The young lovers in Shakespeare’s The Tempest fall in love instantly as if by magic. Is such a thing possible in real life? SOPHIA HOWES looks at the play, the history of love magic, the biology of romance…and speed-dating.
Ferdinand and Miranda’s love in The Tempest would seem to be the Shakespearean equivalent of those advertisements for a beach holiday: pure magic, love and joy in a beautiful island setting. Is their romance just a fantasy? Let’s look at the reality.
Why do Ferdinand and Miranda fall in love so fast and hard?
In a real sense, their love begins in magic. It was Prospero’s magic that caused the wreck that precipitated Ferdinand’s arrival. When Ferdinand meets Miranda, he is following the “sweet air” of Ariel’s song. At first, he believes Miranda is magical herself, a goddess of the island. Miranda, who has lived with magic all her life, believes Ferdinand is magic too, a divine being, more than mortal.
Prospero feels the need to castigate Ferdinand, to create some conflict between the lovers to enhance their interest. The two do not realize that they are being manipulated, so the beauty of their love remains pure. Prospero calls Ferdinand a traitor. Ferdinand draws his sword. They are on the brink of a fight, while Miranda hangs on her father’s garments begging him to stop. Ferdinand responds with one of the most beautiful speeches in the play:
My spirits, as in a dream, are all bound up
My father’s loss, the weakness which I fled,
The wrack of all my friends, nor this man’s threats,
To whom I am subdued, are but light to me,
Might I through my prison once a day
Behold this maid: all corners else o’ th’ earth
Let liberty make use of; space enough
Have I in such a prison.
Prospero then says to Ariel, perhaps with some cynicism, “It works.”
Can their love really be pure if Prospero is always pulling the strings? Yes.
The next time we see Ferdinand, he has become a “patient log-man,” piling up logs at Prospero’s behest. Miranda offers to do it for him, but he refuses. He asks her name, “chiefly that I may set it in my prayers.” They exchange words of love, but it is Miranda who proposes to Ferdinand, while he joyfully accepts. Their love cannot be tainted, even as Prospero spies on them and schemes to bring about their marriage.
Prospero interferes again when he warns Ferdinand not to seduce Miranda. Ferdinand, answers diplomatically and the subject is dropped. The next time we see the two lovers, they are playing at chess. Miranda playfully accuses Ferdinand of cheating, and he pronounces his devotion once again.
In a way, Ferdinand and Miranda never escape the magic and mystery that surrounds them. Prospero does not drown his book until the very end of the play. But the unselfishness and devotion of the lovers makes it easy to understand that even if their love began in magic, it is now real.
Is love magic really a thing?
The association of magic with love has a long and storied history. Love spells can be found in the literature of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. In ancient Greece the gods could make you fall in love with whomever they chose; it often proved to be an unlikely person. Women tended to use philia spells to keep their husbands faithful, because women in this period had little or no power. Men preferred eros spells to inspire desire in the opposite sex.
In the year 160 CE, a Roman writer named Apuleius was accused of using love spells to attract a wealthy widow. He ended up in court, and his defense was that love was completely controlled by the gods. He won the case.
In the Middle Ages, a grimoire (a textbook on magic) called The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, by Abraham of Worms, contained spells that could be used by a woman “to make a man fall in love with you.”
During World War II, respected German folklorist Will-Erich Peuckert (1895–1969) escaped from the Nazis and withdrew into exile. In 1945 he fled advancing Russian troops, leaving behind his library of over 30,000 books. He is principally remembered, however, for an aside during one of his lectures in Bremen in 1959. He was discussing witches’ ointment that might contain hallucinogenic substances and remarked that he had once tried the ointment himself. This caused a scandal about the Professor who practiced witchcraft, flew through the air, and experienced many erotic adventures. The truth was slightly less exotic. He and a friend had tried the ointment in the 1920’s and he never used it again.
Can love magic happen in real life (like in speed-dating)?
Eli Finkel, a social psychologist from Northwestern University, says, “We’ve known since the 1970s that if you encounter people under pleasant circumstances, you have a much higher chance of liking them than if you encounter them under unpleasant circumstances.” In his research on speed-dating, he has found that if study participants say they “like” someone they are almost always “attracted” as well.
Biological anthropologist Helen Fisher from Rutgers University points out that there are three elements to romance:
- lust, the desire for sexual gratification;
- attraction, the exhilaration when around a person and need to develop an emotional union; and
- attachment, the calmer closeness that comes after five years of marriage, for example.
They are not necessarily stages that progress in order: Attachment can be first, then attraction and lust, or vice versa.
