With William Shakespeare’s famous quote that “all the world’s a stage,” there would seem to be no student at the College of William and Mary more emblematic of this than theater student Topher Zane ’25. For Zane, the stage has been a principal part of his world at the College. During his time with Shakespeare in the Dark, Zane has directed “Gallathea,” “Hamlet” and “King Lear” and played Benedick in “Much Ado About Nothing.” Currently, he serves as the director for Shakespeare in the Dark’s production of “As You Like It,” which will run Oct. 27-29.
Although Zane is a theater major now, he did not start out as one. Originally, he was on a pre-med track, but his plans turned upside down when he decided to direct “Gallathea” with Shakespeare in the Dark in the spring 2023 semester.
“I thought it’d be fun, and then I just had such an amazing time doing that,” Zane said.
Zane described how he discovered something akin to a calling.
“It was a relief,” he said. “It was really just the choice of I’d rather work till I die and do something fun, than have a lucrative career and do something that I would enjoy less. I think that I don’t really get scared very often, because even if I fail, I tried.”
Zane’s fascination with Shakespeare’s works began when he was six years old, when his dad handed him a copy of “Henry V.” Throughout his childhood, Zane attended the American Shakespeare Center theater camp and continued to delve into his passion for the playwright’s work. At the College, he remained an actor until directing “Gallathea.”
Now, as Zane directs “As You Like It,” he attempts to keep Shakespeare’s work fresh with a modern spin. “As You Like It” is a comedy that centers around Rosalind and Orlando, who fall in love at first sight in classic Shakespearean fashion. However, the pair ends up knee-deep in complications, also in classic Shakespearean fashion. Originally, the events of the play occur within two worlds: the court and the forest. Zane wanted to change this in his production.
Instead of the traditional settings, the characters in Shakespeare in the Dark’s interpretation travel between the roaring ’20s and 1950s suburbia. Zane explained that although the characters in the ’20s setting view the ’50s as positive — as a realization of the “American Dream”— the patriarchal overtones of that time indicate that it might not, in fact, be much better at all.
“I want people to think about the ways in which we view progress,” Zane said. “Like the way that we view our past, and the way that we idealize periods of time that we wish we could go back to, when in reality there’s nothing that really makes them so great.”
Zane said his primary wish for the audience of “As You Like It” is that they have a good time. He highlighted theater’s ability to be a medium for telling great stories. Comparatively, he said that on television, the viewer is alienated from the story to an extent because of the screen and distance it brings.
“There’s a level of bringing the audience into the world of the show that you can’t do in any other medium,” Zane said. “When it comes to effecting change or teaching people about experiences that they haven’t had, I don’t think there’s a better way to do that.”
Minimalist technical aspects form the foundation for Zane’s implementation of this immersiveness.
“We do things in the traditional style that Shakespeare would have,” Zane said. “They didn’t use lighting cues, they didn’t really use a set. What they had was universal lighting so the audience could see each other and the actors.”
Universal lighting also forms the foundation for allowing actors to interact directly with the audience. During Zane’s productions, actors might ask the audience questions or attempt to rally their support.
“I focus on bringing the audience into the world,” Zane said.
Once rehearsals begin, Zane’s intended vision for a work remains top-of-mind. This being said, he makes sure to acknowledge how the play carries individual meaning for each student involved. Zane described an exercise he conducted before an off-book rehearsal for “King Lear.”
“I had everybody stand in a circle,” Zane said. “I said, ‘Close your eyes.’ I said, ‘I want you to think about why you are telling this story. Because I know you know why I’m telling it. You know why I want to be here. But every single one of you is telling a piece of this story. You have a place in it, and you have to find something about it that matters to you and use that.’”
For Zane, his job as director extends beyond setting the stage and into audience involvement. In his view, his job encompasses two roles.
“Tell the story and create the art in the rehearsal room every day with the actors,” Zane said. “And then the other part is to pull all the different aspects of the production together to create one cohesive story.”
When talking about the actors and the people involved in the production, Zane’s primary goal with directing focuses on community.
“I want to create a safe and supportive environment for everybody where they can not only create something beautiful, but also have fun while they do it,” Zane said. “I want everyone to feel respected and valued and to have their voice heard.”
Along these lines, Zane noted how he adopts a unique leadership approach in his creative process.
“I sort of have a philosophy where even though I’m as in charge as the director, I don’t like to give commands,” he said. “If there’s a thing I disagree with someone on, we basically talk about it until one of us changes their mind.”
Zane went on to discuss the importance of accessibility in “As You Like It.” He explained it can be achieved in multiple ways, including through his interpretation of the play.
“A lot of that process is thinking about the ways that it matters to modern society and to our audiences,” Zane said. “So just from there, we get a sense of what’s going to bring meaning to the people who are actually going to be in those seats.”
Reducing ticket prices for students, who are the target audience, is also important for increasing accessibility from Zane’s point of view. He identified this effort as a response to a problem with how creators have sometimes approached theater.
“I think we also need to consider who we’re making theater for,” he said. “I think so much of Shakespeare and theater generally can be produced with the idea in mind that you’re making it for people who already love it, predominantly wealthier, more privileged people.”
Zane explained that exclusivity was never Shakespeare’s intention with his work.
“It’s very much born out of commoners and everyday people wanting to be entertained,” he said.
When working on the script itself, Zane’s first step while working with actors on a given scene is paraphrasing, which involves having actors translate Shakespeare into modern English.
“If you go see a Shakespeare production and you don’t know what [the actors are] saying, it’s probably because the actors don’t know what they’re saying,” Zane said. “So that’s really where I start to make sure that the audience gets every piece of this story.”
According to Zane, the fact Shakespeare is oftentimes taught suboptimally in schools can also taint how people perceive Shakespeare in the long-term. However, whether it is through more affordable ticket prices, modernized versions of the script or simply just working to foster a good sense of community, Zane is looking forward to another opportunity to help the works of the great playwright become more liked at the College.
“I think that people really dislike Shakespeare because of the ways that they’ve experienced it,” Zane said. “And I hope that people will give Shakespeare a chance, whether it’s [“As You Like It”] or something else, because I think that the stories told are so timeless and beautiful.”