Festival@First 7
On Thursday night, I had the privilege of watching a run-thru of Festival@First 7: Shaken-Up Shakespeare.
I say privilege, because as the Artistic Director of Theatre@First, I have the privilege of watching shows that I'm not directly involved with while they are still in rehearsal, getting to see the nuts and bolts before they're all hidden away, getting to witness the behind-the-scenes joy and play and struggle that go into a great show.
But it was also privilege because this is a really amazing show. The Festival staff have pulled together an extremely eclectic mix of pieces--a musical number, a puppet show, and a silent movie, as well as several pieces that hew more closely to the Bard's text, but exploded and sped up and re-imagined. Like all one-acts, if you don't like what you're watching, wait ten minutes and it'll be something different...only this time, it'll be really, completely different.
And yet, for all the different directions (and different directors) involved, there's also a coherence to this show that is rare. Taking these familiar stories and resonant words, putting them into the creative blender and splattering that on stage has resulted in an expressionist deconstruction of Shakespeare's work. Each piece is different, and yet each invites the audience to consider a different facet of the jewel that is his body of work.
As a lover of Shakespeare, I find it fascinating and thought-provoking, as well as laugh-out-loud funny, but I think someone who hated Shakespeare--he's boring, he's stupid, he's boring--might enjoy this as much, or maybe more. This is not what anyone expects when they hear "Shakespeare".
In the two weeks till opening night (Friday, July 16th--runs for two weekends) there's a bunch of work yet to be accomplished. This was a rehearsal, not a preview. But I walked away deeply impressed--when it all comes together, I think it's going to be a truly great show.
I say privilege, because as the Artistic Director of Theatre@First, I have the privilege of watching shows that I'm not directly involved with while they are still in rehearsal, getting to see the nuts and bolts before they're all hidden away, getting to witness the behind-the-scenes joy and play and struggle that go into a great show.
But it was also privilege because this is a really amazing show. The Festival staff have pulled together an extremely eclectic mix of pieces--a musical number, a puppet show, and a silent movie, as well as several pieces that hew more closely to the Bard's text, but exploded and sped up and re-imagined. Like all one-acts, if you don't like what you're watching, wait ten minutes and it'll be something different...only this time, it'll be really, completely different.
And yet, for all the different directions (and different directors) involved, there's also a coherence to this show that is rare. Taking these familiar stories and resonant words, putting them into the creative blender and splattering that on stage has resulted in an expressionist deconstruction of Shakespeare's work. Each piece is different, and yet each invites the audience to consider a different facet of the jewel that is his body of work.
As a lover of Shakespeare, I find it fascinating and thought-provoking, as well as laugh-out-loud funny, but I think someone who hated Shakespeare--he's boring, he's stupid, he's boring--might enjoy this as much, or maybe more. This is not what anyone expects when they hear "Shakespeare".
In the two weeks till opening night (Friday, July 16th--runs for two weekends) there's a bunch of work yet to be accomplished. This was a rehearsal, not a preview. But I walked away deeply impressed--when it all comes together, I think it's going to be a truly great show.