Is there such a thing as a modern love potion? Dr. Fisher says yes. To increase sex drive you would use a combination of androgens and estrogens. For affection, you’d administer dopamine and norepinephrine, at the same time as a drug to reduce the availability of serotonin. To increase attachment, you’d deliver a mix of oxytocin and vasopressin.
It is true, Dr. Fisher says, that increasing dopamine levels will cause temporary attraction. But the catch is that it won’t last. “In the morning you’re going to look at that person and wonder what the hell you were thinking.”
Where does that leave Ferdinand and Miranda and their “love at first sight”?
New research out of the Netherlands suggests that love at first sight is indeed possible (Zsok, Haucke, De Wot. & Berelds, 2017). The study asked nearly 400 participants to complete a survey after meeting a potential romantic partner.
These are the conclusions:
- Yes, people do experience love at first sight, a strong attraction that may or may not develop into a relationship.
- People seem more likely to experience love at first sight with very attractive people.
- Men seem to have more instances of love at first sight than women.
- Often, love at first sight isn’t mutual.
- When there is love at first sight, commitment and intimacy are more likely to follow.
This is clearly a victory for the romantics among us!
And where does this leave Ferdinand and Miranda? Young, idealistic, and very much in love! There is no evidence in The Tempest that suggests Ferdinand and Miranda’s love for each other was anything but genuine. Although magic surrounds it and in some sense envelops it, their “love magic” comes from within.
Sophia Howes, a playwright and director, is a senior reviewer and columnist DC Metro Theater Arts. More about her playwriting and her writing about DC theater can be found online.
The Tempest plays May 31 to July 1, 2018, at Gunston Arts Center Theatre Two, 2700 South Lang Street, Arlington, VA. Tickets are available online or by calling 703-418-4804.
Justin J. Bell (Caliban) is thrilled to be joining Avant Bard for this production. Justin is a teaching artist, director/movement director, playwright, and storyteller who focuses on comedy and physical theatre. He has taught with Gala Hispanic Theatre’s award-winning youth program, Paso Nuevo; in the Richmond Public School System through Art 180; and with Synetic Theater, where he has been a company member since 2015. Past and upcoming credits include Synetic Theater: Hansel and Gretel, The Taming of the Shrew, Dante’s Inferno, Alice in Wonderland, As You Like It, A Tale of Two Cities, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, The Island of Dr. Moreau (Helen Hayes nominated); Arts on the Horizon: To the Clouds, Nutt and Bolt (Helen Hayes nominated); Iron Crow Theatre: BootyCandy (Movement Director); Atramental Arts: The Root of All Knowledge (Director); Constellation Theatre Company: Journey to the West; relEASE Physical Theatre: straight on til moUrning; The Conciliation Project: Genocide Trail, Uncle Tom: de-constructed. He would like to thank his support system, especially his mom, who has been his biggest champion.
Allyson Boate (Miranda) is ecstatic to work with such lovely people in her first production with Avant Bard. She recently moved to the DMV area after touring with the National Players in Hamlet, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Giver. Previous credits include Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet (Chesapeake Shakespeare Company), Meg in Crimes of the Heart (Fable Theatre), Varya in The Cherry Orchard, and Ophelia in Hamlet (Treasure House Theater). 
Frank Britton (Alonso), a nine-year Acting Company member, marks his 15th Avant Bard production with The Tempest. He most recently appeared in Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train (2018 Helen Hayes Award winner of the Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play – Helen, and the 2017 Broadway World Regional Award winner for Best Actor in a Play – Small Professional Theatre) and The Farnsworth Invention (both at 1st Stage). A native Washingtonian, he has appeared with many area theatres over the past sixteen years: Wig Out! (Studio Theatre); King Lear (Avant Bard); Back to Methuselah: As Far As Thought Can Reach (Washington Stage Guild); The Freshest Snow Whyte (Imagination Stage); and Black Nativity (Theater Alliance). Other area credits include Two Trains Running and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Round House Theatre); Passion Play: a cycle, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Forum Theatre); Kafka’s Metamorphosis (Synetic Theater), The Balcony and Mother Courage and Her Children (SCENA Theatre); and Orpheus Descending (Arena Stage). Many, many thanks to Tom, Laura, and the Cast and Crew.
