Inside The Shakespeare Tavern

Bard's Eye View #2 - Caution, Amee Working

2008-07-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

Our Art Manager, Amee Vyas putting together information about our Education Programs, and our next Playbill.

Photo by Jeanette

Bard's Eye View #1 - Comics in the Costume Shop

2008-07-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

Photo by Jeanette.

Are you Ready to Roar on Friday?

2008-07-16T08:18:00.000-07:00

This Friday (July 18th) we have a special promotion for you here at The Shakespeare Tavern. Tickets for A Midsummer Night's Dream are two for the price of one in ALL sections! Also, since it's Friday, all pints at our bar are half price.

If you haven't seen A Midsummer Night's Dream yet, you're missing a fantastic production. If you HAVE seen it already, come back and check out our new cast members Nick Faircloth as Flute, Amee Vyas as Hermia (this is your last chance to see her in this role!), Lynna Schmidt as Titania and Hippolyta, Mary Ruth Ralston as Moth and Philostrate, and Tiffany Porter as Snout.
To take advantage of this fabulous offer just call Becky at the Box Office at 404-874-5299 and hit zero. She'll ask you for a password, which is Acorn and don't forget to let her know that you saw the offer on the Tavern Blog!

July Featured Actor - Amee Vyas

2008-07-11T14:33:00.000-07:00

Amee Vyas has been with The Shakespeare Tavern since the original Apprentice Company in 2002.

Amee graduated from New York University with a degree in English. After living in New York, she chose to move to Atlanta because it was cheaper and she was tired of being broke. The original Apprentice Company were asked to write essays about Shakespeare as part of their application, and as a strong writer, Amee was very encouraged by this. She was called back based on her essay and auditioned with David Weber and Joshua Howland. The three of them were among the first group selected to be Apprentices at the Tavern.
On the last day of her apprenticeship on the way to her scene showcase, Amee got into a car accident and didn’t think she would make it in time for her show, her car limped over to the Tavern and she managed to get on stage just in time, and did “awesome”.

After her apprenticeship was over, she was called in to audition for Romeo and Juliet, and thus began what she calls her “Juliet Odyssey”; she has played or understudied Juliet every year since then either here at the Tavern, or at another theatre.
Amee made plans to leave Atlanta for California in 2004, but instead was brought on as a full time staff member and was cast in six plays, many of them in lead roles.

Most recently, Amee played Viola in Twelfth Night in January, a role she will reprise in the August-September play repertory.

Her favorite roles so far have been playing Viola in Twelfth Night and Adriana in Comedy of Errors. She particularly enjoyed the latter role because she felt she trusted her own strengths and instincts, and that there were some great unexpected parts of the play that she felt she owned.

Amee would like to one day play Margaret in the Henry VI plays, because she loves how wicked she is. She says she “adores her biting consonants”. She also likes the idea of playing in a 4-play arc. Another dream role for her would be as Ariel in The Tempest.

When I asked her what her favorite quote was, she replied that she didn’t have one because Shakespeare has a saying for everything. In fact the word that resonates most with her is just “Shakespeare”.

Amee’s real acting dream is to perform in a West End show in London. She says that she wants to do it even if she has to wait until she’s 85. She prefers stage to film. Film has more realism and she feels as though theatre holds more possibilities.

Amee will be understudying the role of Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream in July, and playing Viola in Twelfth Night in August and September.

Things you didn’t know about Amee?

She was a pool shark when she was five.
Chris Noth thinks she hates him, she bumped into him four separate times when she lived in New York.
She once mistook Ethan Hawke for a homeless guy.
She was separated from Prince Harry by security in a club in England because she made a scene.

Other previously Featured Actors in A Midsummer Night's Dream are:

Shakespeare Intensive for Teens Performances

2008-06-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

During the last few weeks the Tavern has been a hive of daytime activity with 15 teenagers learning all about Shakespeare and being directed by Mary Russell and Troy Willis. Troy describes them as a "group of little geniuses", so I would highly recommend coming to see one of their performances of The Tempest this weekend.
They will be performing on Saturday June 28th and Sunday June 29th at 2pm and then again at 7pm on Monday June 30th. Tickets are very inexpensive, so if you can, come and see what may well be the future of Atlanta theatre.

Tickets are available for purchase here.

