Clown class with Dan Kennedy

“Hello, my name is Danny, and I am a clown.” That’s how our clowning class began. Every camper walked across the space in total neutrality and sat in the chair, looked at everyone, said that one line, and walked off stage. Dan Kennedy, a long time ASC actor and experienced clown, started the class by saying that “the hardest thing you’ll ever be asked to do onstage is nothing.” The campers began by attempting to show nothing, and even though everyone was trying hard to remain neutral, their personalities showed through anyways -- personalities that we would exaggerate and expand as the class went on.

To shake things up, next we did a bunch of fast theater games -- keeping a ball in the air, bippity-bippity-bop, woosh-woah-zap, and then a game of silent redlight-greenlight. As they played, the campers and Dan together looked at the comedy in the games. When the redlight greenlight game started to lose energy, he shook it up and turned it into “oscar variety” red-light green light and set up a scenario of a flock of girls running to meet a particularly handsome man, but not wanting him to know of their attempts to get close to him. The running and stopping of red-light greenlight became a game of posing, of sudden changes of attitude. One girl would be running for all she was worth one second and the next second she would have frozen - effortlessly arranging her hair when the guy was turned to see her. Dan threw in lots of obstacles for the kids. One time when they guys were the ones racing, they needed to “look sexy” when the lady turned their way, but since they had been running the moment before they were not necessarily in a good position to make that work, they had to find a way to “deal with the problem” they’d created for themselves. These campers had to make strong choices. Specific choices. Big choices. Clowns are made of big choices. And so we zipped to the next exercise.

FUNNY WALKS. This clown routine is one all about imitation and exaggeration. The campers paired up and then followed their partners around, imitating any quirks or personality exaggerating the idiosyncrasies to the point of absurdity. Then all the funny walks paraded around, and though they were crazy, the walkers strode with absolute seriousness. We learned about poker faces and how serious presentations can be much funnier than goofy acts. Then we traveled on to playing with props.

The campers divided into groups, and Dan gave each group a bunch of props with the instruction to use the prop to tell as many different stories as possible, without using any words. So suddenly a pasta strainer became a hat and a magnifying glass and butterfly net and land mine and dozen other things. Flip flops became a defibrillator, then the flip flops became the ears of a baby elephant (with a pool noodle trunk and a laundry basket body); the laundry basket became a boat and the boat became an umbrella, and an umbrella became the head of a rattlesnake made of all the campers in the group with a tambourine for its rattle at the tail. Creativity poured right out of these kids, and it led us right into our last exercise.

Dan divided them into groups of three, and those groups each had to make up a scene, without any words, with this scenario: A couple is at a restaurant. A waiter is annoying. A proposal occurs. What makes it a clown scene? How high the stakes are can make it a clown scene.  Are the couple a little bit in love? Or madly, wildly, passionately in love? Is the waiter a little annoying or annoying beyond comprehension and belief? Is it McDonalds or a five star cuisine with 7 courses? They made the scenes in 4 minutes flat, and every one had us in stitches.

Comedy. It’s serious business.

Elizabethan Dance with Jeremy West

What do a a group of 18 teenagers do on a Wednesday morning at this camp? They gather in a great open space, walled by huge windows which pour in the sunlight, and they learn four hundred year old dance moves. Jeremy West, a favorite teacher in this camp, and this session’s director of Henry VI, Part One, usually teaches stage combat, but session he teaches these campers dancing as well. The two disciplines have a great deal in common. Both consist of choreographed movement on stage following a series of set moves, and both require careful teamwork, but there the similarities end. 

Jeremy told the campers that he’d be teaching them a jig, and he asked if anyone knew anything about jigs. In Shakespeare we know of jigs as court dances, but also as the dance that actors would perform at the end of plays. Today they have rather different cultural place. Most of the campers mentioned them as “pub dances” or “sort of Irish-y.” Elise, one camper who Irish dances competitively, shared the names and types of all the jigs in contemporary Irish Dance, and (when we begged her) she demonstrated these dances as well.

Which brought us to learning our own Elizabethan dance from Jeremy. Listening to a Renaissance consort’s formal but upbeat music, we watched and learned from Jeremy’s easy grace and confidence. In this dance, and in many Elizabethan dances, the moves are not difficult; most of them are simply ordered steps, claps or holding one’s hands in a particular shape. But it’s not about the difficulty of a particular move -- It’s about style.  As Jeremy says, “It’s about having the chutzpah to say, ‘I look awesome when I do this move.’” So the campers practiced their moves. Some campers have extensive backgrounds in dance, and at first it was easy to pick out the trained dancers. They were the ones who held their backs straight and upright. They looked directly at their partners. They were specific in the details of each move, pointing their toes or aware of the shape of their hands. But as the workshop went on and everyone practiced more and switched partners again and again, the less experienced dancers learned from the more experienced ones. At one point Justin (a camper regularly teaching other campers to swing dance) danced with Liam, a camper with a casual careless physicality. As they danced, Justin took on some of Liam’s swagger and Liam became much more precise and clear in his movements, and they were both loving every bit of it. Everywhere you looked you could see campers helping each other, and by the end, the whole group moved in striking unison, and I couldn’t remember who had looked like experienced dancers and who didn’t. It was such a pleasure to watch. 

Dab, Slash, Flick: Laban Movement with Patrick Earl

“Movement, to me, is integral as an actor is concerned,” stated Patrick Earl at the beginning of his Laban workshop. Appropriately, movement education makes up a significant part of the ASC Theatre Camp’s agenda. But prior to Patrick’s workshop, Laban was foreign to many of the campers. All week, returning campers were able to answer the frequent question, “Wait, what is Laban exactly?” with a promise that Laban is transformative in how it helps an actor move and speak. Laban Movement Analysis is separated into three categories: time, weight of the movement, and the way you move through space. Time pertains to how quickly the movement occurs, the weight refers to the strength behind the action, and Laban defines manner in eight effort actions: press, punch, dab, flick, slash, wring, float, and glide.

Patrick began by having the campers walk and explore the space in a natural, personal manner. Then he introduced the first effort action, asking the campers to “float” without direction. As the campers floated listlessly around the room, he called out numbers that indicated pace, 1 being the most subdued float and 10 being the most heightened float. Eventually he asked the campers to add purpose and direction to their floats, changing the action completely. Through these alterations, the campers discovered the diversity of a simple float. Patrick proceeded to take the campers through the rest of the eight effort actions, constantly changing the intensity and speed on the 1-10 scale while adding and removing direction. During each new action, he’d ask the campers which Shakespeare character they would associate with the action. For example, the “flick” motion brings to mind Ariel or Puck, while the “wring” motion conjures Richard III.