Brian Crane (Gonzalo) last appeared with Avant Bard as Bernard in There Is a Happiness That Morning Is. Other Avant Bard credits include Foka in Les Justes, Edward IV in Richard III, Sigmund in Secret Obscenities (Capital Fringe Festival), Steve in Small Craft Warnings, War in Peace, LeGrue in Red Noses, Lepidus in Caligula, Lodowick in Edward III, and DeNizza and Manco in The Royal Hunt of the Sun. Roles with The American Century Theater include Juror 11 in Twelve Angry Men, Frank Elgin in Country Girl, Leslie in Seascape, Woodley in Happy Birthday, Wanda June, the Producer in Hellzapoppin’, the Egg of Head in MacBird!, Harris in Tea and Sympathy, and Felix/Williams in Paradise Lost. He has also appeared as Clotaldo in Life’s a Dream with Journeymen Theatre.
Miles Folley (Ferdinand), hailing from Washington, D.C., has been interested in acting since watching the cast of Homicide: Life on the Street eat crabs in a Baltimore seafood spot and make it look realistic. After his mentors from UDC told him to audition at AMDA (American Musical and Dramatic Academy) to learn more about the craft, his love for the artform has grown deeper. He is thankful to have attained more lessons about acting in plays such as In the Cut (DC Black Theatre Festival), Antony and Cleopatra (Virginia Shakespeare Festival), and The Very Last Days of the First Colored Circus (Restoration Stage). He is thankful and humbled to continue his growth in his debut performance at Avant Bard.
Emily H. Gilson (Ariel) is thrilled to make her Avant Bard debut! Local credits include Sister James in Doubt at SeeNoSun Onstage; workshop readings in Avant Bard’s Scripts in Play Festival, Page-to-Stage at Kennedy Center, Ari Roth’s 2011 staging of his Born Guilty Cycle (Theatre Lab/Theatre J), and Source Festival. Emily is also an accomplished devised performer and founding collaborator with DC’s TBD Immersive, originating roles in In Cabaret We Trust and the celebrated Cabaret Rising at Dupont Undergound. Her debut short film, Silent Sentinel, is currently playing at festivals. She holds a BA in Drama and Medieval Studies from SUNY Purchase and also trained with Studio Theatre, Signature (Arlington, VA), and Shakespeare & Company (Lenox, MA). Love forever to JRHR. 
Christopher Henley (Prospero) is a founding Ensemble Member of (as we were known then) Washington Shakespeare Company and was Artistic Director from 1996 until 2013. In our first Tempest (1993), he played Antonio; he directed our second Tempest (2004). He directed our first Lear (1994) and played The Fool and The King of France in last year’s King Lear. He also directed our productions of Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, and the 2010 Richard III in addition to much else (including Caligula and Camille: a tearjerker). Other Shakespearean parts for us include Richard II, Falstaff, Henry IV, Lysander, Jacques, Horatio, Caska, Don John, Don Pedro, MacDuff, Son of MacDuff, Duncan, Donalbain, Cardinal Pandulph, and Antonio in The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Bard on Wheels version), in addition to many non-Shakespearean roles (most recently Truman Capote in Holiday Memories). Since retiring into the role of Artistic Director Emeritus at Avant Bard, he has been committing journalism as a Contributing Writer for 
Cam Magee (Antonia/Stephano) has appeared in and/or dramaturged 20 of Avant Bard’s Shakespeare productions. Her past credits include Gloucester in King Lear, Aurélie in The Madwoman of Chaillot, Eleanor/Pembroke in King John, Juno in Juno and the Paycock, and Hannah Jelkes in The Night of the Iguana. She has appeared at Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Folger Theatre, Theater J, Source Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and Washington Stage Guild (for which she received a Helen Hayes nomination playing Mrs. Cheveley in An Ideal Husband). She is a company member of Avant Bard, Rorschach Theatre, and Shakespeare for the Young (
Camille Pivetta (Ariel) is ecstatic to be working with an amazing team on Avant Bard’s production of The Tempest as her first professional show. She is currently a junior at Yorktown High School, and a part of their unique Theatre Arts Program, where she has obtained most of her training and has been exposed to experiences with companies such as Avant Bard, 
Reginald Richard (Ariel) is honored to be making his debut with Avant Bard. Just recently he was deemed runner-up in the winner-take-all actor competition, Monologue Madness. And weeks before he made his debut at Arena Stage in the political thrill ride, The Great Society. Aside from establishing himself as a fellow thespian, Reginald also teaches at the accredited National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, where he received his training. His local stage credits include Exit, Pursued by a Bear (Barabbas Theatre); The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington (Ally Theatre Company); Ballast (Source Festival); and The Last Burlesque (Pinky Swear Productions). He would like to personally acknowledge his mother, Pamela Richard, Alan Sharpe, Doug Wilder, and Nan Ficca for their continuous support throughout his theatrical journey over the years.
