Playing Shakespeare
“To be or not to be? That is the question.
That’s probably the most famous Shakespeare line of all time. And when Ray Hilton, our Shakespeare teacher, told us we’d be performing monologues in class for one another, I’m sure that that was one of the first to come to mind. The image of an actor, alone on stage, using a grand voice and gestures to communicate his innermost thoughts. Either that, or the image of a fair maiden on a veranda, emitting a sigh as she cries, “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?”
When most people think of Shakespeare, they imagine things that are melodramatic and over the top and, most of all, difficult to understand. I know that's what a lot of us imagined as we sat in our first class back in July, wondering what was coming. But the grandiose and melodramatic ideas that come to mind isn't at all the way the Shakespeare should be performed. That first evening Ray told us that he wanted us to come away with the sense that Shakspeare, although different from many things we would be doing in our careers, was attainable and, most of all, really fun.
Ray is fantastic. He has a dry sense of humor and doesn't hold back in joking around with us. That's created a relaxed environment within class in which we feel comfortable to explore. When he came in one day sporting his tweed jacket and pipe, we all got quite the kick out of it. He's been opening our eyes to the wonderful variety that is the genius of Shakespeare. There's so much to enjoy beyond Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet. Throughout the past five months, we’ve explored scenes and soliloquies from dozens of his works.
Shakespeare class has been one of my personal highlights from the year. I love classic literature, so I’ve appreciated diving into the stories and rich languge of the Elizabethan era. We began with a brief introduction to rhyme and meter and how important those are when performing Shakespere works. However, we didn’t stay sitting in our seats for long. By the third week of class we were up on our feet performing for each other. Ray said he believes the best way to learn Shakespeare is to “get up and play.” :) And play we did!
One of our first days of class, when Ray taught us about the rhythm of blank verse and how to go about performing in Elizabethan language.
Because it’s such a different thing from contemporary theatre, it took us a few tries to get going. Even strategies for memorizing the words were different from what I was used to. Our first performances were a bit rough, but Ray began working with each of us, helping to understand how to use the language (the syllables, the rhythms, alliterations) to our advantage. That’s something that Shakespeare gives to his actors that not many playwrights today do. There’s so much in the text. You don’t have to do much guessing. It’s all there for you: why the character is feeling a certain way, what they’re doing, and the tactics they’re choosing to get their objectives.
And with each performance we improved and grew in confidence. It became easier to decipher what the strange words meant. I’ve absolutely loved watching each of my friends grow more and more comfortable with the beautiful language and seeing their characters come to life.
In addition to performing ourselves, Ray wanted us to be inspired by the performances of others. So he’s made it a point to show us clips at the beginning of each class, or to have guests come in and do a scene or monologue for us. We’ve watched Benedict Cumberbatch, David Tennant, and Catherine Tate give their fantastic renditions of plays such as Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, and Henry V. We also got to meet two former Conservatory students who were in the area. They’re married now and they performed a comical scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Joel, a fellow cast member from this year, came one afternoon and gave us a monologue from Julius Caesar. It’s been great to watch other people and pick up on how they connect with their characters.
Joel performing his monologue from Julius Caesar.
Once we had a couple of monologues under our belt, Ray assigned scenes for us. Most of the scenes are two actors, but I was assigned a fun one that involves four. Wes, JT, Emma and I have been working on the “Lover’s Quarrel” scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s hilarious and we’ve had a blast working on it together. In fact, it was selected as one of the performances for our Showcase! So we’ve been working extra hard to get it in great shape. Ray has been awesome and helped us quite a bit with our blocking and character work. We’re really excited to do it for an audience!
Shakespeare class has been wonderful and I'm really going to miss it. One of my performance goals is to be involved in a full production someday.
Outside of class, we’ve been plugging away at shows! 10 performances a week with one show off to either rest or do homework. It’s a lot, but Miracle of Christmas isn’t quite as demanding as Jonah. At least not for the ensemble. We have a couple of 15-20 minute breaks during the show, so we’re able to take advantage of that time and get some projects done.
Last week we were blessed with a wonderful three-day break for the Thanksgiving holiday. Many of the students went home to spend time with their families. I was one of the few who stayed in Lancaster. Mitch was able to get a few days off work to come, and we had such a lovely visit. We decided to cram all of the holidays into one, since this is the last time we’ll see each other in person until I’m back in Oklahoma after the Conservatory wraps up. He got to see the show, we cooked a Thanksgiving meal together (and Wes and Abby came to help us enjoy it!), and surprised my roommates by decorating our apartment for Christmas. In just a few short weeks our long distance dating will be close to over. We’re really looking forward to that. :)
We've also been up to a few shenanigans. Nick, Amanda and Hannah all celebrated birthdays within a few days of each other earlier this month. They all turned 20! We decided to do a surprise party for them, but wrangling three people together and keeping it a secret turned out to be quite the challenge. Plans shifted and morphed many a time, but somehow we were able to pull it off. Wes and Blair kidnapped them and put them through the ringer. The escapade ended at our apartment with cookies, games and lots of laughter.
Now its on to our final few weeks! With Showcase fast approaching, we have a lot to do. These next several days will be full of repetitions of scenes, duets, trios, dances and choral pieces. Pray for our energy and morale to stay up, as we're so very close to completing this crazy year!