photograph
Artwork
Accession Number
2012.007.003.184Description
Ten women in Elizabethan costume apparently playing roles in a play. They are standing in front of a large building with columns surrounding the entrance. In the centre, a woman dressed as a Friar is standing over a female character who has fallen to the ground and is being comforted by another woman. The other actors are observing the scene.Narrative
The location depicted in this photograph is the courtyard of Miss Ransom and Miss Bridges School for Girls in Piedmont, California. Dola Dunsmuir attended this school from 1919-1920, when she was 17 years old. The school existed from 1908 to 1932, and was not only a finishing school for young ladies, but also offered a challenging curriculum for university preparation. The school had accommodation for 50 girls and offered frequent outings to concerts and plays as well as riding and hiking clubs. Students also performed an annual Shakespeare play.The women depicted in this photograph are playing roles in a church scene from Shakespeare's 'Much Ado About Nothing'. Dola Dunsmuir is playing the role of the Friar. While her character is leading the proceedings in this scene, the Friar is a small part in the overall play. In a letter from the school principal, Marion Ransom, written in 1920 to Dola's mother, Laura Miller Dunsmuir, she mentions that "Dola in the tryouts for our annual Shakespeare play won the part of the Friar in “Much Ado about Nothing”… It is always considered an honor to have even a small part in this play and I think Dola is really pleased.”1
In this scene, Count Claudio, standing in the centre-left of the image, has (wrongly) accused Hero of being unchaste and rejected her as they stand before the Friar to be married. Hero, lying at centre-right, has fainted from the shock of the accusation and is being tended to by her cousin, Beatrice.
1. Royal Roads University Archives, 025-018 Dola Cavendish, series 2.0: Correspondence from Miss Ransom and Miss Bridges' School, Piedmont California.
