Hey blog readers. I'm Jacob York, one of the eight apprentices who will be working at the Tavern until at least late April. First off, the opinions expressed here are not NECESSARILY the opinions of the Shakespeare Tavern, etc and so on. Just me. When I found out I was coming here, one of my first questions was, "Will I be able to contribute to the blog?" I think blogs are a great way to deliver a personal touch and let people know a little more of the inner workings of the theatre.
The hope for my contributions is that it will give you an insight into what it's like to work at the Tavern in an apprentice capacity. We might not be as visible as folks like Drew Reeves or Laura Cole, our wonderful teachers, but we're a vital part of the future of the Tavern, as Laura mentions in the podcast mentioned on the front page. In MacB, for instance, there are six (I think...I'm doing this by memory...) former apprentices on stage, not to mention the current apprentices running light board and serving you drinks at the front bar.
I'll be trying to do one of these a week, but time can get a little pressed here, so we'll see how well I can keep up with that. I'll have a more cohesive entry next time, but for now, I'll just bullet point a couple of things I feel I have to mention.
- About me: I'm from a small town in Western Kentucky (Benton) and went to school at Murray State University. I've worked all over including Madison, New Jersey, Rothbury, Michigan, and Manteo, North Carolina. My dream role is Hotspur and am ridiculously excited to find out who I am playing in Twelfth Night. I'm sure more interesting tidbits about me will come forth as I work on this blog, but that's an alright basis, right now.
- Since coming from small town Kentucky, I'm pretty amazed at the amount of theatre here. For instance, I went with another apprentice to see Richard III at Georgia Shakespeare last week. I really enjoyed the design and thought the second act was REALLY tight. I particularly enjoyed Joe Knezevich as Richard and the multi-faced Brik Berkes, who some of you might remember as Prince Hal / Henry V from the Tavern productions of the Henry plays. I'd love to see more theatre in this vibrant area, but alas, I am a poor actor. I gots to pick and choose.
- The highlight of my week so far has got to be the fact that I'm about two hours away from another text class with Laura Cole. Laura has been an inspiring teacher so far, and I can't wait to work my monologue in front of her again.
- I've heard great stuff about King John, opening next week. I'm probably in the minority, in that I've actually seen it before, but I can't wait to see it again from an Original Practice perspective.
- MacB has been great every time I've seen it, also. Which is a pretty good track record, because I've seen it four times now, with my fifth and sixth coming in a week's time.
Those were all of the points I felt like I needed to cover for my first time. So, I'll see you next week, blogfriend!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Congratulations!
Our Education Director, Laura Cole, has been named Lexus Leader of the Arts for November 2007! Our Artistic Director, Jeff Watkins, was a Lexus Leader September 2001. Congratulations, Laura!
Sunday, August 19, 2007
The curse of The Taming of the Shrew???
Rarely do we find ourselves in the position of having to cancel a performance. Most of the time it is weather-related. On a handful of occasions the number of people in a cast outnumbered the people in the audience, and so we move those patrons to another night and cancelled the show. In the 15 years I've worked here, I think we've cancelled less than 15 performances.
This past Friday we had to make the difficult decision to cancel the performance of The Taming of the Shrew when one of the leads fell very ill with bronchitis (he couldn't say 10 words without coughing up a storm). While we made every effort to try and fill his role for that performance, it just wasn't going to work out in time. So we all did what needed to be done: Box office contacted everyone who had tickets for that show (thanks for everyone's understanding), Stage Management called the cast and crew, our Volunteer coordinator called the volunteers who were scheduled to work, the caterer told the kitchen crew to stop food preparation. Some of us stayed until 8pm to catch any walk ins or people who didn't get the message that the show was cancelled. It definitely felt weird not having a show.
For tonight's performance, here's what you'll find:
The actor who normally plays Hortensio (J.C. Long) will be playing Petruchio (having never played Petruchio before)
The actor who normally plays Gremio (Drew Reeves) will be playing Hortensio (having played the role in previous productions)
We are bringing in an actor (Doug Kaye) who is in other shows during the Threepeat to play Gremio (he has played this part in another Threepeat Shrew).
A few years ago, in another production of Shrew, the actor playing Grumio (different from Gremio), Marc McPherson, tripped and injured himself during an entrance. While he was being taken to the hospital, our Artistic Director Jeff Watkins was outfitting himself in a costume, the stage manager, Cindy Kearns, was photocopying Grumio's lines on to parchment paper for Jeff to read from, and the show went on.
As I type this, the cast is rehearsing in the theater, the costumer has arrived to recostume the "understudies" and I am still selling a lot of tickets! The energy is tense, tinged with excitement. This is what we do really well here at the Tavern (among other things): our actors have so many parts under their belts, they understand how to read the stage directions Shakespeare has hidden in his text so they can get a feel for blocking and intent even before going into a rehearsal. I am so not worried about the show tonight because of the incredible talent we have around here. It will be a wild and fun ride! The show must go on! If you're coming to the show tonight, have a great time; the actors will need your energy, your compassion and your sense of humor.
