Today’s Date: June 13th, 2025

Show Title: 1 Henry VI 

Director: Hailey Pearce

Staff Crew: Emerson Helmbrecht and Topher Zane (RDAs); Alexa Palena and Analise Toone (Interns)

What we did

We started off with a status game led by Hailey. Campers were each given a playing card to hold on their head. Without looking and by interacting with others, the campers attempted to gauge what “status” their card held (Kings being the highest and 2 being the lowest). After this, we split off to focus on table work and intimacy. Using their shared vocabulary, they learned from Topher’s intimacy workshop yesterday, a couple of campers worked with Topher to stage some small moments of intimacy. Other campers worked through the first half of the scenes with Hailey and Emerson during table work. When campers were not involved in either intimacy or the current table work scene, they gathered with me, wonderful dramaturg Analise, to paraphrase and scan their lines. While we had a lot to do, we still had fun trying out silly accents and ranting about how many Edmund Mortimers there are. 

Quick and Quotable

• From the staff: “Bolingbroke (pronounced like bowling) really hit his strike with Richard” -Jake 
• From the cast: “The first time someone spit on me, I was like ‘oh, I know who I am’” -Hudson (No campers were spit on, only fake spit!)

Production Insights 

The status game gave campers a useful tool, I foresee us using for the rest of the rehearsals. During table work, we found that the system of playing cards helped create a common vocabulary for status. For instance, a messenger might have a 2 card while a duke might have a 7 or 8 card. As we continue to work, common vocabulary will be instrumental to creating a productive and safe rehearsal space.