Tavern News Update

2008-06-13T14:02:00.000-07:00

As we speak, the lovely and diligent Becky Cormier-Finch is working on getting our 2008-2009 Season available for sale on our website. Since we are doing 16 shows in the next 12 months, this is quite an undertaking. Yes, that’s not a typo, we really are doing that many plays. It’s our 20^th Anniversary Season and we wanted to make it memorable.

As a member of the Box Office Goddess team, let me bestow upon you some advice. If you are looking for tickets to A Christmas Carol, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, A Little Night Music, and any of the Preview performances of any of the other shows, I would highly recommend that you buy them as early as you can because they will sell out and we’d hate for you to miss them.

In other Tavern news, we are about to print the next issue of The First Folio, our playbill for the season and we have a little extra room for advertisements. If you have a business or know of a business that would like to advertise with us, please don’t hesitate to contact me at redd@shakespearetavern.com for more information. We are currently reaching 40,000 to 60,000 patrons a year and we are constantly growing!

We have just added a new member to our Board of Directors, and would like to give a huge Tavern welcome to Paul Burnore. Mr Burnore has been a great supporter of ours for many years and is a welcome addition.

We have also just received a donation from Chick-Fil-A Donations Committee supporting our Education Programs. A big thanks to Ted Tassopoulos for his help on setting that up.

Thanks for reading! See you at the show!

-Redd Horrocks-Maier
Public Relations and Patron Services

June Featured Actor - Matt Nitchie

2008-06-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

It’s not very often that when I ask people about their history with the Shakespeare Tavern they tell me they’ve wanted to work here since they were a kid, but Matt Nitchie is one of those people who constantly amazes me, so I shouldn’t have been surprised.

When he was eleven, Matt started coming to the Shakespeare Tavern with his parents. Even as a child, Matt considered the Tavern the “Pinnacle of Atlanta Theatre”, and he wanted to be an actor and work here.

After getting a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre, he joined the third Apprentice Company, known as the Cicadas because they were the “loud and obnoxious ones”. Matt has been on the stage at the Tavern on and off since then.

Last year, Matt had made a goal that he was going to do a musical. He says that he loves musicals because he enjoys the idea of “carnivalesque expressions of emotions” and he feels that musicals force creativity. Shortly after he had decided he wanted to be in a musical, he was cast as Cliff in our production of Cabaret.

Matt has always really enjoyed playing the crazier people or the monsters. This might explain why he would love to play Caliban in The Tempest. He would also like to play Edgar in King Lear because of his transformative nature.
He would also like to play Hamlet, because Hamlet is self-indulgent… a role he was not interested in until he got a chance to do the To Be or Not To Be speech in class and truly explored the character.

Matt also likes puppetry. He likes the idea of not adhering to an idea of realism. He’d also like to work in film.

Matt’s favorite role in Shakespeare so far was as Malvolio in Twelfth Night earlier this year. When I asked what he liked about it, he explained to me that he was naturally very shy, and that playing Malvolio was living out the ultimate shy person experience. Malvolio goes from being a very shy and proper person, bottling up feelings that he has to being given the opportunity to let everything out (in the famous Yellow Stocking scene). Matt describes the feeling of going on stage (and excuse me while I paraphrase here) as a bowling ball hitting a trampoline. He says before he goes on he gets nervous and even a bit scared and as it gets closer and closer to his cue line he gets very very tense and then as soon as he walks out on stage it’s like a bowling ball on a trampoline and it comes together and he never feels more alive. To hear him describe it is quite amazing, as you can tell he is an incredibly brilliant, articulate and talented person. He says that acting is completely addictive.

Another interesting role for his recently was as Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He really enjoyed working with Mary Russell and getting the opportunity to mess around with her and be as obnoxious and annoying as possible. He enjoyed the opportunity to “throw feasibility to the wind”. Matt feels that he is starting to really gear his performances towards his personal strengths.

Matt’s acting idols include Gary Oldman and Ian Holm. He says he liked the “old crazies”.

In Much Ado About Nothing, Matt will be playing Don Pedro, the Prince. He describes his character as the “nice normal guy” and says that it’s hard to play normal. He is interested in the Royalty aspect of this character and feels that he will be finding the status of the character more and more as the production continues.

After Much Ado About Nothing, Matt will be playing Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in July, then he will be reprising his role of Malvolio in Twelfth Night in August and September.

