How To: Not Stress

The full company of actors arrives in a mere two days' time. We will also host Professor Leslie Reidel for a Verse-Speaking Master Class. ADK Shakes believes strongly in the power of the verse, and we admire Leslie's work a great deal. When he reached out to us last month to propose doing a workshop for our actors, I was absolutely thrilled.

This Master Class is just one of the many puzzle pieces that Patrick and I have been attempting to fit into place for our Second Summer Festival Season. (It is so cool to be able to say that, by the way.) Currently, Lee Ann is hard at work finishing the program. Yep, it's 2:30 a.m. What can I say? We are a busy clan!

Already today, there has been one tour of Complete Works. There's another tomorrow, two on Saturday, and one on Sunday. I have been compiling a detailed schedule for our actors, a housing map for where our company of lucky thirteen will be staying for the next three weeks, and a dinner map. Oh yes, we have a fun tradition of company dinners where one person cooks for the entire company. The wonderful catch is that you will only have to cook twice for everyone, and the rest of the nights you enjoy a fabulous home-cooked meal that someone else made. Those always taste better, don't they? Mixed into these activities are calling to confirm rehearsal venues, tracking down those last-minute ads for the program, shoring up the mother-mold for the Bottom mask, and oh right, I have lines that I need to be working on too!

So here's my How To for coping with some of this stress:

1. Yoga.
True North Yoga in Schroon Lake Village has graciously donated yoga classes to the Adirondack Shakespeare Company actors during their stay this season. Hatha is my favorite, but I did feel brave enough to try the Active Flow Vinyasa class on Tuesday. Boy, was that a stress-reliever!
2. Run.
Not away. No, no. I put on my running shoes and take a half-hour to myself a few times a week. I'm working on the Couch to 5K program and am just about to start Week 6. The side-benefit is that I get to eat:
3. Ice Cream.
It's not really summertime without ice cream at Stewart's Shops. I am incredibly excited that my all-time favorite flavor "Crumbs Along the Mohawk" is back on the board this year. Graham-cracker flavored ice cream with graham cracker chunks and a caramel swirl.

Mmmmm....so tasty.

So ... my advice, if you're feeling like your head is about to explode because even though you caught one mouse last night, another one just ran across the counter mocking you, is to remember that "stressed" backwards spells "desserts." And you know, then do some yoga or some running to burn off those ice cream calories.

ADK Shakes Summer Tickets

The Important Information: TICKETS via Ticketleap and our detailed SUMMER SCHEDULE

I am incredibly proud to announce the opening of our 2011 Summer Festival Season, our second annual Summer Festival Season, that is. We had an amazing first year of shows in Schroon Lake, NY last summer. We are beginning to make a name for ourselves, and it is a very big year.

Lesley Berkowitz rehearses Complete Works

In fact, we have already opened The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield. We opened on July 3 and we have already performed the show in Lake George, Long Lake, Glens Falls, Chateaugay, Scaroon Manor, and Lake Placid. Tomorrow the company heads to Saratoga Springs for a "good will" performance at the Wesley Health Community.

Friday kicks off another busy weekend with a free public performance right outside the beautiful Crandall Public Library in downtown Glens Falls at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday, July 16, we have two performances in North Creek at the Tannery Pond Community Center. And on Sunday, July 17, we have been invited to perform at the incredible Crown Point Historic Site, which is right on the shores of Lake Champlain. The company will be performing amidst the ruins of 18th-century pre-Revolutionary War barracks. Amazing! The show is at 2:00 p.m. and it is free. (Bring your own seating!)

The other exciting thing about Sunday's show is that the entire 2011 Summer Company will be in attendance! We pick them up in Albany on Sunday morning from the bus and head straight up to Crown Point. Get some time in with the actors before they start stressing about Midsummer and Merchant rehearsals.

Which start on Monday!

Here is what you need to know for opening week of the Mainstage Season:

• A Midsummer Night's Dream opens Thursday, July 21 at 2:00 p.m. at the Boathouse Theater in Schroon Lake Village
• A Midsummer Night's Dream tours to beautiful Long Lake on Friday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Mt. Sabattis Pavilion
• The Complete Works tours to Lake Placid on Saturday, July 23 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. at Mid's Park
• The Merchant of Venice opens on Sunday, July 24 at 2:00 p.m. at the Boathouse Theater in Schroon Lake Village
• The Complete Works returns to Lake George on Sunday, July 24 at 2:00 p.m. at Shepard Park
• A Midsummer Night's Dream comes to Lake George on Sunday, 24 at 7:00 p.m. at Shepard Park

Meet Tara and Patrick!

So I am the last actor in the company to be introduced, but I feel strange introducing myself. I have therefore decided to introduce Patrick and myself as a team. Behold: your Executive and Artistic Directors!

Patrick and I first met in 2005 acting in back to back productions in Delaware and in Harrisburg, PA. We continued to act in the occasional show together, but by 2008, we knew it was time to begin a new venture. One of the things I found most frustrating about being an actor was being subject to someone else's ideas. (I have had the most interesting time reading about this dilemma in Simon Callow's book Being an Actor.) I fully appreciate a director's vision of a production, but no one was quite producing Shakespeare the way I wanted to perform it. So Patrick and I began our Shakespeare IN THE RAW experiment.

