stir even one sign of laughter from anaudience 50 years from now. For example, lets look at The Simpsons, a very popular American sit-com that is actually the longest running sitcom still on television. The show usesseveral catchphrases, and each character has some signature phrase (Homer’s sig-nature, “D’oh!”, or Bart’s “Eat my shorts,” “Don’t have a cow, man!”, and “¡ Ay,

caramba!”), all of which have been so famous that they’ve been seen ontee-shirts, lunchboxes and posters throughout the last decade and ahalf. Even throughout the lifespan of a show, such phrases may change

as their popularity declines. After just a few years of these popularphrases, they stop generating the reaction they had originally triggered.Pop culture has so much to do with comedy in all realms of entertain-ment.

The Triumph of Love was written centuries ago—1732 to be exact—and inorder to maintain the style in which it was presented, the play must beadapted as close to 18th century form (love and comedy) as possible. Fromclothing to culture, and stature to language pronunciation, the play mustbelievably take place in the proper time period for it to be effective. LillianGroag did not want to take the play out of its original time and context for

the audience, she wanted to take the audience to the play. “It’s a lovely ex-perience when we see a play done in ‘period’ costume and in a setting thatgoes far back in time (in this case, a fairytale setting, Marivaux is not a real-ist in his settings) and we realize that people’s feelings, in this case, love,were ever the same,” she states in her interview with Cal Shakes. It has beensaid that “love is the universal language,” but the challenge is to thinkabout how people initiated, communicated and presented their love threecenturies ago. If love is indeed universal, it transcends space and time, andhow we feel in love now is not all that different from how people felt backthen. But is it all articulated in the same way? And in the case of Marivaux,does love still embody a fairy-tale-like ideal for everyone in every cultureand at any given time? Revealing and communicating this notion is at the

Translating Adapting

The Triumph of Love



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Marivaux Life and Times

1673 Moliere dies

1688 Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux is born in Paris on February 4th

1694 Voltaire is born

1709 Marivaux’s first play, the one-act comedy The Just and Prudent Father , is produced in Limoges

1712 Rousseau is born

1713 Diderot is born

1715 Louis XIV dies

1716 First performance by the Comedie-Italienne in Paris

1717 Marivaux marries Colombe Bologue

1719 Marivaux’s only child, a daughter, is born

1720 Marivaux’s first full-length comedy, Love and Truth, is performed at the Comédie-Italienne. His onlytragedy, Hannibal, closes after one performance at the Comédie-Française

1723 The Double Inconstancy. Marivaux’s wife dies, he never remarries

1724 The False Servant

1725 Island of Slaves

1730 The Game of Love and Chance

1732 The Triumph of Love

1734 Voltaire publishes The Philosophical Letters

1737 False Confessions

1740 The Marquis de Sade is born

1741 Marivaux abandons his unfinished novel The Life of Marianne

1742 Marivaux is elected to the Académie Française

1744 The Dispute

1756 Rousseau begins writing La Nouvelle Heloise

1757 Marivaux writes his last play, The Actors of Good Faith

1763 Marivaux dies in Paris on February 12

1774 Louis XV dies

1778 Voltaire and Rousseau die

1784 Diderot dies. Beaumarchais writes The Marriage of Figaro

1789 The French Revolution begins

Burla

Is the term used torefer to the

commedia comicinterlude or

practical joke akinto horseplay. Itoften develops

into animprovised “turn,”

identical to the“acts” of currentcircus clowns.

Lazzo

Is usually a slightpiece of commedia

comic mime orpantomime elabo-

ration by thecomic

servants. It growsthroughout theperformance tobecome a signa-

ture of theactor or

servant character.



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Comédie-Française is the longest standing theatre

troupe in the world. Founded by the order of King

Louis XIV in 1680, Comédie-Française was a union of

the only two Parisian acting troupes of the time. Theorganization’s repertoire resembles that of its medieval

parent, Confrérie de la Passion (“Confraternity of the

Passion”), which was a company of Parisian burghersfounded in 1402 who presented religious plays. By the

decree of the King, the company presented works that

were conservative. Comédie-Française conserved thegreat works and styles of the past, but ultimately be-come stale in its traditional ways until the upheaval of

the French Revolution.