Alyssa Sanders (Sebastia/Trinculo) as always is thrilled to be working with Avant Bard, where she was most recently seen as Goneril to Rick Foucheux’s Lear in King Lear. Other roles include Emilia in Avant Bard’s Othello and Beth in Peter’s Alley Theatre’s Dinner with Friends. Other local theaters she has worked for include Quotidian Theatre Company (Company Member), Lean & Hungry Theater (Company Member), Venus Theatre, Studio Theatre, Adventure Theatre. Training: American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Brandeis University, Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory. 
Tom Prewitt (Director), now in his sixth season as Artistic and Executive Director of Avant Bard, most recently staged King Lear, Holiday Memories, Othello, and the Helen Hayes Award-winning production of Visible Language. Other Avant Bard credits include celebrated productions of William Shakespeare’s King John, Six Characters in Search of an Author, and No Man’s Land. He has directed Off Broadway at The Public Theater, Drama Department, Jean Cocteau Rep, Castillo Theatre, and Blue Heron Theatre, as well as locally for Woolly Mammoth (eleven shows, including Cooking with Elvis, starring Rick Foucheux), Signature Theatre, Round House, Theater of the First Amendment, South Coast Rep, Portland Stage Company, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Delaware Theatre Company, and New Mexico Rep. Prewitt’s production of Sins of Sor Juana by Karen Zacarias won the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play (Theater of the First Amendment), and his staging of Ian Cohen’s Lenny and Lou received Helen Hayes Award nominations for Outstanding Resident Production and Outstanding New Play (Woolly Mammoth). His production of Nathan the Wise (also nominated for the MacArthur Award) was taped and broadcast by PBS affiliate WETA. He has taught acting, directing, playwriting, and theatre history at NYU, Manhattanville College, University of Maryland, and George Mason University. Prewitt’s abiding interest in education and theatre for social change continues this year through partnerships he helped to develop with HB Woodlawn Secondary School as well as Arlington-based 296 Project, which works with veterans and their families, using the arts to overcome effects of PTSD and traumatic brain injury. He currently serves on the Board of Governors for theatreWashington/Helen Hayes Awards, the Artistic Advisory Panel for the Mead Theatre Lab Program (CulturalDC), and Arlington County’s Four Mile Run Valley Working Group. Prewitt studied with Jerzy Grotowski at Columbia University, was awarded fellowships from Theatre Communications Group and the Drama League of New York, and received his undergraduate degree with honors from Harvard University, where he majored in English and Comparative Religions.
Greg Stevens (Set, Costume, and Props Designer) is a Helen Hayes Award nominee and has directed, designed, built, or painted sets or costumes for over 150 shows in DC, NYC, San Diego, and elsewhere. Favorite shows include Emilie: La Marquis du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight (set); Suddenly Last Summer (directed); Oldest Profession (set, costumes); The Amish Project (Helen Hayes nomination, set); The Cole Porter Project (co-wrote, directed, designed); Vampire Lesbians of Sodom (set, costumes); The Saint Plays (set, costumes); Boston Marriage (set). Founding company member of Helen Hayes Award–winning Factory 449.
Jos. B. Musumeci, Jr. (Lighting Designer) has designed the scenery for Othello, Nero/Pseudo, and King John with Avant Bard, and is excited to return as Lighting Designer for The Tempest. Other recent work includes scenery for Flying V’s Fights 3: The Secret History of the Unknown World and You, or Whatever I Can Get, and the lighting for Twelfth Night, Spring Awakening, and Beyond the Sunset at St. Mary’s College, where he has just completed his first year as Technical Director and Lighting Designer, after a decade and a half as the Director of Theatre and Events at the Bender JCC of Greater Washington.
Andrew Bellware (Composer) has designed sound and composed music for hundreds of productions. He was a founding member of the now-defunct off-off Broadway theater company Manhattan Theatresource in Greenwich Village. He has designed for the Wooster Group, worked for the New York Shakespeare Festival, and designed off-Broadway musicals Sidd and La Gioconda. With Avant Bard stage manager Laura Schlachtmeyer producing, he has directed more than a dozen science-fiction feature films, which have been distributed all over the world.
Ralph Derbyshire (Technical Director) is an Arlington native. He has worked throughout the DC region for the last 15 years, though most notably with The Smithsonian Folklife Festival (2002-08, 2010-15), GWU’s Lisner Auditorium (2007-12), as well as many local crewing companies setting up special events. He has held the titles Master Carpenter, Master Flyman, Assistant Stage Manager, and Shop Foreman. He also works and volunteers with the National Folk Festival as well as several other festivals locally and around the country. This is his first show with Avant Bard, and he is excited to bring his skills back to real theatre.