Throughout the exercise, Patrick prompted the campers to think about how their bodies were making these motions and to be aware of what their bodies’ centers were doing at all times. Randomly he would call for a switch from whatever movement they were doing to their normal gaits, saying “Shake it off! Back to you.” By the end of the cycle, the campers were familiar with the general Laban structure and were ready to apply it to text.

Patrick explained that while Laban obviously aids the actor with his or her physical choices when forming a character, it can also be applied to vocal choices as well. To illustrate this, Patrick asked the campers chose between two short monologues, one being Romeo’s proclamation that banishment is worse than death, and the other Juliet’s plea to her mother to break her engagement to Paris. The campers walked around the room and read their monologues eight times, each time reading in the style of one of the eight different effort actions. This way they could see which parts of the monologue fit well with certain actions. The campers then chose four to five of the actions and incorporated these actions vocally into their text. For example, Romeo may start out with a slash, then move into a punch, a dab, a wring, and end with a glide.

Once the campers developed their monologues, they performed them individually for the group. Every camper had made completely different choices for where they applied actions. When a camper’s actions were too vague, Patrick asked him or her to do the physical action while reading, to remind the camper of the actions’ distinctiveness. With the physical action in mind, the camper would perform the monologue again with more success, winning applause from the group. The end product was eighteen incredibly specific monologues that offered wide range of interpretations of these two texts. Patrick provided the campers with a wonderful toolbox of actions to help inspire them when forming onstage personas.

--Emma Lo

The Lion in Winter and The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Going to see the plays at the Blackfriars Playhouse is one of the biggest perks of ASC Theatre Camp. Friday night, we found all the campers no longer in movement clothes and T-shirts, but decked out in seersucker and peacock prints. Bowties, vests, heels, and lace abounded, and as we waited by the Playhouse for the go-ahead from the Box Office staff, cameras flashed and Madeline, one of our camp alums who happened to attend Friday’s performance, received dozens of hugs from returning campers, everyone was giddy with excitement to see the show.

And what a show. We saw The Lion in Winter on Friday night, a show full of passion and history (both political and familial). As always, it is a pleasure to see these young artists so enraptured by the work of the ASC actors, actors they’ve been studying with all week in their workshops. A first year camper, Maggie, burst out, “I didn’t know I was studying with gods!” Since these campers already know and love so many of the actors, when those actors’ characters have anything sad to say, they receive from our enthusiastic section front and center of the theater a chorus of sympathetic “oooh!”s. At intermission, I overheard campers trying to figure out if, at any point, the characters were telling the truth. The characters in this drama layer deceits on deceits, and just when you think you’ve figured out who wants what from whom, you find you’re wrong. But however complex the windings of the plot, Lion’s dialogue is smart and quotable; since watching this show, the campers have been throwing around phrases such as, “Of course he has a knife, he always has a knife, we all have knives! It's 1183 and we're barbarians!” or “I never cease to marvel at the quickness of your mind” or “Hush dear, mother's fighting” or “You stink. You’re a stinker and you stink” -- all in good natured fun.

Saturday night we all returned to the theater to see The Two Gentlemen of Verona. This was a whole different experience because now we got to see the whole troupe performing, and we got to watch the actors working with Shakespeare’s text. Watching the campers is a real treat, as I see them drinking it all in, eyes wide, minds open, learning by seeing professionals at work. Though work seems like too strong a phrase. The campers clap and sing along to the pre-show and interlude songs, and they contemplate the subtleties of iambic pentameter while eating gummy bears. And after the show, conversations exploded about Shakespeare’s problematic ending, about the themes (friendship? what makes up one’s self? serving and service? loyalty?) or about the performance choices. These conversations continued back to the dorm, to the gelato shop, even into brunch and to the day on the lake the next day.

It's "Something Fantastic" to Collaborate with Bob Jones

Camp Director Symmonie Preston teasingly titled Bob Jones’ second lecture “Something Fantastic,” and of course he did not disappoint. This time, Bob focused on the concept of collaboration and the importance of collaboration in the playwriting process. The three plays that the campers will perform on August 5th were written using some form of collaboration, and this lecture served as a valuable enhancement to the campers’ understanding of the productions they’re working on. All three were written during England’s “huge thrust” for new plays. This era of popular demand called for single companies to putt on ten to twenty plays a month. This output rate surpassed the ability of a single playwright, whose writing hours were truncated by the sunrise and sunset. Therefore, collaborating with other playwrights and various sources helped to increase output immensely. Collaboration as a concept is fairly simple but occurs in many forms and places. Bob asked the campers to brainstorm in helping him to compile several lists.

Different modes of collaboration between playwrights:
1) Simultaneous partnered collaboration – when two or more playwrights write a play by constantly exchanging ideas so that each scene is the product of multiple authors.

2) Plot and dialogue – when one playwright would come up with the concept for the play and write the basic plott or platt and the other playwright would then write the dialogue for specific scenes.

3) Scene by scene collaboration – when once the plot is agreed upon, two or more playwrights alternate the scenes they write.

Scholars speculate that Beaumont and Fletcher wrote A King and No King in a mixture of the second and third mode. Fletcher wrote the plot and a few scenes, while Beaumont wrote the majority of the dialogue. But these three modes only cover collaboration between playwrights, when there are many more abstract sources of collaborations that a playwright would make use of.

1) Actors – playwrights would base characters off of the actors that would be performing the play
2) Classical Sources – allusions to Greek mythology
3) Historical chronicles
4) Poems/ballads
5) Travelogues – descriptions of foreign lands
6) Stock characters from old plays
7) Recent and current plays – Shakespeare drew from plays running concurrently with his own, and even drew from his other plays, reusing scenarios and certain lines.

After compiling this list of resources for collaboration, Bob presented the campers with the ultimate challenge: to write a nine scene play collaborating with each other and drawing from A King and No King, Henry VI Part I, and Much Ado about Nothing as source texts. The campers started by outlining the main action for each scene. Then they broke into groups of four to write each scene, where they defined the motivations behind the main action. Once the campers wrote their scenes, each group exchanged and edited a different group’s scene. By modifying this new scene to support their authored scene, the campers used this step to make the play more cohesive.

