Today’s date: Thursday July 2, 2026
Show title: Antony & Cleopatra
Director: Mili Koncelik
Staff crew: Analise Toone, Topher Zane (RDAs), Julia Hill, John Spellman (interns)
What we did
Even before rehearsal started, campers were running lines to be as off book as possible for today’s mini run. After a rather quick game of East Enders, we had a put-in rehearsal for the camper playing Maecenas who had been absent the last few rehearsals to learn where they would be for certain scenes, when they exit/entrance, etc. (2.2, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 3.3, 3.6). We then began a run from 1.1 to 3.7 before taking a ten and coming back and doing a run completely off book. Two ASC artists in residence joined rehearsal during the first run. Our first off book run for 1.1 to 3.7 went so well (couple prithees, as to be expected). After a brief break/for the remainder of today’s rehearsal, we had our first music rehearsal with Scarlet (our ASCTC music leader) for our show song, Still Into You by Hailey Williams. She started by playing the full song in the original key, despite the show song version being two keys down. All campers were very focused and excited for music rehearsal. After assigning certain campers to solos, and figuring out when certain campers will play any instruments they brought to camp. They then went into an initial run of the chorus. We went into a full run of the entire song before polishing certain parts up. Scarlet ended with a full run of the song, before meeting with those who will play instruments at certain points of the song.
Quick and Quotable
- From the play: “She is cunning past man’s thought.” (Antony, 1.2)
- From the director: N/A
- From the cast: N/A
Production Insights
It got me really excited to see the first initial off book run of A&C. Despite people calling prithee or skipping words, it went so well. Whenever I’m in production, off book day is by far one of the most nerve-wracking days of the whole process. However, I am finding the nerves to be helpful because it shows how much I care about doing a good job. Shakespeare plays, especially A&C, is its own beast on its own. So, I completely get the nerves and their source. However, watching actors overcome their nerves and using said nerves to grow their characters is so rewarding for both cast and creatives. I have found that when I really care about a part or role, the nerves do not even matter because the dedication and want to do the work to make the character fully my own outweighs any anxiety I have about not having my script in hand.