Inspired by the story in The Gospel at Colonus of an ancient city that welcomed an outcast refugee, Avant Bard’s Saturday afternoon Unscripted Afterchats will feature four special guests who, through their work, connect people by lifting them up in affirmation and esteem. These speakers come from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds, but all share in a spirit of community building that welcomes and unites the best in everyone.
Nina Tisara (Photographer of the “Converging Paths.” “United in the Spirit,” and “Sanctuary” series exhibited in the lobby during The Gospel at Colonus). Meet the heart behind the lens, and chat about what it’s like to bear witness to more than 70 places of worship, all in our own backyard.
Minister Marcellus Hartsfield (Founder of Anointed Hands Sign Interpreting Ministries). Meet the sign interpreter for 
Kenton Rogers (Singer Oedipus, ordained preacher, and gospel music recording artist). Meet one of the newest additions to The Gospel at Colonus cast, and chat about the intersection between theatre, theology, and uplifting song.
Jessa Marie Coleman (Ismene), a native of Ellicott City, MD, began her journey with music from early childhood. Graduating from Stevenson University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Film/Theatre/Video, she began performing professionally regionally at Toby’s Dinner Theatres in Columbia and Baltimore. Soon after, she joined Royal Caribbean cruise lines as a lead singer. In addition to travelling the world through song and dance, Jessa has performed as a backup dancer for the artist M.I.A at the 2010 Oktoberfest at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Also in 2016 she was featured in the FKA Twigs Baltimore dance documentary. Her credits include ArtsCentric: Sister Act (Michelle), Memphis (Ensemble, Felicia u/s), Snapshots (Natalie), For Colored Girls… (Yellow); Royal Caribbean: Majesty (Lead Vocalist), Grandeur (Lead Vocalist); Toby’s Dinner Theatre: The Color Purple (Nettie), Hairspray (Dynamite), Buddy Holly Story (Apollo Singer), Ragtime, All Shook Up, Beauty and the Beast, Cats (Syllabub), Phantom of the Opera, Sophisticated Ladies (Ensemble). Jessa is thrilled to be a part of such a talented cast and incredible project! She gives infinite thanks to her mother, father, Todd, and all those friends and family who have continued to support her toward her destiny! Shine on!
e’Marcus Harper-Short (Creon), who is also Musical Director of The Gospel at Colonus, is a performer with extensive recording, touring, and television credits. Among the artists he has worked with as keyboardist, vocalist, or conductor: Carlos Santana, MC Hammer, Lionel Richie, David Murray, Davey Yarborough, Walter Hawkins, Tramaine Hawkins, Li’l Richard, Aretha Franklin, Billy Preston, and Michael Jackson.
Ayana Reed (Antigone), a native Washingtonian, graduated from Duke Ellington School of the Arts and obtained her BM in Vocal Performance from George Mason University. Her versatility is showcased through performances such as an opera debut in Italy and a starring role in the Helen Hayes Awards nominated blues musical Blackberry Daze. She loves bringing meaningful stories to life on stage.
Kenton Rogers (Singer Oedipus), native of Paterson, NJ, presently residing in Baltimore, MD, is an accomplished recording artist, actor, and ordained preacher. He has performed Off-Broadway (in God’s Creation and Black Nativity) and on stages across America and internationally. Kenton made his recording debut on Melvin Williams’s project Live! In Living Color performing the duet “Time Is Running Out.” He then signed with Blackberry Records and released his freshman project, Just Look at Me, which yielded the classic and still popular “God Has Never Failed Me.” In addition, he released his sophomore project, Alive & Pressin’ On, featuring gospel superstars the Williams Brothers, Paul Porter, the late Willie Neal Johnson, and the late Albertina Walker, who blessed him with standout selections “Jesus Will Fix It,” “Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand,” “Help Me Lord,” “I Wanna Go,” and “God Is.”
Gregory K. Wright (Choragos), a native of Alexandria, VA, graduated from T. C. Williams High School, attended Howard University, and graduated from The University of the District of Columbia with a bachelor of arts degree. He teaches in the Special Education Department at Francis C. Hammond Middle School, coordinates Counselors in Training at Burgundy Farm Country Day School, and is director of music and fine arts at Woodlawn Faith United Methodist Church, all in Alexandria, VA. Married for 26 years, Gregory and Barbara M. Wright have three children, Michael, Marissa, and Matthew Wright. Gregory loves to sing and offer outreach services to those in need, and he is thankful for new opportunities to fellowship with others.
Clare Parker (Costume Designer) i
Jose Nunez (Properties Designer) is a native of the Maryland area. He recently graduated from Ohio University with an MFA in Production Technology, with a focus in Properties Design. He is excited to be working with Avant Bard!
