Our stories in other arts

We’re actors.  We love to share our stories.  We tend to feel that if you have enough of them at the end of a night, a run, or a life, then you’ve really lived.

But other people come to the Park on nights that we play and find their own ways of telling their stories.

Here is Bob Marcotte’s blog post about his evening photographing his experience in Woodward Park with our actors:

A Late Summer’s Night Made Glorious

On Reviews, Technical Failures, and Riding Forward

from Heather Parish
Artistic Director

As I write this I am awaiting the publication of the Fresno Bee’s review of Richard III.  Normally, I don’t wait at the computer for such things to come out; I get really busy doing something else.  I usually know what the reviews are going to say on any given production I am involved with.

But this one is a bit up in the air.  Last night, when Mr. Munro was in the audience, the generator that powers our lights went out for the second time.  The first time we thought it was a fuel issue and corrected it.  The second time?  No clue.  Turns out the generator’s alternator was kaput.  Nothing we could have done to forsee that or properly diagnose it before the show.  Thems the breaks.

But whenever that happens, it automatically throws off a show’s performance.  The actors have to hold while we rig backup lighting and it is on their minds throughout the rest of their performance.  While the performance that they continued to give was excellent in my view– they’re a very well prepared cast– the technical failure can’t help but throw off the mojo.

So, we wait to see how we are reviewed under those circumstances.  I recommend to all cast and crew members NOT to respond to any public criticism as it doesn’t serve the artform or the performance at all.  But I am tempted, as I wait, to take up for them now.  No excuses, just the knowledge of how different the circumstances are for actors working outdoors in a temporary space.

But I cannot do even that.  We aren’t a “pansy-ass” troupe.  We take our hits with good grace, mount up again and ride on.  We learn from the mistakes that make us appear less than we really are and hopefully fix them (a new generator is on the way today) to become more than we once were.

This cast is amazing.  I hope theatre-goers and Shakespeare-lovers come out to the Park to see them and the passion they’ve put into this play.  Every time something has gone wrong it is the blessing of the audience and the willingness of the cast to continue that saves us.  That connection constitutes poetic faith and it is what theatre is about.

So, whatever Mr. Munro has to say– good and bad– we will hear with a spirit of generosity and a desire to continue to give free Shakespeare to Fresno.

And tonight, we will check and double check everything for a terrific Friday night performance.

Take some time to join us this month.  Find out what is really happening out there when all the technical riff raff is stripped away– terrific performances in space and time and body.

That’s really all you need.

Notes from the Glen: James Sherrill III

James Sherrill, who currently appears as Richmond in WSF’s production of Richard III, shared this charming moment with an audience member after last night’s show:

Best Donation… Ever.

via Facebook

I was the last one to come out from backstage on opening night of Richard III. I grabbed my donation bucket and started wandering through the dwindling crowd, trying to catch eyes and thank them for coming to the show.

I was talking with someone when a little girl, no more than eight or so, walked up and tried to put a coin in my bucket. She missed, and the coin fell into the grass.

I kneeled down and we spent a few moments looking in vain for her coin, which I assumed had come from her parents. After a little while, I told the little pigtailed cutie that I would come back and find it later. She would have none of that. She said, “I’ll give you another one”, and pulled a little coinpurse from her pocket, pulled a shiny dime out of her own allowance, and dropped it in my bucket.

She tried to walk away after that, but I asked her if she’d like a hug. She must have heard my heart crying out, because she agreed.

Sorry, Woodward. You’re not getting this dime.

Bloggerview: WSF actress Gabriela Lawson

by Artistic Director Heather Parish

By now, Gabriela Lawson should be familiar to regular attendees of the Woodward Shakespeare Festival.  In 2006, she donned a scandalous red dress as Lady Macbeth, and then promptly overshadowed it with her vigorous and intense portrayal of Shakespeare’s most ambitious Queen.  Last season, she turned 180 degrees and portrayed Twelfth Night’s Olivia with a ladylike giddiness.  This year, she graces the Theater in the Glen as the lead Rosalind in As You Like It.

I caught up with Gabriela during the 5th week of rehearsal for As You Like It to find out what makes her tick as a local performer, and what keeps drawing her back to Shakespeare year after year.

1.  In one sentence, what’s going on in your world?

I work full time, rehearse full time, and will sleep when I’m dead.

2.  With no restrictions on content or form, describe the present condition of the Fresno theatre scene?

I feel like there is a real undercurrent of cultural potential in Fresno right now.  With some of the new theatre companies cropping up in Fresno in the last few years that have really managed to make a name for themselves, like WSF and ART, and the expanding popularity of the Rogue festival, it seems as if we are witnessing the dawning of a new era of theatrical diversity, talent, and quality.

