We want you for the Shakespeare Squadron!
What: AUDITIONS for a spring Performance Workshop presented by Shakespeare Squadron, SFSTL's Advanced Teen Acting Ensemble. We will workshop and perform 30-minute adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Henry V.
Who: Young artists ages 13-18 (grades 9-12), who love Shakespeare and acting and want to be involved in this unique experience. We are looking to cast a total of 20-25 students. Each actor will be cast in two of the three adaptations, with the potential to cast in the ensemble of the third adaptation. Priority casting will be given to current Shakespeare Squadron members in good standing, as we have a limited amount of available roles. Current ShakesSquad members ARE required to audition.
When: Monday, December 12th, 5-8pm, appointment required. Appointments are 5 minutes long, but we may ask you to stay and read with other actors.
Where: Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63108-1037.
To Make an Appointment: PLEASE EMAIL Elana Kepner, Shakespeare Squadron Instructor, at shakessquad@sfstl.com.
What to bring:
1. A memorized, short (20 lines or less) Shakespeare monologue, in verse, or Shakespeare sonnet. We may ask you to cold read a little. If you need help finding a piece, please refer to this list from the English Speaking Union. You can also choose to prepare a side from Henry V, Romeo and Juliet, or A Midsummer Night's Dream. Choose ONE role in ONE scene to read. You do not have to be memorized, but familiarize yourself with the play and the words enough to focus on your scene partner. Make some character choices and have fun!
2. A list of your CONFLICTS (standardized tests, school activities, planned vacations) through the middle of March.
Current Shakespeare Squadron members who wish to be cast in the performance workshop must prepare a new piece (not the one we worked on in class this fall or last fall) or one of the scenes that will be made available to you shortly. We also highly recommend that you read and familiarize yourself with the three plays and come to auditions with an idea of a few roles you’d like to be considered for.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Participation in this workshop requires a big commitment of time and energy. You need to make rehearsals and work on the pieces a priority for the duration of the workshop, and not just add it to the pile of sports, school plays and other activities. Parents need to be on board as well, so make sure everyone can commit to refraining from any last minute out of town trips, tutoring sessions, volunteer activities, etc.
Rehearsal and Performance Schedule: Thursdays from 5:30-8:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 1:00-4:00 p.m., January 26 –March 3. Tech Week: March 5 - 8: 5:30-9:30 p.m. Performances: March 9, 10 & 11.
Cost: $275, with some limited opportunities for work-study, financial aid and scholarships.
Click here for Shakespeare Squadron Spring 2012 FAQ
Details: Shakespeare Squadron was launched in the fall 2010 with Education Director Christopher Limber and festival teaching artist Elana Kepner at the helm. This Shakespeare master-class caters to students in grades 9 - 12 interested in more advanced work on text, poetry, acting technique, movement, voice, creating a character and ensemble theater. In the fall, the Squadron was challenged with intensive monologue work, as well as voice, movement and acting projects, culminating in an evening of monologues for family and friends. The spring performance workshop is meant to build on the work began in the fall, with a focus on technique in rehearsal and performance. “ShakeSuite” will consist of an evening of theater containing three 30- minute Shakespeare adaptations, each with a full cast. Each student would be cast two of the three adaptations, in one leading role or role that plays to their strengths and one supporting role or character role that stretches them. Students may be cast in the third piece as a member of the ensemble. Three directors, Elana Kepner, Christopher Limber and Michael Perkins, will guide an adaptation and challenge the students with different theatrical styles.
About the Instructors:
Elana Kepner has been working as theater teaching artist for more than seven years and has taught and directed youth productions for the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Marin Shakespeare Festival, Valley Shakespeare, Sir Francis Drake High School Drama Department and the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival in addition to Shakespeare Festival Saint Louis. Elana has also taught undergraduate Oral Interpretation and Classical Acting for University of Missouri, Kansas City where she earned her MFA in Acting and Directing. In Saint Louis, Elana toured with the Shakespeare Festival Saint Louis 2010 and 2011 Educational Tours . Elana also works as a private acting, audition and public speaking coach. www.elanakepner.com.
Christopher Limber is Education Director for Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, whose Education Touring Ensemble has earned two consecutive Kevin Kline Awards for Outstanding Production for Young People— in 2008 for Me & Richard 3 and 2009 for Quick-Brewed Macbeth — both of which he wrote and produced and both of which are published by Playscripts, Inc. His 30-year career includes hundreds of productions as an actor, director, playwright and composer. Mr. Limber has directed numerous productions for The Shakespeare Festival, The Rep, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the “Judy” award winning production of Bent for HotHouse Theatre, and Twelfh Night for St. Louis Shakespeare, named "Best Shakespeare Production of 2002" by the Riverfront Times. He has taught theatre, Shakespeare, voice and improvisation for the Festival, COCA, and at numerous Universities since 1980.
Michael B. Perkins began working with Shakespeare Squadron as a guest teaching artist in fall 2010, but has since been promoted. In spring 2011, he adapted and directed The Winter’s Tale as part of the Squadron's “ShakeSuite in Three Movements.” Since 2009, Michael has been a teaching artist for SFSTL summer camps and after-school programs at Clayton High, Crossroads College Prep, COCA, City Academy, and Bryan Hill Elementary. And since 2007, Michael has performed and taught with the award-winning Education Tour; he is currently portraying Will Shakespeare in Cruel to be Kind? and Iago in Othello in a Breath. And when he’s not doing any of that, he’s a freelance graphic/web/audio designer: www.michaelbperkins.com.