Wrapping up Session Two

As the second session of Shakespeare in Prison came to a close, the women shone through each performance and had extremely valuable insight into the program, how it's been a positive experience for them, and how it can improve in the future. What was remarkable to witness was, in each of the three performances, how the entire team came together to support each other through mistakes and growth alike. There were times when they sprang to the rescue of someone who needed help with a line or a cue, and times when we sat backstage ecstatic because someone finally "fell into" her part or unexpectedly went on with all of her lines memorized. They told a complicated story in a way that was well understood by most in the audience, and their efforts were applauded and appreciated by everyone who talked to them about the performances after seeing them.

Much more important than the audience's reaction were the feelings of the participants themselves. In our discussions, I tried to steer them away from focusing on the thoughts of others and more on their own experiences. They feel a sense of accomplishment and pride in what they've done, satisfaction with their work, and camaraderie with the team. Some who were stressed going in to the performances are now "sad" that the session is over, and some people who were doubtful about returning in the fall are more enthusiastic about giving it another go.

The women also gave very constructive feedback on what they feel works well about the group and how to improve it going forward. All of their suggestions will be taken into consideration when we come back in the fall.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the people who made an extra, much-appreciated effort to help keep the program running and/or made loans of materials for the production. Without these wonderful people, the program would not have been nearly so successful.

The Awesome Foundation

John Bogojevich

Bethany Caldarona

Katie Casebolt

Bethany Hedden

Lisa Melinn

Lauren Montgomery

Liz Moore

LoriGoe Nowak

Nick Rowley

Matthew Turner Shelton

Diana Thornton

Water Works Theatre Company

Barbie Amann Weisserman

And, of course, the staff at the facility who have been so supportive all the way through. Many, many thanks.

This blog will likely be pretty quiet for a few months, but we'll be back! Stay tuned...

Second Performance: Nick's Thoughts

Nick Rowley has been following the blog for some time and recently became a member of Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company's board of directors. He attended the second performance of The Tempest and records his thoughts here. Saturday was fascinating for a number of reasons.

When considering the performance itself, I was impressed by how much enthusiasm and energy the participants brought to their roles. There were varying levels of memorization of lines and this, I think, influenced characterization, but this is not unexpected and perfectly fine; the ability of the ensemble to work together far outweighs the differences in individual performance. However, among the individual performances I was very impressed by The Boatswain and the triad of Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo who, individually, embodied their characters in ways that displayed a firm grasp on how they personally conceived them, coupled with strong talents for physical comedy (which came in handy for the section where Prospero conveyed to Miranda the story of how they came by to dwell on the Island, a story which is presented as Dumbshow by the actors who played Stephano and Trinculo as the Duke tells his story) and, as a group, worked with fantastic theatrical cohesion providing delightful comic moments.

However, the thing that struck me most was not the performance per se but rather the sense of happiness and achievement that emanated from all the participants. It could be seen in the slight self-deprecation from Prospero as her friends praised her performance, in the reaction and conversation between Trinculo and members of the audience before and after the performance, in the keenness of the cast to set up and get things going prior to our arrival. It would not be surprising to discover that happiness isn’t in surplus abundance for the participants in the program, but their involvement in it provides that and, moreover, seems to provide a sense of palpable accomplishment. This, beyond all else, is the greatest benefit of the program; it provides growth and success to those who may not have known either to any great degree previously.

The final performance is on Tuesday and the play for the next session is still to be chosen, but I’m really looking forward to hearing about how that performance goes and which play is chosen; no doubt the program will continue to provide fascinating performances and enrichment for its participants.

First Performance: Bethany's Thoughts

Tuesday was the first show for the women. I can safely say that they were all nervous, each to a varying degree. Their nervousness was completely justifiable; most women have not performed in a show and even the most professional actors still experience some pre-show jitters. And, like any show, this one was not without its "snafus." The woman playing Stephano was unable to preform that night, so the woman playing Boatswain (having only rehearsed one of Stephano’s scenes earlier that day) went on in her absence. The women quickly realized that being on stage with an audience is very different from rehearsal. This made for opportunities to discover funnier, more interesting choices – and also worked to increase their nerves. What strikes me most about this program is how much courage it takes for the women to perform, to do something new, to challenge themselves. The woman playing Prospero, when reflecting on the first performance, stated “this is a hard place to be, let alone do this.” The woman playing the Boatswain agreed with her, marking that in this place, their audience is comprised of “hurting women.”

I am extremely proud of these women. They showcased teamwork, collaboration, flexibility, courage, and belief in themselves and their work. I hope that they celebrate their accomplishments, because everything they have done, from simply choosing to be a part of this program, to committing to this project, to learning more about themselves and others, is tremendously important to, I believe, what and why they walked through the theatre door nine months ago.

June 7, 2013

We worked through the second half of the show today. Overall, it went very well. Most of the (not very many) stops that we had were due to people not being in place for their entrances on time, so we talked about the need to write “warnings” in our scripts when cues are coming up. This should alleviate the problem in performance. The participants are feeling enthusiastic about performing and more or less ready to go. They are prepared to improvise if necessary and help each other out. The women who have been working on the backdrop are excited to bring it over and show it to everyone. Attitudes are positive, and, no matter how these performances “turn out,” this is bound to have been a good experience for everyone.

Catching up through June 4, 2013

My apologies for the lapse in blog updates! Here are some highlights of what the group has been up to. We have had to change our "rehearsal schedule" a couple of times due to absences, but this has enabled some more detailed scene work, particularly with Caliban and Prospero. With volunteer Bethany's help, we were able to find some new blocking that works much better for both women, causing one to say, "Now we're doing it the way I interpreted it from the beginning."

We were able to run the first half of the play last week, and it took only slightly longer than the time for which we were aiming. We also didn't have to stop and correct things very often, and, even with scripts in hand, all of the women are doing excellent work. They know their characters and the story, and they are telling it well. After that day, everyone was visibly relieved and voiced their renewed enthusiasm and encouragement. Although we continue to have challenges, most members of the group are relaxed and ready to show an audience what we've been working on. Some have more concerns, but everyone is enthusiastic.

We've talked a lot about commitment, discovering that the the more fully committed people are, even when making mistakes, the more enjoyable they are to watch. We've also talked about commitment in terms of the group as a whole, as we've lost a couple more participants at the eleventh hour. Some of the women have ideas about ways of increasing dedication in the next session, and I'll be doing some brainstorming on that over the summer as well.

Bethany wrote her reflections on that discussion, which was initiated by one of the participants:

"The woman playing Caliban stated at the end of our time, 'How do we get our program to be like that?' The ‘that’ she was referring to was the Shakespeare Behind Bars documentary Frannie had screened for them at the beginning of the program. She was referring to a deeper sense of accountability and dedication to the program, more focused efforts and acting, with a hopeful pay off of some heart breaking and mind blowing story telling. This woman called out the group at large, but also included herself. She stated that she has not always done right by this group and for this program. Her insight, honesty, and hope sticks with me. Because it doesn’t really matter how theatrical their performances are, how well memorized, how thoroughly they understand the material. What does matter is a commitment to excellence and a belief that it is in our own hands."