Me and Orson Welles

Posted on 2 March 2011

A FilmEducation DVD - Me and Orson Welles - to which Professor Mike Cordner contributed extensive interview material - has won the "Learning on Screen" awards from the British Universities Film and Video Council.

The DVD is a study aid for the movie Me and Orson Welles, a fictionalised account of Orson Welles’ production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in New York in 1937. Although based on actual events, the film links two separate stories – a love story involving fictional character Richard Samuels (Zac Efron) and the actual staging of the play.

The FilmEducation DVD aims to:

  • look at both the construction of the film itself from the point of view of narrative and themes
  • consider the importance of Shakespeare as a cultural icon
  • consider the approaches to a drama text that both film and theatre directors can take and how these decisions might affect the presentation of the text on both the stage and on screen
  • show how performers, designers and directors communicate meaning to an audience
  • develop an understanding of how a play relates to its historical, social and cultural context
  • look at the connections between theory and practice demonstrated through a range of forms, genres and performance styles
  • examine the directorial overview required in the interpretation and realisation of a theatrical performance
  • explore performance and/or production skills appropriate to the creation and realisation of drama and theatre
  • develop the ability of students to think independently, make judgements and refine their work in the light of research
  • develop the ability to analyse the ways in which different performance and production elements are brought together to create both film and theatre.