In the end, the play was a hilarious mash-up featuring the protagonists Beadick and Benetrice (a jumble of Much Ado’s Beatrice and Benedick). A King and No King’s clown Bessus joined Much Ado’s Dogberry to wage a war against France led by Don Talbot (fusion of Much Ado’s Don John and Henry’s John Talbot). Much Ado’s Hero acted as a Mulan-type by disguising herself as a man and running off to fight in the war. Not all of the scenes connected well, and there were plenty of character inconsistencies, but the campers learned that those are two side effects of scene-by-scene collaboration. Although the groups weren’t technically supposed to communicate with one another, somehow a random dancing Spaniard appeared in every scene, creating suspicion that some conversation had occurred. This exercise not only taught the campers the struggles and benefits of collaboration and gave them a chance to hone their playwriting skills, but the cold reading of the play also brought campers near to tears from laughing so hard . Everyone could agree that with the guidance of Bob they had indeed created “Something Fantastic”.

--Emma Lo

They came singing...

Every year the music in ASC Theatre Camp is a treat, but I must say that this session is especially full of strong musicians eager to play and sing together. The campers all came to make theater together, but many of the campers this year came to make music as well. From the first day these campers arrived, already the lounges were full of songs mashed up together, songs they were sharing and learning and teaching to each other. 

In their auditions, they sang together in groups, many of them singing with people they’d only just met, learning a song fresh and new to them all. Emma has already written beautifully about the first workshop with Greg Phelps, but I thought I’d add in a bit from my own experience playing music along with the campers in the workshop. When Greg gave everyone a five minute break, rather than hanging around chatting, a group of the campers started pulling out their instruments and making up a song all on their own, in anticipation of creating a song all together. As the workshop progressed and the instrumentalists and the vocalists worked on different parts of the process, they’d take turns, stopping to listen to each other, and would inevitably freak out about how the music comes together. “That harmony is flippin sweet!” they’d say, or, “Yeah, trumpet!” or just burst out with, “It’s so good!” These adolescents know how to give and take in a creative setting, and by working together, they create an artistic whole much larger than the sum of its parts. 

But lest you think this exuberance and talent for music is only in workshops and free time, please know it comes into the rehearsals as well. Stopping in for a rehearsal of Much Ado about Nothing, the whole cast and artistic team for that show gathered together to brainstorm ideas for the various moments of music in that play. Someone suggested that they play “I need a Hero” for the dance, and immediately one Sarah, one of the campers said, “oh, I can play that on my uke, but I don’t have it with me.” Laura, our Dogberry chirped in with “you can borrow mine, I’ve got it with me,” and in no time Sarah performed her rendition of the song, and though I don’t know what choices they will eventually make, that ukulele rendition of the song went straight to the heart of the cast, and everyone applauded her skills. 

The campers do not make all the music of this camp. Several of the counselors have studied music in college, and the lullabies to the campers this session are particularly sweet. Zach, one of the counselors, is a prodigious guitarist (you can see his videos here), and two nights ago instead of regular lullabies he played an original work for the campers before they went to bed.

In addition to all of this, the Heifetz International Music Institute is sharing our campus with us this summer. Tonight some of us will attend a faculty recital of some of the most respected string teachers in the world. I know it will be a unique experience, as campers don’t usually go listen to Dvorak or Brahms when they’re at summer camp, but I am excited for the opportunity, and I know the kids who go will love it. Whatever it is that makes music important to us as people, I know that the love and camaraderie it builds is a big part. There may be more skilled or trained musicians in Staunton this summer, but I think you might be hard pressed to find anyone who loves making music more than the people in this camp.

Box-kicking with Bob Jones

Bob Jones, known around ASC Theatre Camp as a favorite lecturer for his wealth of wisdom, discussed the differences between voice and prose at his lecture on Wednesday.

Verse is a form of writing with a metrical rhythm and strict rules (which many writers, including Shakespeare, do not always follow precisely). Because of its beat-like flow, verse is generally much easier for the actor to memorize and also for the audience to remember. In Shakespeare’s day at a live, crowded theater like the Blackfriars Playhouse, some audience members would have trouble hearing all of what the actors were saying. The structure of verse emphasizes the most important words as stressed syllables, so even if only the stressed syllables are heard, the audience member would have a good grasp of what the actor was trying to communicate. For example, Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” line without the unstressed syllables would read “be not be is quest”. Bob pointed out that those words alone are the meat of Hamlet’s entire speech, and essentially of the entire play.

To help the campers understand verse more fully, Bob got them on their feet for a physical exercise. First, he assigned every camper a line from a scene between Claudio and Don Pedro from Much Ado about Nothing. Bob instructed them to use scansion to determine which syllables were stressed and unstressed. “Now gallop your line!” Bob announced. Each camper tapped out the line according to the stressed and unstressed syllables. The campers with more irregular lines tripped a little on the way, but Bob helped everyone produce an accurate gallop by the end. Here are several examples Bob provided of regularities and irregularities in Shakespeare’s verse:

CLAUDIO
˅        /     ˅    /    ˅    /     ˅   /     ˅      /
Give not this rotten orange to your friend

This is an example of a regular verse line. It has ten syllables that alternate stressed and unstressed and it begins on an unstressed syllable.

HAMLET
˅   /   ˅    /   ˅   /    ˅     /   ˅     /     ˅
To be or not to be that is the question
You’ll notice that this line has an extra, unstressed syllable at its end, which is referred to as a “feminine ending”.

BEDFORD
 /        /   ˅      /      ˅     ˅        /       /      /    ˅      / 
Hung be the heavens with black, yield day to night!

Here Shakespeare breaks all the rules of verse, using several “spondees,” or feet where both of the syllables are stressed. This irregularity in verse would catch the audience’s attention. In this case, the excess of stressed syllables make the line sound more powerful and reinforce the line’s meaning – but, you can see how this line would be difficult to gallop.

In contrast to verse, prose sounds much like how people converse today and has no complex stressed and unstressed structure. A King and No King, one of the three plays in Session 2, is written mostly in prose . While looking at an excerpt of text from this play, the campers noted that there are more punctuation marks, caesuras, and meter shifts than there typically are in Shakespeare’s text. Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher wrote A King and No King during a period when the vogue in writing was moving from verse towards prose, and this play contributed to that transition. Here is an excerpt that when read aloud, sounds like every day speech. Bob noted that Shakespeare never ended a sentence after two syllables into a line, as Beaumont and Fletcher have done here with “So long.”

