An archival photo from the play adapted by Prof. Jerry Etienne, Turkey, Turkeys and More Turkeys.

Making play scripts more accessible is at the heart of Prof. Jerry Etienne's research.

During his sabbatical, Prof. Etienne has been adapting plays with the intention of publishing an anthology of adapted plays for students who are learning the craft.

"These plays are classics, but the originals can seem a little dusty and old fashioned to younger actors," he said. "My aim is to bring scripts to students that are true to the spirit of the original but have been adapted to have a more contemporary tone."

Prof. Etienne, a faculty member in the School of Fine Arts (theatre), is a staunch believer in getting students to deconstruct texts to truly understand the original playwrights' intentions.

He has adapted four plays: Peer Gynt (Ibsen), Le Dindon (Feydeau), The Servant of Two Masters (Goldoni) and Anything to Declare (Hennequin and Veber).

The Story of Petey Mac (Peer Gynt) is a fantasy about a Newfoundland boy who becomes a troll. As a boy, Petey gets lost in lies and fantasies about achieving greatness. As an adult, he takes on various personae in pursuit of this greatness. In the end he realizes who he really is and where he belongs, and manages to avoid the Button Moulder, who has been sent to melt down his soul.

Turkeys, Turkeys and More Turkeys (Le Dindon) is a French farce, filled with jealous wives and husbands, mistaken identities, cuckolds, cads and coquettes. It's a frisky, foolish story about love, lust and luck that proves that most men can be turkeys at times.

Buddy Got Two Masters (The Servant of Two Masters) is a commedia piece set in St. John's, Newfoundland. Duffy Dino Didham finds himself serving two masters at the same time. He must be cleverer than he has ever been clever before if he wants to successfully serve both masters, win the hand of his beloved, Geraldine Wicks, and eat his first meal in hours.

Anything To Declare tells the story of a recently married chevalier, who is having trouble consummating his marriage. When he takes the advice of a family friend and seeks out a courtesan to help him "re-whet his whistle," we are catapulted down a perilous path in search of the awesome and delectable mystery of marriage.

Prof. Etienne intends to package these plays as a collection and publish them in the near future.

"I hope that teachers and university faculty teaching in Newfoundland, Labrador and beyond will find these adaptations helpful in exposing students to classic texts," said Professor Etienne.

For more information, contact Prof. Etienne at n9je@mun.ca.