The WG Drama Department was excited to tackle this beast of a script and the Cast and Crew did an amazing job bringing this energetic and very funny show to their audiences each night!
Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield.
Sisi Desuza made the poster/T-shirt design
The AUDITIONS
The auditions took place in January and we immediately jumped into the rehearsal process. The audition for Complete Works took place first and then we held the auditions for the 2nd Spring play God of Carnage.
We saw about 30 students audition and they all did great. This was a fun audition to watch. This show calls for a specific set of skills. The actors we were looking for had to be able to be themselves, also be a character or more, and then interact with the crowd constantly throughout the play. It requires high energy and the skill to sell the jokes in this very funny script requires comic timing. This really separated out the auditions rather quickly. Most couldn't play to the audience directly without being nervous and the three we cast were the ones that didn't flinch when the cast table engaged them.
The Cast - Gant Gibson, Amelia Griesedieck, and Jaden Fields
The cast we assembled for this show were awesome from the start. These three students did an amazing job presenting all of the scenes with gusto and real "Chutzpah!" It was always lively in rehearsals and the cast really got to play with each scene, making it their own.
We also assembled an amazing crew for the production. Without these people we would never have gotten this in front of an audience.
The Cast and Crew of the Spring Play #1 - March 2020
THE TECH CREW and Staff
Katherine Ransden kept the ship floating as our Stage Manager and Production Manager. She helped the cast stay on track, took notes in rehearsals, kept us on schedule, helped run off campus rehearsals, and regulated the snack box. She also was on book for all of the times the cast called for line...which was a lot:)
TK (Thomas Kessler) kept a pair of eyes on the show as the student director and helped block some bits. He also became another "Bob" in the tech booth and ran the spot light for several of the moments in the show that required some interaction with the cast.
Catalina Draney came in on the tail end of the rehearsal process to make and pull all of the props for this crazy show (and there were a ton of props!) ...more on her work later in this blog entry.
LIGHTS
The lights were cued by Seneca Mahan (Sophomore) on the board. We really got a lot out of very few instruments. The Blackbox is limited with lighting, but this show had a real warmth when needed for the comedy and we were able to get a good "nigh time" look when needed as well. The show had a great flow. The lights really helped with the quick transitions and letting the audience know when to clap. There were a ton of cues in our production and Seneca really stayed with the pace of the show and pushed the tempo when he could. Turned out exactly as it we had hoped.
SOUND
The sound designer for this show was John Sterbenz (Senior) and he brought a real finesse to his work on this production. There was a lot of opportunity to play with the actors with specific editing of each sound effect and how they were played in each moment. (and there were a ton of them)
John pulled all sorts of source material and used Audacity to edit and construct the effects we needed to sell our jokes. It was a match made in heaven when the physical comedy happening on stage had a score being provided from the the sound booth. John's meticulous efforts really paid off the audience was truly taken on a journey and the actors loved having him as a support.
John Sterbenz and Seneca Mahan in the booth running the show Thursday night
THE REHEARSALS
The rehearsal process was really difficult and the text was a challenge for everyone involved. We had to work through all of the actual Shakespeare text and find meaning in all of those lines. Once we figured out that text, it took some time to block those scenes. Then the cast had the challenge of getting it all committed to memory. Repetition was key!
Jaden was the pre-eminent Shakespearian scholar of the group and Amy and Gant were along for the ride, or so we thought...
Turns out non of them knew anything about Shakespeare's plays. (lol)
You said "but love"!!!
We also had to play up every opportunity for a laugh. However, we quickly found that the humor had to come from a very authentic place and the actors couldn't be fake. They had to be real and give honesty to their delivery. The cast did great. They really fit their roles and they were able to find a real chemistry in rehearsals that felt like they have known each other for ever.
Once the scenes started getting memorized the rehearsals really picked up and the cast were able to begin pushing the tempo and placing focus in the right place to sell the best joke. We also began to play with the audience more.
There was a lot of plot points we had to make sure were clear in each of the scenes so that the joke made sense to the general audience. The cast didn't get to play with the real props until show week so they spent a lot of time in rehearsals pretending and miming. It was a great lesson in more minimalistic staging, fast paced farce, improv/sketch and of course commedia.
The cast had to bring a lot of energy into each rehearsal and didn't get a live audience feeding them. This is very difficult to sustain.
They really did bring a ton of energy everytime they met even after a full day of classes. Tracking all of the blocking was also a major task and Katherine did a great job keeping a map of the show.
Jaden and Gant taking a short break
The Snack box was also helpful in providing an extra sugar kick. (A little Diet Coke for Gant never hurt either. Did he call it "dementia juice"?)
And Romeo and Juliet are DEAD!!!
THE SET DESIGN
The set design was kind of given to us in the script. It is meant to be functional for the most part. We focused the design on providing the space for the scenes to play out and to give enough back stage space for costume changes and props to be stored. The two entrances on stage and the two that come from the house are described in the script's set description. This made it simple to envision in the earlier rehearsals.
The walls went up show week and the cast got play with them during the Sat 5 hour cue to cue and for about three dress rehearsals the week of the show.
