Lines, Lines, Lines

It’s the key ingredient to most theatre performances. Audiences love them; actors adore saying them, but most hate the process of memorizing. And with the complex language of Shakespeare, you have to know what you’re saying before you memorize it, which makes it a doubly difficult task. No pressure, you’re an actor right?

Some actors learn their lines through repetition. By saying the line repeatedly, they start to adhere to your mind. You can relate this to seeing your favorite movie a dozen times. After a while, you start saying the lines with your favorite character.

Others use recording devices to assist in the memorization. The way this is done is by recording all your lines on tape then playing them back. Once you have your lines down then you record the lines just before yours (called pick-up lines) and play those back. The trick to this is the stop-and-start. Hit play to hear the pick-up line and then press stop. Say your line and then hit play again. Rinse and repeat until you’ve got it down cold.

Finally you have the kinesthetic method. With this method, you learn you lines after you’ve been given your blocking. Then you use the action to help you remember the line. For those who are unfamiliar with the term blocking, I’ll explain - blocking is a stage direction give by a director to the actor. An example would be: “Timmy on your line I want you to come downstage and say it right here. Then I need you to head upstairs and say your next line.”

All three of these methods work equally well so it boils down to personal preference. “Since I’ve got my lines memorized that should be enough right?” Think again, it’s one thing to memorize Shakespeare and repeat it on stage; it’s an entirely different thing to know exactly what you’re saying and why you’re saying it. Everyone’s heard of Hamlet’s speech “To be, or not to be…” but how many really know what he’s saying and why? Ah… you see, acting is harder than it looks.

Now mix that with rehearsals three hours a night and five days a week, a Saturday fight or dance call (4 hours), a 40 hour work week, then find time to memorize your lines and you too can be an actor. “What, are you crazy?” you might ask, and the answer is yes. But with anything you love to do, you make time. And there are a lot of us that share the same passion.

Till next time…

“Bend your knees, Louise!”

(the following blog was written by the lovely Janine, who will be playing the goddess Hina in our Polynesian-themed Tempest)

We began our Polynesian dance rehearsals last week at Shady Shakespeare. We worked on the opening number at our first rehearsal. I don’t want to give too much away, but audiences will be in for a real treat as this number is guaranteed to transport them instantly to our Polynesian island. Our dances have been wonderfully choreographed by Norman Munoz. Norman has been dancing for many years – not only can he move his hips better than any dancer I’ve ever seen, he is also a font of knowledge on the Polynesian culture. Our ‘corps de hula’ is composed of some of Shady’s hardest working performers. Our opening number is based on the Maori tradition and features a storm (duh, it is The TEMPEST!), live music and chanting. Maori dance is militaristic in nature and often the dancers do not smile. We also choreograph our goddess wedding speeches. Polynesian culture and dance are steeped in story-telling and our movements help us to recount our stories. We constantly perform all of our dance steps with our knees deeply bent. (Needless to say, after our first rehearsal, my quads are in unbearable agony and climbing steps the following day is like scaling Mount Everest.)

Day two – We review our opening dance number. Did I mention that my thighs hurt? We choreograph the wedding dance. This dance is more lyrical and flirty than our first dance, but again we perform most of our moves with the knees deeply bent. People often think of moving hips when they think of Polynesian dance. What they don’t realize is that in order to get those hips a-moving, you must bend your knees. So yes, our knees are a-bending and our hips will definitely be a-moving. One unique aspect of this wedding dance is that we are also playing rocks for our accompaniment. We hold a set of river rocks in each hand and click them together like finger cymbals. This is quite a difficult task to maneuver while you are dancing, especially when your hands are upside down over your head, and I am sure that someone will drop a rock on their head one of these days. I hope it’s not me…

Day three – We review our first two dances and wedding speeches. We learn our finale number. This number is quite fun and I am sure that the audience will be thoroughly impressed. Norman is hoping to have the goddesses dance with fire as this dance will be performed after the sun has set. This dance tells the story of a one-masted ship. Norman explains that many Polynesian songs have double-meanings, much like Shakespeare. We also begin to learn the chant which will accompany our dance (boy do they use a lot of vowels!).

