Women on Shakespeare: Ismenia Mendes on Cressida

Since most Shakespearean casts are male-heavy (and some are male-only), coverage tends to focus on men who create the work. Let's balance that out! This is #13 in my interview series, Women on Shakespeare. I'm talking with the women who produce and perform Shak and related work in New York.

This summer, Ismenia Mendes stars in Troilus and Cressida at the Public Theater's free Shakespeare in the Park. Our conversation about Much Ado's Hero (who she played at the same venue in Summer '14) inspired me to start this series, so I'm particularly thrilled to email with her about her return visit to the Delacorte, and how her perspective on Shakespeare's women has changed in two years.

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It's a pleasure to talk with you again, Ismenia! Let’s start with your role as Cressida. She’s not as well-known as most of Shakespeare’s heroines. What have you discovered about her that you find fascinating? What are her finest qualities, and her worst ones? What knots did the playwright leave for you to untangle?

I actually had not read this play until auditioning for it. Maybe it was that I read it at 2 a.m. but my first thought after reading it was, “Holy shit, this woman belongs to the 21st century.” She is so unbelievably contemporary. She’s crude, smart, sexy, cynical (or tries to be) — and her story is one of Shakespeare’s most relevant to today’s culture of misogyny. This is also a play where Shakespeare poses a lot of problems/questions and doesn’t really give you many answers. You’re pretty much on your own — luckily this play in particular just begs interpretation. I’m actually grateful that Cressida is played so seldom. It’s really given me the opportunity to define her for myself.

Cressida shows a very different spirit than most of Shak’s lovers, maybe one more open to interpretation. How would you describe her relationships with her uncle, Troilus, and Diomedes? How do you envision her inner life over the arc of the play?

Here’s the thing. Cressida’s dad defected to the Greek side (She’s a Trojan) years ago and she has basically been raised by her very dirty, very outspoken, and very bawdy uncle. As a result, you have a woman who is equally bawdy, equally outspoken and easily the smartest person in every scene. She has no real social standing, which gives her a lot more freedom than most of Shakespeare’s other heroines — and she uses that freedom. She is acutely self-aware, but also struggling to define herself in this very masculine world. I feel like her uncle has raised her with all of these warnings about men, and so she tries to project this cynical, hardened façade, but is actually this very innocent, intelligent young woman struggling to find her place in the world, and in love.

Mendes as Cressida with John Glover (c)
and Andrew Burnap (l)

In Shakespeare’s era, “as false as Cressida” was a sexist cliché about women’s infidelity. How does her role in the story address that cliché? Is there room for its ironic subversion in modern times?

I actually believe that what Shakespeare has written is very much in defense of Cressida. And I honestly have some real difficulties understanding how the few productions that have been done of Troilus and Cressida have been so damning of her. The timing of this production is so perfect, what with the Brock Turner case and the conversation this country is having about our rape culture. Cressida is forced into an impossible decision — she does what she does to survive. She is in no way, the ‘inconstant woman.’

Can you tell us about the other women in T&C’s cast? You, Nneka Okafor, and Tala Ashe are a racially and culturally diverse trio, and (unlike Taming earlier this summer) the three of you are a minority gender-wise too. Do you think those identities play into the production’s depictions of women?

Absolutely. The women in this play all have one thing in common: they are consistently devalued and silenced. I think Dan purposefully cast only men in the ensemble. The women are so vastly outnumbered that there is this sense that they may, at any time, be swallowed whole. And I think, metaphorically, they are.

You’re working closely with John Glover again! How would you describe your chemistry together? What have you picked up from him here and in Much Ado? And how do Cressida and Pandarus mirror and distort Hero and her father?

John! Oh I could go on and on about my love for John Glover. He is a master of play. Sharing a stage with him is not only wickedly fun, but also immensely educational. He has an ease with the language that just floors me. Playing his daughter Hero, though, was a very different task from playing his niece Cressida. Mostly because Hero and Cressida are about as different as you can get. In Much Ado you have a dutiful, sweet, almost repressive father-daughter relationship. In our production of Troilus and Cressida, Pandarus has all but raised Cressida, but not at all as a Hero. They behave as contemporaries (whether or not that may be the reality) — they mock and tease each other mercilessly, constantly trying to one-up each other.

Mendes as Hero with Lily Rabe's Beatrice
in 2014's Much Ado

In our conversation about Much Ado, you mentioned that the Delacorte’s environment & thrust stage forced you to be “smarter & more aware” of your acting choices. What strategies will you revisit this time around? Anything you’ll do differently?

