Today’s Date: 06/28/18

Show Title: As You Like It

Director: Patrick Midgley

Assistant Directors: Jessica Andrews and Charlotte La Nasa

Production Intern: Brigid Bakin

Rehearsal Room: Deming

What we did: A work-through of the entire play was begun. Each part of each scene was run, then tweaked, then run, then tweaked again and this process was repeated until the scene was perfect.

Quick and Quotable

• From the play: “Find tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.”

• From the director: “There’s no one right way to do it. But there is a wrong way.”

• From the cast: The cast has voted that Topher, instead of shaking an actual thunder sheet, should simply proclaim “Thunder sheet!” in a loud, imperial, voice from backstage. Whether or not this cue will be used is still up in the air. (Pun intended)

Production Insights: The work-throughs have begun and that means heavy-duty text work. Text work includes not only scanning the lines and marking breaths, but also finding the intention behind the line, the embedded stage direction, and the impact to the characters that are also on stage.

As the actors came and went during the rehearsal process, it seemed that every time they returned to the rehearsal space they had a more solid grasp of the nuances of their lines. They could speak them more naturally, more confidently, and they are more equipped to discuss the different ways to play the line. It is during this time that the campers’ prowess as actors is tested. Their commitment and their openness is super important, if not slightly more important, than innate skill. I am greatly anticipating seeing the members of my cast open up and really start to show their true colors.