At Virginia Stage Company, we believe theatre is about more than what happens on stage — it’s about community. It’s about showing up for one another, sharing stories, and finding ways to make life a little brighter, together.
This fall, as we welcome audiences to Emma, we’re also inviting everyone who steps through the Wells Theatre doors to join us in supporting our neighbors through the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore.
This study guide was created through a partnership between Roadsted Montessori Middle and High School and Virginia Stage Company. The students read the novel Emma and conducted research on Jane Austen as well as the Regency time period. With guidance from Virginia Stage Company, they wrote articles on a variety of topics centered around the novel and the time period to provide context for Virginia Stage Company's production of Emma.
Jane Austen makes it clear that music was a big deal in her life as well as in her novels. She studied with an organist, but eventually sold the instrument due to having to move. However, she managed to get a new one for thirty guineas, which was a significant amount, but she thought it a necessity. She always began her day by practising with the compositions of Pleyel, Dibdin, Piccini, and others, while her sister listened.
The central female characters in Emma, for example, invariably play the pianoforte. Some are near masters, like Jane Fairfax, while others, like Emma herself, play well enough to draw compliments as well as recognition of their refined femininity, which is a mark of high social status. Jane Fairfax plays an Irish folk tune called “Robin Adair.” Songs in languages such as French, Italian, Irish, etc, were a way for women to seem innocent as well as refined, and hence, appealing for marriage. Musical performance was a great way to see a woman’s talents and education.
The pianoforte had become very popular by the early 19th century thanks to the important keyboard innovations of the Italian inventor Bartelemeo Cristofori in the 18th century. Rather than plucking strings (as had been done before), in Cristofori’s keyboard, felted hammers struck strings. This gave performers greater possibilities to play loud or soft, depending on the needs of a social gathering. In Jane Austen’s England, the pianoforte was the center point of social gatherings and hence the predominant musical instrument in English homes of some means. Music, then, was what brought people together for a variety of occasions.
The mastermind behind Emma and other popular books, Jane Austen, has recently been revealed in a short biographical notice of her death. One of her more recent works, Emma, has a focus on music, as Austen shows the general mood and thoughts of Emma through music. This was based upon her own personal interests. Our research into her life shows that she avidly enjoyed music. Owning a pianoforte despite her status as a single woman, she is reported to have collected and played many written forms of music. Originating in the 1760s, the pianoforte is usually played with 4 hands. Commonly being played by women, it allows them a means to express their elegant femininity while bonding with potential suitors or friends. It shows their marriage value and is a representation of their education and status. While renting one is available even for a single woman like Austen, ownership of such an instrument is not for the low status. She passed the time with music when she wasn’t writing her next hit. It should be noted that this wasn’t an occasional hobby. Ms. Austen practiced her music every day before preparing breakfast with the consistency of a metronome. Sadly, as she passed away recently on the 18th of July in 1817, we will never get to see where her fascination with music would have taken her.
Music in the early eighteenth century was a way to entertain, pass the time, and a way to express oneself. In most homes, the common meeting place was at the piano. Typically four-handed, it acted as a great excuse to have a young man and woman sit together and play. Playing a musical instrument or singing was a way for young women to show off their education and refinement, but also their genuine interest in music. The availability of pianos to rent as well as the boom in the printing of music sheets made the study of music fairly accessible. On the other hand, musical instruments were generally expensive and so owning an instrument was a mark of high social status or aspirations to such. Jane Austen loved music and playing the piano. Throughout her life, she either owned or rented a pianoforte for her own use. Even with the hefty price tag, she didn’t let her financial struggles get in the way. And, after the passing of her father, her brother provided financial support. In Emma, Austen often uses music to hint at or introduce romantic attachments, disclose tensions between characters or set the general mood of a scene.
The pianoforte was a hallmark instrument of Georgian England. It was the domestic instrument of choice, encouraging the large-scale manufacture and rental of pianos and the harpsichord. The pianoforte originated in the 1760s, and it had many variations over time. The pianoforte was split into two variants: the ‘square’ pianoforte and the grand pianoforte. Both were considered luxury items, which meant that most people rented them out rather than directly buying them. As secondhand and rented keyboard instruments became common, so did women's involvement with the instrument. Being able to play it well was an attractive trait for courtship.
Anna (Emma) and Rishan (Knightley) stopped by to chat about Virginia Stage Company’s witty, romantic, and delightfully chaotic production of Kate Hamill’s Emma. Between laughs and Regency-level banter, they shared what it’s like to bring Jane Austen’s most opinionated heroine and her ever-patient sparring partner to life on stage.