3. You’ve done two seasons with WSF before this year (Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, 2006 and Olivia in Twelfth Night, 2008).  What keeps bringing you back to the stage in Woodward Park?

It’s fair to say that I have had some great experiences out at the park working on shows for WSF.  I have met some amazing people and had the honor to play some terrific roles.  But, with all honesty, I am simply a sucker for Shakespeare.  I loved the premise of the company from the moment I heard it:  Make Shakespeare’s wonderful plays accessible to everyone.  With little to no cost to the patrons, a lovely venue in the park, and a company dedicated to providing comprehensive and entertaining performances of the Bard’s works, I feel WSF has laid some promising groundwork to become a powerhouse theatre company as it continues to grow year after year.  I have acted in productions, read plays aloud at the library, hung lights, sewed costumes, and built the set for several WSF shows.  The company is founded on the principles of community, teamwork, and the common goal of keeping Shakespeare’s plays alive and available here in the valley. I am in full support of the company’s dream and feel happy and privileged to participate as we strive to fulfill it.

4.  As an actor, what are you better at now than you were when you played Lady M three years ago?

I still scan my text in the same manner, I still ask questions of myself as I build my character, and I have had the benefit of working with some people who have provided even more in the way of text and performance-based skills, like Janine Christl who has challenged me as a director and Jennifer Sampson who has helped me workshop my role as Rosalind this season, but the way in which I feel that I have grown the most since playing Lady M three years ago has been in living life and growing as an person.  An actor has no greater tool than letting life affect them and applying that experience to the stage.  It adds a realism and an honesty that can simply not be taught.

5.   What makes a great audience for you?

For me, a great audience is listening, attentive, living the action with you.  That is the most satisfying feeling for an actor, to share emotions with an alert and responsive audience.  Of course, I do not kid myself that it is the audience’s job to pay attention.  I am well aware that I am responsible for capturing their attention and holding it.  Knowing that an audience is focused and experiencing the play as it unfolds tells me that I am doing my job.  There is nothing more gratifying than that.

6.  What qualities in actors or directors do you find appealing?

I like it when both actors and directors are dedicated, prompt, inquisitive and creative.  With these four things you can get the job done well almost every time.  In the very specific case of WSF, I feel it is just as imperative that the company, cast and director, be responsible to the text. The goal of offering Shakespeare to the community can only be properly realized if Shakespeare’s words and stories are accurately and truthfully represented.

7.  What do you enjoy the most about playing Rosalind?

She is fun!  I have discovered a very playful and silly side to her that I have really enjoyed exploring; high energy, lots of laughs, she is young and giddy and very spirited.

8.  What have you found to be the most common misconception surrounding theatre in Fresno?

That Fresnans have to travel to San Francisco or L.A. to catch a good show.  With the up and coming theatre companies that I previously mentioned, tried and true venues like Good Company Players, and the consistent quality at both Fresno State and Fresno City, it is past time that locals shed the idea that there is no good theatre in Fresno and start supporting our budding theatre scene to help it grow.

9.  Why Shakespeare?

I love his poetry, his humor, his stories.  I find his plays simple and profound with timeless characters and circumstances.  I also appreciate the challenge of scanning and researching the text.  All those lines that seem confusing are brilliant once our contemporary brains wrap around them.  I find that thought-provoking, interesting, and fun.  And then to perform it and try to use your own knowledge base to help the audience follow the more complicated wording and imagery and to tell a story… It’s all a lovely process to me.

10.  What’s next after As You Like It?

I will be tackling the character of Lord Buckingham in Richard III for WSF’s second show of the season this summer and I am very excited!

Fresno Bee Review of ‘Hamlet’

Jay Parks as Claudius and Adam Meredith as Hamlet

Culture Critic Donald Munro’s very positive review of ‘Hamlet’ is up at the Beehive

and so are the requisite disparate comments. Woodward Shakespeare Festival has found itself to be a lightning rod of theatrical discussion this season on Munro’s blogs. While WSF always bears in mind that the few people who comment online are only a small fraction of our audience, we do attempt to judge the merit of all feedback we get on productions and put them in a context for our company. So we encourage discussion from our audiences in any online arena. . . for public discourse on theatre can only help theatre as a whole. And we’re here to serve our community through the best theatre we know how to present.

From our own point of view, Woodward Shakespeare has worked extremely hard to improve the production values on ‘Hamlet’, truly feel that our actively involved talent has learned and grown under the very capable direction of Arlene Shulman, and is proud to have been able to give such challenging roles as Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, and Ophelia to actors who wish to tackle such megaliths. This is the direction we wish to take the festival: pushing our current perceived limitations, giving voice to perhaps unorthodox views of the texts, and taking a few reasonable risks.