No more props. We used dowels -- you know those thick wooden sticks you buy at the hardware store. Those were our swords. We've progressed to daggers -- blocks of wood you'd use to stop a door, wrapped in duct tape. No more costumes. We used basic blacks as a base costume and augmented with jackets, sashes, hats, skirts, etc. No more rehearsal time. We've whittled it down to approximately 12 hours per production. Yes, that is correct. We don't have anyone holding book during the show. No one carries a script. These are all-out, uncut, full-on productions of Shakespeare by some of the finest classical actors I have ever met or seen perform. The focus is almost entirely on the text and on the verse and musicality therein. And these productions are exciting! This is the way I love to perform Shakespeare and to see Shakespeare performed.

To date, Shakespeare IN THE RAW has encompassed ten productions:

1 Henry VI

2 Henry VI

3 Henry VI

Richard III

As You Like It

Romeo and Juliet

Macbeth

Titus Andronicus

The Tempest

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)

And in just a few weeks we will open the rest of our second annual summer festival:

A Midsummer Night's Dream

The Merchant of Venice

and our very first children's show: Theseus and the Minotaur

In our non-ADK Shakes world, Patrick attends the St. John's University School of Law as a St. Thomas More Scholar. He will be entering his third and final year this fall. I also attend St. John's University and am enrolled in their Doctor of Arts (think PhD) program in the English Department. I will be entering my second year of coursework this fall. I also tutor in the Institute of Writing Studies and this year I am looking forward to working more closely with the Writing Fellows program, which involves placing undergraduate writing tutors into first year writing courses. This year at St. John's I will also be producing The Gender Project. I will leave you hanging on that one. It deserves its own post. I will tease you with the fact that it involves three productions throughout the course of the academic year.

I'm not sure when Patrick and I will get to be together on stage again, but here's a walk down memory lane of some shows we have done together over the last six years.

as Celia and Oliver in As You Like It, 2010

My back as Nurse and Patrick as Friar Lawrence
 beating up on Aaron White as Romeo.

There's not a picture of us together in this scene, but Patrick played Hecate (with Becca Stevens) and I played Witch 1 in Macbeth.

Fuzzy pic from Richard III

3 Henry VI rehearsal

The rabble about to take down Lord Say in 2 Henry VI

Patrick accompanies my beat-down of Lord Talbot
(The shot is a little stretched and grainy - sorry!)

There's a few others mixed in there too but I'm having trouble digging up some pictures. So last but certainly not least, our very first Shakespeare production together, Henry V at Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival in 2005.

Ahhh... memories.

Meet Laura!

Aaron White as Romeo and Laura Montes as Juliet

I have had the pleasure to know Laura Montes for the past (nearly) three years and the privilege to work with her in perhaps nine productions over those three years. Laura is a tremendous performer, and she is just plain awesome to have around. If I need an ear, ladies and gentlemen, this is the one.

If you are a returning ADK Shakes fan, you will no doubt remember Laura's stunning performance as Juliet, which I have to say is the finest portrayal of this character I have ever seen. And I've seen R&J performed a bunch. Laura was able to bring an utterly convincing simplicity to her portrayal of Juliet that I haven't encountered anywhere else. It was rather deceptively simple, because the complexity of her character work was incredible.

Laura Montes, Tara Bradway, and Greg Davies
 as the Witches in Macbeth

Here are a few pictures of Laura from last season. She appeared as Juliet and Sampson in Romeo and Juliet, as 2nd Witch, Gentlewoman, Messenger, and Macduff's son in Macbeth, and Phebe in As You Like It. Laura received a Moosie Award for her dramatic death as young Macduff. Welcome her back this year as Hermia in Midsummer, Jessica/Duke of Venice/Solanio in Merchant, and she is in the ensemble of Theseus and the Minotaur playing multiple roles. Somehow Laura always ends up with a larger track of roles than anyone else, and she holds the current record of 9 characters in one show for 2 Henry VI in 2008.

If you love Laura and her work as much as we do, adopt her or Hermia! In fact, Laura has already been adopted once this year, and a portion of this donation is going straight to her. But that doesn't mean that she can't be adopted by others as well! We are so grateful to all who support our actors. It's a tough job, but where would we be without them?

LAURA MONTES
(MID: Hermia; VEN: Jessica, Duke of Venice, Solanio; KIDS: Hermia, Wall)


Laura originally hails from New Mexico, currently lives in New York City, and has a special place in her heart for California and Ohio. She has an MFA from Ohio University's Professional Actor Training Program.

For more information, please visit:
http://resumes.actorsaccess.com/lauramontes1

Didgeridon't.

On Thursdays, Mark Piper (of Schroon Lake Bed & Breakfast -- If you're coming up for the Summer Festival, this is a must-stay place. Gorgeous!) hosts an Open Mic Night at Witherbee's Carriage House and Restaurant. It is so much fun! This is the second week that I have gone. This week it was packed, and it was exciting to have several ADK Shakes fans in attendance.