The troupe is run like a business in that each permanent

member holds a share, while newer members hold ei-ther a half or quarter of a share. The shareholders make

all the decisions for the troupe, from the plays to choos-

ing their own parts in the plays. Certainly, a playwrightwho may have a particular actor in mind may have in-

put. There are full members called societaires who are

only selected to either replace a member who has died

or resigned. After 20 years of service an actor or actressis entitled to a pension for life.

The modus operandi (mode of operation) remains the

same, even after several reorganizations, the most im-

portant occurred during Napoleon’s administration in

1812.

Italian theatre had already been making its way to

Paris by the 16th century, before the Age of Theatre

in France. Comédie-Italienne, was a troupe of actors

established in France in 1653 and was historicallysupported by the monarchy and presented in roy-

ally-sanctioned theatres only. The company pre-

sented the Italian theatrical form, commediadell’arte (comedy of humors, Italian Comedy), ver-

sus the more refined and conservative work of

Comédie-Française. Those who understood Italianas well as improvisational antics, mime and panto-mime, acrobatics and burla were pleased.

The company interspersed French language into

their presentations and eventually took on entire

productions in French. The Italian players used improvisation within a structured framework of situa-

tions, the plot usually came from a common literary

tradition and the characters were exaggerated or parodies of stock types. Commedia dell’arte came

from impulse and character wit with a capacity to

create the scenario as well as the atmosphere. The

characters, usually 10 to 12 actors, were portrayed by props, costumes and specific masks, although the

innamorati (or lovers) did not wear masks. One

character in particular has remained a famous motif

by many cultures for hundreds of years, Arlecchino

(Harlequin). He was typically cast as a servant whowas depicted as stupid and insatiable, nevertheless

full of dexterity, and was generally a detriment to

his master. Commedia was well known for the traitsand energy exuded by this character.

Today, Commédie-Italienne remains in France and

is the only Italian theatre that resides there. The

troupe underwent several changes throughout thelast four centuries that may have rendered Com-

médie-Italienne unrecognizable from its original

form. The constancy of change is perhaps an accu-rate reflection of the evolution of the theatre in 18thcentury France.

While Comédie-Française grew with the development of culture and society in France (mostly Aristocratic tastes), it also

stayed rooted in the French tradition of Molière, Racine, Corneille, Scarron and Rotrou. Comédie-Italienne also grew andadapted to French standards as a place of cross-cultural exchange as it continued to remain steeped its tradition of com-

media dell’arte. As a French playwright, Marivaux worked closely with Commédie-Italienne for over 20 years, combin-

ing the refinement of French theatre and the comedic flavor of Italian theatre. The Triumph of Love is a great depiction of

the fusion of the form of Comédie-Française and that of Commédie-Italienne.

French Theatre vs. Italian

A superb build-ing of histori-cal heritage,

Comédie-Française

hosted some of

the greatestplays as well as

actors ofFrench theatre .



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The Triumph of Love is neither a lighthearted love story nor is it explicitly comedic, how-ever, the style of the performance is remnant of Italian commedia dell’arte.Since the 16th century, while commedia dell’arte has certainly been the Italian’s form oftheatre, it has been most admired and known outside of Italy. The characteristics of It-aly’s “comedy of art” are those of natural timing, relationships to the audience, and spe-cific characters that make it comprehensible and well liked by all cultures.Commedia dell’arte functioned through the use of improvisation within a set frameworkof the use of stock situations, familiar literary plots as well as masks. As an ensemble ofabout 10-12, each player would specialize in a particular character recognizable by cos-tume, masks and props, such as the slapstick. In Italy, male actors were dressed en trav-

