Congratulations to the 2008 Summer Shakespeare Ensemble! Two different casts of Julius Caesar performed on Friday, August 1, 2008. Both the 12 noon and 1:30pm shows were completely sold out. In addition to the full houses, there was a television crew at each showing. The ensemble showed their professionalism under pressure and performed exceptionally well in both shows.
After watching the actors perform, the audience had the opportunity to hear the young artists talk about their experience over the past four weeks. The audience asked questions about the group experience, the challenge of speaking complex language and what kind of backgrounds the actors come from. If the audience was impressed with the level of performance that they saw onstage, their experience was enhanced by the incredible eloquence of the artists in the post-performance feedback. They spoke movingly and articulately about their time together over the past four weeks, their experiences as artists and their growth as human beings. Congratulations on a job superbly done!
Friday, August 8, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Final Dress
In the final dress rehearsal before the performance of Julius Caesar the student artists were challenged once again. In addition to bringing their presence, their voices, their bodies and minds to the rehearsal they were also asked for patience and professionalism as Dana, the lighting designer, hung and focused the lights for the show in the tech portion of the day. After a long morning of waiting for and then getting adjusted to stage lighting, both casts ran the show with the lights. After an initial bumpy ride they were given a short break. Later both casts ran their show two times each.
It was noted by Carlos that much had been demanded of these twenty two students over the past four weeks. Because of the nature of a very short rehearsal period they were plunged into a world of training and rehearsal from day one. Instructors required students to confront their weaknesses, work beyond their comfort zones and challenge themselves in myriad ways. While the they were always asked to go above and beyond what was expected, Carlos was impressed that most artists constantly raised the bar: producing more than what was expected, finding a depth of understanding through Shakespeare’s sometimes complicated language and stepping up to the plate in a number of other ways.
It was noted by Carlos that much had been demanded of these twenty two students over the past four weeks. Because of the nature of a very short rehearsal period they were plunged into a world of training and rehearsal from day one. Instructors required students to confront their weaknesses, work beyond their comfort zones and challenge themselves in myriad ways. While the they were always asked to go above and beyond what was expected, Carlos was impressed that most artists constantly raised the bar: producing more than what was expected, finding a depth of understanding through Shakespeare’s sometimes complicated language and stepping up to the plate in a number of other ways.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Week Three
On the third and final Friday rehearsal with the entire ensemble, the groups ran through Julius Caesar in a number of very different ways. A rehearsal tool that some directors use is the Italian (or Spanish) style run through. The execution of this tool varies according to the director: he or she may instruct the actors to run through the entire play at lightning speed, so that they are speaking their lines clearly but at an extremely rapid pace; other directors may ask the cast to exaggerate every action, every obstacle, every conflict so that everything is heightened to an almost absurd level. Carlos and Yvette asked the casts for a combination: extremely fast and extremely exaggerated.
While the results had the student artists laughing hysterically with and, yes, at, their colleagues the exercise also produced some elements of performance that may prove very useful to the young actors. The physical acting and the vocal production in these exaggerated run-throughs were remarkable. Urgency of action became very clear. While some students felt that their behavior bordered on ridiculous, the message of the play and the truth of the characters were suddenly more clear and more relevant to the audience. The majority of student actors observed that what may be appropriate behavior in school, or on the street or waiting for class to begin in the student lounge is not necessarily appropriate behavior on stage; that, in order for something to read on stage, it must be heightened, it must be more important than our everyday lives.
After the Italian run-throughs each cast got a full rehearsal with stage lights and music followed by notes from their instructors. Overall, both casts are in a good place as they enter their final week of rehearsal. Now that they have the shape of a show, they must begin to fill in the details of the work.
While the results had the student artists laughing hysterically with and, yes, at, their colleagues the exercise also produced some elements of performance that may prove very useful to the young actors. The physical acting and the vocal production in these exaggerated run-throughs were remarkable. Urgency of action became very clear. While some students felt that their behavior bordered on ridiculous, the message of the play and the truth of the characters were suddenly more clear and more relevant to the audience. The majority of student actors observed that what may be appropriate behavior in school, or on the street or waiting for class to begin in the student lounge is not necessarily appropriate behavior on stage; that, in order for something to read on stage, it must be heightened, it must be more important than our everyday lives.