Lesley and Ross performed something special. Please enjoy!

It is also Lesley's birthday, so:

Happy Birthday, Lesley!

Complete Works - Day 1!

The summer has officially begun!

Yesterday, I picked up Ross and Lesley from the bus in Albany. We traveled north through Glens Falls, stopping at a few places to drop off brochures and discuss future touring possibilities. At the Visitors' Center in Hague, NY, the "kids" had a play break on the horses. Not sure who won here.

After the playground, we continued north through Ticonderoga in search of our Sunday, July 17 touring venue: the beautiful Crown Point Historic Site. We will be performing in the midst of the ruins of barracks constructed in the 18th Century. This fort was taken over by British from the French in the 1750's. During the American Revolution was occupied briefly by the colonists before reverting again to British control. What's left are the ruins of the officers' and the soldier's barracks, as well as the earthen walls (though these have sunk about 12 feet since they were first constructed). This location is crying out for a Shakespearean performance! What do you want to see performed here? Julius Caesar, King Lear, Henry V, Macbeth?

We can't wait to perform Complete Works here on July 17 at 2:00 p.m. Join us for a FREE performance!

In anticipation of our opening, of course, it's time to begin rehearsing. This morning we read through Complete Works for the first time, then worked through the more complicated physical bits before lunch. A well-balanced melange of tacos, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, yogurt, and CHEESE. This afternoon: stumble-through. Here's a sneak peek at Romeo and Juliet:

Join us on Sunday for our opening performances of the 2011 Festival Season. We will perform at Shepard Park in Lake George, NY at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Don't miss it! This show is going to be hilarious!

Meet Mike!

Oh wow ... I have known Michael Pauley for three years now, I guess! I met him ever so briefly at Texas Shakespeare Festival in the summer of 2008, but I didn't really get to know him until he came to do Shakespeare IN THE RAW with us that November. The cast of 2 Henry VI spent the Thanksgiving holiday driving down from New York City, Harrisburg, Baltimore, and Delaware. We arrived at Casa Siler for a glorious Thanksgiving dinner, a read-through of the play, and a chilly weekend of rehearsing and performing this little known play. And Mike absolutely stole the MVP award for that show. I had no idea what to expect, but he brought his A-Game. Not only was he absolutely 110% memorized, but he could fly through them at incredible speeds during the Italian. Needless to say, we were pretty impressed.

His feature role in that production was Humphrey, Duke of Gloster, but it was his smallest role as Edward (2 lines, I believe) that jettisoned him into our next two productions of 3 Henry VI and Richard III following the full arc of this character through all three plays. Mike always comes to play hard at Shakespeare IN THE RAW, so it was an easy decision for me to invite Mike to play Macbeth last summer. Check this out:

But now check this out:

I had a devil of a time choosing a photo, so you should really take a look at all the glorious pictures from Macbeth. It's impossible for me to choose an absolute favorite play by Shakespeare, but Macbeth without a doubt always makes my Top Five.

If you loved Michael Pauley last summer, adopt him this year! You can also write in to adopt Lysander or Bassanio. And a portion of donations made in Mike's name will go directly to him.

MICHAEL PAULEY

(MID: Lysander; VEN: Bassanio, Gaoler)

Michael is proud to be a member of ADK Shakes. Based in New York City, Michael has worked regionally with companies including The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Texas Shakespeare Festival, the Theatre at Monmouth, and Arizona Theatre Company. On television, Michael has worked on Saturday Night Live, All My Children, One Life to Live, As the World Turns and Guiding Light. Michael also serves as the Executive Artistic Director of The Hyperion Theatre Project, which produces many projects including The Red Tie Mafia, the resident improvisation group at The Living Theatre. He also specializes in Commedia Dell Arte, producing a yearly show in Manhattan to raise funds for cancer research, now entering its sixth year. Michael is a member of The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, is a Tier II company member with The Southwest Shakespeare Conservatory, and holds his BFA in Acting from The University of Arizona in Tucson.

For more information, please visit: www.hyperiontheatreproject.com.

Meet Andi!

Andi Dema is one of those people that I just love to say his whole name when I refer to him. To me, he is always "Andi Dema." I remember first meeting Andi Dema a few years back at Texas Shakespeare Festival. I saw him in The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Julius Caesar, and most memorably 1776. The very phrasing and tone of the way he said, "Delaware seconds!" will forever live in my memory. It was hilarious, partially because he was so committed to it.

We are so fortunate to have Andi Dema with us this season, and I am most especially looking forward to his Shylock. So many productions attempt to make Shylock the hero of this play. I understand this, I really do. Shylock is an incredibly complex character. Shakespeare was top-notch at creating incredibly complex characters. But many productions lose sight of the fact that Shylock is actually the villain in this play. I'm not saying he needs to be a mustache-twirling, cardboard cut-out villain. No way! But the beauty of Shakespeare's villains and why we love them so much is because they much more complex and interesting than a cookie-cutter cartoon. Of course, we must find the humanity in Shylock's character. He's got it in spades. But we shouldn't cover up the fact that Shylock is indeed the villain.