The addition of costumes also made for interesting adjustments. The cast suddenly had wigs and scarves and dresses and shirts and hats and crowns to deal with. Each one of them was used for a gag and then tossed in a box or off stage.
Once the walls went up the cast started to focus on the path they would take between gags. This was difficult at first, but once they found their path it really helped the show to lock down certain bits and we really started to feel the endurance required to make it all the way through the show.
Gotta love surprises...
We were kicked out of school the day of our final dress rehearsal due to an electrical fire under the cafeteria. The cast met and bashed the show and Mr Schaefer painted the set after school before the audience arrived Thursday night. It was up against the wire but the show must go on!
Mr Schaefer took the set down and set it back up twice for All Write week so that the space could also be used for the other events and presenters.
We set up for a 60 seat audience and had around 40-45 each night.
PROPERTIES
We were so lucky to have Cat Draney come back for another show. She was brilliant with the props in Chicago and so we jumped for joy when she said she was free for this one too.
Cat and TK making the bloody hand wraps for the Titus scene
There were quite a few props we had to assemble or make for this show and Cat was also able to pull quite a bit of the show's props from our department's prop room. We did have to shop for a few of the props for the show. We did buy a couple of new foam Roman helmets and some new retractable knives for the stabbing bit in Romeo and Juliet.
The head from the Titus scene and the other paper props that had to be created
She also made the puppets for the Play within a play in the Hamlet scenes.
The puppets had to resemble the costumes Gant was wearing in the scene as Claudius, the King and Gertrude. That scene turned out to be very funny and the use of the spot light and a melodrama score really sold it.
Jaden gets her Sesame Street on as Hamlet
These are the props and costume pieces for our show all set out before we struck the show
We had everything backstage placed were the actors needed it and once we found our place for everything it all fit just right.
The center wall's props at Sat's cue to cue
- it had even more added by show night
COSTUMES
The costumes for this show, like the set, were slightly predetermined and we just ended up pulling them the day we met for the cue to cue. It was pulled as we ran the show piece by piece. We just added to the clothing rack and by the end of the day we had the show pulled and organized for each actor. It was fast and gave them the rest of the dress rehearsals to play with all of the assessories.
This was the rack after cue to cue and it also grew by opening night
We played for three nights for very enthusiastic audiences.
Aidan Owens and Sisi Desuza (House Managers) greeted everyone in the lobby and sold the tickets. They also hopped back out and sold concessions during intermission.
Gant was the busker for the show and sat in the lobby and played some songs for the audience as they came in to the theater.
Our model of the GLOBE Theater sat at the entrance of the theater to give the audience an idea of where the Bard's original work was staged. This was a project a student had done for Mr Johnsons' English class and he since donated to our department several years ago.
Eli Bent and Quinn Coffman (Senior) before the show...Quinn was our live beat-boxer for the show's "Othello Rap" and he attended the show every night to do this for us. We really appreciated it. He was perfect and really made that scene sound great and made it really authentic. He is also in the 2nd Spring Play this year and was in Midsummer last year.
The Powerpoint allowed us to reference Shakespeare throughout the whole show but also allowed for us to project the program credits at the end. We saved some trees and didn't print a program.
Amelia starts the show and once she takes the leap we never stop!
Amelia had the monologues at the start of the show, going into intermission and coming out of intermission. These were very long passages that required her to address the audience directly and to play some fun jokes and push the meta elements of the play.
Once we covered Romeo and Juliet,
we quickly moved onto to a bloody play called Titus as a cooking show
Jaden and Gant play for every laugh using all of the props they can hold...
even when they don't have the use of their hands
All's well that ends!!!
and on to the tragedies...
what better play to start with than the Scottish Play
Then our Roman tragedy Caesar
And onto Anthony and Cleo...
and Othello as a rap act
Africa!
Then of course...we got to hear Jaden's monograph,
complete with interpretive dance and some really thoughtful performance art.
Then all of the "History Plays" as a football game.
Then after a 10 minute intermission we continue with Hamlet
The famous speech didn't go as planned...
We also had a great time playing with the audience when we try to get Ophelia's scream right.
We pulled several members of the audience to the stage to help us each night and it was a ton of fun to see how they reacted to being put on the spot.
Alum Ethan Ryan was a good sport and joined us playing Ophelia's ego
Then onto the play within the play...
The worm!!!
"Follow my mother!"
and after 90 minutes.."The rest is silence..."
We finished all of the plays and then did a fast paced ending which concluded the show with everyone stabbing each other and dying again for the audience.
This was an amazing journey for everyone involved and the audiences had a great time each night. The cast and crew worked very hard and the play was a success for the Drama Department.
Aidan Owens hosted the cast party and Cat Draney handed the Thespian Glass Pig to Jaden Fields and the MVT went to Katherine Ransden. She signed the trophy and Mr. Schaefer gave out all of the superlatives to the cast and crew as we sat around a bonfire.
CONGRATS to everyone for another great production!
OPHELIA says,
"GO SEE A PLAY!!!""
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