Recap: The Justice Project

What a weekend! Adirondack Shakespeare Company closed 2012's The Justice Project to immense success. The Moot Courtroom at St. John's University School of Law was jam-packed with audience members to see Measure for Measure on Friday night and even more folks to see The Merchant of Venice on Saturday. I am proud to say that we delivered some really top-notch productions to our audiences this weekend.

One of the strangest things for me is how my mind is always jumping ahead to the future. Even in the midst of our shows this weekend, I couldn't help but picture what other productions would look like in the Moot Courtroom. This is a really beautiful space. It seats a little over 150 people. It is a friendly room, in that the actors don't require amplification. In fact, the only complaint we had was the heat! We had so many people in the seats, and we just couldn't get access to a thermostat. Now we know for next year.

Part of me struggles with the looking ahead. One of the most important aspects of performance is immediacy and being present in the moment. Without a doubt, when I was onstage, my mind couldn't possibly be wandering. I had to focus on every word coming out of my mouth and out of the mouths of all the other actors. Shakespeare IN THE RAW just feels like life or death. But when I was offstage, out in the hallway, peeking in on the action, I just had visions of the histories unfolding. I couldn't help myself. Patrick admitted to picturing Romeo and Juliet in here too! So it's not just me!

With such a rousing success with The Justice Project, though, we are able to look ahead to future productions in the Moot Courtroom. Many thanks especially to the St. John's University School of Law and the Department of English. We can't wait to back!

Andi Dema, our Shylock. He calls this one: "I am content."