Something you don’t know about him? Here are two things:
He really really likes Tabasco Sauce, and he gets spooked by his own ghosts.

Other previously Featured Actors in Much Ado About Nothing include:

Nicholas Faircloth
Matthew Felten
Rivka Levin
Jacob York

May Featured Actor - Jacob York

2008-05-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

Jacob York is a new face here at the Shakespeare Tavern. He just graduated from our 2007-2008 Apprentice Company in April and has already been cast in our next two productions. Jacob will be playing a Tragedian in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing.

Hailing from Kentucky, Jacob has spent the last few years traveling around the country working on different projects. He spent a summer with the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, where he claims to have learnt more in one summer than he did in college. He has also done some stunt show work, and spent the summer of 2007 at The Lost Colony in North Carolina.

He auditioned for the Shakespeare Tavern Apprentice Company because he liked the thought behind the Tavern. After auditioning, he was convinced that he had blown it because he lost his keys at our building and had several staff members running around searching for them. He thought that it might be a sign of weakness. However, he did of course get selected regardless of his issues keeping track of personal objects.

During his time with the Apprentice Company, he enjoyed text class immensely. He finds Shakespeare’s texts ethereal and liquid. He is also very fond of education, both learning and teaching.

In the future he would like to be a Professor and to teach college or groups of serious young actors. He says that he is a small town boy that misses his home, and has no intention of heading for Broadway or Hollywood.

Jacob’s favorite past roles are John Barrymore in I Hate Hamlet with Murray State University, Blue Ramada (a self-created character) at the Double JJ Resort Theatre, and Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, because “Everyone has a bad actor inside of them”.

Jacob’s dream role is Hotspur from Henry IV because he is a “loose canon raised in nobility”. From Hotspur also comes Jacob’s favorite line in Shakespeare, which is simply “My name is Harry Percy.”

A non-Shakespeare role that Jacob would love to play would be Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. He confesses though that it is unlikely that he would play it because he doesn’t think he would make a good singer or a pretty girl.

Jacob is inspired by the work of Daniel Day Lewis, Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart. As someone who is never without his headphones though, he notes that a lot of his inspiration comes from music, which is currently Ted Leo, Jens Lekman and Daft Punk.

In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Jacob will be playing a Tragedian. He says that he is excited to be working with the other Tragedians in the cast. He greatly enjoys working with Director Jeff McKerley, because he “makes me feel like a part of it”.

Something you didn’t know about Jacob? He has lived in 6 different states in the last 6 years.

Other previously Featured Actors in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead include:

Nicholas Faircloth
Daniel Parvis

GOTTA SEE R & G by Rivka Levin, Development Director

2008-05-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

I am writing to encourage you ALL to do yourselves the extreme favor of NOT MISSING this month’s production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. This is an incredible, funny, poignant production; and trust me, you’ll thank me later for this encouragement.

But wait! I hear you cry. Um… doesn’t the show open NEXT week? How can you know how good a show is before it’s even opened?

Because, dear reader, I have the wonderful and occasionally annoying honor of sharing an office space with the main rehearsal hall. (Welcome to the wild and woolly world of Non-Profit Theater.) So, whilst trying to write our grants and secure sponsorships, I am occasionally compelled to turn around in my chair to watch a particularly wacky or heart-wrenching moment of a rehearsal.

I have been a silent witness to this production (except for when I laughed out loud – oops!) since the first read-through, and I therefore feel uniquely qualified to tell you that with a whole week of rehearsals left to go, this is already a superb production. Jeff McKerley brings all the off-the-wall humor and incredible tenderness to the director’s chair that Tavern aficionados have come to expect from his own live performances. But more than that, he has accomplished what many directors say is 90% of what makes a good show: the right casting.

Paul Hester and Guildenstern (or is it Rosencrantz?) and Nick Faircloth as Rosencrantz (or, erm… wait…) are beautifully cast as the two hapless friends of Hamlet’s whose innocence of political intrigue lands them in hot water. They are in turns immensely clever (as only Tom Stoppard can be) and endearingly naïve; overwhelmed with concern for their fate and in the next breath carefree as school children… and watching them in rehearsal has been an absolute joy. Likewise, Drew Reeves as the Player and his band of tragedians shine with impeccable timing and physical ability. Drew in particular as the histrionic, never-quite-know-where-you-stand-with-him thespian brings an energy and rage to the role that makes him fascinating to watch.

