The campers running through the blocking for the first scene of the show!
Today’s date: 10th July, 2025
Show title: Henry VI, Part 3
Director: Mili Koncelik
Staff Crew: Production Interns Analise Toone (Stage Manager) and Madeleine Cook (Dramaturg); RDAs Sarah Clayton and Topher Zane (Asst. Directors)
What we did:
After a quick warmup, we got the dialogue up on its feet! We staged the entirety of Act 1 and Act 2, Scene 1, and we’ll pick up where we left off in the middle of Act 2, Scene 2 the next time we rehearse. With staging we’re also gradually incorporating props and making note of who needs what. In addition to that, campers also got to do some character work with the Assistant Directors!
Quick and Quotable:
- From the play
- “Such safety finds / The trembling lamb environed with wolves.” – Queen Margaret, 1.1.145-6
- “The sands are numbered, that makes up my life: / Here must I stay, and here my life must end.” – York, 1.4.219-20
- From the director
- “I’m using Blackfriars slang” – Mili
- “Richard, Edward, Montague, York, and Georgie-poo” – also Mili
Production Insights
The Blackfriars is a unique place to block in, especially as someone who first started doing theatre on exclusively a proscenium-arch stage. Some of the same rules apply: moving with purpose, filling the dead space, energizing entrances and exits, etc. But there are some unique aspects of the stage that the campers get to play around with and possibly experience for the first time – using the discovery space in the back, being able to address the audience on three sides, not necessarily having to cheat out to a front-facing audience or directly face a scene partner, taking things out and up to the heavens, etc. As we are currently blocking in the Fletcher Collins Theatre in the Deming building on MBU’s campus, which is a black box theatre space, it’s not quite the Blackfriars just yet, but we’ve made it as similar to the space as possible to lay a really good foundation for when we get this on the stage! The campers are already starting to develop their characters, too, and we knocked out more blocking than was initially scheduled today because the campers were absolutely on a roll — we’re in a great spot!
Madeleine Cook
Madeleine is a Production Intern for ASCTC 2025, serving as Dramaturg for 3 Henry VI for Session 2. She is an actor, historian, and early modern theatre scholar originally from southeastern Michigan and now based in Staunton. She is also an incoming 2nd-year MLitt student at Mary Baldwin University's Shakespeare and Performance graduate program, and holds a B.A. in History and Theatre from Siena Heights University. And, she's very happy to be here!