Theater is a matter of life and death!

In the fourth week of rehearsal, the intensity was turned up! Carlos demanded energy and engagement from the student-actors; Steve White pursued precision and truth, Steve Cook contributed passion and love and Tom delved into conflict and desire in life-and-death circumstances.

Carlos gave a class on energy. When an actor is actively engaged with the things they want in the play, it is easier for the audience to be engaged. Carlos led the groups through a series of exercises that demonstrated how interesting and compelling an actor is when he or she is energized, engaged and pursuing objectives. On the flip side, the exercises also showed how easily the audience looses attention when the actor is merely reciting lines, or speaking without intention.

Steve White continued to refine stage fights and there are MANY fights in R&J! Steve Cook choreographed the dance at the Capulet’s party. The dance is set to tango music, one of Steve’s many specialties.

Tom worked through the play in pursuit of depth. He pushed actors to illustrate and highlight tension, action, drama and change. In Tom’s words, “the audience only understands change.” Without tension, drama, action and change a play is flat, uninteresting, and, in short, boring. The actors found conflict and change in places that surprised many of them. When an actor was successful at making a choice that highlighted conflict, the result was thrilling.

While the play is coming together, there is still a lot of ground to cover before the performance on August 6th (just one week from today!). In the final week of rehearsal the student actors will have to work harder than ever to perfect their lines, pursue their objectives, connect with their partners, make interesting choices. The task becomes 24/7 and everyone will have to keep working all day long - before they get to rehearsal, after they leave, while they’re on the train, drifting off to sleep – there is always time to work and grow! True artists are often obsessed with their work, drilling, thinking, doing, experimenting constantly. This last week will show who is up for the task…

Details, Details, and More Details

By the beginning of the third week of training, nearly the entire play was blocked. Tom moved at lightning speed to give the play an onstage shape. While Tom was out of New York, fight director Steve White choreographed the (many!) fights in the play. After some deliberation and consultation with Steve, Tom decided that the fights should be fist fights and not sword fights which require more advanced skill and practice. Steve White taught the cast the foundation of fisticuffs. He reviewed the physical movements that are most commonly used and talked about justifying the movements to make them believable. Then he worked through the scenes that required fighting and gave the actors minutely detailed choreography. Carlos worked with the cast on language comprehension, continuing to break down the details of the story and the objectives of the characters.

The length of this program requires student actors to adapt to and adopt new skills immediately. In physical acting there is a focus on 1) finding a neutral place in the body and 2) using the body to tell the story. In Voice and Speech students are encouraged to 1) produce sound that is supported by breath, 2) speak with clarity and 3) find a relationship between thought, word and speech. Scene Study class incororates lessons from all other classes while helping students to 1) understand the story, 2) portray character development through the pursuit of an objective, 3) block the scenes and 4) make the Shakespearean text vivid and immediate. Improvisation supports this work with a focus on 1) finding freedom and relaxation and 2) finding size through games and exercises.

One word that summarizes the third week of training is DETAILS. The student actors are learning that, while memorizing lines is an essential part of their work, it is only the very beginning of their work. A well-crafted performance is deeply detailed - physically, emotionally, imaginatively, spiritually, intellectually detailed. In the coming weeks even more specific character work will be done. The cast will continue to find specificity in thought, speech and action.

'Zounds!

In the first week of classes the students in the Summer Shakespeare program received an actor-training crash course! The bar was set high and the actors rose to the occasion: Carlos demanded professional behavior and an atmosphere of openness, acceptance, and experimentation; Mike launched into voice and speech exercises and assigned the memorization of the Romeo and Juliet prologue to be ready by the fifth day of class. On Friday, July 9th the two groups met each other for the first time and had class together.

In the second week of class Tom, who is directing the play, began to work with the actors. They read the play several times for understanding, meaning and clarity. Student-actors were assigned roles to read and half way through they were asked to switch and read another role. Many students were surprised with the forcefulness and strength of the language, having anticipated only beautiful, flowery poetry. They were particularly amazed at the bawdiness of Shakespeare’s language. ‘Zounds! Later in the week Tom began to block the play, working with the actors to determine their entrances and exits and other movements on stage.

This week we want to know what the student-actors are learning about Shakespeare? What is being revealed to them about his plays and his language? At the beginning of the program what did they expect to learn about Shakespeare and how has that changed after the second week? Do they think Shakespeare is relevant to their lives? Any other thoughts about the Bard? Or on what they are learning in general? We want to know! Please comment below.

Congratulations!

The Stella Adler Outreach Division provides free actor training to inner-city youth. In May the Stella Adler Studio of Acting started recruitment for the Outreach Division’s Summer Shakespeare program. In an effort to make access to this free program as democratic as possible, the Studio reaches far and wide into the New York City community to spread the word. With only 22 spots available for NYC teens and an extensive outreach process, every year the program gains more applicants and entry becomes more competitive.

This year there was a record number of 65 student applicants! As Director of Outreach Carlos Caldart pointed out, “All of the applicants deserve to be commended for their courage to call, come for an interview and return for an audition.” Congratulations to all of those who were accepted and to those who had the courage to apply!

Classes started on Tuesday, July 6th. Summer Shakespeare is an intensive program that requires the quick understanding and execution of new skills. Students are in the rehearsal hall for 50 hours over five weeks in July and August. While studying Voice and Speech, Physical Acting, Improvisation and Scene Study they are also rehearsing a Shakespeare play. At the end of the five weeks, students will perform the play to live audiences. They have their work cut out for them this summer!

The 2010 Summer Shakespeare ensemble hail from all five boroughs of New York City. This blog is devoted to tracking their growth and progress. Students are especially encouraged to leave comments describing their experience in the program. Please check in on a weekly basis to see what the 2010 Summer Shakespeare ensemble is up to!