After three days of Polynesian dance rehearsals, all I can say is that my thighs hurt…a lot. But I am willing to endure some pain in order to dazzle our audience… And dazzled they will definitely be!

Let’s party till the tikis burn out!

On Saturday, June 9th, Shady had their annual fundraiser and the theme was the tropics. It was a great turn out with lots of Shady members and patrons. This year, there was also entertainment provided by Polynesian dancers and coconut bowling. Not that Polynesian dancers were coconut bowling but that they were dancing and we were bowling…just not at the same time.

For those of you that have gone, you know how much of a wonderful experience this is and how much it means to Shady Shakespeare. For those that haven’t, I’ll give you a brief run down.

Since this year’s theme was the tropics, everyone was given a lei when they entered. From there, you entered the banquet hall where the sound of island music called you forth. Once you reached the banquet, it was time to let loose and have a good time. There were bartenders making Mai Tais and blue Hawaiians, and the cooks were serving all the Hawaiian BBQ you could eat. After that, were the desserts and more drinks (drinks were free just in case you were wondering). During this time, you could buy raffle tickets for the great prizes offered or bid on one of the many the silent auction items.

About half way through the evening, the entertainment arrived. A local Polynesian dance troop came and performed for us. During their session, they also instructed us on a few island words and dances. The dances were very entertaining, and speaking from experience, much harder to do than they look.

Also, during the evening you could participate in other entertainment. We had coconut bowling for raffle tickets and you could also have your fortune read. Coconut bowling - another game that is much harder than it looks. Lucky for me, the reading of my fortune required no skill on my part.

Then the winners of the costume contest and the raffles were announced. In the case of the raffle, there is strength in numbers so I recommend that you buy a lot of tickets. Next were the winners of the silent auctions. There were a lot of great items on which you could bid, including a trip for 30 to a local vineyard. One of the items of which I was particularly fond turned into a bidding war between me and another Shady member. But much to my dismay, he put the last bid in during the final moments of the auction and won. Better luck next time I guess!

Once more unto the breach, dear friends…

Fight training begins again at Shady Shakespeare. Our fight master and choreographer is the incredibly gifted Larry Barrott and the weapon of choice is the broadsword. The broadsword is a heavy two-handed weapon used for slashing your opponent. If you saw last years show (Romeo & Juliet), then you experienced rapier-style sword fighting. Rapier is much faster than broadsword and flashier in its execution. The broadsword is all about brute force and stamina.

Let the inside scoop begin...

The three hour training session begins with warm-ups. During this time we stretch and prepare mentally for our training. Then the fight master instructs us on safety and how to handle the swords without injuring ourselves and others. Although the swords have been blunted, (sharp edges dulled) a four pound stick of metal can still pose a serious threat. From there we move to a brief history of the weapon and its primary use. I found it fascinating that the heavily armored knights of this period would literally pummel each other until a weakness in one’s armor was exposed. Next were the defensive (parry) stances with our sword. Then, the offensive attacks we could make with this weapon. Finally, we learned maneuvering and got to put it all together.

Once we were comfortable with the weapon we then moved into the choreography of the fight. This is where the real magic happens. Getting six combatants on stage swinging swords without killing each other is quite an accomplishment! I’m not going to give away any of the fight specifics, but I will say you will be impressed.

"Be not afraid of greatness..."

You are now reading Shady Shakespeare’s newest endeavor. Welcome to the Shady Shakespeare Blog! I’ll be your host and moderator and it will be my duty to keep those interested up to date on Shady events. In this blog, I will cover everything Shady - from Shady events to shows to news on actors, directors, and the like. Also, from time to time, I will also bring in other creative minds to write the blog. As with any blog, comments are always welcome but must be filtered for content.

And, as a follow up to this already great greatness... Shady now has a Tribe.net site. What is Tribe.net you might ask? It’s a community website where friends get together and share ideas, pictures and have discussions. With this new site, you will be able to keep track of all your favorite Shady actors, directors, costumers, set designers, and techies. You will also be able to read the forums and post comments as well. All of this is being done to keep you, our patrons, and family, up to date with the Shady experience.

Till the next blog…

J. Rutski signing off.