Regardless of the acting prowess we've got in the company, it makes me wonder: is there a curse on The Taming of the Shrew??
Angels and ministers of grace protect and defend us*...
-Jeanette, Marketing and Box Office
PS. FEEL BETTER, PAUL!!!!!!!!
*this is the blessing we like to say whenever anyone utters the word "Macb-th". Can't hurt to invoke it today!
This past Friday we had to make the difficult decision to cancel the performance of The Taming of the Shrew when one of the leads fell very ill with bronchitis (he couldn't say 10 words without coughing up a storm). While we made every effort to try and fill his role for that performance, it just wasn't going to work out in time. So we all did what needed to be done: Box office contacted everyone who had tickets for that show (thanks for everyone's understanding), Stage Management called the cast and crew, our Volunteer coordinator called the volunteers who were scheduled to work, the caterer told the kitchen crew to stop food preparation. Some of us stayed until 8pm to catch any walk ins or people who didn't get the message that the show was cancelled. It definitely felt weird not having a show.
For tonight's performance, here's what you'll find:
The actor who normally plays Hortensio (J.C. Long) will be playing Petruchio (having never played Petruchio before)
The actor who normally plays Gremio (Drew Reeves) will be playing Hortensio (having played the role in previous productions)
We are bringing in an actor (Doug Kaye) who is in other shows during the Threepeat to play Gremio (he has played this part in another Threepeat Shrew).
A few years ago, in another production of Shrew, the actor playing Grumio (different from Gremio), Marc McPherson, tripped and injured himself during an entrance. While he was being taken to the hospital, our Artistic Director Jeff Watkins was outfitting himself in a costume, the stage manager, Cindy Kearns, was photocopying Grumio's lines on to parchment paper for Jeff to read from, and the show went on.
As I type this, the cast is rehearsing in the theater, the costumer has arrived to recostume the "understudies" and I am still selling a lot of tickets! The energy is tense, tinged with excitement. This is what we do really well here at the Tavern (among other things): our actors have so many parts under their belts, they understand how to read the stage directions Shakespeare has hidden in his text so they can get a feel for blocking and intent even before going into a rehearsal. I am so not worried about the show tonight because of the incredible talent we have around here. It will be a wild and fun ride! The show must go on! If you're coming to the show tonight, have a great time; the actors will need your energy, your compassion and your sense of humor.
Regardless of the acting prowess we've got in the company, it makes me wonder: is there a curse on The Taming of the Shrew??
Angels and ministers of grace protect and defend us*...
-Jeanette, Marketing and Box Office
PS. FEEL BETTER, PAUL!!!!!!!!
*this is the blessing we like to say whenever anyone utters the word "Macb-th". Can't hurt to invoke it today!
Friday, June 22, 2007
Busy Bees
There is so much going on here at the Shakespeare Tavern this week and next week!
Cabaret is closing on July 1st and we have very limited ticket availability. The show has been a wonderful success and the cast and crew have worked very hard. I thank especially all of the patrons that have chosen to come and see the show multiple times! It's been lovely getting to know all of you and I hope you can squeeze in one more visit for closing week!
Our staff and especially the wonderful Becky (Day Box Office) have worked very hard this week to get the 2007-2008 Season online for sale. Tickets are now available and our Calendar is finalized. Look out for some amazing shows, including a Shakespeare play that we have never performed before!
Lastly we are gearing up for the opening of The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) starring Tony Brown, Paul Hester and Andy Houchins. We'll be opening on July 6th and running through the first week in August. This play is an absolute riot!
-Redd
(Night Box Office)
Cabaret is closing on July 1st and we have very limited ticket availability. The show has been a wonderful success and the cast and crew have worked very hard. I thank especially all of the patrons that have chosen to come and see the show multiple times! It's been lovely getting to know all of you and I hope you can squeeze in one more visit for closing week!
Our staff and especially the wonderful Becky (Day Box Office) have worked very hard this week to get the 2007-2008 Season online for sale. Tickets are now available and our Calendar is finalized. Look out for some amazing shows, including a Shakespeare play that we have never performed before!
Lastly we are gearing up for the opening of The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) starring Tony Brown, Paul Hester and Andy Houchins. We'll be opening on July 6th and running through the first week in August. This play is an absolute riot!
-Redd
(Night Box Office)
Saturday, June 16, 2007
The Buzz
Our greatest marketing device here at the Tavern is word of mouth. And I'm proud to say that we have a very vocal audience. For the current production of Cabaret, we've had patrons post reviews and comments in all corners of the web from http://www.atlantaplanit.com to www.myspace.com/dawnyawn. I've even had freelance writers submit reviews (warning, contains spoilers)! Thanks for creating such a buzz about this incredible production!
Some of you may not know this, but the AJC has cut back on their Arts Coverage. Years ago, a review (no matter good or bad) would bring in bigger crowds. It got the word out to all of Atlanta about what we were doing. There is a great debate on how these cutbacks will affect us, however this season we only received two reviews (for Troilus and Cressida and Cabaret) out of nine productions and yet, for the majority of the season, our houses have been full.
