1. Cyrano de Bergerac By Edmond Rostand

2. The Author… Edmund Rostand was born in Marseilles, France in 1868. He was educated as a lawyer, but fell in love with poetry and drama. Cyrano de Bergerac was produced in 1897 with great success.

3. The times… Theatre of the era was firmly steeped in the new style of Realism popularized by Henrik Ibsen (A Doll’s House). Cyrano was a great departure from this. It was written in the romantic style.

4. The Romantic style… This style of theatre is primarily defined by the fact that it is written in Alexandrian verse and contains five acts. This means that the play was written in rhymed couplets of twelve syllables per line. What is this style of verse similar to?

5. The Play… Based loosely on the real person Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac – a successful writer who composed one of the earliest works of science fiction – The Other World: the Comical History of the States and Empires of the Moon.

6. The Play… The play begins in Paris, 1640 in a theater. Cyrano is full of bravado, a master duelist and poet – the kind of guy every woman wants and every man wants to be. His only flaw? His gargantuan nose.

7. The Play… In the first act, we are introduced to our characters. Roxanne: The object of desire for all. Christien: Loves Roxanne, but is a bit of a “schmoo”. Cyrano: Also loves Roxanne, but is afraid of being rejected because of his nose. Count de Guiche: Our “villain”.

8. Other interesting facts… The real Cyrano is thought to have been a homosexual. The relationship with Roxanne is completely fictional. Steve Martin adapted the story in a film called Roxanne.

9. Respond: What is honor? What is love (baby don’t hurt me)? When is it ok to deceive someone? What qualities do you think are the most important in a man? What qualities do you think are the most important in a woman?

10. Scenes… Minimum of 20 lines each Costumes optional Performed onstage Graded on blocking, memorization, character work, voice, and audience behavior (50 points possible)

11. Scenes… Scene selection due: Friday, 4/16 Character analysis due: Monday, 4/19 Beats and blocking due: Tuesday, 4/20 Memorization check: Friday, 4/23 Perform: Tuesday, 4/27