ARBACES
Bessus, go you along too with her. –I will prove
All this that I have said, if I may live
So long. But I am desperately sick,

After his overview of verse and prose, Bob covered the importance of the last word in a line. While the stressed syllables are more important that the unstressed, the last word in a line is the most important out of all of them. Bob brought out three mysterious white boxes and instructed the campers to choose a small section of their own lines to work on. Then he told them to recite their chosen text by walking during the line and turning abruptly on the last word before beginning the next line. When the campers had perfected their sharp turns, Bob added in the boxes. Now the campers gave the boxes a swift kick on the last word, an even more forceful movement than the turn. This exercise made the campers extremely conscious of putting emphasis on the final word. Bob explained that physicalizing this emphasis helps you to get vocal ideas, and can help you to give phrases weight. At the end of the lecture, Bob opened the white boxes to reveal that a Complete Works of Shakespeare had been hiding in each! The campers laughingly bemoaned the fact that they’d been abusing their idol for the last hour.

The campers left Bob’s lecture with more comprehensive understanding of how Shakespeare, Beaumont, and Fletcher use verse and prose and of their purposeful switches between both throughout the plays. One of the most difficult challenges in performing Shakespeare and his contemporaries is deciphering the playwright’s intent that is hidden within the structure and then actually executing the iambic pentameter. Thanks to Bob, the campers are now prepared to attack their plays, galloping and kicking their way through tongue-tripping text.

--Emma  Lo

Music as Human Nature: Workshop with Greg Phelps

Greg Phelps began his Music Workshop with a nearly unanswerable question, “Why is there music?” But after pondering for a minute or two, the ASC Theatre Campers were full of answers for him. Campers began to list purposes for music, suggesting that music is way to express emotions and a way for humans to master the sounds they hear.

The conversation took on a free form, and Greg introduced other questions , such as “What is silence?” which had the campers debating the existence of silence altogether. Session 2 differs from Session 1 in many ways, and the difference in assertiveness and leadership was evident today. These older campers turned the “masterclass” into more of a seminar, where the class began to drive the conversation with their inquiries and inventive ideas. One camper mused that we as humans are both master and servant to noises, in that we have a natural inclination to control and organize these sounds, but also must use them for creation. Another pointed out that not only is music a way to express personal emotions, but it is a way to inspire emotion in others. An example a camper came up with is that in a movie, the soundtrack serves as a cue to the audience for what mood a scene is in.

Greg reinforced all the ideas that the campers brought up, offering support with anecdotes and related information. The general conclusion was that music is tied to the human race’s ability and will to create. Greg explained that “we’re still animals, but we can create. Birds know how to mimic other sounds, but to take ‘part a’ and ‘part q’ and put them together, that’s solely human. Nothing else does that. It sets us apart.”

The campers discovered that another singularly human aspect of music is its communal nature. Music brings people together so they can share a moment of collective emotion, sometimes simply just to have a good time. One camper pointed out that everyone has participated in a loud, rousing chorus of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” at one point or another. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t know all the words or if you’re completely tone deaf: There is something about singing in a large group of people that ties to the human need to belong and be accepted by fellow humans.

As the campers continued to explore these inventive theories for over an hour, Greg finally had to put a halt on Music Philosophy 101 so that the campers could unpack their instruments, warm up their voices, and start composing. Out of sea of black cases came a mandolin, many guitars, a bass, an Irish hand drum, two violins, and a trumpet. The campers received a variety of lyrics from different Shakespeare plays to choose from, and this group selected “O Mistress Mine” from Twelfth Night to set to music. The room divided between singers and instrumentalists. Greg acted as a communicator between the two groups so that their independent work would match up when put together. First, the musicians came up with a basic chord progression which the singers then built a melody around. After establishing the basic structure, the piece blossomed with the addition of harmonies, embellishments, and instrumental solos. The group was lucky to have counselor and music major, Zach Fichter, along with dramaturg and violinist Clara Giebel to assist with the composition. In the end, the campers’ rendition of “O Mistress Mine” sounded professional, thanks to the talent of this group and Greg’s wonderful guidance. ASC Theatre Camp will most likely use the song for their pre-show.

Throughout the entire workshop, the campers had to actively say “yes” to the ideas of their peers in order to make this collaborative process happen. You’ll notice that this is a recurring theme that pops up in just about everything we do at this camp! The song would not have been nearly as complex or interesting without the positive reinforcement that the campers displayed. To emphasize the importance of positivity, Greg asked everyone to put their hands in middle and yell an enthusiastic “YES” to finish off the workshop. As the campers filed out of the room to head off to lunch, each was humming proudly the melody of their newly composed song.

--Emma Lo

Session 2 Auditions: Beatboxing and Knock-Knock Jokes

On the very first day of camp, auditions occur, the event that determines how the campers will be focusing their energies for the next three weeks. This exciting procedure took place in the black box, under the guidance of the counselors and the directors for this session, Daniel Kennedy (Much Ado about Nothing), Jeremy West (Henry VI Part 1), and Riley Steiner (A King and No King).
The counselors began auditions by teaching the campers a song. The song used the text of first verse from Shakespeare’s Cuckoo’s Song set to an Ingrid Michaelson melody.

When daisies pied and violets blue
And lady-smocks all silver-white
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight

After using a call and response technique and once the campers had the song memorized, the counselors led everyone in a round. The campers then divided into groups of three and made the song their own by choreographing dance moves, overlapping voices, and using acrobatics. Several groups funkified the song with beatboxing and rap. This was a way for the auditionees to show their music skills, abilities to work with others, and spontaneous creativity.

Next, the campers divided into three large groups of twelve to create a series of tableaux. Each group had a set of lines from one of the plays to act out. For each line, the group would form a different stage picture, using contrasting levels, stances, and facial expressions to enhance the text. The groups also had special rules that they had to incorporate into their tableaux. For example, on a certain line, everyone has to faint. On another, everyone is surprised except for one individual, and there must be a passionate relationship. As campers called out ideas for these stage pictures, the counselors reminded them to “Yes, and” each other, meaning to stay positive about others’ choices and to build on those choices.