I attribute this to word of mouth marketing.
I want to thank all of you for talking about the Tavern. Whether it's to your friends, your family or to your pet goat (I hear they are great listeners), your opinion matters. And I look forward to reading all of your thoughts online. I encourage us all to start a dialog about theatre all over the web. Here are some sites for you to post your thoughts:
Theatre Review
Kudzu
Judy's Book
MySpace (you must have your own myspace account)
Live Journal (you must have your own LJ account)
City Search
Yahoo Travel
Yelp
Let me know if there are any other places you know of that posts user reviews. Jeanette@shakespearetavern.com
So get vocal! And thank you!
I am grateful for our audiences.
-Jeanette
Marketing
Some of you may not know this, but the AJC has cut back on their Arts Coverage. Years ago, a review (no matter good or bad) would bring in bigger crowds. It got the word out to all of Atlanta about what we were doing. There is a great debate on how these cutbacks will affect us, however this season we only received two reviews (for Troilus and Cressida and Cabaret) out of nine productions and yet, for the majority of the season, our houses have been full.
I attribute this to word of mouth marketing.
I want to thank all of you for talking about the Tavern. Whether it's to your friends, your family or to your pet goat (I hear they are great listeners), your opinion matters. And I look forward to reading all of your thoughts online. I encourage us all to start a dialog about theatre all over the web. Here are some sites for you to post your thoughts:
Theatre Review
Kudzu
Judy's Book
MySpace (you must have your own myspace account)
Live Journal (you must have your own LJ account)
City Search
Yahoo Travel
Yelp
Let me know if there are any other places you know of that posts user reviews. Jeanette@shakespearetavern.com
So get vocal! And thank you!
I am grateful for our audiences.
-Jeanette
Marketing
Monday, April 30, 2007
Happy (Belated) Birthday Bill!
Well, last week on Monday, April 23rd William Shakespeare had another birthday. If the Bard were still around today he would be 443 years old!
We at the Tavern celebrated with Club Member Cupcakes, balloons, and party hats on Sunday the 22nd for our performance of The Taming of the Shrew. Thanks go to everyone who came and celebrated with us!
Did you know his birthday was also his death day? William Shakespeare died on April 23rd, 1616. We didn't celebrate that though. It's hard to find party balloons for that kind of event!
Tonight (Monday April 30th) is our Apprentice Company's final farewell with a night of Shakespeare Scenes! We are very proud and very excited for them! The show is at 7:30pm and you know it will be fantastic!
-Redd
We at the Tavern celebrated with Club Member Cupcakes, balloons, and party hats on Sunday the 22nd for our performance of The Taming of the Shrew. Thanks go to everyone who came and celebrated with us!
Did you know his birthday was also his death day? William Shakespeare died on April 23rd, 1616. We didn't celebrate that though. It's hard to find party balloons for that kind of event!
Tonight (Monday April 30th) is our Apprentice Company's final farewell with a night of Shakespeare Scenes! We are very proud and very excited for them! The show is at 7:30pm and you know it will be fantastic!
-Redd
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Coaching with the Ed Program
Imagine that! I get back from a wonderful morning coaching high school students for their Shakespeare Festival (with several other Tavern folk) and discover that a forum for expressing my elation and excitement about the morning has magically opened up in the form of this blog! Well, that's really it - elation and excitement.
This was a festival that has voluntary participation from Clayton County High Schools. They work on scenes from Shakespeare's plays and then show up with the lines memorized, and having worked on the piece quite a bit. They do the pieces for us and we help them tweak them. Then they perform their pieces for judges. Two of us stayed for the performance and we could actually see the difference we had made. It was very gratifying, not to mention hugely entertaining. I saw the most inventive Banquo's ghost ever, for instance. And who would have thought that "Shakespearean Idol" in the form of characters from Shakespeare auditioning to play other characters from his plays (Lady M reading for Tybalt!) could be so much fun?
Watching kids get fired up about my favorite writer/philosopher/psychologist/humorist ( you could keep adding applicable titles indefinitely) is a feeling like no other. I wish everyone who loves Shakespeare and what we do at the Tavern could experience it! Thank you, Laura and Kirk!
This was a festival that has voluntary participation from Clayton County High Schools. They work on scenes from Shakespeare's plays and then show up with the lines memorized, and having worked on the piece quite a bit. They do the pieces for us and we help them tweak them. Then they perform their pieces for judges. Two of us stayed for the performance and we could actually see the difference we had made. It was very gratifying, not to mention hugely entertaining. I saw the most inventive Banquo's ghost ever, for instance. And who would have thought that "Shakespearean Idol" in the form of characters from Shakespeare auditioning to play other characters from his plays (Lady M reading for Tybalt!) could be so much fun?
Watching kids get fired up about my favorite writer/philosopher/psychologist/humorist ( you could keep adding applicable titles indefinitely) is a feeling like no other. I wish everyone who loves Shakespeare and what we do at the Tavern could experience it! Thank you, Laura and Kirk!
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