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 Why Chaucer? Because Chaucer lights up what is so brilliantly human in each of us through his wide and deeply colorful human canvas.
In the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, above all other writers in the English language, crafted a uniquely theatrical examination of the human comedy, and did so with a singular passion for the whimsical and the
profound.
Considered the Father of English Poetry, and an unsurpassed master of the storytelling art, Chaucer left us a magnificent body of work -- verses and tales that whisper to us across the centuries, like
closely held secrets that make us chortle and private truths that touch our hearts. All this and considerably more generate a tremendously compelling passion in Geoffrey Chaucer & Co. to bring the sheer theatre of Chaucer's literary and
spiritual secrets to life. To spread the word, so to speak.
How did it begin? Sometimes history turns on coincidence and momentum. In 1994, while seeking new material as a composer and director, I happened to overhear a local actor reading Chaucer aloud. In an attempt to boost
the spirits of an ailing mutual friend, he began reading The Miller’s Tale to her from Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. I was startled to find that the warmth, the humor, the bawdy exuberance of the material lifted our
friends’ heart like nothing else we’d tried. It occurred to me that this, among other things, made for terrific theatre.
This was not the Chaucer I remembered from high school. My first memories of Chaucer were of slogging through an endless two pages of The Wife of Bath’s Tale in Middle English verse. Hearing Chaucer read aloud in modern
English like this electrified me, and enticed me to read the entire Canterbury Tales. Not only would the Miller’s make a great one-man show, I thought, perhaps the idea of a one-man show was way too narrow. Why not cast the
entire tale? Why not stage them all?
Our first production took place on April 19, 1996. Julian
Lopez-Morillas performed the Nun’s Priest’s Tale on the Marin Civic Center’s Showcase Theatre stage, wearing a rented medieval clerics’ costume with only a modern drafting stool for a set. The production was backed by a cinematic
soundtrack, and the entire, shoe-string package was extremely well-received.
Empowered by this kind of response, we proceeded to develop the epic undertaking of producing all the Canterbury Tales, beginning the full cycle in September of 1996. In our first season, we stayed with the single
“story-acting” model for the Knight, Miller, Reeve, Cook and Lawyer’s tales. As we developed the material with several fine actors, we began to explore new ways to make the tales come more powerfully alive and to better
reach our audiences.
For our fourth show, in February, 1997, we began a major theatrical shift. As each tale begins, the teller of the tale begins to “cast” the other pilgrims, enlisting them to play various characters in his story. By
1997, when we reached the Squire’s Tale, we began to incorporate classically-trained dancers to play the role of fairies, gods, servants, courtiers, etc., adding a wonderful, choreographic dimension to some of
the tales. In the spring of 2000, we shifted our soundtrack to the live, solo cello work of the great cellist Joan Jenrenaud, formerly of the Kronos Quartet, elevating the musical dimension of our mission.
Then, in December of 2000 we began an experiment in musical theatre. The results were so exciting that we are now continuing to develop each set of tales in this format, as Canterbury Tales Musicals.
We are also beginning to "cast" the audience as Canterbury Pilgrims. This inclusive approach serves to enable each of us to more fully share the wonderful place Chaucer has created for us to experience.
Thanks for joining us in our journey to Canterbury.
John Geist 9/7/02
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