To stand on my soap-box for a moment: I am firm in my belief that the fact that Shylock is Jewish and the fact that Shylock is a villain have nothing substantial to do with each other. Shylock is not a villain, because he is Jewish. He is a villain, because he is a villain. And he happens to be Jewish. There I said it! Now this is turning into a post not at all about introducing Andi Dema to you, so I apologize and I will now step off my soap-box.

Andi and I will just have to post about character discussions in just a few weeks, won't we? We are very excited about this production! I know Andi is going to bring a great deal of depth to this role, at the same time as he fearlessly embraces what is terrifying in this man. The unabashed and hard will to cut a pound of flesh from another man's chest. Think about that for awhile. Really.

And after you think about that, picture this handsome man holding the knife:

ANDI DEMA
(MID: Egeus, Peter Quince; VEN: Shylock, Stephano; KIDS: Chorus 1, Egeus, Bottom)

Andi Dema

Andi Dema is an Albanian actor who has previously worked with Texas Shakespeare Festival, Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre, Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, Bright Star Touring, National Theatre for Children, and Oklahoma Children's Theatre. Favorite roles include Clitandre in The Learned Ladies, Joey Percival in Misalliance and Jack Tanner in Man and Superman. Mr. Dema is a BFA graduate of Oklahoma City University.

Support Andi's work with us this summer by adopting him. You can also adopt the wonderfully complex Shylock! A portion of donations made in Andi's name will go directly to him. An actor needs ice cream.

Good Master Mustardseed

I love masks! I just knew from the beginning that I wanted Mustardseed (the fairy I'm playing in A Midsummer Night's Dream) to have a mask. And I had this vision of wanting points at the bottom. So I drew all over my face with an eyeliner pencil to mark the points at the bottom, and Patrick went to work covering my face with plaster strips.

He did a great job with the points! He also really liked the look of the points around the eyehole. It swoops up and points above my eyebrow, which ended up giving it a pretty fierce look once it dried.

I didn't get pictures of the next steps, but I worked on adding some expression to the mask once it had dried. I cut a circular cotton swab in half to accentuate the cheeks, and I used some pipe-cleaners for brows. They too got a layer of plaster and dried before traveling up north wrapped in a big swath of bubble-wrap.

We made it safely! In Lake Placid, I got a box of mixed acrylics. I knew I wanted a neutral base of brown to go with all the feathers I had bought at Michael's. For some reason, I was really inspired by the feather picks.

After the neutral base, I accentuated the "expression" with a little green. I love green. Can you tell that I am not an artist? I'm not too worried because most of it will be covered in ....

FEATHERS!

Now to drill the holes and add the elastic to keep it on my head during the performances! I think Good Master Mustardseed is looking pretty fierce.

Step into my office.

This last week has been so busy! Lee Ann arrived on Tuesday morning. I took advantage of the trip down to pick her up in Albany by also stopping in Glens Falls for essentials at Staples, JoAnn's, and comparatively cheap gas (i.e., $3.93 in Schroon Lake vs. $3.65 in Glens Falls). We distributed some brochures while we were there and had the most serendipitous meeting at the gas station: a lady who recommended that we check out the Old Courthouse in Hudson Falls, which has been recently renovated. Hopefully we can add a few more venues around the Park for Complete Works!

We have been reveling in our new internet connection since yesterday afternoon. Prior to installation, I was forced to turn my attention to other non-computery related items. Since it is so gorgeous here at the cabin, I decided to make the front porch my office. Plus, it's the only place I can get reliable cell phone reception. I can also keep a close eye on the underlings from here:

I encourage them to take long lunch breaks, especially when they are munching on small pests:

He was noshing on a big horsefly.

While these fine friends were keeping me company, I was hard at work with PAINTING! Specifically, the golden casket for The Merchant of Venice and my fairy mask for A Midsummer Night's Dream. Here is my totally blank slate:

I did a test patch of iridescent gold acrylic paint. I covered that with a coat of wood varnish. Cherry. I like cherry. So far so good.

I call it: Untitled, Gold Acrylic on Wood

After drying, I ended up adding another coat of the acrylic over top of the varnish. It's quite pretty when the sun hits it. The gold really lights up, but otherwise it is fairly subtle. Which I like. The casket is made of gold, because we say so, right? So it doesn't matter that it's not actually made of gold. And the last thing I want is an offensive, distracting prop that's a little box painted bright yellow or gaudy shiny gold all over and covered in sequins.

You can see the progress of making my fairy mask in my next post. And if you want to see how the gold casket turned out, well, I guess you'll have to come and see the show!

What a big day in the office! Time to rest ...

Meet Alex!

ALEXANDER RISTOV
(MID: Oberon, Flute; VEN: Gratiano, Arragon; KIDS: Minos, Minotaur, Lysander, Flute)

I received one of the coolest video auditions from this gentleman, a native of New Zealand. He filmed his monologues in Central Park, and had people in the park cheering by the end. I was fascinated!

