Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Julius Caesar

Director: Jack Read

Assistant Director: Amy Ippolito

Dramaturg: Savannah Nine

Stage Manager: Shaggy Bryant

Production Manager: Mary Rose Valentine

What We Did Today

Today was our scene-by-scene readthrough of our finalized script. We are now deep in the process of cinematography and figuring out who to show our best selves digitally using a play built for a non-digital medium. It’s very complicated and tons of fun. We’re having tons of fun messing around with our green screens, disappearing into renaissance paintings of ancient Rome (hence the title of today’s post). Tomorrow, we get to bring in our Tech Czar to help us figure out the best way to work!

Quick And Quotable

• From the Play: “Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot; Take thou what course thou wilt.”
• From the Director: “It’s as simple as turning your cameras on and letting you work.”
• From the Cast: “My cat keeps trying to eat the fabric.” -Alex

Production Insights

It’s amazing how a 400-year-old play can still make so much sense. Julius Caesar is far from the only one that is still significant, but it’s so rich in anachronistic relevance (is that a thing?). The big question, especially at the American Shakespeare Center, is how the play can transcend live theatre. Original practice is incredibly important to everything we do, so what do we do when it’s not an option? Where is the eye contact?! Luckily, we’ve got an amazing team of passionate, ingenious campers to lead our expedition into the dense forest wilds of technology and literature. I’m thrilled beyond words to be along for the journey!

Note: Apologies for the late post. It’s busy being camps staff!