Before Session 2 began, the campers were to select and prepare a ten line monologue from one of the three plays. In performing a monologue, the camper gets to showcase his or her individual talent. The campers took turns performing their pieces to the directors and their fellow campers. It was wonderful to see how supportive these campers already are of each other, even though they are technically in competition with one another during the auditions. At the end of each monologue there was an explosion of clapping and cheers for the auditioning camper.

Auditions are tough, which makes Day 1 arguably the most stressful and nerve-wracking day of the session. The directors recognized this and tried to reassure the campers throughout the auditions, telling them not to hold anything back and to have fun. Daniel Kennedy provided a final stress-reliever to culminate auditions by asking the campers to share a joke with everyone. Tension began to leave the room as campers ecstatically ran to the front of the room, eager to make their peers laugh. The audition process is now over and the shows are cast, but the talent, energy, and excitement the campers displayed at auditions are here to stay. Whether in the dorm, in rehearsal, or at workshops, these campers of ASC Theatre Camp Session 2 are full of life and a passion for theater!

--Emma Lo

Alumni Camp's Macbeth

Although Session 1 ended on Sunday, the excitement of camp never pauses during summers at the ASC. This week, which falls in between Session 1 and Session 2 of ASC Theatre Camp, the ASC alumni camp is producing Macbeth. Campers who have aged out of both sessions have come together in a theatrical reunion under the direction of Matt Sincell. This weeklong frenzy is certainly intensive, as the twelve person cast rehearses around eight hours a day. After a move-in day, the alumni have only six days in which to memorize, block, and rehearse the entire play. Fortunately, these dedicated campers are so passionate about this play and about ASC Theatre Camp, that they are willing to suffer through these challenging conditions and commit themselves fully to this endeavor.

Watching the rehearsal process has been fascinating because the show is such an equal collaboration between actors and director. Matt is completely open to the campers’ visions and ideas for the show and many of them are incorporated throughout. Because this age group is eighteen and up, these actors are well equipped with the skills they gained attending ASC Theatre Camp, as well as general knowledge of theatrics.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is notorious for its eeriness and violence, elements which the alumni are taking by stride, sparing the audience no mercy. The play’s magic is brought to life not only in the three witches, but also in Macbeth; this production highlights his interest in the supernatural. With fight scenes choreographed by Matt Sincell and Ben Curns, this production will raise goose-bumps on the skins of whoever dares to attend.

The performance will be on Sunday, July 15th at 5:00 p.m. at the Blackfriars Playhouse. Admission is free.

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/events/403953632975435/

--Emma Lo

Midsummer Day Camp: Friday

Today began with dress rehearsal for tonight's performance. The campers were encouraged to harness the same energy expended during yesterday's speed through in dress rehearsal, and to use those loud, projected "give me my cookie!" voices. Each camper wore their Macbeth summer camp shirt, and costume pieces were added to designate their characters. All props (such as daggers, crowns, and cauldrons) and sound effects (such as trumpet fanfares and thunder claps) and music (such as the opening number) were integrated into this run through. Even furniture for the infamous banquet scene was brought onstage. This is the day when rehearsals were to become a production. 

When in production, the ghoulish and ghostly elements of Macbeth came to life in the hands of these young actors. From the three witches, to Banquo's ghost, to conjuring spells, to devilish apparitions, Midsummer Day Camp's production of this play has a deliciously good time with the supernatural. When else (okay, besides Trick-or-Treat night) can the campers dress up like phantoms and hags and haunt large amounts of people? And however morbid, stabbing victims and casting spells and dueling for a crown is nothing less than a whole lot of fun for these actors--and indeed for any actor. Put Macbeth on the stage and the word "play" becomes both a noun and verb. 

Get ready and get set for Birnam Wood to come to Dunsinane tonight at Blackfriars Playhouse at 4:30 PM. These young actors will remind the audience that no matter how serious the subject matter--and in Macbeth, events do get rather serious--a "play" must always be an opportunity to play. 

I come, Graymalkin!

-Lee Ann Hoover, Education and Dramaturgy Intern

Midsummer Day Camp-Thursday

            Trekking from Blackfriar’s Playhouse to Mary Baldwin’s Hunt West, the room we all have become so familiar this week, the kids were itching to begin the day.  With such a motivated and talented group it was no surprise how eager they were to dive into the first activity of the day, finishing up the run-through rehearsals.  In no time they have learned to further their acting abilities learning how best to project their voice using the “cookie” voice to deliver their lines, how to pronounce particular Shakespearean words and phrases, how to develop their characters for the audience’s enjoyment, and many other beneficial acting skills.

            Following lunch, the campers were ready to unleash their inner Warhol with a printmaking activity.   With their favorite camp memory or part of Macbeth in mind they were instructed to scratch a mirrored image onto a Styrofoam sheet.  These skillfully created sheets were then splattered with many colors of paint and stamped onto a beautiful banner.  This banner peppered with prints will welcome parents at the campers’ performance of Macbeth upon entering the lobby of the Blackfriar’s Playhouse.  Among my favorite prints on the banner include a goat-like creature breathing fire showing off the imaginative ability of one of the campers; however, another Macbeth related image was that of King Duncan protruding onto the print with a glistening crown on his head.  These kids sure do have creative abilities far beyond the stage. 

            Furthering their creative abilities from page to stage they resumed practicing for the fast approaching play.  Speaking of fast approaching, the young actors were asked to run through the play at “double speed, over the top.”  Not only were they incredible acting their parts without a script in hand at normal performance speed, but their super speed performance was all the more impressive.  Watching the children deliver their roles was like Shakespeare in fast forward, error proof in the performance.  These young actors sure can give our professional actors at the Blackfriar’s Theatre a run for their money!  Come one, come all and see the true magic these young actors can reveal for a live audience on Friday evening at their performance of Macbeth.  Prepare to be amazed at the sheer talent the campers have discovered and put together in one short week to show off at the grand finale showcasing their talent and newfound knowledge.  

-Molly Snyder, Research and Hospitality Intern

Midsummer Day Camp: Wednesday

After lunch, the campers were treated to a fight choreography workshop with Jeremy, a fight instructor who has previously acted on the Blackfriars stage, and frequently as fight captain. Jeremy first explained that safety is fight choreography’s number one priority. The key to safety is to maintain open communication between the attacker and the victim, and to perform the choreography at a slow speed until the actors commit the hits and moves to muscle memory. Campers partnered up, and Jeremy taught how to check a safe distance before commencing with fight moves. 

