[Choir] Calling all once and future Shakespeareans! SHAKESPEARE PROJECT, SPRING 2021

[Bethany Reeves]

Dear Actors (and those up for a new adventure!),

Neither snow nor sleet nor pandemics shall stop the Bard from his annual sojourn at Stevens!
IMPORTANT: Before you leave this email behind, please take a quick look at the following and reply to me to let me know

  *   if you are interested in participating, and
  *   if you are on or off campus next semester

Please note there is no bar to involvement either way. I just need to know.

DATES

  *   First of all, we're not under the usual time constraints.
     *   For the uninitiated: at this point in a normal fall, a play would have already been chosen, cast, and largely coached. The show then would open within a month of the start of spring semester, after a brief but semi-intense rehearsal period.
  *   Our plan is to work with SDS (as always) to be sure we're not bumping into one another and can be mutually supportive of each other's projects...
  *   ....and to get all our work on film, ideally, by late April at the very latest (please note we have a shorter-than-usual spring semester).
  *   Given Life in the Covid Lane, we'll have scattered rehearsal/coaching times and scattered filming dates (much like this fall's projects).
  *   Carl will manage post-production editing.

SHOW(S)
While it's always helpful to have some idea of who's interested as we plan productions, this year the project(s) really will be shaped around participation.

  *   We'll be doing a "pastiche" show - a collection of superb scenes and speeches around a theme. Current working title:  "Something is rotten in the state of..."
  *   I'll be putting together the material for this show over the break. Where possible, I'll make it available to its assigned actors ahead of the semester.
  *   Those of you in the F20 acting class are already in my thoughts on this - but still, please do confirm interest (or lack thereof) and campus status.
  *   We may possibly do one or more additional projects depending on interest.
  *   These may include another pastiche and/or a play (tbd).
  *   Any such additional project will also get started on my end during break.
  *   Projects are likely to involve a combination of online-only and in-person filming.

CASTING
As always, no experience required, either in Shakespeare or theatre generally.

In this situation we're not doing auditions per se. However, for any actors completely new to me, I'll want to schedule an early just-us Zoom session to get a sense of where you are before assigning material.

Please note that making participation possible is a high priority. If you are interested, don't be shy!


WHAT WILL BE INVOLVED

  1.  Some Zoom workshops (possibly starting in mid-late January) on text mining in Shakespeare. I may structure this as a limited number of weekly sessions. There's a lot to explore!
     *   FYI - the kinds of text (and voice) skills we dig into can be very useful to you as an actor generally.
  2.  As always, there will be several time slot possibilities to make sure everyone can attend.
  3.  Once speeches/scenes are given out, we'll probably also do private or  semi-private Zoom coachings on your own material.
  4.  We're likely to rehearse online only for the first month at least.
  5.  For those who are allowed on campus, we'll schedule staging & filming time in DeBaun at some point during the semester.
     *   We may try for some special on-campus permissions, just for DeBaun, for a few of you generally limited to online work (no guarantees this would be granted, of course).
  6.  For those who are online-only: phone filming tba, as with prior projects.

Again, please hit "reply to sender" and let me know a) if you want to join in, and b) your campus status for the spring.

Thanks!

Cheers,



Dr. Bethany Reeves; she/her
Director, Stevens Choir & DeBaun PAC Voice Studio
Music Program Coordinator, DeBaun Performing Arts Center
Stage Director/Acting Teacher, DeBaun Theatre Projects
Stevens Institute of Technology

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