Apprentice's Perspective Vol. 3 - Graduation

Hey guys! Wow, it has been a long time since I've been on here.

Well, that's sort of a misnomer. I've been on here, I just haven't been writing. Once again, a lot has happened since I last wrote. Let's try to cover it all. I've got some time between memorizing lines and waiting to go see Iron Man. Wait, did I say memorizing lines? Hmmm...looks like you might just have to wait for that tidbit.

- January was my Tavern stage debut with Twelfth Night. Turns out the time crunch wasn't a huge deal, as I think we put on a really solid show. Matt Nitchie as Malvolio was incredible in a part that is rarely quite so infused with humanity. Though, to call any particular person out is a disservice to everyone else who was fantastic. Though, of course, I have to mention my partner, Tiffany Porter, who was such a great Fabian. She got a great look at all of my acting, as she was on stage for, you know, every single moment of the play from my perspective.

- It was a challenge to take on so many different characters in such a short amount of time and try to make each one distinct. I think Valentine was a particular success. He is, after all, the Warlock Supreme.

- February brought my first understudy project, as I was involved in Romeo and Juliet at the Tavern. So was, for that matter, every single apprentice that WASN'T John Stephen King. I went on as the Prince and had a heck of a time. It was a great experience to work with some people that I hadn't worked with in any real capacity (Jane Bass and Dikran Tulaine, for instance).

- Sadly, I had to miss two of my comrades performances (Derek Randall and Mark Schroeder) in the opening night of R&J, since I had a previous appointment to go to UPTA. I mean, I love Atlanta so far, but that doesn't mean that I'm not going to get out there and test the waters. I went with KG Morton and had a great time. I saw a ton of friends from Lost Colony and even a friend from my old alma mater. It was good to get an idea of where I am outside of Atlanta. Very refreshing.

- By the time that wrapped up, we got our scenes for the final scene night. My text scene was to be a scene from Cymbeline, with Stephen playing Posthumus and myself playing Iachimo. The big thrill, though, was to do a scene from Henry IV Part 1 with Derek playing Prince Hal and myself playing Hotspur.

- The scene night was fantastic with such a great audience. The buildup was great, too. Mike Niedzwiecki was an even handed choreographer. He was very patient and made it clear that we were the guys who controlled the flow and intent of the fight. Toward the end, the idea of having the "best" fight started to fade away and was replaced with a simple urge to tell the story as succinctly as possible, with, hopefully, no little amount of squirming in seats from audience members.

- It was also a pleasure to work with such a cross section of senior company at the Tavern, from Maurice Ralston, Tony Brown, Troy Willis, Laura, Drew, and Jeff Watkins, they all made themselves available to us in the final weeks. I learned so much in the rush to the end, it was hard to keep it all in mind.

- Between these times, I went to my very first Atlanta Unified! What an experience. I'm so much more used to the SETC/UPTA/MWTA format where, after auditioning, you had a day full of call backs to go through. The idea of Unifieds is interesting, where it's essentially one job interview that works for the entire year. That being said, I'm not lightening up my quest to stay employed. Anyone need a headshot?! Let me know.

- The final scene night was a pleasure. From an audience packed with family members and Tavern people to the execution and culmination of these last eight months, it was a night fraught with joy and pain. Yes, just like the song by Rob Base. Sing it now, God's children. Iachimo was slimy and Hotspur was...frankly, to me, it was everything I had wanted. I found myself wanting to keep talking in my dying moments as Hotspur. After all...when he dies...I'm done playing him. What an experience. After a two day sprint, between dress rehearsals, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern rehearsals, day job, and good ol' emotional toil, I was exhausted. So, you know, I've crashed a bit. I'm sick now, but I'll be over it soon.

- Wait, did I say Rosencrantz and Guildenstern rehearsals? Why, yes I did. I'll be appearing as a Tragedian coming up soon. Please come out and see me! Tell me I was exceptional. Or, you know, a solid part of the ensemble, at least. And what an ensemble it is! I couldn't be more pleased to be with my fellow Tragedians (Mike N., Daniel P., Joe B., Doug G. and Drew as our inimitable "Player".) and it's been a great experience working with them and director Jeff McKerley.

- But, you aren't getting rid of me as easy as that. You'll see me next month, as well, in Much Ado About Nothing as the young lord Claudio. I'm super excited and can't wait to get up there with Maurice and see what kind of trouble I can get into.

***

- For a bit of self promotion, if you want to check up on me, feel free to swing by my website, Jacob DASH York.com or my "professional" blog, which I seem to be updating about as often as I updated this one.

