Today’s Date: 7/6/23
Show Title: JULIUS CAESAR
Director: Natasia Reinhardt
Staff Crew: Assistant Directors: Cole Metz and Liv Meredith. Dramaturg: Eli Dietrich. Stage Manager: Lillian Malone.
What we did
Today we focused on polishing some scene work. As we worked on intention and characterization yesterday and have had many rehearsals since our voice and acting lessons with Summer England and Michael Blackwood, we spent today incorporating those teachings. For instance, we made sure that everyone was “on” at all times during rehearsal. By this, I mean that every actor was expected to behave as if they were on stage during a performance. We went to see the professional troupe rehearse last week, and notes that the campers had was that ASC’s actors were committed to the scene fully, each and every run.
The scenes we focused on were the group scenes in the play that involve all characters. What we spent the most time on was Mark Antony’s (JD) big “Friends, Romans, countrymen” speech (which is also the photo of the day). The scene took a while to get down because we have added simulated chaos from the entire cast. After running this, we ran our big battle and the death scene of Cassius (Pheonix) to polish how it looks. All in all, the day was incredibly productive. Each camper is making amazing acting choices.
Quick and Quotable
- From the play Today’s title comes from a line that Mark Antony says in his speech to the Plebians. I like it because the full line is “Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up / To such a sudden flood of mutiny,” and is clearly a lie. Mark Antony both wants the Plebians to mutiny and succeeds at convincing them.
- From the director Simulated chaos is written into Julius Caesar, and having the campers learn how to say lines over each other without interjecting on ones that need to be heard was amazing. The result was a scene that seamlessly simulated mob violence without corrupting the actual lines of the play. Natasia’s prime directive today was to make what seems like rabblement and entropy actually be intentional and directed.
- From the cast We pulled JD aside today and told him that during the scene that Mark Antony tells the Plebians that he holds Caesar’s will, he is lying. The implication of this is that the promises Antony makes to the Roman people are a fabrication, which makes the beginning of the Roman Civil War more his fault. What is so fun about this is that the rest of the cast has no idea. You, as their parents, guardians, and friends, are also bound to secrecy by me until the performance.
Production Insights
The campers are beginning to fall into a rhythm with their acting choices. The off-book day is on the ninth of July, yet many campers are already semi-off-book, which is incredible! Usually, campers struggle the most with their lines at this point in camp because we have only had a week and a half of camp. So, the fact that your wonderful children and friends can already be so on top of it is truly not to be undercelebrated.