My vocal work in this show is very different. Hero was in many ways a kind of woman-child. Cressida is a woman in every regard. She is a survivor and a force of nature. Because of this my pre show vocal warm-ups have changed. There is also the difference of period vs. contemporary costumes. I have a lot more freedom in this production. It is so nice not having to speak Shakespeare in a corset.

Also last time around, you mentioned wanting to play Juliet and Perdita. Have you had those chances yet? or any other Shakespearean or classical roles you’ve played in the last two years? Do you have any Shakespearean dream-roles traditionally played by men?

I’ve got the Cressida bug. Now, instead of Juliet and Perdita, I’m hankering to play Rosalind and Lady M. I'm entering a period in my life where the appeal of playing teenagers has pretty much disappeared.

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The Public Theater's free Shakespeare in the Park stages Troilus and Cressida from July 19 to August 14 at the Delacorte in Central Park. Tickets are free.

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headshot  Hannah Sherman
photos #2 & 3  Joan Marcus

Review: The Tempest (Shakespeare in the Park)

The Tempest

playwright  William Shakespeare

company  Shakespeare in the Park

theater  Delacorte Theater

players

Jordan Barrow, Louis Cancelmi, Francesca Carpanini, Nicholas Christopher, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Chloe Fox, Rosharra Francis, Thomas Gibbons, Frank Harts, Sunny Hitt, Brandon Kalm, Olga Karmansky, Tamika Sonja Lawrence, Rico Lebron, Danny Mastrogiorgio, Tim Nicolai, Matthew Oaks, Charles Parnell, Chris Perfetti, Rodney Richardson, Laura Shoop, Cotter Smith, Sam Waterston, and Bernard White

director  Michael Greif

set  Riccardo Hernandez

costumes  Emily Rebholz

lights  David Lander

sound  Acme Sound Partners/Jason Crystal

soundscapes  Matt Tierney

music  Michael Friedman

Sam Waterston & Francesca Carpanini
in Shakespeare in the Park's Tempest

The Tempest has Shakespeare’s greatest stage direction: “Enter Ariel, invisible.” The one in Winter's Tale about the bear is gonzo, but this has a paradoxical beauty that begs the question, "How do you stage that?" In that sense, it stands for the whole play, which demands inventive staging. By this criterion, the summer’s Tempest in Central Park is a let-down.

The opening storm establishes the tone and range of any Tempest. Here it’s an ultra-conventional bit of confused shouting over realistic SFX of thunder and techy flashes of lightning. After that uninspired curtain-raiser, the lighting is often harsh; the music is live percussion, a cliché of the modern Shake-stage. The design feels all wrong for this elemental play, with its steel gantry trimmed with neon to dominate the set. There is a photorealistic backdrop of waves and a couple phony-looking rocks—the stage could serve for Winter’s Tale or any other play involving a shipwreck. Each of the play’s three plots has a highly theatrical moment—a fantastical banquet, a sumptuous clothes closet, and a marital masque—but all three opportunities are squandered. Plot and sense is subsumed under stage business and emotional telegraphy.

The actors’ stylized, almost syncopated versifying is consistent in method but also includes a tendency to over-emote without communicating sense. The characterizations are also generic. Even Jesse Tyler Fergusson, a sitcom star & legit actor who was so delightful in Comedy of Errors a few seasons back and here the play's jester, lacks pizazz. Of the supporting cast, only Louis Cancelmi’s Caliban feels original and new. He’s got a knock-kneed, simian gait, and speaks as if with a speech impediment to suggest his recent acquisition of language. The lovers have a few earnest moments (note how Miranda pities Caliban through their first scene), but otherwise each plot simply passes the time until the next one.

Sam Waterston, at least, has laid the foundations for a solid Prospero. Dressed in light linens and sandals, he looks like a semi-retired Easthamptonite. But in the first scene he establishes Prospero as a cantankerous grump towards his daughter, then goes further by casting the wizard as Ariel’s slavemaster and Caliban’s torturer. He may overdo it in this scene but he’s having actorly fun with Shak (and that’s more than most of the cast do). His performance stays on this note till the finale, when he learns mercy, absolves the guilty courtiers and drunkards, and even hugs Caliban while ceding the island to him. It’s a strong arc for the character and a spine for Greif’s otherwise limp Tempest.

