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

Independence Day in Staunton

            Happy Independence Day week from the ASC Theatre Camp! After a full day of stage combat and music workshops, and pre-show and play rehearsals, we finally got the chance to celebrate American independence. We did so first by going to the flagpole located at the highest point of Mary Baldwin College. There, Mary Baldwin’s president and his wife greeted and welcomed us into their home for a special treat. Waiting for celebrants of the Fourth was a lovely ice cream sundae bar complete with three different flavors of ice cream, and every topping one could hope for. 
             By the time we had all received our ice cream (though some sneaked back for seconds) the sky was starting to darken, but it was lit up with a beautiful orange full moon. As we waited for the fireworks to begin, many decided to use the ice cream social to socialize with non-camp members. Though the blanket-spreading crowd consisted mostly of Staunton locals, some of our campers got to know some of the Heifitz  campers who are also staying in the area. While Gabriel Komisar discussed the cello with some, Blaire Sharman and Marianna Moynihan decided to display their art instead. In this way, many of the locals viewed our campers conduct a brief hand-to-hand stage combat demonstration. That’s not the only thing that ASC Theatre Camp members brought to the picnic. Daniel Cassler decided to fight against the odds and fly a kite on what was a fairly breezeless evening. With a great deal of effort, his kite flew for a little while, entertaining those present. Though the campers had spread out on the hill a bit, the promise of sparklers quickly reunited them. Anticipating the forthcoming fireworks, our campers helped to light up the night sky. Although many campers celebrated the Fourth differently during the ice cream social, it was the variety and creativity with which they did that made it so much fun to watch. It spoke to the different strengths, interests, and attitudes of our campers. ASC Theatre Camp brings together students from all over the country, with different backgrounds and day-to-day lives, together to celebrate their love and interest of Shakespeare. A quirky bunch, we celebrated in true, wide-ranging, zany fashion.

While the 4^th of July is a day of celebration nationwide, it also happens to coincide with the ASC Theatre Camp’s last week. During this last week, each of the three casts gets to attend a late night dress rehearsal of the other shows. So, after ice cream, fireworks, and less conventional activities, the campers trekked downhill and were privy to an exclusive performance of Gallathea at Blackfriars Playhouse. The Gallathea cast delighted us with song, dance, and hilarity for an hour before we headed back uphill to Mary Baldwin, ending our Independence Day at 12am sharp. 

-Madeleine M. Oulevey

Adventures with the weather

Many of you reading this blog already know (perhaps first hand) about the high heat and severe storms which put about a million people out of power this past weekend. For those of you who don’t know, I will share our adventure and experiences as we put the “camp” into “theater camp.”

Friday night we all went to attend the ASC’s production of The Merchant of Venice, as was our plan. During the performance, a wild thunderstorm hit, and the power blacked out about half a dozen times. The Playhouse staff were exceptionally calm and professional, and the actors began again after each darkness without missing a beat or dropping the emotional energy of their performance. The whole experience was a phenomenal show of endurance and stamina. At the close of the performance, the Playhouse staff encouraged all of the patrons to stay in the theatre until the storm passed. Though the power had returned to the Blackfriars Playhouse, the power did not come back to the PEG dorm.

We did not gain power again until Tuesday morning, but there are many good things about our situation. The dorm is equipped with an emergency generator which keeps on the hall lights, and a few of the power outlets give a limited amount of electricity, so the campers were able to charge their phones, etc. The cafeteria had very little power, but they have served us every meal as planned. The biggest consideration on our minds was how to keep the kids cool. Like most of the country, Virginia has been enduring high temperatures in the mid-to-upper 90s for several days. To combat this, we switched pieces of the schedule so that the campers can spend as much time inside air conditioned spaces in the heat of the day as possible. Many of the shops, theatres, and restaurants downtown had both power and AC, and so in the free time of the days there were many trips to get smoothies, to see movies, or to see extra shows at the ASC for free. We also shifted all of our rehearsal spaces so that we can keep these kids well and cool.

All in all, was a tough at time, but it was also an adventure. Despite everything, the campers were patient and kind, and they worked to take care of each other and to follow to our many proclamations encouraging them all to drink copious amounts of water. Now that the power has been on since Tuesday morning, life has gone back to normal. And although we’re glad to have the power back, but I’m glad to say we did okay without it.