When we held a small round of callbacks for the summer season, Alexander Ristov was on our must-see list. I needed to meet this fascinating person. Because in addition to the monologues, he also included a demo of a "special skill" -- which is something we encourage. What's your special skill? People did foreign languages for us. They ate fire. (Yes. Seriously. And it was amazing.) And Alexander attached a video of his stage combat demo, a scene which I cannot properly introduce because I am completely incapable of doing justice to its awesomeness. Please enjoy, courtesy of Alexander Ristov:

Alexander Ristov has been living and training as an actor in New York for the last three and a half years. He is originally from New Zealand, and he was inspired to come to New YOrk to train as an actor by watching New York actors' brilliant performances on the big screen. He is a recent graduate from the Stella Adler Day Conservatory program and is very excited to be part of the Adirondack Shakespeare Company's Summer Festival. Alexander's recent credits include "Purge" at La Mama Theatre. He is currently a company member of the American Mime Theatre Company and is also a Stage Combat assistant to Steve White at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.

If you are as a big a fan of Alex's video as we are, please support his work with us this summer: Adopt him! A portion of all Adopt-a-Character or Adopt-an-Actor donations in Alex's name goes directly to him!

Welcome to the Adirondacks!

I am finally here! And by here I mean both here in the Adirondacks and here on the interwebs. Time Warner has not yet made their way to hook up internet for our cabin, but I'm making do until Thursday when they do finally show up. So I appreciate your patience while I have been rather "quiet" on the blog for awhile.

I'll be continuing this week with our last several "Meet the Company" profiles. Until then, however, I will leave with a list of the exciting things that have happened in the past week.

2011 Summer Brochure

1. Drove over 560 miles on a single tank of gas. (Thank you, '99 Camry.)
2. Met with the wonderful Village Clerk in Lake Placid. We will hopefully have the opportunity to perform in Mids Park over Ironman Weekend.
3. Disposed of two mice carcasses from their unfortunate resting place of the kitchen garbage can.
4. Tripped the correct breakers for the hot water, and turned the correct valve to get the cold water running in the shower. This was a happy day.
5. Received 2000 brochures for the 2011 Summer Season! They are beautiful, and they have so far been delivered to the North Warren Chamber of Commerce, Indian Lake Theater, and Tannery Pond Community Center.
6. Met with our Schroon Lake Community Committee about our Fundraiser/Benefit. It's coming up on July 7, and I am currently accepting suggestions for a new title. We were going with a Queen's Tea, but another organization does a fundraiser Tea every year. It is a big deal, and they go all out. So we're rebranding -- thoughts?
7. Eaten one spooner pint of Stewart's Mousse Trail ice cream.
8. Two runs, one walk, and one bike ride on East Shore Drive.
9. Seen chipmunks, red squirrels, blue jays, butterflies, and dragonflies. No hummingbirds yet or deer. Maybe this week?

The Stressball that is June

June is rolling by incredibly fast! It's not just me, is it? My To Do List keeps getting longer and longer ... except that I have lists all over the place, and on each one I should probably write "Consolidate To Do Lists." So, my apologies that I have not kept up with the company introductions while I have been submerged in article completion and out of town activities.

There are still several company members I cannot wait to introduce you to, and I will get those started up again next week once I am ......drumroll....... upstate! I will be heading up in the next couple of days to get things ready for the season. I still need to figure out a reliable internet connection. I need to be workably memorized on Act III of Merchant by Sunday. I have to pack bed sheets, rice, cans of beans, a few bottles of wine (those are for me!), paper towels, toilet paper, tissues, and dish soap into the car (thoughtfully donated by the Bradway family). Once I'm back in NYC, Patrick and I will be compiling our movement playlists (I cannot wait to tell you about these rehearsals in July!) for Midsummer and Merchant, transferring the website files to my laptop so I can work on the website while upstate (oh right, that internet connection again), and acquiring our very cool presentation board created by our amazing intern Jessica which is detailing our activism re: Scaroon Manor Amphitheater (this deserves its very own post).

To prepare myself for the freak out that will occur when packing the car later this week, here's what needs to come to the idyllic cabin in Adirondack Park:

Things to Fit in Furby (that's my car)
- one big box of ADK T-Shirts (PS - You can still order! They look amazing!)
- two weapons bags (re-appropriated golf bags from Good Will!)
- one floor tom
- box of singing bowls
- Scaroon Manor Amphitheater presentation board
- two dogs
- one "Fort Knox" dog-food container
- 4 skulls
- 2 swords, a dozen dowels
- backpack stuffed with scripts, notes, permits, laptop
- suitcase filled with normal clothes, running clothes, bathing suits, and costume pieces!
- extra bed sheets
- 10 pound bag of rice, half dozen cans of beans, one bag of ground flaxseed, and a box of red quinoa
- Complete Works props
- detergent (dish and laundry), tissues, toilet paper, hand soap and paper towels
- a hoodie!
- a bottle of zinfandel, a bottle of white zinfandel, and a bottle of cabernet sauvignon
- oh! and me!

Meet Celeste!

