Nathan Trout checks in with his experiences of the Shakespeare Festival preparation so far...
So I suppose I should probably confess I've never really been into Shakespeare. Probably because I associate it with English Literature lessons and I've no had real experiences of it being performed, apart from an awful attempt at Macbeth by a four member company who came into school and Macbeth definitely needs more than 4 actors. With Elizabethan English being nearly as foreign to me as German I was slightly wary about having to learn and perform for three scenes. That said having actually acted out the scenes, it's actually been a lot easier to get to grips with than I imagined. I also think it helps that I genuinely like the scenes I'm in and the freedom that we've got from being allowed quite a lot of self direction has meant we could really have fun putting together the scenes.
In the scene from As You Like It, I play Jacques whose sole purpose is to antagonise Danny Bell's Orlando who is in love with Rosalind, played by Joanna Nicks, who is dressed as a shepherd along side her sister Celia, who is played by Ellyn Bramley. I'm slightly worried about what Sarah was thinking when casting me as the slightly arrogant cynic to put opposite the eternally good natured part played by Danny. I also am playing Benvolio in the sword fight scene from Romeo and Juliet although luckily I get to leave the actually fencing to Jonny, Danny and Ash and instead just get to stand there holding a sword with no risk of putting someone's eye out. The final part I play is Starveling in an amalgamation of the rude mechanicals scene from Midsummer Night's Dream. Having quite a big group to work with feeding ideas into what's already quite a fun scene to play has been a really enjoyable process and I'm looking forward to the end project.
So I suppose I should probably confess I've never really been into Shakespeare. Probably because I associate it with English Literature lessons and I've no had real experiences of it being performed, apart from an awful attempt at Macbeth by a four member company who came into school and Macbeth definitely needs more than 4 actors. With Elizabethan English being nearly as foreign to me as German I was slightly wary about having to learn and perform for three scenes. That said having actually acted out the scenes, it's actually been a lot easier to get to grips with than I imagined. I also think it helps that I genuinely like the scenes I'm in and the freedom that we've got from being allowed quite a lot of self direction has meant we could really have fun putting together the scenes.
In the scene from As You Like It, I play Jacques whose sole purpose is to antagonise Danny Bell's Orlando who is in love with Rosalind, played by Joanna Nicks, who is dressed as a shepherd along side her sister Celia, who is played by Ellyn Bramley. I'm slightly worried about what Sarah was thinking when casting me as the slightly arrogant cynic to put opposite the eternally good natured part played by Danny. I also am playing Benvolio in the sword fight scene from Romeo and Juliet although luckily I get to leave the actually fencing to Jonny, Danny and Ash and instead just get to stand there holding a sword with no risk of putting someone's eye out. The final part I play is Starveling in an amalgamation of the rude mechanicals scene from Midsummer Night's Dream. Having quite a big group to work with feeding ideas into what's already quite a fun scene to play has been a really enjoyable process and I'm looking forward to the end project.
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