esti—in women’s clothing and wigs—for the purpose of pure humor, rather than as aresult of social constraints like their English contemporaries. Above all, it was the actorswho gave commedia dell’arte its impulse and character, from which blossomed its popu-larity. Actors, relying on their witty exchanges, would have to commit to their characterwhile creating a particular atmosphere in which the scene would take place, usually withnearly no set and little costume.A typical performance involved a scenario of a young couple’s love being ruined by theirparents. The cast of characters was symmetrically set into pairs: two older men; two lov-ers; two zanni (foolish servants); a maidservant; a solider; and extras. The only two un-masked characters were the lovers and were the signature two of commedia dell’arte;however, it was the zanni who stole the stage. With names such as Panzanino, Buratino,Pedrolino, Fritellino, and most notably, Arlecchino and Pulcinella, the zanni were often

tumblers and acrobats as well as witty tricksters. Tricks of their trade were practical jokes (burle) and comic business (lazzi).The style of the performance of commedia made it easily recognizable as traveling playerswould set up an outdoor stage and provide amusement in the form of juggling, acrobat-ics and semi-improvised comedic plays with set characters and a rough plot. On manyoccasions, the traveling troupe would perform directly out of the back of the wagon inwhich they were traveling.The development of Italian commedia dell’arte began as early as 1545. Francesco Andre-ini and his wife, Isabella, headed the most famous early company, Gelosi, which per-formed from 1568 to 1604. Of the same period was the company Desiosi, formed in1595, in which the famous Arlecchino, Tristano Martinelli, performed. The Comici Con-

fidenti, 1574-1621, and the Uniti, originated in 1574 under Drusiano Martinelli and hiswife Angelica. The first company of France was developed around 1570 and was sup-ported in Paris. The king supported the Italian troupe of actors as long as the charactersand language developed with French culture. Commédie-Italienne was established as theItalian theatre company in France in 1653, specializing in commedia. The troupe re-mained tremendously popular until Louis XIV expelled Italian troupes in 1697.Although there was a major decline of commedia dell’arte, it did continue to live throughsilent traditions of mime, certain characters of Shakespeare, comedic drama in Germany,burlesque, and eventually the comedy of the three stooges, Charlie Chaplin and even thecomedy of the television series The Simpsons.The players: (from top) Dan

Hiatt, Danny Scheie, CatherineCastellanos, DomeniqueLozano, Stacy Ross, JudWilliford, The Triumph of Love.

Commedia dell’arte



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18th Century Attire

Men’s shoes in the 17th century were square and oftenblocked and domed (pictured right). Women’s shoes had apoint at the toe which was more feminine (pictured left).

Men’s fashion included meticulous tailoring, as the fit of the clothes be-

came increasingly important. The coat and waistcoat worn by men were abit looser than the preceding fashion period.

Undergarments — a long neck cloth (Steinkirk) is loosely knotted at thethroat, with ends pinned to the upper part of the coat or passed throughone of the buttonholes.Coat — with immensely large skirt flares set into pleats the coat hungopen. Pockets were placed low on either side on the fronts. The sleevesended at the wrist and were finished with large cuffs.Waistcoat — became considerably shorter in length than the coat. Twopockets were placed on either side of the front.Breeches — cut to fit more loosely on the leg. Small horizontal pocketswere placed on the waistband on either side of the buttoned opening.

Hats — occasionally trimmed with feathers, were good in size. Hats wereworn back on the head.Head — clean shaven face. Full bottomed wig is shorter and less formal.Accessories — large fur muffs were carried.

The general characteristics of women’s attire in the beginning of the 18thcentury was a very simple, loosely fitting closed robe or gown (sack) wornover a hooped underskirt and corsets.