First things first. You are probably mispronouncing Celeste's name! She is Italian to the core, and we require an Italian pronunciation! I am no good at I.P.A. so my best attempt at presenting the proper pronunciation of Celeste's name would be:

che - LES - tay

So, now you're in the know. You may remember Celeste from last summer's productions in which she played Jaques in As You Like It and Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, as well as several roles in Macbeth. I particularly loved her portrayal of Fleance. Adorable. In addition to Ce's classical chops, she is also an incredibly talented commedia performer. I had the good fortune to work with Celeste last summer just before heading up to the Adirondacks. We performed with Hyperion Theatre Project's fourth annual Manhattanpotamia show, The Trek Down Columbina's Treasure Trail -- and I believe that Celeste has performed in each and every one of the Manhattanpotamia incarnations over the last several years. She is pretty hilarious!

I know Celeste is excited to be performing one of her dream roles this summer: the Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice. This is not to be missed! I am also really looking forward to her portrayal of Helena. This is a character so often played over-the-top, as a goofball, but I know Celeste is going to bring a sensitive and even tragic touch to this role and truly bring her alive for our lucky Adirondack audiences. We are thrilled to have her back this season! And I know she will be ready to relax by Schroon Lake after a month-long tour of Hyperion's A Midsummer Night's Dream in Italy. Welcome back, Celeste!

Fun fact: Celeste is a certified sommelier.

Celeste Moratti

CELESTE MORATTI

(MID: Helena; VEN: Morocco, Balthasar, Salerio; KIDS: TBA)

Stage: Celeste in Crazy Sound, Antonio in Days of Antonio, and Roica in Boing Boing Boing Against the Wall (La MaMa Etc, NYC); Elena in The Theory of Color (Medicine Show Theatre, NYC); The Woman in Night Lights (Public Theatre, Cleveland OH), the Woman in Jean Cocteau’s The Human Voice (Inverted Foot Stage, NYC), title role in Euripides’ Medea, and Dario D’ambrosi’s Angelina (Teatro Quirino, Rome IT), Wife in Edmond, Emilia in Othello (Teatro Primostudio, Milan IT), Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hyperion Theatre Project, NY and Italian tour), Jacques in As You Like It, Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet and Lenox/Fleance in Macbeth (Adirondack Shakespeare Company), Ensemble in Red Noir (The Living Theatre, NYC), The Angel in Angels in America: Perestrojka, Elmire in Tartuffe, Simonne Evrard in Marat-Sade (Stella Adler Studios, NYC). Film: Ariel in My Mother’s Fairy Tales, Antonio in Il Bambino Gallo, Bianka Yonak in Fight the Panda Syndicate. Member of The Living Theatre, Hyperion Theatre Project, Teatro Patologico and proud member of Adirondack Shakespeare Company!

Some fond memories from Summer 2010, our inaugural season:

Jaques in As You Like it

Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet

Lennox in Macbeth

Meet Lindsay!

This is Lindsay's first time working with ADK Shakes. Patrick and I have noticed that during the audition process, you sometimes just get a feeling about someone. Even from just their headshot and resume over email or online casting submission. Lindsay was one of those feelings -- for both of us. Of course, her headshot is gorgeous. But whose isn't? So it wasn't just the headshot.

That feeling continued to haunt me after her audition. She came into the audition room and was just enveloped in warmth. I like to scare (scare? weird out? baffle? impress?) our actors by greeting them by name as they come into the room. I wasn't bad either. I think I got about 70% of them! Most casting directors (in my experience anyway) don't do that, and it seemed to take some people aback. But Lindsay just took it all in stride, turned in a stellar audition, was warm and open and friendly to every single person in the room. Months later, she came to volunteer at the Bookend Project, and she was just the same warm and wonderful person. I knew my gut was right, and I just had to work with this person.

So here we are! In many ways, personality and integrity are just as important as skill and talent in the casting process. The summer season is not just a weekend-long commitment, as other RAW projects are. We'll be working closely for weeks on end and driving each other up the wall. It's important to have some sunshine in the group. Meet our sunshine, Lindsay!

Lindsay Bartlette Allen

LINDSAY BARTLETTE ALLEN
(MID: Titania, Philostrate; VEN: Nerissa, Salarino; KIDS: TBA)


Lindsay recently moved to NYC after graduating from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a BA in Theatre Performance. Favorite university roles include Lydia Languish in The Rivals and Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire. As a member of the Theatre UAB Touring Ensemble in Women of Shakespeare, Lindsay performed scenes as Olivia from Twelfth Night, Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing, and Julia from Two Gentlemen of Verona in public and private schools across Alabama and neighboring states. New York credits include Snapshot with Adam Roebuck Productions and Dorothy in Somewhere: An Alternate Ending to the Wizard of Oz, which performed at the Strawberry One-Act Festival in Chelsea. Lindsay was also a member of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's Acting Apprentice Company in 2009 where she played Dionyza in Pericles: Prince of Tyre and acted in the theater's mainstage production of The Tempest.

Adopt Lindsay and show your support for her Adirondack debut! Or you can adopt Lindsay and the whole fairy contingent.

Meet Bennett!