And this show was a risk for us. Many people come through the doors not knowing what to expect from ‘Hamlet’. Will it be depressing? Hard to understand? Uninteresting? But the fact is that our Friday and Saturday night audiences were so fully engaged in the production that only a handful left at the second intermission and those who remained were INSPIRED to remain. They laughed at some of the most subtle of jokes, listened intensely, and rewarded the actors with a standing O. That tells me that we haven’t entirely missed the mark on this one. In fact, most indications are to the contrary.

We know that we cannot please every audience member that comes in the door and that some of those not-pleased people will ultimately find themselves commenting– often anonymously– on a blog somewhere. We absolutely respect their right to do so, and even encourage the public discourse. However, WE reserve the right to dismiss criticism we find less than useful, specific, objective, or seems to be more about creating derision than in improving our offerings.

In fact, to anyone who wishes for better shows from us, we give an open invite to become involved (or re-involved) with the festival and create a real investment in our growth.

‘Hamlet’ opens

Well, ‘Hamlet’ opened last night with 215 people in attendance. Huzzah!

While it was sort of a “soft opening” because our dimmer pack for the lighting design hasn’t arrived yet, it was still well received. Dr. Craig Bernthal at CSU Fresno had this to say, via e-mail:

Just wanted to let you know that I thought Hamlet was the best WSF production yet. The acting was excellent, and for the first time, I felt that all the actors really understood what all the lines meant and delivered them with beautiful clarity. But from top to bottom it worked, with many fine performances, blocking that made sense, great costuming, and a good looking set. Adam Meredith was a fine Hamlet–like a good athlete, he didn’t save anything. Congratulations to all–an achievement to be proud of and very polished for the opening night! Arlene obviously had them all fine-tuned.

We’ve also got an interview with director Arlene Schulman in Fresno Bee’s Seven section and at the Beehive.

Chris Campbell Speaks. . .

. . . doing some public relations in the technical department, our Technical Director Chris Campbell offers a statement on the current lighting situation in the Theater-Glen at Woodward Park. This is from The Fresno Bee arts writer Donald Munro’s Beehive:

Gearing Up for Hamlet

Closing Night of ‘Twelfth Night’

Philip Henslowe: Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.

Hugh Fennyman: So what do we do?
Philip Henslowe: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.
Hugh Fennyman: How?
Philip Henslowe: I don’t know. It’s a mystery.”

This bit of dialogue from “Shakespeare in Love” is recognizable throughout the theatrical world.  We’ve all been there.  Multiple times.  But, strangely enough, it all usually does turn out well.

Our Twelfth Night is a prime example.  Stuck in the middle of a very traumatic move from one site to another, bound by the need to build a new stage and theatre space, but completely hindered by bureaucracy and red tape, and then woefully understaffed and under-resourced on a technical front. . . . this show was bound for imminent disaster.

But, as will happen in the mysterious and mystical world that is theatre, this cast pulled it out and pulled it off.  Our audiences are steadily growing in our lush new venue in the Shaded Glen.  And they are walking away largely pleased by the show.  We’re getting repeat business from last year and, what’s more, for about half of our audiences this is their first experience with Shakespeare in Woodward Park.  For many it’s their first Shakespeare experience at all. . . and for some, probably their first theatrical experience.

So, apparently, all things considered, this Twelfth Night has been good for us in terms of audience growth and community satisfaction.  Could we do better?  Yes.  Always.  But this cast has got to be given kudos for sticking it out against great odds to achieve a lively little show.

We’re expecting capacity crowds for tonight’s closing, and expect audiences to be just as large– perhaps a bit larger– for Hamlet.

Richard Burbage: The Master of the Revels despises us all for vagrants and peddlers of bombast. . . We must show them that we are men of parts. Will Shakespeare has a play. I have a theatre. The Curtain is yours.

To the cast of Twelfth Night:  You have proven that you are men and women of parts.  Most exceptionally.  Woodward Shakespeare Festival sees all you have done and truly thanks you for it.

~WSF

Just a quick Huzzah!

Last night began our final weekend of Twelfth Night and we had nearly 500 people in the audience– our biggest house of the season thus far, and our biggest on a Thursday EVER! Huzzah!

The final two Twelfth Night performances are like to max out! So get there early or bring your own chair. Or both!

To blog or not to blog. . .

For the absolute latest news at WSF, check in here! We’ll hopefully build up a regular readership to get feedback on our productions and on theatrical ideas in general.