The bottom line: my recommendation is to order your tickets NOW, before the word of mouth which will surely follow Opening Night sells this production out.

Apprentice's Perspective Vol. 3 - Graduation

2008-05-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Wow, it has been a long time since I've been on here.

Well, that's sort of a misnomer. I've been on here, I just haven't been writing. Once again, a lot has happened since I last wrote. Let's try to cover it all. I've got some time between memorizing lines and waiting to go see Iron Man. Wait, did I say memorizing lines? Hmmm...looks like you might just have to wait for that tidbit.

- January was my Tavern stage debut with Twelfth Night. Turns out the time crunch wasn't a huge deal, as I think we put on a really solid show. Matt Nitchie as Malvolio was incredible in a part that is rarely quite so infused with humanity. Though, to call any particular person out is a disservice to everyone else who was fantastic. Though, of course, I have to mention my partner, Tiffany Porter, who was such a great Fabian. She got a great look at all of my acting, as she was on stage for, you know, every single moment of the play from my perspective.

- It was a challenge to take on so many different characters in such a short amount of time and try to make each one distinct. I think Valentine was a particular success. He is, after all, the Warlock Supreme.

- February brought my first understudy project, as I was involved in Romeo and Juliet at the Tavern. So was, for that matter, every single apprentice that WASN'T John Stephen King. I went on as the Prince and had a heck of a time. It was a great experience to work with some people that I hadn't worked with in any real capacity (Jane Bass and Dikran Tulaine, for instance).

- Sadly, I had to miss two of my comrades performances (Derek Randall and Mark Schroeder) in the opening night of R&J, since I had a previous appointment to go to UPTA. I mean, I love Atlanta so far, but that doesn't mean that I'm not going to get out there and test the waters. I went with KG Morton and had a great time. I saw a ton of friends from Lost Colony and even a friend from my old alma mater. It was good to get an idea of where I am outside of Atlanta. Very refreshing.

- By the time that wrapped up, we got our scenes for the final scene night. My text scene was to be a scene from Cymbeline, with Stephen playing Posthumus and myself playing Iachimo. The big thrill, though, was to do a scene from Henry IV Part 1 with Derek playing Prince Hal and myself playing Hotspur.

- The scene night was fantastic with such a great audience. The buildup was great, too. Mike Niedzwiecki was an even handed choreographer. He was very patient and made it clear that we were the guys who controlled the flow and intent of the fight. Toward the end, the idea of having the "best" fight started to fade away and was replaced with a simple urge to tell the story as succinctly as possible, with, hopefully, no little amount of squirming in seats from audience members.

- It was also a pleasure to work with such a cross section of senior company at the Tavern, from Maurice Ralston, Tony Brown, Troy Willis, Laura, Drew, and Jeff Watkins, they all made themselves available to us in the final weeks. I learned so much in the rush to the end, it was hard to keep it all in mind.

- Between these times, I went to my very first Atlanta Unified! What an experience. I'm so much more used to the SETC/UPTA/MWTA format where, after auditioning, you had a day full of call backs to go through. The idea of Unifieds is interesting, where it's essentially one job interview that works for the entire year. That being said, I'm not lightening up my quest to stay employed. Anyone need a headshot?! Let me know.

- The final scene night was a pleasure. From an audience packed with family members and Tavern people to the execution and culmination of these last eight months, it was a night fraught with joy and pain. Yes, just like the song by Rob Base. Sing it now, God's children. Iachimo was slimy and Hotspur was...frankly, to me, it was everything I had wanted. I found myself wanting to keep talking in my dying moments as Hotspur. After all...when he dies...I'm done playing him. What an experience. After a two day sprint, between dress rehearsals, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern rehearsals, day job, and good ol' emotional toil, I was exhausted. So, you know, I've crashed a bit. I'm sick now, but I'll be over it soon.

- Wait, did I say Rosencrantz and Guildenstern rehearsals? Why, yes I did. I'll be appearing as a Tragedian coming up soon. Please come out and see me! Tell me I was exceptional. Or, you know, a solid part of the ensemble, at least. And what an ensemble it is! I couldn't be more pleased to be with my fellow Tragedians (Mike N., Daniel P., Joe B., Doug G. and Drew as our inimitable "Player".) and it's been a great experience working with them and director Jeff McKerley.

