The FIRST of the last FOUR shows of a “Midsummer” summer!!! (Say that ten times fast – GO!)

LOVE, MaGiC, and Mischief: three threads weaving within the mystical web of “Midsummer”.  The love-spell’s attraction is mesmerizing and impossible for Athenians, Mechanicals, Fairies, and Nashvillians to resist! I’m speaking from personal experience, of course! I blindly fall obsessively in love with an A$$ every night! (Insert Donkey noise here.)

Every performance possesses the energetic anticipation as if it were the very FIRST! Underneath the stars, each night illuminates new surprises, new guests, and new challenges we must fight to conquer whilst in character. The stakes are always HIGH! Shakespeare doesn’t deal in dull! The invitation to directly interact with the audience awakens an enchanting atmosphere which compliments the empyrean nature of Shakespeare in the Park. It’s truly an experience like no other for actors and audience alike.

As a studious actor, I continue to learn more about Titania, Queen of the Fairies! I CAN’T WAIT to find out what I’ll discover about her this week! One privilege I particularly cherish about the theater process is how, with time, the character grows as the individual performing artist grows. The multidimensional Titania is taking over more and more each night. She herself proclaims, “I am a spirit of no common rate”.

I’m so thankful to our Producers and Director Denice Hicks for SYNERGIZING such a unique cast of characters. Our strong, supportive, and spirited chemistry is INSPIRING! I pray all my future productions embrace such enormous and genuine positivity! We’re more than a cast, we’re a FAMILY; and our family grows each night with the range of approximately 300 – 1400 people in the Nashville Shakes arena in Centennial Park. That’s right, YOU, our audience, are included! We wouldn’t be having NEARLY as much FUN without YOUR SUPPORT and PARTICIPATION! By the way, THANK YOU for FEEDING my HUNGRY FAIRIES!

So come one come ALL to the closing weekend of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by The Nashville Shakespeare Festival! It’s truly a CYCLOPEAN EVENT you want to relish! Please bring Fairy food! See YOU at the CELEBRATION!

Words of wisdom from THESEUS:

“I will hear that play;
For never anything can be amiss,
When simpleness and duty tender it.”

AUGUST 15 – SEPTEMBER 15

Thursday – Sunday
At Centennial Park Bandshell

6:30 pm Pre-Show Entertainment
7:30 pm Showtime

FREE ($10.00 Suggested Donation)
www.NashvilleShakes.org

Join us at NOON this Saturday, September 14th, 2013 for the ‘Shakespeare Upright’ event. A public staged reading of “Henry V” at the Nashville Public Library.
"Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’”
Click HERE for more INFO!

Two days until show time! Dress rehearsals, tech rehearsals, lots of make-up and lights!

With all the excitement leading to the premiere this Thursday, August 15th I’m likely to spontaneously combust with nature itself!

Living, loving, and learning with an august cast of 25 total thespians, under the direction of the illustrious Denice Hicks, continues to inspire the discovery of something NEW every day within the spirit of our characters! This sense of adventure shall shower an air of unique selfdom for each performance and as always…the stakes are HIGH!

Here’s a peak into our festive voyage during weeks two, three, and four of our outdoor expedition of “Midsummer”!

Daily we come up with new PUCK-isms for actor Andrew Gumm. (What the PUCK?) His brilliant exposition of the jubilant jokester will no doubt urge suspense for his unanticipated actions.

From this day forward, if I am to be asked what my favorite play is my genuine response will be ‘Pyramus & Thisby’ written by Petie (Peter) Quince in “Midsummer”! In a word, actress Bonnie Keen, who portrays Petie Quince, is my HERO! She is daring, sincere, and HILARIOUS. Keen breathes more character, occupational urgency, and significant supportive theatrics with every Quince-y exclamation. A play well-known, it’s as if I’ve been introduced to this character for the very first time. 

“Midsummer” is no stranger to physical comedy! Watching the creative strength of actors such as Lauren Ballard and Raffeal Sears (pictured below) has been a cup full of laughs! Salud!

Our production staff also deserves much praise. June Kingsbury, our beloved Costume Designer, is receiving national recognition from many media outlets including Nashville Public Radio (NPR) for her recycle-friendly creations. “Midsummer” Fashion Show anyone? I’m down!

There is so much to reveal about each talent attached to the Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s 25th Anniversary production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (Athenians, Mechanicals, and Fairies OH MY!) I’m HONORED to PLAY, DANCE, & SING among this Shakespearean cast of characters!

