July-September 2009
Romeo and Juliet
This was my second paying gig in my illustrious nine year career and it was really a fun time. What really had me surprised off the bat about this show was about the people who were in the show were also alumni from some of the schools I was looking at. Colette was from Wright State, Rachel was from Evansville, Hannah was from Butler, and while I wasn't entirely interested at the time, Becky, Dooley, Rammi, and Mandy were all from Northern Kentucky University. I also got to be reunited onstage with my former stage mother, Kasmira (check out her blog http://whatiwore2day.blogspot.com/). I also got to met Dan Cohen, another fellow blogger (http://beefymuchacho.blogspot.com/), Kasmira's boyfriend, and son of long time family friend Ed Cohen. The cast was truly a great one but the directors were top-notch too: Francis and Angela. Francis and Angela are grads of the Shakespeare program at Mary Baldwin college, a grad program I might want to look into, and it was great being able to learn even more about Shakespeare.
What I loved about this show was how great the feeling of ensemble was, minus the exceptional artistic differences but that's to be expected in any show. We all got along and there was a lot of great chemistry within the cast, I think as much as I was accepted, I was still on a different level than they were, probably to do with the fact that I was a minor but it wasn't a big deal. As example, during one of the last run-throughs, Jen, another castmate and alumni from parent's college, University of Dayton, brought in a party case of Smirnoff Ice. Being the responsible adults they were, I was not allowed to drink, not major as I don't drink but I felt left out that's all. Or another time during the first cast party at Rachel's house, she did not really want me at the party as a good deal of drinking would be occurring and she didn't want to have responsibility for me as I am a minor. I can respect her feeling that way, she is an older sister, that and I would be more of a hazard than anything else. Aside from that, I was in a fairly young show and it was a different experience from other shows I had done.
As for my characters, I had three: Sampson, Prince, and Peter. I feel certain ways about each of these performances. I think Peter was one of the best comic performances I have given, especially on the last night, when I had added one final gag in the scene in which the Nurse approaches Romeo about Juliet where I fall off the stage after laughing uncontrollably. I think it was a great clown character and I was glad to hear other people liked it as well. Sampson was a two note character, a a braggart and a coward...that's about it. I was given one of the best jokes of Romeo and Juliet, biting of the thumb, and it never really hit. My least favorite role was the Prince. The Prince was really out of my comfort zone as I had to command a room with my voice and my presence and I have not fully realized this talent quite yet. I have problems with stoic power figures like the Prince or Caesar, as I'm not used to being so still or so controlled. I think I can get this type of role if I have a few more swings at it. This show I think is the one that helped me to realize that I get trapped in my head too often and that I need to be more instinctive and more about the moment than anything else.
This was a great show but I think it was one of the lowest attended shows I did this year, I know that shouldn't matter but when it came to some of the comedic shtick, a larger crowd would have been nice. I think what I will miss about this show was the amount of playing around we could do in rehearsals, Francis and Angela let us explore first and then would bring their thoughts if needed. I also miss just being around the cast. I think this cast was so alive and so fun to be around. From the offstage talks and throwaway lines we all had to some onstage shenanigans including Dan bossing me around during the party scene getting him plums, cheese, and finally firing me on the final performance.
Writing this blog, I'm getting deep sighs and that empty feeling that one gets when something really great is over. I think it's just because I'm a very nostalgic guy, even if this nostalgia is going back only to September. I miss so much about this show and I wish that we could have done it longer or with larger crowds. I would really like to work with any of those folks again, in fact I worked with Kasmira and Dan again for Comic Potential, which will come in a later Post Mortem. As it looks like I'm going to NKU for college, as I have a full ride, I can still work with all of them.
Until next time.
-The Red-Headed Step-Child
PS I don't proof my blogs, as I am too lazy to do so, so for any grammar nazis out there, I could care less what you say, but I still love you.
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