Gallathea Rehearsals

Catherine Gilbert as Diana and Stone Stowers as Neptune

      We’ve reached week three here at the ASC Theatre Camp.  Campers, counselors, directors, and dramaturgs alike are rearing to go for our big performances on Sunday. By now everyone is off book, costumes are materializing, and actors are polishing up their delivery and blocking with the help of their directors and dramaturgs. Of the three plays that we are performing for session one, John Lyly’s Gallathea stands apart for two reasons: First, it is the only one of the three written by someone other than William Shakespeare. Second, it is entirely in prose. These differences should in no way discourage would-be viewers. As Lilly Carr, one of our campers, said: “Gallathea is ridiculous and funny; complete with cross-dressing that is Twelfth Night on steroids.”  Lyly’s Gallathea includes witty servants, supernatural intervention, and problematic love not unlike many Shakespearean comedic plots. Though the version that will appear on the Blackfriars stage has been cut down to meet the one-hour time limit, Lyly’s text and the performers are not short on humorous charm.   

Doing Text Work for a Scene

Chelsea Phillips, the director of Gallathea, has created an open, organized, and positive environment for the campers. Leila Silberstein spoke to this effect when she said: “I love the freedom that Chelsea gives us. She is always very energetic and positive.” This sentiment is one that many other performers in Chelsea’s cast repeated. At the start of each rehearsal, Chelsea typically informs the campers of what they will be working on and what they can expect during the day. After brief warm-ups hailed as “spontaneous and fun” by Caroline Link, the campers split up into their different subplots to work on their scenes. These divisions do not mean that the campers in one subplot are unaware of the progress and work that their peers in other groups have made. As Calliope George explained to me: “Rehearsals are made up of split-up and group work. We get a lot done while also interacting on a personal level with other members of our cast.” In short, Chelsea Phillips has given her actors the freedom to work and to develop their characters while also providing a structured and positive work environment.

Josie Kritter and Maren Ericsson

Each cast only has three weeks to work on their shows, so there isn’t much time to waste. Even so, Gallathea rehearsals are full of laughter and physical comedy. The characters that Lyly has created are a varied bunch. While some of our campers only play one role, many get to experience several roles through doubling (or even tripling). Lily Carr, for example, plays Robin and the alchemist. In doing so, she faces the challenge presented by clowning: “Playing a clown is a new experience for me. Everything is a lot bigger and expressive.” As the campers soon realized, each new role involves its own set of discoveries and challenges to work with. Since the plot of Gallathea calls for more than just clowns, there are many types of characters. For example, much of the plot revolves around the pesky problems posed by the involvement of deities in both life and love. As such, some of our campers have been faced with playing the parts of Roman gods. When I asked about her experience playing Diana, goddess of the hunt and the moon, Catherine Gilbert said, “Diana has been a challenge. She is very headstrong and stubborn. Not at all like the more lovey characters I’ve had to play in the past.” Gallathea also features a set of lovers, played by Campbell Long and Calliope George. Gallathea and Phillida are similar characters. For this reason, Cam and Calliope emphasized that their “challenge lies in making our characters their own people. Our characters have essentially the same backstory and motives. We need to make it clear to the audience that they are vastly different… oh, and in love.”

Stone Stowers as Neptune and Marina Finelli as Venus

It has been an absolute delight to observe the rehearsals for Gallathea. Chelsea’s positive energy combined with the natural humor and creativity of the campers has yielded a production that is bound to delight. Already a wonderful show, Gallathea has doubtlessly been made better by what assistant director and counselor Francis Whitesell called “the deep abiding love that the cast has for each other.”  A great amount of effort, energy and hard work has gone into making Gallathea, and I hope that anyone who can will take advantage of the opportunity and come out to watch it Sunday, July 8^th at 2:45 at the Blackfriars Playhouse!  

