The show is beginning to take shape! Last week, Jaymes and I collaborated with our YSP 2014 campers to cast Shakespeare's As You Like It and begin character work. To cast the show, rather than having "cold-read" auditions--in which each actor reads a part in a scene without having seen it before--we welcomed input from the campers about their casting preferences. Each actor selected three roles that they would like to try, and Jaymes and I spent Monday evening figuring out how to give each of our campers a role from their list, taking into account campers' self-reported comfort level with stage time and memorization. It's a complex process, but by Tuesday morning we had a full cast!
After casting and after our first full read-through of the script, Jaymes and I led the campers through text work with a Shakespearean vocab workshop, milling and seething as their characters, and scene staging. It's exciting to see the actors learn and act the text they'll be speaking onstage on July 31, and the active nature of theater activities and scene staging helps our campers jump right in and get comfortable with parts of the text.
As we move forward into Week 4, we head into scene rehearsal. We'll "block" (set movements, entrances, and exits for) the majority of the play. Blocking will help each actor create and learn how their character walks, how they act in relation to other characters, and how their scenes form "stage pictures." Our campers will not only act; they will also direct each other's scenes, working as an ensemble to create their production of As You Like It!
Stay tuned to hear more soon about our performance, which will occur July 31st at 7pm. All parents, guardians, friends, and interested community members are invited to attend.
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