Cyrano de Bergerac

by Edmond Rostand

Newly translated by Sean Patrick Taylor
Directed by Stephanie Shine

 

Director's Note

I’m delighted when I hear about the discovery of yet another planet or galaxy. The universe seems to constantly offer us more. It unfolds itself as quickly as our technology will allow us to perceive it.

Then there is the magnitude of the human brain to consider. I thrill at the thought that human beings use just a small portion of it. We’ve no idea what our brains are capable of conceiving and creating.

Which leads me to Cyrano, a play that stands alone in the canon of great plays as singular in its scope as its titular character is in quality. A play that asks us to explore perhaps the most infinite of terrains: the loving human heart.

I remember being in my first year of acting school, fresh out of high school, and one of my more cynical classmates started going off about man’s inhumanity to man. It was the first time I heard that phrase. It made me think about Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, 1984 – books that I had read in high school and absolutely hated. I’ll be the first to admit I live my life with Pollyanna-like optimism and hope. Those aforementioned pieces of literature, masterpieces to many, still make me recoil with the thought of them. Humanity is capable of so much more – where is the countering man’s humanity to man?

An article in the Seattle Times recently reported the results of a study that showed humankind’s innate altruism appeared as early as 18 months of age. Toddlers, without being asked, retrieved a dropped item when they perceived the other person needed help picking it up. Amidst all the terrible news in the paper, here was one sweet morsel of truth that made me smile the entire day. We human beings are naturally altruistic. Without thought, we naturally help one another. We are generous beings.

The characters in Cyrano de Bergerac all discover the greatest human qualities in themselves. It’s the primary journey for them. The relationship obstacles that stymie us today bedevil them, but they love through it. Love is what fuels, guides, and drives their exploration. Love in all its many faces with its many associated benevolent behaviors like altruism, honor, respect, compassion, kindness, sacrifice, and good humor, will ultimately elevate every character in this play.

That’s why Cyrano de Bergerac is in a class of its own. Humankind triumphs with this play.

This play inspires us to love so well. This play commands our courage and leads us into the vast infinity of the human heart, expanding our capacity to love. Our hearts will unfold, just as the universe does, as soon as we let ourselves perceive it. No technology needed. Just courage.

Stephanie Shine
Artistic Director

 

For John Bradshaw – who saw the same production of this play in 1980 that I did and who guides this theatre company with Cyrano-like love and dedication, standing in the shadows, while the light falls on me. Thank you.