-Madeleine M. Oulevey

Selling the Danger: Combat Masterclass with Benjamin Curns

On Monday, the campers were advised to "trust no one and give people every reason to trust you" at a combat workshop led by ASC actor Benjamin Curns. This workshop focused specifically on knife fighting, which Ben described as “the nastiest, because you have to get so close to your opponent to do some damage.” Most people consider the only dangerous part of the knife to be the point, but Ben revealed that almost all of the different parts of the knife can be used to harm. The advantage of using a knife is that one can easily switch hands with a knife as opposed to bigger and more cumbersome weapons.

Ben began the workshop by giving a general overview of how to perform a knife fight in a safe and convincing manner. Combat can be dangerous if the fight partners are not effectively communicating about their actions. To ensure safety, you must use constant eye contact and big cues to let both partner and audience know where you’re coming from and where you’re going.

As precautionary advice before the fighting commenced, Ben reminded the campers that they would not actually be fighting. “We’re learning how to miss and keep your partner safe. It is athletic, but it is not a sport. Everything is predetermined. No one is going to best anyone.” He warned that combat is completely dissimilar to martial arts or boxing, where opponents are trying to harm each other and win the fight. Instead, the goal of stage combat is to have the audience walk away and say that the fight looked real and intense. The job of the actor is to sell that there is danger at every moment, while all the while preventing any actual danger from happening.

After Ben’s introduction, the campers formed a circle: “The Arena of Death.” Counselors Emily and Dan demonstrated how a fight would begin, slowly pacing around the circle maintaining eye contact. Ben pointed out that despite the discrepancy of Emily’s and Dan’s body types, difference in strength wouldn’t really affect the fight because of the size of the weapon. The campers were asked to find the story in the counselors’ physicality. Campers noted how Emily’s bent knees and slow approach put her on the offensive, while Dan’s engaged left hand signified his preparedness for defense. When both switched from the ice pick grip to the standard knife hold, the campers knew that the fight would soon begin. Even without dialogue, the campers could gage the fighters’ relationship and identify their intent.

The campers then partnered up to try their hands at knife fighting. All laughed as Ben unknowingly paired the campers playing Juliet and Romeo together. Today the star-crossed lovers were going to have to battle to their deaths! First, Ben asked the partners to approach each other slowly, and once they were close enough, to leap into fight stance.

After the campers were comfortable with these initial steps, Ben entrusted them with wooden knives with dulled points. If a camper dropped a knife, the offender had to drop and do ten push-ups as punishment. The campers performed all moves at a decreased tempo, as Ben required that the campers “go crazy slow as if this entire room is filled with molasses”. The fight the campers learned began with a hand-to-hand combat sequence, with their knives temporarily hidden in belts or pants where the fighters could easily access them with their right hands. After the partners threw and deflected several different punches, the fight escalated to sword-play. Once the knives were drawn, the opponents went through a series of cuts and stabs. Some of these moves, if performed in actuality, would be pretty brutal, including a stab to the back that goes in between two ribs, directly to the heart. At the end of the fight, one actor would be left with a big debilitating armpit wound and no weapon, while the other stood doubly armed and triumphant.

Once the campers perfected those sequences, Ben distributed a dialogue of two or three lines from various Shakespeare plays to each pairing. The edition of lines from Macbeth, King Lear, and The Comedy of Errors helped the campers to place their motivation for fighting. Reciting lines in the midst of the fight brought a new passion to the choreography. Several pairs performed their short scenes for the whole group, which were thoroughly convincing after two hours of polishing. Ben praised the performers for remaining slow and safe in the heat of the moment, noting that the presence of an audience increases the temptation to speed up. The young fighters reluctantly returned their wooden knives but left the Masonic building with new skills under their belts.

--Emma Lo

Romeo and Juliet Rehearsal

As an observer of Romeo and Juliet rehearsal, I entered through the walls of Verona into a world of wooden daggers, tennis shoes, and first kisses. Putting on Shakespeare’s most famous play is no easy feat, as the tale of Romeo and his “three-hours wife” has enjoyed (or endured) countless retellings in countless varieties. But under the direction of Sara Holdren, the ASC Theatre Camp is tackling Romeo and Juliet with a vivaciousness you will find nowhere else. One of the most significant rehearsals I’ve sat in on was the cast’s first run-through. In the words of the director, “This is the first time you guys get to put the whole thing together. Keep your energy up. Keep your focus up”. Sara encouraged the actors on this intimidating day, when all of the lines, entrances, and blocking have to be at the front of each actor’s mind in order to make the run-through efficacious.