After the Italian run-throughs each cast got a full rehearsal with stage lights and music followed by notes from their instructors. Overall, both casts are in a good place as they enter their final week of rehearsal. Now that they have the shape of a show, they must begin to fill in the details of the work.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Week Two
With only four weeks to prepare Julius Caesar the Summer Shakespeare ensemble had to jump into their second week of classes and rehearsal with all of their energy and focus. In Robin’s class they walked through their scenes for the first time. With Yvette the group created movement to connect the scenes of the play using physical acting to convey mood, location and environment. In Dusty’s absence Carlos taught a class on language with a focus on meaning and understanding.
While there is still a lot of work to be done, overall instructors were impressed that students were attending class with commitment and focus. Some actors were even off book and able to work through their parts without looking at their scripts at all. Other actors went out of their way to be prepared for class, dressed professionally and willing to jump into unknown territory in new exercises.
Talent is certainly important for actors, but courage and commitment are equally, and sometimes, more important. An actor who might not have the same talent as another could, through a lot of hard work and dedication, turn out an equally impressive performance. In turn, through sheer force of will, that courageous and committed actor creates the possibility for themselves to become a talented actor.
If the Summer Shakespeare ensemble continues to work with the dedication they showed this week, they may prove to be all of the above: courageous, committed and talented.
While there is still a lot of work to be done, overall instructors were impressed that students were attending class with commitment and focus. Some actors were even off book and able to work through their parts without looking at their scripts at all. Other actors went out of their way to be prepared for class, dressed professionally and willing to jump into unknown territory in new exercises.
Talent is certainly important for actors, but courage and commitment are equally, and sometimes, more important. An actor who might not have the same talent as another could, through a lot of hard work and dedication, turn out an equally impressive performance. In turn, through sheer force of will, that courageous and committed actor creates the possibility for themselves to become a talented actor.
If the Summer Shakespeare ensemble continues to work with the dedication they showed this week, they may prove to be all of the above: courageous, committed and talented.
Friday, July 11, 2008
The third annual Summer Shakespeare program kicked off on Monday, July 7, 2008. Twenty two New York City teenagers were selected from a competitive pool of applicants. Director of Outreach Carlos Caldart welcomed the student artists to the Studio on Monday and distributed scripts for William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, which they will be presenting at the end of the four week program. The Summer Shakespeare ensemble will meet daily and take classes in Voice and Speech with Dusty, Movement for Actors with Yvette, and Scene Study with Robin.
On Tuesday the ensemble received their casting and immediately got to work on the text in their first table reading of the play. Table readings are used for the cast and director to get better acquainted with each other and the text. A basic understanding of the storyline, character relationships and thematic vocabulary are often explored in table readings.
The ensemble had their first Movement for Actors class with Yvette on Wednesday. Movement for Actors, or physical acting, helps actors to express their character’s intentions and desires through the body, and often, without words.
During the week the students take classes in two separate groups, each with eleven people in it. On Friday, the ensemble had their first class with both groups working together led by Carlos and Yvette. Several different physical and imaginative exercises explored things like animal instincts, the spiritual world, physicalizing royalty and aristocracy and ambition and power.
On Tuesday the ensemble received their casting and immediately got to work on the text in their first table reading of the play. Table readings are used for the cast and director to get better acquainted with each other and the text. A basic understanding of the storyline, character relationships and thematic vocabulary are often explored in table readings.
The ensemble had their first Movement for Actors class with Yvette on Wednesday. Movement for Actors, or physical acting, helps actors to express their character’s intentions and desires through the body, and often, without words.
During the week the students take classes in two separate groups, each with eleven people in it. On Friday, the ensemble had their first class with both groups working together led by Carlos and Yvette. Several different physical and imaginative exercises explored things like animal instincts, the spiritual world, physicalizing royalty and aristocracy and ambition and power.
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