This study guide was created through a partnership between Roadsted Montessori Middle and High School and Virginia Stage Company. The students read the novel Emma and conducted research on Jane Austen as well as the Regency time period. With guidance from Virginia Stage Company, they wrote articles on a variety of topics centered around the novel and the time period to provide context for Virginia Stage Company's production of Emma.
Napoleon Bonaparte has been found dead on the island of St. Helena. Leader of the Napoleonic Empire, he entered military life as a brigadier general who served in the French Revolution. He started his dictatorship as the consul of France, but later promoted himself to Emperor of the French Empire. Challenging Britain’s unshakeable hold on Europe, he forced the British, Russians, Prussians, and the Austrians to form the Quadruple Alliance. He was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo and exiled to Elba in 1815. After an escape and brief return to power, he was exiled to St. Helena, where we now report his passing. His dictatorship has shaken Europe. His Berlin and Milan Decrees of 1806 and 1807 prevented French allies and neutral parties from trading with Britain. The British army now remains active throughout her empire, and the feeling of unease is yet to pass. The Congress of Vienna is attempting to undo the damage Bonaparte has inflicted upon Europe. Monarchs are being appointed to replace foolishly established republics. However, these are still tumultuous times. Republics are trying to make themselves permanent, as we see in the United States. Britain is still recovering from her bitter battles with the French, and the Congress of Vienna is attempting to stitch together a fractured continent. Who knows what the future holds for these restless times?
Since 1712, when this tax was first imposed, there has been an assault on our knowledge. It originally consisted of stamp duty on newspapers, but has since evolved into something more sinister. Wars are ongoing abroad, we must stay informed. Many newspapers that are sent out more frequently are unable to pay these taxes and are going out of business. It is of utmost importance that we get the news as quickly as possible so we can stay informed. In 1797 and 1815, when the tax was raised to 4d per sheet, it also limited how much could be published. Authors nowadays must weigh what details to include on a topic and what to leave out. This is the path to ignorance! Newspapers that sell for less than 6d are going out of business. Due to this, we now have to spend more for information that comes out less frequently. Is knowledge the privilege of the wealthy few? Make no mistake, we will not go without a fight! We will protest and express our disdain for this! We will utilize alternative forms of communication to convey our message! We will not be held back by the taxes imposed on us by the government! We will persevere through this challenging time!
Epilogue: After fighting for quite some time to get this tax changed, in 1853, the government of Lord Palmerston released stamp duty and established ‘free trade’.
Breaking news: Prince Regent George IV, crowned king
With King George III’s mental state steadily declining following the death of his daughter Princess Amelia, Prince Regent George IV, his eldest son, is declared King this 29th of January, 1820. King George IV now rules with his estranged wife, his cousin Queen Caroline. They met and married in the spring of 1795, and reportedly hated each other on sight. Our sources also tell us the famous author Jane Austen reluctantly dedicated her novel Emma to the Prince Regent George, despite her own personal gripes with him, after much persuasion from an acquaintance of hers, Rev. James Stanier Clarke. The Prince Regent never acknowledged this acknowledgement, and Austin never acknowledged this lack of acknowledgement.
By the early 1800s Britain’s global commitments had started straining its army and economy. Still recovering from the loss of its American colonies, Britain had to contend with the fact that the United States was becoming a formidable trade rival. The US was not only rich in natural resources but the cost of manufacturing and shipping American goods was lower than in Britain. In short, relations between the former colonial master and the young independent country were rapidly deteriorating. Meanwhile, tensions were also rising between the indigenous nations in America and British-owned Canada. If that were not enough for Britain, its armies were fighting Napoleon in Europe. Britain was more concerned with fighting Napoleon and tried to avoid another war with the United States. That was not to be, and by 1812 the British army was overextended, its resources spread thin as it had to support fighting both in Europe and in America.
The 1812 war ended without a decisive winner with the Treaty of Ghent, though Britain lost its influence among Native Americans. Retaining Canada did not help much with diminishing the growing trading power of the US. At home, the British faced economic hardships both due to decades of warfare as well as due to the rapid changes that the Industrial Revolution was bringing to the traditional agricultural economy. When Jane Austen writes in Emma that the two Knightley brothers talked about the affairs of the Donwell Abbey when they saw each other, she was hinting at the worries of both the English gentry as well as farmers during Britain’s industrialization.
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