Ben and I connected in the most bizarre small-world ways this fall. He was guest-blogging for my professor Steve Mentz's blog. For my Introduction to the Profession class, our touchstone text was The Tempest, and Ben was dramaturging for a three-person production of the play in San Francisco with Cutting Ball. We began emailing and discussing my proposal for the Bookend Project, a dual production of Titus Andronicus and The Tempest.

I soon found out that Ben worked as an actor, as well as dramaturg, playwright, director, teacher, and he was interested in submitting a video audition for ADK Shakes's summer season. And despite the fact that Ben lived across the country, we also had quite a few mutual colleagues! It really is a small, theatre world: "But how do you know these people?" Ben's audition video blew us away, and I also had the opportunity to meet him in person on a short NYC visit in the fall. He is just all-around terrific: a brilliant guy, a talented actor, and he has superb comic timing. We are looking forward to working with him this summer, and we can't wait for you to meet him too. I bet you even have some mutual friends.

BENNETT FISHER

Bennett Fisher

(MID: Theseus, Moth; VEN: Antonio, Launcelot Gobbo, Tubal; KIDS: TBA)

Bennett Fisher is a San Francisco-based playwright, director, and actor. He has performed with San Francisco Theater Pub (Henry IV Parts I and II), Marin Shakespeare Company (Antony and Cleopatra), Crowded Fire (The Lysistrata Project), the Pear Ave Theater (Pick Up Ax), Stanford Summer Theater (Elektra), AtmosTheatre (The Frogs), and Brava Women's Theatre (Sincerity Forever), among others. Directing credits include Audience and Ubu Roi for San Francisco Theater Pub and the upcoming world premier of Susan Sobeloff's Merchants for No Nude Men. His first full-length play, Hermes, premiered in San Francisco last fall, where it was hailed as a "daring and extremely intelligent" and "a breathtaking experience in relevant, contemporary theatre" by The Huffington Post. Two more of his full-length plays - Devil of a Time and Don't Be Evil - are slated for full production in 2011-2012. His various short plays have been performed in New York, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, and New London. He is an associate artist with AtmosTheatre and Threshold Theatre, a founding director of the San Francsico Theater Pub, and the artistic director of the Flying Island Theatre Lab, in residence at the Palo Alto Art Center.

Support Ben's cross-country P.R. with ADK Shakes this summer by adopting him! You can also keep up with him by checking out his website.

Bottom Mask - Part 1

Yesterday, Patrick (ADK Shakes's Exec. Director) and I began work on the Ass Head Mask (or Bottom Mask) for this summer's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Over the last week, we purchased a whole bunch of materials: a giant block of clay, alginate, plaster of paris, plaster strips, wooden popsicle sticks, straws, raffia. Pretty hot grab-bag. The first step of the process was to take a mold of actor Tom Morin's face, who is playing Bottom this summer. Once the mold is set, we will fill it up with plaster of paris to make a positive plaster cast of Tom's face on which to build a clay version of the mask perfectly fitted for Tom. There are several steps after that as well, but I'll get to those in later posts.

Step One: Set up our living room to look like the operating room in Brazil.

Our garbage bag drop-cloths are economical.

Ready for surgery.

We also used garbage bags as smocks, since all we could find at the local A.C. Moore were child-sized smocks. Tom arrived while I was being fitted in my garbage bag. I felt like we may have frightened him.

Patrick measures the alginate while Bob Dylan plays in the background.

Our first batch of alginate hardened way too quickly. The package called for a 1:1 ratio of room temperature water and alginate powder. With 80-degree water, we should have 8 minutes before the alginate set -- but we had not even two minutes before it was completely hardened into rubber. So that batch went into the waste basket. Next time, more water and coooolder. The second batch turned out much better!

Tom being an incredibly good sport.

After we got the alginate on, Patrick began covering Tom's face with plaster strips. These act as a support structure for the alginate mold, which is pretty rubbery and mobile. We need to work pretty quickly to get all the strips on. The weight of the plaster will also help us get a better mold of Tom's face. Also, (having been through this process once myself) I'm sure Tom wants to escape from the alginate-and-plaster-craziness as soon as possible!

 Here's a look at the completed plastering:

Pretty creepy!

Poor Tom lost one of his breathing straws as the alginate dripped down his face! He had another minute or so to set while Patrick and I washed hands, preparing to remove the entire piece from Tom's face. Of course, I had to capture the moment of truth on camera:

After washing up and pulling pieces of alginate out of his hair, Tom graciously stayed to chat with us for awhile. We had a relaxing evening of Chinese food, Peter Pan, and peeking at the mold after Tom left. Next weekend, we will pour the Plaster of Paris into the mold and have a perfect replica of Tom's face to begin the clay model of the Ass Head!

Lulla lulla lullaby

This afternoon Collin came by so we could go over the music he has been working on for A Midsummer Night's Dream. He's tackling two fairy songs: the first to sing Titania asleep and the second to bless the house of the newly married Duke Theseus. We wanted to have a fairly upbeat feel to these pieces. A little folky, a little lively, a little Dylan-esque. (That is my oh-so-technical musical skill at describing what I want the songs to feel like. Genius, right? Sure.)