- If anyone is on the fence about whether or not to do the apprenticeship, you really ought to do it. Really.

- Such thanks to everyone, from all those who were mentioned before to Matthew, Holly, Kirstan, Kirk, Redd, Jeanette, Cindy, Debbie, everyone who was kind and appreciated our work, everyone who tried to teach us a bit, every actor, every professor, every volunteer and every single person who saw the shows. If I forget anyone, I'm sorry. Mention it to me, and I'll thank you too. I just met a lot of people in the last eight months.

There are times when it's hard to be an actor. It can be a rough, thankless life ("It's SOOO hard to be an actor," right, Daniel Parvis?), wondering where the next check is coming from or if it's even coming at all. All of you people made it a wonderful environment over the span of the apprenticeship and I cannot possibly thank you all enough.

But I'll try, I guess.

Thank you. So, so, so much.
"We outta here, baby."

Happy (Belated) Birthday Bill!

Yesterday morning we welcomed 298 students and one couple celebrating their Wedding Anniversary (Congratulations again, Mr and Mrs Childress!) to a matinée of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was a happy day for us here at the Tavern. We always particularly enjoy the 23rd of April. You see, yesterday William Shakespeare turned 392. The cast sang Happy Birthday to him before the show, and there was much rejoicing. Keeping Shakespeare alive and immortal is something that I am particularly fond of. I often wonder what he would have thought if someone told him that his work was going to be performed 40 or so weeks out of the year amongst skyscrapers in a city on another continent 350 years or so after he wrote it. I think it would have given him quite a big head!

Happy Birthday Bill, the big 400 is fast approaching!

-Redd

April Featured Actor - Mary Russell

Mary Russell has a long history with the Shakespeare Tavern. At first, Mary could be seen running around the building as a Volunteer when she was a senior in high school. Then, she auditioned for the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 Apprentice Company. She became a “Grasshopper” in 2003 and since then she has been a regular face on the Tavern stage since then, becoming an Artistic Associate in 2007.
Mary is currently performing as Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a character she enjoys because she feels that Helena goes with her emotions, knows what she wants, and figures out how to get it.

Mary was born and raised in Georgia. She has a BA in Theatre with a Minor in English from UGA.
She has been working in theatre since college, but was inspired to do Shakespeare by Helen Mirren’s 1978 role in As You Like It.

She found the transition from being a Volunteer to being an Actor on stage a challenge because “It was hard to get over the volunteer vibe”. More challenging than that, though, was when she had to take over the role of Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with just four days notice back in 2004.

Mary’s favorite past Shakespeare role was Kate in Taming of the Shrew. She says that she really felt that she connected with the character.
Her favorite non-Shakespeare role was drastically different though. She played Karen in Voices Deaux at Multishades at Theatre Decatur, In this avant garde play, Mary played Karen, a military cadet. This intense role required her to undergo rigorous physical training and to get used to learning contemporary dialogue. She was scared that she wouldn’t be able to do it, but enjoyed the challenge and felt great about the role.

Her dream role would be Rosaline in As You Like It, which hearkens back to her first initial interest in Shakespeare. If she were a musical performer, she would love to play Roxie in Chicago.

She is inspired by the work of Helen Mirren and Johnny Depp.

So what does the future hold for Mary? She would like to stay in Atlanta another five years and continue to work around town. She’s been thinking about going to work in Chicago, but finds the weather off-putting. She would also love to go to Los Angeles and work in TV, especially Sitcoms or Episodic Drama’s. Mary says she likes the structure of the work.

Mary’s favorite Shakespeare quote comes from The Tempest:

"We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep."

Something you didn’t know about Mary? She had to wear braces for seven years.

-Redd

March Featured Actor - Daniel Parvis

A former member of the “Worker Bee” Apprentice Company of 05-06, Daniel Parvis will be a fixture on the Tavern stage for our next three productions, Of Mice and Men, A Midsummer Nights Dream, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.

During his childhood, Daniel moved back and forth between Texas and Utah. He moved to Georgia when he was ten, then went back to Texas for his first two years of college at Southern Methodist University, before moving back to Georgia to receive a BA in Theatre at UGA in 2004. Daniel told me that joining the Apprentice Company really made theatre a focus in his life.

Since completing his Apprenticeship Daniel has been on stage at the Shakespeare Tavern many times with roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Troilus and Cressida, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Taming of the Shrew and King John.

His favorite role so far in Shakespeare was the 2007 production of The Taming of the Shrew where he played Biondello. In Non-Shakespeare, he enjoyed playing Lucky in Waiting for Godot at the University of Georgia.

His Dream roles are Iago in Othello, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet and Tom in The Glass Menagerie.