Under garment — an underskirt extended to a bell shape (wide on thesides, narrow in front and back) by graduated hoops of whalebone orsteel, known as a farthingale. It was the widest in the time of Louis XVI,taking the space of 3-4 people. A corset was worn, French corsets lace infront versus British corsets which laced in back.Gown (sack) — it formed a large flowing ball from shoulders to hem. Theback pleats were sewn down to shoulder level, the front pleats convergedto a point in front with an opening tied with ribbons. Loose sleeves werepleated to the armholes and ended below the elbow in cuffs to reveal thechemise sleeve worn beneath.Hats — a small cap was worn with a frilled border. Typically hats weresquareAccessories — there was an absence of heavy jewelry. A ribbon was tiedaround the neck in place of a necklace. Small folding fans were used alongwith small muffs.

The drawings on this page are the originals used for this production of The Triumph of Love , by costume designer Rachel Barreta

By the end of the 17th century European clothing was at its

most extreme, after which the trend was toward more conserva-tive styles. The dimensions became smaller. Wigs weren't so

high. Trimming on garments wasn't as liberal as it once was. Un-der Louis XVI fashion struck out in many new directions, but the

changes were more in ornamentation than in the cut. Fashion,

just as much as politics, seemed headed for a revolution.



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Renditions of Triumph of Love

Marivaux’s classic play has been translated into several languages and has been pre-sented as a Broadway musical, adapted play and film.

Show poster from London’s version.

BroadwayPremiere

The Triumph of

Love

October 23, 1997

85 performances

Directed by

Michael Mayer

Choreographed byDoug Varone

Composed by

Jeffery Stock

Lyricist

Susan Birkenhead

Librettist

James Madgruder

USAREUR European Tournament of PlaysAwards:

Best MusicalBest Director (Musical): Brett Harwood

Best Actress in Musical: Jennifer King (Leonide)Best Supporting Actress (Musical): Ingrid Harwood (Hesione)Best Actress in a Minor Role (Musical): Kara Scaggs (Corine)

Best Design of a Poster: Daniel Ruf

The European production of The Triumph of Love won “Best Musical” in the USAREUR European Tournamentof Plays. It also received this prestigious award for Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, BestActress in a Minor Role and Best Poster and has been nominated in 9 more categories.

Film AdaptationThe Triumph of Love

ReleasedMay 10, 2002

Directed byClare Peploe

Starring

Mira Sorvino … The Princess

Rachael Sirling … CorineBen Kingsley … Hermocrates

Jay Rodan … AgisIgnazio Olivia … Harlequin

Luis Molteni … Dimas

Fiona Shaw … Leontine

• New York, NY; McCarter Theatre, 1992Adapted and directed by Stephen Wadsworth

• Berkley, CA; Berkley Repertory Theatre, 1994

• Broadway Premiere of The Triumph of Love, the Adapted Musical, 1997

• Suttengart, Germany; Kelley Theatre, European premiere of the Broadway

Musical The Triumph of Love

• University of Oregon; Arena Theatre. The Triumph of Love,Adaped Musical, 2001.

• Seattle, WA; Seattle Repertory Theatre, 2003

Adapted and Directed by Stephen Wadsworth

• The UCLA Music Workshop; Schoenberg Theatre. The Triumph of Love, Adapted Musical, 2003

• Manchester, UK; Royal Exchange Theatre, 2007

Translated by Braham Murray & Katherine Sand

• Orinda, CA; California Shakespeare Theatre in conjunction with SJ Rep, 2007

Adapted and Directed by Lillian Groag



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D

i s c u s s i o n

Q u e s t i o n s &

F u r t h e r R e s e a r c h

Pre-Show Study Questions

1. Commedia dell’arte and 18th Century French Comedy contain a set of stock char-acters who are recognizable in many different plays. Do you feel that tradition

holds true today? Are there character types who appear in movies or sitcoms?

What would you describe as the common/standard characters you see in modern

entertainment?

2. Clothing reached a peak of outrageous style toward the end of the 17th Century,

and then became progressively more conservative toward the start of the 18th Cen-

tury. How would you describe the trend of modern clothing styles? Are they be-coming more outlandish (or risqué), or are they trending toward the conservative?

Explain.