So here is the sneak preview that I got today:

You spotted Snakes with double tongue,

Thorny Hedgehogs be not seen,

Newts and blind worms do no wrong,

Come not near our Fairy Queen.

Philomel with melody,

Sing in our sweet Lullaby.

Lulla, lulla, lullaby, lulla, lulla, lullaby,

Never harm, nor spell, nor charm,

Come our lovely Lady nigh,

So good night with Lullaby.

Weaving Spiders come not here,

Hence you long legg’d Spinners, hence:

Beetles black approach not near;

Worm nor Snail do no offense.

Philomel with melody,

Sing in our sweet Lullaby.

Lulla, lulla, lullaby, lulla, lulla, lullaby,

Never harm, nor spell, nor charm,

Come our lovely Lady nigh,

So good night with Lullaby.

Pippin is helping.

And, of course, when work is done, it's time to play ... WITH PIPPIN!

Meet Collin!

Collin is coming over later today to work on the music for Midsummer and Merchant. He is multi-talented. This summer, Collin is acting in three productions, composing music for two of those, and doing the fight choreography as well! The man is unstoppable. This will be my second time working with Collin. His previous work with ADK Shakes was our most recent Bookend Project, as Lucius in Titus Andronicus and Ferdinand in The Tempest. Not only does he do great work on stage, but he is just plain wonderful to have around. Anything you need, he is right there for you: carrying boxes, holding doors, jumping in on drums, ready with a hug. And he "gets it." The RAW is not a process that every actor embraces. It is fast, overwhelming, and demands every little bit of yourself that you have to give. There's no room for ego. You have to roll with every punch, and there's a lot of punches coming at you from all sides. We're throwing a lot at Collin this season, and he just says, "Sure, absolutely, what else can I do to help?"

Collin McConnell

COLLIN MCCONNELL
(MID: Demetrius; VEN: Lorenzo, Old Gobbo, Servant; KIDS: TBA; Fight Choreographer and Composer)

Collin is very excited to have had the continued opportunity to work with this wonderful company. He is also a company member of Gorilla Rep, the Educational Associate with Adaptive Arts, and an aspiring musician. Notable projects include: Macbeth (Redd Tale), Good Woman of Setzuan (Adaptive Arts), Joan of Arc and Julius Caesar (Gorilla Rep), A Scheme for Two (Theatre for the New City), The Somnambulist (Dixon Place), Gone in 60 Seconds, the International One-Minute Play Festival '07, '08, & '11 (The New Workshop Theatre at Brooklyn College), and The Magic of Mrs. Crowling (Horse Trade) - soon to be published by Original Words Publishing! Collin holds his BFA in Acting from Brooklyn College with Honors for his exploration of how to build a stronger ARtist/Audience dialog so as to encourage stronger and more immediate art. Much love and thanks to his ever-supportive family, his incredible friends, Rose, Francine, Cristina, and, of course, his amazing ADK Shakes family!

Help to support Collin in his many different roles with ADK Shakes by adopting him! If you like his acting above all else, you may adopt Demetrius as one of the Lovers in Midsummer!

Meet Lee Ann!

I have known Lee Ann for four years now. We first did a show together at Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival in 2007, their Shakespeare in the Park production of The Comedy of Errors. I remember her as a precocious high school student, great with a camera and giving her professional debut her all. We worked together the next summer too in Love's Labour's Lost, and I got to know her even better when I worked full-time at Gamut in 2008-2009. This is a very serious-minded young lady, who knows what she wants and goes for it. That's not to say that is not also a complete goof-ball, because she's that too! But what strikes me most about Lee Ann is her determination. She has grown so much over the last four years, and I am very excited about what she is bringing to our Adirondack table this summer. We are very lucky to have her interning as ASM for The Complete Works tour as well as acting in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Lee Ann will also be appearing in our original children's production, Theseus and the Minotaur, but even she doesn't know as what yet! As you can see, she will be running around doing pretty much everything this summer.

Lee Ann Hoover

LEE ANN HOOVER
(WKS: Assistant Stage Manager; MID: Peaseblossom, Starveling; KIDS: TBA)

Lee Ann is tickled pink to be interning with the Adirondack Shakespeare Company for the upcoming season. Previous credits include: Love’s Labour’s Lost (Moth) and The Comedy of Errors (Servant) at the Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival; Twelfth Night (Malvolio) and As You Like It (Audrey) at Drew University; and A Christmas Story (Ms. Shields) at Camp Hill High School, for which she won an Apollo Award for Best Supporting Actress. Lee Ann is also the Artistic Director and co-founder of Stratford-upon-Awesome, a Shakespeare summer camp for youth in the Harrisburg area. She is halfway through her undergraduate education at Drew University, where she is a Theater and Spanish double major and an Art History minor. Lee Ann will be spending this upcoming fall studying in London, spending some of her time taking Shakespeare acting classes at the London Dramatic Academy.

To keep Lee Ann sane this year, adopt her! Or you can support Lee Ann's ADK Shakes acting debut as Peaseblossom and Starveling by adopting either the Fairies or the Mechanicals. Welcome aboard, Lee Ann!