When I asked Daniel what his favorite line in Shakespeare is, he responded with a line from Love’s Labour’s Lost:

“Love’s feeling is more soft and sensible than the tender horns of cockled snails.”

Daniel says that he is happy in Atlanta, but would like to work more in film.

When discussing his role in Of Mice and Men, Daniel says that Slim is very strong, centered and confident. He is not driven by ego and is very kind. He has authority. He feels that Slim is very much a grown up role.

Daniel finds inspiration in the work of Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Matt Damon and Ewan McGregor.

Something that you didn’t know about Daniel? He cheats at Monopoly every time he plays. Oddly enough although he may be stealing from the bank the entire time, he never wins.

-Redd

February Featured Actor - Nicholas Faircloth

Since 2003, Nicholas Faircloth has been an active member of the Shakespeare Tavern family. He is currently playing Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, a new role for him in one of our most popular plays.

Nick has lived in Georgia for most of his life. After high school he looked into going to Northwestern and NYU, but after traveling to Europe, he decided to apply and was eagerly accepted to the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA) in England. LIPA was a brand new school with students from all around the world. Anthony Hopkins and Paul McCartney were regular guest teachers. Nicholas received a BA with Honors in Performing Arts. He came back to the US and began performing in the area, and started to randomly meet other members of the Tavern family. In 2003, he auditioned for the second Apprentice Company. At callbacks, he ran into Kirk Harris Seaman, who he had gone to High School with and hadn’t seen for many years. Both Kirk and Nick became members of the 2003-2004 Apprentice Company, and two years later Nick became a member of staff here.

Nick says that his favorite role is usually whatever role he is immersed in at the time. He particularly enjoyed playing Howie in Our Town in 2004.

Nick likes to let things happen in his life. He doesn’t have any set plans to go into film or move to other cities, he likes to wait and see what opportunities cross his path.

His dream role in Shakespeare would be to play Hamlet. He has played Laertes before and says that he would love to see the play from the other side.

On playing Mercutio, Nick loves that he is a he is playing a performer. He finds that Mercutio is a reactor, and talks at and not to people. Nick believes that Romeo is “Love,” Benvolio is “the Soul”, and Mercutio is “the Reactor”. He also admits to finding the bawdiness fun.

Nick’s idols are Al Pacino “I could watch him read the phone book”, Robert de Niro in seventies, Gene Hackman, Daniel Day Lewis, and Sean Penn. He likes people who know how to behave.

Something you may not know about Nick? As a kid one of his first roles was as a Mexican bandito. He also confesses that he cries….. a lot.

Nicholas will be on the Tavern stage again in Of Mice and Men in March, and in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead as Rosencrantz in May.

-Redd

January Featured Actor - Rivka Levin

Rivka Levin is a woman of many talents. An accomplished actress and musician, she has been a friend to the tavern for over a decade, and began her work on stage here in 2005. She is currently performing in Twelfth Night as Maria.

With a BFA in Musical Theatre from Syracuse and an MFA in Media and Performing Arts from The Savannah College of Art and Design, Rivka is a very experienced and highly trained performer. She is also an accomplished harpist and singer.

Rivka is an Atlanta Native. From a very young age she knew that working in performing arts was her chosen career. She first heard about The Shakespeare Tavern in 1996 when she was performing in a band with Matthew Trautwein, who was in a show at that time. She came to The Tavern as a patron and was excited because she feels that we “get Shakespeare right”. She continued to be an avid patron for years until she was a harpist in The Tempest and then was cast in A Christmas Carol in 2005. Eight months later, she was hired on as Development Director and because a full time member of the staff.

Since then, Rivka has also appeared in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Love’s Labor’s Lost.

Her role in Love’s Labor’s Lost has been her favorite Shakespeare role so far. She says that she fell in love with her character Jaquenetta and had the opportunity to really invent her. She also enjoyed the challenge of playing a character that wasn’t overly intellectual.

In Non-Shakespeare, she greatly enjoyed playing Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest. It was her first experience with period theatre and her character was very witty and idealistic. In comparison, her other favorite role was that of Philimonte in Learned Ladies, a strong matriarchal character. Both shows were important to her as she felt that the casting was excellent.

In the future, Rivka’s dream roles are Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing “I get her. She’s in love with her own wit”, Desiree in A Little Night Music, and Genevieve in The Baker’s Wife.

As far as acting for the camera? Rivka did eight films at The Savannah College of Art and Design and would love to do other Independent Films.

Rivka’s favorite line in Shakespeare is from Much Ado About Nothing, a line of Beatrice’s that goes “But then there was a star danced, and under that was I born”.

