Today’s Date: 7/4
Show Title: Twelfth Night
Director: Hailey Pearce
Staff Crew: Brooke Crittenden and Joe Marsh (RDAs), Natalie Watson and Zoe Symons (Interns)
What we did
First, we played another round of good old Czechoslovakia, which the campers are really taking to; we’re all old pros at the game by now. Then, we finally finished blocking the show!!! We worked through the last scene in the play, Act 5, Scene 1, and got it up on its feet. That afternoon, we returned to the Blackfriars Playhouse, where we did another quick round of Czechoslovakia and then headed to the basement of the playhouse, where the campers finally got to try on their costumes. After trying on costumes, we put Act 5, Scene 1 on the stage at Blackfriars, and blocked Malvolio’s prison scene.
Quick and Quotable
From the play
I’ll sacrifice the lamb that I do love / To spite a raven’s heart within a dove. – Orsino
How have you made division of yourself? – Antonio
From the director
There is a literacy crisis, and you all are combatting that by doing this camp. – Hailey
No, don’t kill him! Not on the Fourth of July! – Hailey, when Orsino threatens to kill Viola
The only wife guy that I will allow is Sebastian. – Hailey
From the cast
The people who get beat up together stay together, that’s the moral of the plotline. – Maggie, on Sir Toby and Sir Andrew
Production Insights
Seeing the full play and all of the blocking done finally was an absolute treat. Today, we worked on Act 5, Scene 1, and oh, boy, is it a fun one. It’s probably my favorite scene in the show, because I love scenes when everything comes together and we finally reveal all of the secrets that have been kept throughout. This is the first time Orsino and Olivia share the stage, and all of the hurt feelings, grief, and unrequited love were excellently acted by Andrés Asali and Kahlan Kelly, who play the characters in our show. It is a beast of a scene to direct, as thirteen actors share the stage at one point, and extremely tricky to act, as with that many actors on the stage, we really have to be conscious of blocking and where we are in the space, especially when we are in our on-campus rehearsal spaces. Seeing the campers share the stage in this scene impressed me so much, and the humor, heartbreak, and reveals that lead to the end of the play are so much fun to portray, as an actor, and to watch, as an observer. It is going to be a real masterpiece!
