Shaking up Shakespeare!

"My sickness grows upon me"......

The above is the last line of Shakespeare I have spoken since playing Regan in King Lear. (She was being poisoned to death by the way, they were big on that back then.)

I loved performing classical theater. I was introduced to it because it was required as part of the program at the Stella Adler Academy. All students had to take two semesters of Shakespeare. In the beginning I was intimidated. I thought the actors who did Shakespeare were mysterious beings who were born knowing how to speak Elizabethan Poetry and Prose. Who was I to think I could be one of them? Turns out I was! The truth is that every actor is, if you are willing to learn the fundamentals and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!


King Lear, Los Angeles
Karen Wendt, Anna Wendt (as Regan)

 At some point I'd like to get involved in theater again. This is why I've had my eye on the Las Vegas Shakespeare Company. Yesterday I visited the LVSC and spent an hour with the Director, Dan Decker, who gave me a tour of the facility. The LVSC has moved into the former Reed Whipple Cultural Center just north of downtown. With 34,000 square feet of theater, rehearsal and office space, the potential for this organization is impressive and exciting!

Dan Decker also spoke with me about their exciting upcoming production of Hamlet!


William Shakespeare's Hamlet has been interpreted in many forms. Some use modern settings, costumes, and music, while keeping the traditional dialogue and flow intact. Others have attempted to change Shakespeare's words and write their own......with mixed success.  Dan's approach is different.

"What I do is edit the narrative flow to bring it more in line with contemporary audiences. I don't change the dialogue. I streamline the production by removing the characters and subplots modern audiences would consider extraneous, while maintaining the integrity and heart of the story and its original language. "   - Dan Decker

Dan noted that today's society was raised on audio, visual and "story", more than words. By enhancing the production in these areas while truncating it in others, the play speaks more to current audiences.

"William Shakespeare himself would have approved of this. He was not an elitist", says Dan. 


Auditions August 18 - 20

Las Vegas and surrounding area actors, you are invited to participate in open auditions for Hamlet this weekend.

There are always new productions coming up with this group. It may be a good idea to audition for Hamlet if nothing else, as an introduction to the Las Vegas Shakespeare Company.  Especially the guys....... you may have talent in this area that you never knew you had....like  John Leguizamo, Ethan Hawke, and Paul Rudd.

Don't forget to call and make an appointment - 702-527-6800 - or send resume & head shot to casting@lvshakes.org

Open auditions 8/18 - 8/20 for Equity and Non-Equity.

There is some pay.  

Rehearsal scheduled: Sept 10 - Oct 5.

Four performances Oct. 6 - 27, Saturdays

  

www.lvshakes.org