When asked about her character in Twelfth Night, Rivka says:

"Maria (aka Mary and Marian) is a waiting gentlewoman to
the countess. She is clever, and loves a good practical joke. I've
discovered that she also has a temper, and is not afraid to speak her
mind. She obeys her mistress (Olivia), but also has some distinct
opinions on the choices Olivia makes. She is in love with Sir Toby Belch
(though she tries hard not to show it), and is amused by his
drunkenness, even at the same time as she counsels him that "drinking
will undo you". For all that she dislikes Malvolio and hatches the plot
to trick him into believing that Olivia loves him, she also has a soft
heart and comes to feel remorse for how far the game ends up going."

She also says that what she likes best about Maria is her sense of humor and her quick wit. She likes that the other characters clearly respect Maria’s cleverness.

Something you didn’t know about Rivka? She has a strong tomboy side that wants to climb trees and get muddy.

Something that you might know is that she is also one third of the popular Celtic Folk band Three Quarter Ale.

-Redd

Apprentice's Perspective, Volume I, Issue 2

Hey blog friends. It's Jacob. 'member me?

Did I say weekly? Maybe not. In fact, I even had a whole post written up, but it was apparently eaten by the draft system on blogger. Oh well...here is some info on what I've been up to.

- I found out who I'm going to be in Twelfth Night! Please come out and see me in January as *deep breath* Valentine / Sea Captain / Servant / First Officer / Priest. My real star making turn as the Sea Captain comes in the second scene, so I suppose you could leave after that, but if you did, you'd miss a pretty darn good show. Everyone has been working ridiculously hard on it, as the time crunch is, apparently, even more severe than in a "normal" Tavern production. No worries, though. It forces one to step up their game when they know they're under the gun. Or at least it forces me too. I'll speak from my own experience.

In conclusion, come see it. It's a lot of fun!

- I would also be remiss if I didn't point out that my partner, Tiffany, is ripping it up as Fabian in Twelfth Night. She's really good, y'all.

- Since we last spoke, I've gotten to audition for two other shows at the Tavern. The first, Of Mice and Men, was interesting in that I was able to audition with a fellow apprentice. I was also, sad to say, a little more nervous than I would be normally, just because it was my first "real" Tavern audition. And, granted, you won't see me in Of Mice and Men, but the experience was invaluable. Plus, you will see an apprentice make an appearance, as Mark Schroder will be playing "Interstitial Banjo Guy"! Congrats, Mark!

The second just concluded and, let me tell you, I'm pretty tired from it. The first set of auditions for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead were this past week, and I felt pretty good about them. Jeff McKerley is such a wonderful, sweet man in the audition room. He really put me at ease immediately so I was able to calm down and focus on the task at hand. I was even able to remember all of my monologue - No small feat, as I has just memorized it the day prior. During the cold read portion of the evening, I really took in my surroundings. Everyone being on even ground was exciting. I felt as if I had just as much of a chance as anyone.

Turned out, I did, because I got a callback that I went in for today. It was odd to be reading for R&G with guys that have played Hamlet, Petruchio and The Bastard from King John at the Tavern, but I definitely took ownership of it. It was my time, for good or ill, so I made the most of it. We'll find out what happens with that later on, but there's plenty of time for that. For now, I'm still pretty darn tired. That play is so textually thick that it takes energy to put those thoughts out there.

- We're working on Alexander technique. I know so little about it, I am loath to say anything, so let's just say that it's a new frontier to explore.

- We also started Madrigal class, which has to be the hardest class for me. I came here with a solid working knowledge of what it took to build a scene, create a character, drive a fight, drive a nail and so on. However, music is something I fall behind in. I've been in several musicals before, but I have problems singing in front of an audience. Furthermore, I have no clue about music theory, how to read music, or...anything, really. Thank God our teacher (Matthew Trautwein, who you'll ALSO see in Twelfth Night, as Feste...) is taking it slowly. As is, it's like someone speaking Spanish to me. I know enough to be able to pick out a word or two, but I just feel lost. I'm working hard to try and catch up, though. I know that class will be very good for me.

- After taking a little time away from my monologue in text class, I was able to dive right back into it. I'm having a great time inhabiting Hotspur for the time being. It's a very focused mindset to have.

- Speaking of text class, what promises to be my favorite class is coming up as the year draws to a close. Pizza and monologues. I can't wait. I also can't wait for it to be over, because, once it draws to a close, I'll be heading to my old Kentucky home for Christmas.

That seems as good a place as any to stop. I'll have another entry up...eventually. I'll try and make it sooner rather than later.

Have a great day, blog friends!