3. The Comédie-Française consisted of a permanent troupe of actors who were

“shareholders” in the company. What do you think are the advantages and disad-

vantages of having the same group of artists working on every show (rather thancasting/staffing on a show-by-show basis)? If you were to imagine your ideal

troupe of actors from today’s entertainers, who would the company consist of, and

why would you select those actors?

4. With the Comédie-Italienne, France adopted a traditional Italian theatre and made

it their own. They used the characters and frameworks of Italy’s commedia

dell’arte, but incorporated French sensibilities. Can you think of some traditions

from other countries/cultures (music, entertainment, food, etc.) that have been

adopted in this country and are now considered an integral part of our own cul-ture? What would those be? How do you feel they came to be a staple of Ameri-

can culture?

5. The shift, in France, from permissive to conservative culture came with the change

of the King. In that day and age the King had a great deal of influence over theculture, conduct and mores of his citizens. Do you feel the same holds true today

(in our country or in others)? Do you feel the President has any influence over the

culture of our society? Why or why not? If not, who are the people that you feel

do wield that kind of influence?



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D

i s c u s s i o n Q u e s t i o n s &

F ur t h e r R e s e ar c h

Post-Show Study Questions

1. Lillian Groag, the Director (and Adapter) of this production, felt it was importantto present the play with the classic style and sensibilities that were appropriate to

the time in which it was written. How do you feel about this choice? Do you feel

you got more out of the production by having it presented in a style that stayed

true to the play’s history? Can you imagine what it would be like if it was pre-

sented in modern setting and dress, and with modern language? Which version doyou feel would be more effective? Explain.

2. The Triumph of Love, as with many of Marivaux’s plays, represents a struggle between the mind (logic/reason), and the heart (love). Even when love triumphs,

it is not without a price to pay. How do you feel we should make important deci-

sions in our lives? Should everything be based on logic, or should we follow ourheart? Explain your reasoning.

3. The Triumph of Love is presented in collaboration with the California ShakespeareTheater. The play was first performed there, in an outdoor theater, and has now

moved to San Jose Rep, in an indoor venue. What do you feel are the challenges

of each venue (outdoor and indoor) in presenting the play? What do you feel are

the opportunities?

4. Several of the actors in this production have appeared on San Jose Rep’s stage

before, in different roles in other productions. If you have seen them before, dis-

cuss what it’s like to see them again in a completely different role. If you haven’t

seen them before, can you imagine them playing a character who is very differentfrom the one you saw in the show? Do you feel this makes the case for having

troupes of actors who consistently work together on different productions? Why

or why not?

5. In commedia dell’arte, the plot of a play was often just a framework within whichthe actors could then improvise. After having seen this play, what sections can

you imagine would have been left open to improvisation in Marivaux’s time?

What are the advantages of having the freedom to improvise during a play? What

do you think are the disadvantages?

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F ur t h e r R e s e ar c h

Reading

• Brady, Valentini Papadopoulou. Love in the Theatre of Marivaux (Librarie Droz, 1970).

• Culpin, David. Marivaux and Reason: A Study in Early Enlightenment Thought. (Peter

Lang, 1993).

• Hill, Margot Hamilton. The Evolution of Fashion, Pattern & Cut 1066-1930.

•

Jamieson, Ruth Kirby. Marivaux: A Study in Sensibility. (Octagon Books, 1967).

• Meeker, Kimberly. Politics of the Stage: Theatre and Popular Opinion in EighteenthCentury Paris. > www.binghamton.edu/history<

• Trott, David. Border Crossings, naturalization and change: the final years of the

Comédie-Italienne in France, 1752-1779. (Milwaukee, 1999)

• About the life of Pierre Marivaux

>http://www.nndb.com<

• Broadway Premiere of the Musical, The Triumph of Love

>http://www.broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/triumph.htm<

• European Premiere of the Musical, The Triumph of Love>triumphoflove.de<

• Information on the Palace of Versailles

>http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/<

Further Research

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triumph of love alw study guide

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