I personally invite YOU to PLAY, DANCE, & SING with us this summer! See YOU at the premiere!

AUGUST 15 – SEPTEMBER 15

Thursdays – Sundays & Labor Day Monday
At Centennial Park Bandshell

6:30 pm Pre-Show Entertainment
7:30 pm Showtime

FREE ($10.00 Suggested Donation)

www.NashvilleShakes.org

Nashville Shakes was featured in The Tennessean. CLICK HERE to view the article.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is an everyday dream come true!

Monday, July 15th, day 1 of rehearsals, was ignited with reveling synergy among thespians collaborating for the first time together in celebration of the Nashville Shakespeare Festivals 25th Anniversary!  

All converse around the tables with crisp scripts in hand. Then, as an ensemble, we collectively inhale a deep focused breath as actor Andrew Gumm sparks the season projecting Puck’s first words of the play: “How now, spirits! Whither wander you?” All smile with eager anticipation for the magic that shall manifest.

Denice Hicks, our inspiring Director, is indubitably our rock, our foundation, and our comfort as we plunge forward into the mysterious forests of “Midsummer”. Her vision to set the play in Nashville 2013 reaffirms Shakespeare’s timeless relevance and further invigorates Nashville’s reputation as the Athens of the South. Her first order of business is to set us FREE: to make bold character choices; experiment with accents (especially familiar tones local to the Nashville twang); and to play! Embracing our own personal thoughts and reflections in regards to the in-depth nature behind the sincere motivations for each character and each uttered expression, she further adds, “I truly want to hear ALL your ideas, I welcome them!” Each Thespian, whether Fairy, Mechanical, or Athenian, is a single significant mesmeric note to an epic composition written by Shakespeare and conducted by Denice Hicks. 

Here’s a close peak into the week!  Monday through Thursday we concentrated on textual analysis and character development. Blessed to portray the acclaimed Queen of the Fairies TITANIA, I (while absorbing profound input from the entire “Midsummer” troupe) encountered the jillion layers of her dynamism and encompassed the complexities of her and Oberon’s emulous relationship.  

As we were encouraged to participate with the educational sector of Nashville Shakes, the cast was invited by Denice Hicks and the heartening Nettie Kraft, the Education Director, to be an audience for the 2013 Apprentice Company of The Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s monologue workshops.  The fruit of their efforts ripened at their showcase performance held on Friday, July 19th at Nashville Public Television (NPT). Fortified by their passionate commitment to reach their full potential, I learned a lot from watching their growth and transformation each day.  I CONGRATULATE them ALL again!

Immediately following the showcase, everyone celebrated their accomplishments over delicious dinner and desert organized by Rickey Chick Marquardt, the Development Director.  Re-energized on full tummies, we then engaged in a public staged reading of the play. After a focused full week of table work, the privilege to incorporate all the new insight we had attained for the community of Nashville Shakes was exceptionally riveting.

Our exuberant Saturday will forever be a triumphal rehearsal providence that I will never forget! We engaged in Viewpoints exercises as well as other compelling improvisation exercises. One game investigated the polarity of our physical and emotional responses when living within an atmosphere of ‘magic versus the real world’ and ‘love versus apathy’. The biggest and most mindful challenge was our improvised rendition of Act 1. To TOP the superlative tasks at hand, our Music Director Ed Haggard spiritedly guided the entire cast in a musically revivifying jam session with drums and other multitudinous percussion instruments from diverse cultures around the globe.  The resonating exposure to such an organic impromptu creation of beats was incomparably breathtaking and everyone ROCKED-IT-OUT!

How did we accomplish so much in one week?

Dear friend reading this post, I personally invite you to attend this ceremonious production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. If you’ve never seen a Shakespearean play, this is the perfect introduction in which YOU, our audience, will also have opportunities within the show to participate in our jovial jam sessions. Denice Hicks gave us a gift of sharing the perfect analogy when approaching his plays, “The complete works of Shakespeare are like a cook book. The play is the meal plan, the scenes are the dish, and the words and characters are the ingredients!”

See you at the show and stay-tuned for this week’s update!

AUGUST 15 – SEPTEMBER 15

Thursdays – Sundays & Labor Day Monday
At Centennial Park Bandshell

6:30 pm Pre-Show Entertainment
7:30 pm Showtime

FREE ($10.00 Suggested Donation)
www.NashvilleShakes.org

Nashville Shakes was featured in the NY Times. CLICK HERE to view the article.