Run-throughs always begin with a fight call, where the actors lace up their sneakers and briefly practice all the show’s fight scenes at a slower tempo than they will use in the actual performance. This way, the actors won’t be going into these scenes cold during the run-through, which could result in confusion and possible injury. Stage combat in its essence is ironic because it’s the exact opposite of fighting. The fight partners work hard together, sharing weight and doing as much as they can to support each other in this mimic of a fight. Fight call is both an opportunity to practice the physical progression of the fight and also the accompanying vocals and expressions. One camper watching the fight call scenes praised Tybalt’s “troll face” that intimidated the entire room. Sara encouraged the actors to experiment with their pain noises and to imagine a realistic reaction to a sudden cut to the hamstring.

After fight call, the cast formed a circle to warm-up physically and vocally. It’s important that the campers’ bodies are fit to perform an active hour’s worth of brawls, dancing, and dying. Likewise, the shouting matches and the language in this play call for an extensive warm-up of the voice as well. The cast practiced lip-trills to loosen the lips, sirens to use the full vocal range, and overdone diction to ease the delivery of lines. The last warm-up is always an energy warm-up, as it’s crucial to build up enough energy to last through an hour of performing. Starting low to the ground and in quiet voices, the cast began to chant, “Ooh I feel so good, like I knew I would!” As they repeated this line again and again, the campers became increasingly loud and wacky until they were shouting and jumping into the air ecstatically. With a huge burst of energetic expression, the cast was now ready to tackle the play.

One of Romeo and Juliet’s biggest challenges is the “transition from a world that’s full of humor to that great tragedy” that Sara identifies as one of this cast’s biggest successes. This was profoundly evident from watching the run-through and the reactions of the cast further underscored that importance, when they served as audience members for the scenes they were not in. Almost Mercutio’s bitter death speech brought almost half the cast to tears. During the big fight between Mercutio and Tybalt, the cast watching divided and cheered them on, chanting “Mercutio! Tybalt! No, Mercutio! No, Tybalt!” In the middle of the Juliet and Romeo’s first encounter, Sara suddenly called out, “I’m so sorry, but this is where the first kiss is. You guys better get used to doing this!” The entire room blushed as the pair “let lips do like hands do.” From tears to heated shouts, gasps of surprise to reddened cheeks, this cast has the ability to affect and move each other through an entire range of emotions that Romeo and Juliet calls for, as a romantic tragedy.

While watching the rehearsal process, it’s easy to imagine you are with these characters inside the church’s tomb, until a hilarious mishap pulls you straight back to 2012. As Juliet awoke from her poisonous sleep, she accidently elbowed her dead husband, prompting an “Ow!” from the miraculously and momentarily arisen Romeo. It’s fun, light-hearted moments like this that alleviate the serious and hard-working tone that runs through rehearsal.

Rehearsal ends with notes, a reflective time when the director and assistant directors share comments, suggestions, and changes they’ve noted throughout the run-through. The campers write down their notes in their script margins and will try to incorporate them in the next run-through. While Sara found places in every scene that needed adjusting, she stressed that they had had an outstanding first run-through, and are well on their way to a polished product.

When asked to describe the cast, Sara was eager to praise this talented group, saying that they are “really brave and really willing to throw themselves as deep into the play as it calls for. They’re a great group, they’re funny, hard-working, very brave, open honest with each other, good listeners. They’re a group with a really good energy, with a nice feeling of ensemble”. Sara’s favorite part of rehearsals so far has been “the energy and the commitment level of the kids because I’ve seen versions of this play done by adults where the energy levels haven’t gone as far as the play asks for emotionally”. And it shows, as Sara and the cast do a wonderful job of using the youth of these actors to make Romeo and Juliet a thoroughly convincing tale of young love.

The performance of ASC Theatre Camp’s Romeo and Juliet, along with Twelfth Night and Gallathea, will be on 11:30 Sunday, July 8th at the Blackfriars Playhouse. Admission is free.

--Emma Lo