Louis Cancelmi, Jesse Tyler Ferguson & Danny Mastrogiorgio
in Shakespeare in the Park's Tempest

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Shakespeare in the Park's Tempest runs May 27 to July 5 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

photos: Joan Marcus

Interview: Ismene Mendes as Hero

For some people, summer only begins when the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park starts its run. That's definitely the case for Ismenia Mendes, who makes her Delacorte debut on Tuesday as the innocent Hero in Much Ado About Nothing. This recent Juilliard grad has already worked Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons, the Flea, and Clubbed Thumb. NYTR editor Aaron Grunfeld spoke with Ismenia about her views on Shakespeare, acting, and her rehearsal process.

Ismene Mendes (r) with Jack Cuttmore-Scott
rehearsing Much Ado About Nothing

Have you seen or performed in Much Ado before?

Much Ado was actually the first Shakespeare play I ever performed in—I played one of the watchmen when I was in high school! I recall having given the character a horrendous cold.

Could you tell us something about Hero? What’s the most difficult facet of the role? How do you handle your character’s reconciliation with her fiancé?

The trickiest thing about playing Hero is actually understanding her and loving her. As a contemporary woman in New York City, it's hard to empathize with a girl who is as compliant, dainty and well-behaved as Hero. I've had this issue when watching other actors perform her as well—here you a have a modern woman, Beatrice, essentially behaving as a man in a man's world—and there's Hero next to her: she's quiet, obedient, and for most women today, absolutely infuriating. I'm finding that the trick is not to fight against what Shakespeare has written but to really inhabit it. I can't be concerned with an audience's (or my own) prejudices toward her.

As to how I handle the reconciliation with Claudio at the end—I don't know yet. I'm starting to think Hero doesn't know either.

What’s your background in Shakespearean acting? Do you believe training is necessary to play Shakespeare? Do you have any particular Shakespearean roles you’d love to perform?

I was recently a student at Juilliard and was fortunate enough to receive a pretty spectacular education—but no, I don't think formal training is "necessary" to perform Shakespeare. That being said, however you acquire it, I do believe that knowledge of the text, verse, pentameter, etc is paramount—Shakespeare pretty much gives you a map, if you know how to read it.

Are there any particular roles in Shakespeare you’d love to do?

I would love to play Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and Perdita in The Winter's Tale. Those are definitely at the top of my "in the next 5 years" list.

You’re working with Jack O’Brien, who has a long and successful record with Shakespeare. Did his approach to Much Ado introduce you to new methods of performing the work?

Yes! Jack is incredibly curious—he's not interested in preconceived notions, planned work or character choices made in the first week. I walked in the first day thinking I knew exactly who Hero was, but as of right now she is unrecognizable from who I first thought her to be. It can be really quite intimidating (and frustrating) to keep yourself in a state of 'not knowing'—but ultimately, it makes for a far more specific and truthful character.

Much Ado offers roles for a remarkable range of ages, with Hero being one of the youngest. What tips have you picked up from actors like Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater, or from John Glover and Brian Stokes Mitchell, with their varying degrees of experience?

I'm pretty shy—and I find that I learn the most when I sit quietly and watch them at work. It's hard to put into words actually… It's pretty overwhelming, in a deep and humbling way. One thing that immediately struck me in the first week is how individual and unique they each are in their process. There really is no one, "best" way of getting to the heart of a character and play—each of them is so extremely different and brilliant in their own process.

Let’s talk a little about Shakespeare in the Park. What shows have you seen at the Delacorte over the years?

I've been coming to The Public’s Delacorte Theater since high school, but some of my recent favorites were The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night. People line up all night for a reason—I've seen some incredibly inspiring work up on that stage. Working here for the first time is a dream come true.

Have you done any outdoor theater before? What are you looking forward to or apprehensive about?

I haven't, and I think I'm most terrified of dancing in a corset in 90 degree weather while mosquitoes attack me.

Along the same lines, the Delacorte is a huge house. How do you prepare for such a large audience? How do you expect the size to alter your approach to performance?

Well, there's the size—but there's also the thrust stage. It forces you to be a smarter, more aware actor…. Warming up helps too.

Ismene Mendes (l) with Jack Cuttmore-Scott
rehearsing Much Ado About Nothing

Off-Broadway, Ismenia Mendes has played Bernie in Your Mother's Copy of the Kama Sutra at Playwrights Horizons and Peggy in A.R. Gurney's Family Furniture Miracle with Clubbed Thumb at the Flea. Since training at Juilliard, she has also played Katharine and Boy in Henry V at Two River Theater.

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The Public Theater’s free Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing will run June 3 through July 6 with an opening on Monday, June 16.

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This interview originally ran on New York Theatre Review

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photos  Tammy Shell