Once separated into partners, the campers learned Step One of pre-hit prep. Partner A (the attacker) was instructed to reach out as far out in front as possible with his/her arm. Partner B (the victim or defender) was instructed to put his/her thumb to his/her chest and, forming the hand in the “hang loose” position, was to reach his/her pinky as far out in front as possible. If Partner A’s hand could touch Partner B’s pinky, then the partners were too close together and needed to move father apart. Optimally, Partner A’s hand should almost, but not quite, touch Partner B’s pinky. Step Two of pre-hit prep is eye contact, which establishes that the attacker is ready to hit, and that the victim is ready to be hit. After establishing safe distance and eye contact, the campers were prepared to learn their first fight move.

Jeremy began by teaching a simple proscenium slap. Partner A was to swipe at Partner B with the palm of his/her hand (at the safe distance). Partner B was to respond as if he/she had been hit, and produce the nap of the hit by clapping at the chest. The nap is made by one of the actors at the instant of a choreographed hit to simulate the sound of an actual hit. After learning the basics of the slap, the partners practiced at Matrix slow-motion speed for several minutes, and then were instructed to speed up when both partners felt comfortable. Thereafter the haymaker punch—the same as the proscenium slap, only produced with a fist rather than an open hand—was taught, and the partners switched roles to practice it. Several additional points about fight choreography were brought up after the campers practiced the punch.

As Jeremy explained to the young actors, the reaction to the hit is even more important than the hit itself. The victim’s responsibility is to effectively communicate to the audience that they’ve indeed been hurt, precisely how they’ve been hurt, and how badly they've been hurt. The attacker aides the victim by producing a bigger prep—raising the fist or hand higher and more dramatically—for a bigger hit. These rules, of course, do not apply to real life. For instance, real fighting—such as fencing or martial arts—relies on speed. Presentation, however, is the priority of fighting on the stage. The actors are charged with telling a story, not fighting like real fighters.

After going over these concepts with the campers, Jeremy taught them an uppercut punch, which requires the attacker, rather than the victim, to produce the nap. The campers practiced the uppercut at the customary slow speed. When the group seemed comfortable with all three hits—the proscenium slap, the haymaker punch, and the uppercut—Jeremy gave them ten minutes to “choreograph” a fight scene using all three. Everyone responded to this task with gusto. One pair even created a dramatic backstory involving stolen cookies. The result was a (controlled) frenzy of hits and fake broken noses.

The workshop with Jeremy taught the young actors that fight choreography, while exciting, is no joking matter. Discipline, communication, trust, and focus are all required to ensure a safe and effective fight onstage. The campers learned all of these elements to better understand how fight choreography is treated in professional settings, such as the Blackfriars Playhouse. Now, when they see a choreographed fight at the ASC, they will better appreciate the hard work that was required to make it effective.

-Lee Ann Hoover, Education and Dramaturgy Intern 

Midsummer Day Camp: Monday

My exciting Midsummer Day Camp experience began at 10 AM on Monday morning in Hunt Hall West. The campers were in a large circle on a mat, individually delivering lines from Macbeth that the camp directors had prompted. I learned that this is the camp’s way of “auditioning” the campers—by seeing how big of a choice they could make with the recital of a given line. The first prompt I watched was “My lord, his throat is cut, that I did for him,” which is delivered by Murderer 1 at the beginning of the famous ghostly banquet scene. One by one each camper played the line as “evilly” as possible, as requested by Camp Director Adrian. The young actors brought an imaginative assortment of villainous cackles, murderous hand gestures, and—the crème de la crème—evil British accents to the mat. Clearly this camp’s production of Macbeth will not lack enthusiasm and creativity.

            After a few more rounds of this recital game—which also included a melodramatic plea of Lady Macduff’s, a spell cast by one of the witches, and an enraged challenge to battle from the daring Young Siward—the campers had a brief introductory music lesson with Jeanette. They learned the song “We Are Young” by Fun while practicing projection, articulation, and singing without those pesky diphthongs.

            This musical interlude made way to a deliciously morbid lesson with Sarah Enloe, ASC’s Director of Education. The campers made their way downstairs to Hunt Gallery in their smocks, where they learned about the different types of fake blood used for the stage. Many questions must be answered, Sarah explained, before a type of fake blood can be chosen for a specific moment in an ASC production. For instance, how old is the blood? Has it scabbed over, or been freshly spilt? How does the blood move onstage? Most importantly, how thick is it? Does it need to be washable so costumes will not be ruined? And where does the blood come from? All of these questions, she informed the campers, need to be answered through inferences in Shakespeare’s text.

Sarah and the campers then looked at several moments that refer to blood in Macbeth, and determined together what kind of blood would be preferable for each moment. Some references are purely symbolic or rhetorical, such as in Macbeth’s first soliloquy: “But in these Cases/ We still have judgment here, that we but teach/ Bloody Instructions…” (II.7.481-83). Others, however, required the campers to answer Sarah’s important questions in order to determine which fake blood would be best.

            Sarah then split the large group into pairs, and each pair was given a different moment in the text that calls for fake blood onstage. The pair then made the blood—using an assortment of ingredients such as peanut butter, starch, and red food coloring—that fit the excerpt they received. After applying their fake blood to their hands and arms, each pair explained to the rest of the group which moment in the play they were assigned, what kind of blood they chose to make, and whether or not their execution fit their initial ideas. Sarah’s workshop was a creatively engaging experience for the campers. If anyone had come to camp doubting that Shakespeare could be fun, they did not keep those doubts after this bloody mess. 


-Lee Ann Hoover, Education and Dramaturgy Intern

Midsummer Day Camp - Tuesday

Our second day has started! We began with physical warm ups on the Blackfriars stage. Our campers had a guest teaching artist this morning - ASC actor Allison Glenzer. She lead our aspiring actors in a vocal exercise workshop. Campers warmed up their voices and wiggled their bodies with Linklater technique exercises, and stretched their faces and mouth.  Campers learned good projection techniques so audience members in the back of the theater can hear them.

After vocal exercises, campers walked back to the Mary Baldwin campus for MacBeth rehearsal.  Campers split up into their casts and continued to learn their lines and block their scenes.  By now, campers are familiar with the different parts of a stage and stage directions (including the difference between right and stage right).  Some of our campers even learned basic stage combat! 

