"And so the lion vanished.."

It's been an absolutely awesome year of Shakespeare. I've enjoyed every moment of it all. There have been and will be dozens upon dozens of different interpretations of Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream," but for me, these castings will forever be how I see this world of begrudging fairies and misfortune lovers. To me, the term of "interpretations" has almost been a theme for this year. Of all of his scriptworks, "Midsummer Night's Dream" is arguably the most performed of all of Shakespeare, second maybe to "Romeo and Juliet" or "Hamlet." And it's because of this popularity which gives it such an incredible range of different "interpretations."

Eitherway, we had the castparty last Friday, just two weeks after last Friday. It was incredibly fun for everybody to come together one last time before the year came to an end. We all got together and shared what we'll be doing for the rest of the year. We sold almost all of the recorded performances. We discussed what different plays we should take into consideration for next year. It was a great time for everybody.

All the same, I end this blog here for now. I'm sure we'll be posting every so often to announce auditions or advertise productions, but be that as it may, this blog will be taking a hiatus for the next couple of months. I hope it will resume again sometime next year, but until then, be sure to be awesome!! I hope to see you all later!!

Shakespeare Camp, Day Six

Whoa!! We had the last of our performances this evening, and it was quite the showing. I, for one, was quite thrown off by the size of our audience. The seating was flooded and overflowing, so people were sitting in the isles and on the flooring. It was great to have such an audience!!

But all in all, we had an absolutely incredible week. I think it was easy to see how much fun we had performing together, which made the performance that much more fun to watch. Everybody came together so well. It was neat to see how the different castings took the same playscript and interpreted it in entirely different ways.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I, for one, see this year as my definitive performance of a "Midsummer Night's Dream." It was such an awesome experience to be in.

We are celebrating with our cast party in two weeks on August 19th at the McPherson House. Everybody is invited, so please come and attend. I hope to see you all then!!

Shakespeare Camp, Day Five

Whoa!! We had an incredible performance this evening!! We recorded the entire performance from two cameras, and so we hope to have the edited recording of the play sometime within the next couple of weeks. Regardless of which, it was an absolute joy to both perform and to sit through!! I hope everybody involved had a great experience!!

For any of you who are interested, tomorrow is the last of our performances with our afternoon casting. It will again begin at 7:00, but as we saw last night, seating goes fast, so try to come earlier to grab some chairs!! And be sure to bring something for the reception.

Shakespeare Camp, Day Four

As the performances of the weekend come close, the rehearsing for both casts become greater and greater!! Both castings were able to complete their runthroughs today, and even with some time to spare to work on some of their specific scenes.

For any of you who wish to get the details for our performances, you can find them at our previous blogposts. Tomorrow is the first of your performances. We highly encourage you invite all that you know!! We love an audience that will laugh, cry and clap for the performance...!!

On the same note, everybody is looking amazing!! Keep up the amazing performances!! I hope to see you all tomorrow!! Everyone must get a good rest!!

Shakespeare Camp, Day Three

We had yet another great day today!! Both casts were able to run through the entire playscript from starting to finishing today, which is an incredible feat on it's own. Other than that, we also got to work a lot with the fairies, as well as get a lot of camcorder recordings of both plays. It was a very productive day!!

Tomorrow is the "dress rehearsal" for the morning casting. Be sure to have your costumes and props all in order, and be sure to be ready on either side of the stage when it comes time for you to enter and exit your scenes.

As for the afternoon casting, we'll be beginning the day with the notes from today, so be sure to have your scripts so you can mark any notes you are given. We'll also be working through most of our scenes as we try to further refine them bit by bit.

Again, we made a lot of progress. We're coming up fast on the performance weekend!! I hope to see you all then!!

Shakespeare Camp, Day Two

Yet another great day!! It is so incredible to see everything come together so incredibly!! The week is so exciting!!

For the morning casting, we're all heading outside to take our yearly pictures with the entire cast. Be prepared with your complete costume. As for the afternoon casting, we're going to attempt to run through the entire play, as well as work through a worktime with the fairies and set out what we'll be dancing during the jig!!

Also, on another note, we're finalizing the proptables tomorrow with all props; if you have any props, be sure to put them on the appropriate side of the stage. If you are sharing any props between both castings, or if you carry the prop from both sides of the stage, be sure to contact us so we can specialize two markings for the prop!! Thanks!!

Anyway, we're all quite happy with what we've been able to put together so far!! We look forward to what we can put together tomorrow and throughout the week!!

Shakespeare Camp, Day One

Phew!! What a day!! We had our first day of Shakespeare Camp, and it was a great success!! The stage was alive with the bustling energy of the play from 8:30AM to 4:30PM. Everybody was incredibly great about it all, putting all their effort into making everything look absolutely incredible!! Great work everyone!!

But all the same, we all need to consider more how we can prepare for the scenes. On which side of the stage do your props need to be? Where will you be entering? How can you position yourself better when your onstage? Is there anything you can do to emphasize or stress your lines? Give it some thought tonight, and we'll be sure to make even more progress again tomorrow!!

Oh, and the afternoon cast was so busy with the performing, that they forgot to take a break for the snack, and as such never got to see the Globe Newsletter!! For those of you who missed it, you can download them HERE and HERE. {(I'm sorry the linkage is broken!! I'm trying to get it working again.. Please be patient!!)}

Eitherway, be sure you all get some rest!! I'll see you tomorrow!!