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Shakespeare on a Shoestring - Cymbeline! by Michael Calderone play script cover

Shakespeare on a Shoestring - Cymbeline!

by Michael Calderone

Did you know that Cymbeline has all of Shakespeare’s most famous plot devices? It has… Faked Death! Mistaken Identity! Parental Marital Veto! But wait, there’s more!

Join our players as they tackle the play in the Shoestring style, which emphasizes ensemble, the physical space (with all scenery created by living tableaux) and audience interaction.

It’s the perfect storm for your students to sync up their Shakespeare and turn up their technique.

Recommended for High Schools and Middle Schools

At a Glance

Running Time
About 50 minutes
Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes
Cast
12 Characters
6 M6 F, Plus percussionist. Easily expandable.
Set
Simple set
Length
46 pages
Free Excerpt

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Performance Royalty Fees

Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes.

Exemption details for scenes and monologues for competition.

12 Characters

6 M, 6 F, Plus percussionist. Easily expandable.

Characters in this play are currently identified as male or female. Directors are welcome to assign any gender (binary or non-binary) to any character and modify pronouns accordingly.

Yellow Man: Belarius [M] 36 lines
Yellow Lady: Pisania/Pisanio [A] 35 lines
Red Man: Cloten/Jupiter [M] 47 lines
Red Lady: Queen [F] 27 lines
Blue Man: Posthumous [M] 51 lines
Blue Lady: Imogen [F] 71 lines
Purple Man: Cymbeline [M] 35 lines
Purple Lady: Caius Lucius [F] 28 lines
Green Lady: Guilderius/Polydore [F] 40 lines
Green Man: Arviragus/Cadwal [M] 30 lines
Orange Man: Iachimo [M] 62 lines
Orange Lady: Doctor, Narrator [F] 78 lines
Percussionist
An onstage percussionist who punctuates the action

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