Next was music class, taught by Jeanette.  Our campers prepared their singing voices with scales and tongue twisters.  After singing warm ups, campers learned the choruses of the popular songs “We Are Young” and “I Set Fire to the Rain”.  Jeanette also taught campers about rhythm with tambourines and drums, and acting through song.  Campers sang loud and lovely!

- Liz Perash

Session 1 Camper Interviews

Muslima Musawwir

Muslima is a first-time camper from Richmond, Virginia. Next year, she will be attending Shenandoah University.

What role do you play? Olivia in Twelfth Night


How are you similar to your character? Dissimilar?
We’re not similar in all of the people that she’s lost; she lost her father and brother, and she’s numb emotionally throughout the majority of the play. We are similar because in order for her to be so numb, she must have loved her family, and I have a lot of love for my family. Also she takes control of everything, and I’ll say this – I’m the leader! And she’s fascinated with the whole idea of love, the whole thought of love in general, and I am too.

How did you find out about ASC Theatre Camp/why did you choose to spend your summer here?
I came to see Much Ado about Nothing, and I got one of the flyers, and I was interested--I wanted to do it! Last summer I did training with Shakespeare also, but I didn’t get a lot out of it. So I wanted to get more training since I’m going to college this year.

How does ASC Theatre Camp compare to other productions you’ve been in?
For me, you get more out of ASC Theatre Camp because you actually get the workshops. It’s not just the plays, you get masterclasses and pre-show, and then you get to see actors doing professional shows. We’re learning from people who have been doing Shakespeare for years.

What it your favorite part of rehearsal?
My favorite part of rehearsal is when -- every day we all get in a circle before we start practice, and we check-in: you can either do an action or emotion, and you can see how everyone is doing. Then we set goals for what we want to do throughout rehearsal; it’s like setting a standard of things you want to get done.


Favorite workshop/masterclass?
I would say Mask (with Tom DuMontier) and Devising (with Sara Holdren), because both were about letting yourself go and freeing your thoughts and reacting to something without actually thinking about it.


How would you describe the Session 1 group?
Extreme, adorable, excited, and innocent and…demons!


If you could give one piece advice to the camp before the performances on Sunday, what would it be?
To just breathe, enjoy yourself and everything else will work out!

Jon Freesen 

Also a first time camper, Jon of Staunton, VA will be working on his own film next year, a modern-day adaptation of A Christmas Carol called Humbug.

What role do you play? Romeo in Romeo and Juliet


How are you similar to your character? Dissimilar?
I’ve always been, for as long as I can remember, hopelessly romantic. I’ve been a romantic since I was very, very young, so I can relate to him in that sense. I feel like I would enjoy all of the same activities as Romeo. He’s not too much into sports, he doesn’t carry a sword with him, I kinda like to think he’s a musician, he probably writes shitty poetry which I can relate to.

How did you find out about ASC Theatre Camp/why did you choose to spend your summer here?
I found out about it either through going to see shows or through my sister. I wanted to do it last year, but it was either finish my Eagle Scout projector do this.Tthe deadline for Eagle Scout was at 18th birthday, so I decided to not do this instead. This is my first and last summer here.
How does ASC Theatre Camp compare to other productions you’ve been in?


I grew up in a very artsy family. My first play was at five, when I was in The Magician’s Nephew; after that I did a lot of stuff with ShenanArts, and my sister has directed a few plays that I’ve been in with her. Most of them have been great experiences. For a while I chose to take a break to do other things, may have been two years ago. I do love it.
People know what they’re doing with this. The people leading really know what they’re doing and are very passionate, and they know what it’s about. A lot of people in theater don’t know what they’re doing, and it’s frustrating being in productions where they don’t understand what they’re doing and don’t care about it. This is my first Shakespeare show.

What have been your favorite parts of camp?
There’s always that moment when it’s late in the rehearsals, and you realize that everything’s coming together with Romeo and Juliet and with the pre-show, and you just see it all and realize this is going to work! It’s really kind of extraordinary. The Blackfriars Playhouse stage is hallowed ground. From time to time when someone mentions, “we’re going to be performing this on the Blackfriars Playhous stage,” it’s almost surreal. Some serious geniuses and masterminds have worked on the stage where we are. It’s an honor, but it’s intimidating.

Favorite workshop/masterclass?
Probably either Dance (with Denise Mahler), which surprised me because I am not a dancer, and maybe Voice(with Alli Glenzer). A lot of the stuff I’d heard before, but the workshops helped me understand it better.

How would you describe the Session 1 group?
They’re pretty goofy, but I get a sense that all of them, even some of them that were “sent” by their parents, they’re still serious about it and are starting to feel the passion. Just about everybody’s pretty friendly.

If you could give one piece advice to the camp for the performances on Sunday, what would it be?
Just enjoy it! Have fun in what you’re doing and love every minute of what you’re doing, love it and also try to live it. Don’t just say lines, be what you’re saying, live what you’re saying.

--Emma Lo

Blackfriars Playhouse After Dark

Catherine Gilbert

            In preparation for our performances on Sunday, each of the three casts gets the opportunity to have two late night rehearsals on the Blackfriars stage. Since the Blackfriars Playhouse is typically very busy during the day, we take advantage of nighttime to be able to fit in these extra rehearsals. Of the two “late nights“ that each cast gets, one is cast only and the second is a dress rehearsal that the entire camp attends.  So far, each cast has had their private rehearsal in the Playhouse, and Gallathea and Twelfth Night have had their camp dress rehearsals. The cast of Romeo and Juliet gets the chance to show their stuff to the other campers tonight.

Audrey Wood

            These late night rehearsals are extremely useful to the campers. First of all, they allow the campers the chance to acquaint themselves with the space before they actually perform in it. For this reason, when I attended the private rehearsal of Romeo and Juliet, there were moments when we had to pause to adjust some of the blocking, to reconfigure entrances, and to find center for some of the choreography. All of this is perfectly normal. Until now, the campers have only seen the Playhouse stage, and acting upon it will be an entirely new sensation. While the campers can approximate some aspects of the Blackfriars Playhouse, such as the gallant stools, the discovery space, and Juliet’s balcony, it takes time to actually accommodate to a performance space. Thus, in order to ensure a safe performance for performers and audience members alike, the cast of Romeo and Juliet went over each and every one of the many fight scenes in the show. They repeated the fight scenes multiple times and in slow motion, working in entrances and exits and dragging dead bodies. It was interesting to note the change in how the campers projected their voices as they said their lines. The acoustics in the Blackfriars Playhouse vastly surpass those in some of the rehearsal spaces, so it was easy to understand the performers with minimal effort on their behalf. It also made it easy to hear the melancholically appropriate music that the performers sang all the way in the back of the house.

Matt Gieseke Mingles with the Audience

Lily Carr and Leila Silberstein

                 I was unable to attend the private rehearsals of Twelfth Night and Gallathea but I did go to the dress rehearsal viewings that have taken place these past two evenings. As we readied ourselves for the performances, the campers in the other two casts filled the gallant stools and spread themselves throughout the house to attain different vantage points. The directors of these shows have consistently taken advantage of what Blackfriars Playhouse has to offer in putting together the blocking. While it is fairly standard to use the balcony for the musicians to play, the campers have also used it during the actual performances. In this way, we see Olivia lamenting the loss of her family members, as well as Neptune brooding over the defiance of his edict. Furthermore, the performers have clearly been directed in such a way that facilitates communication with the audience. The big saying at the Blackfriars Playhouse is “we do it with the lights on,” which comically references the performance conditions. The audience can see the actors and vice versa. The campers play off of this staging condition by delivering lines directly to audience members. Those sitting on the gallant stools experience an extra level of audience participation. One might be expected to hold one of Cupid’s love knots, to yield their chair to a drunkard, or even to pet a wayward “sheep.”  

Mitchell Peiffer and Gabriel Komisar

            It can be easy for someone who is in one cast to get tied up in what the needs of their show are without really knowing what else is going on in the camp. By having these dress rehearsals for camp members only, the campers can view and comment on the work of their peers. The private viewings also give the performers an audience before actually opening the show to the public, allowing the campers to make their own discoveries about the text or their characters. Some lines that an actor may not have considered that funny might have the house roaring with laughter. Other times, an actor may make simple realizations about his or her character simply by performing onstage. Marina Finelli discovered this about one of her characters, claiming that she had license to be a lot goofier than she initially thought.

Rehearsal for Romeo and Juliet

The late night rehearsals are wonderful to watch. Though it has been great to see what our campers have been working on, most of the fun comes from seeing how their peers react to it. During the Gallathea dress rehearsal, camper Antonia Grisanti laughed so hard she was in tears. Likewise, during a musical scene in Twelfth Night, the campers all clapped along to the music and grooved with their peers. The chief appeal of these private dress rehearsals has been the support that the campers give each other. The cheers and laughter, the “ohs” and “awws,” as well as the congratulatory notes left on each others whiteboards are all indicative of the love that the campers have for each other. Campers, it has been an absolute pleasure shadowing you around and watching you grow. Break a leg during Sunday’s performances, and the best of luck in all of your future endeavors. 

-Madeleine M. Oulevey

Coming Soon to a Playhouse Near You: ASC Theatre Camp Pre-show!

A unique trademark of the American Shakespeare Center that contributes to their commitment to authenticity is their retention of the early modern association of music with playgoing . At the ASC, actors perform music in the half-hour before the show begins, to welcome audiences and to entertain them as they settle in to the Blackfriars Playhouse. The ASC Theatre Camp has adopted and adapted this tradition and will be performing a pre-show for the ASC’s The Lion In Winter on Friday, July 6th and The Merchant of Venice on Saturday, July 7th. They’ll also be performing the pre-show before their own shows on Sunday, July 8th. Symmonie Preston, the ASC's new Director of College Prep Programming, directs this year's pre-show.

ASC Theatre Camp pre-shows have varied in the past, sometimes taking on a specific theme or a single concept. This year, Symmonie’s vision for the pre-show is that it serves as a teaser for the three shows: Twelfth Night, Gallathea, and Romeo and Juliet. Most audiences will not be familiar with John Lyly’s Gallathea, and the pre-show will give the camp a chance to present some of Gallathea’s main plot points as well as the more familiar themes of Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet, hoping to entice the audience with hilarity and preposterousness of the play.

Gallathea’s source of conflict for its characters is the monster Agar, who comes once a year to devour the fairest virgin sacrifice, threatening to destroy the land if the citizens fail to provide the maiden. Though he never actually appears in the play, the pre-show realizes Agar using eleven campers and Symmonie’s movement choreography. In progression, the campers fly on stage from various entrances, forming the monster out of many devilish birds. The whirlwind of capes and masks that swarms around the virgin sacrifice has a chilling effect. Another group of campers has created a soundscape for this scene that involves a haunting melody with saxophone and the triangle. Together, the movement and music bring the creepy Agar to life.

The monster scene is one of many in the pre-show, which includes scenes from all three plays. Excerpts from Twelfth Night outline Viola’s predicament and introduce most of the play’s characters. Likewise, the audience gets to witness Sampson’s and Abram ’s fight and a peek into Romeo and Juliet’s cursed lovers’ lives. All ASC Theatre Camp shows run for 60 minutes only, necessitating significant cuts to each script. Luckily, the pre-show gives us the chance to restore some of these cut scenes. Peter’s big scene in Romeo and Juliet had to be cut from the play for Sunday’s performance, but is a part of the pre-show. Campers with more minor roles in their plays are featured prominently in the pre-show so that everyone has an opportunity to lead the stage while at ASC Theatre Camp. For example, Mercutio does not deliver his famous Queen Mab speech for the pre-show; instead, several different campers share the speech, giving them a stab at this famous speech. These campers used diction guidance from the Ralph Cohen workshop they attended to tell a collaborative version of Queen Mab’s tale.

In fact, the pre-show not only gives the audience a preview of the three plays, but also a look inside many different workshops and master classes that the campers attended, as certain elements from these events are part of the pre-show tapestry. At Chris Johnston’s music workshop, the campers helped to write a song called, “Lady, Lay” that involves singing, a troupe of guitarists, and complicated hand-claps. “Lady, Lay” features in the pre-show, along with several other songs that the campers arranged.

The ASC Theatre camp pre-show may precede the main performances, but it is an entire show of its own, making an outstanding start to an afternoon of theatrical wonder on Sunday. Join us at 7:00 on Friday and Saturday night and 11:30 on Sunday morning to see ASC Theatre Camp’s pre-show!

--Emma Lo