- But, you aren't getting rid of me as easy as that. You'll see me next month, as well, in Much Ado About Nothing as the young lord Claudio. I'm super excited and can't wait to get up there with Maurice and see what kind of trouble I can get into.

***

- For a bit of self promotion, if you want to check up on me, feel free to swing by my website, Jacob DASH York.com or my "professional" blog, which I seem to be updating about as often as I updated this one.

- If anyone is on the fence about whether or not to do the apprenticeship, you really ought to do it. Really.

- Such thanks to everyone, from all those who were mentioned before to Matthew, Holly, Kirstan, Kirk, Redd, Jeanette, Cindy, Debbie, everyone who was kind and appreciated our work, everyone who tried to teach us a bit, every actor, every professor, every volunteer and every single person who saw the shows. If I forget anyone, I'm sorry. Mention it to me, and I'll thank you too. I just met a lot of people in the last eight months.

There are times when it's hard to be an actor. It can be a rough, thankless life ("It's SOOO hard to be an actor," right, Daniel Parvis?), wondering where the next check is coming from or if it's even coming at all. All of you people made it a wonderful environment over the span of the apprenticeship and I cannot possibly thank you all enough.

But I'll try, I guess.

Thank you. So, so, so much.
"We outta here, baby."

Happy (Belated) Birthday Bill!

2008-04-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning we welcomed 298 students and one couple celebrating their Wedding Anniversary (Congratulations again, Mr and Mrs Childress!) to a matinée of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was a happy day for us here at the Tavern. We always particularly enjoy the 23rd of April. You see, yesterday William Shakespeare turned 392. The cast sang Happy Birthday to him before the show, and there was much rejoicing. Keeping Shakespeare alive and immortal is something that I am particularly fond of. I often wonder what he would have thought if someone told him that his work was going to be performed 40 or so weeks out of the year amongst skyscrapers in a city on another continent 350 years or so after he wrote it. I think it would have given him quite a big head!

Happy Birthday Bill, the big 400 is fast approaching!

-Redd

April Featured Actor - Mary Russell

2008-04-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

Mary Russell has a long history with the Shakespeare Tavern. At first, Mary could be seen running around the building as a Volunteer when she was a senior in high school. Then, she auditioned for the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 Apprentice Company. She became a “Grasshopper” in 2003 and since then she has been a regular face on the Tavern stage since then, becoming an Artistic Associate in 2007.
Mary is currently performing as Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a character she enjoys because she feels that Helena goes with her emotions, knows what she wants, and figures out how to get it.

Mary was born and raised in Georgia. She has a BA in Theatre with a Minor in English from UGA.
She has been working in theatre since college, but was inspired to do Shakespeare by Helen Mirren’s 1978 role in As You Like It.

She found the transition from being a Volunteer to being an Actor on stage a challenge because “It was hard to get over the volunteer vibe”. More challenging than that, though, was when she had to take over the role of Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with just four days notice back in 2004.

Mary’s favorite past Shakespeare role was Kate in Taming of the Shrew. She says that she really felt that she connected with the character.
Her favorite non-Shakespeare role was drastically different though. She played Karen in Voices Deaux at Multishades at Theatre Decatur, In this avant garde play, Mary played Karen, a military cadet. This intense role required her to undergo rigorous physical training and to get used to learning contemporary dialogue. She was scared that she wouldn’t be able to do it, but enjoyed the challenge and felt great about the role.

Her dream role would be Rosaline in As You Like It, which hearkens back to her first initial interest in Shakespeare. If she were a musical performer, she would love to play Roxie in Chicago.

She is inspired by the work of Helen Mirren and Johnny Depp.

So what does the future hold for Mary? She would like to stay in Atlanta another five years and continue to work around town. She’s been thinking about going to work in Chicago, but finds the weather off-putting. She would also love to go to Los Angeles and work in TV, especially Sitcoms or Episodic Drama’s. Mary says she likes the structure of the work.

Mary’s favorite Shakespeare quote comes from The Tempest:

"We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep."

Something you didn’t know about Mary? She had to wear braces for seven years.

-Redd

March Featured Actor - Daniel Parvis

2008-03-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

A former member of the “Worker Bee” Apprentice Company of 05-06, Daniel Parvis will be a fixture on the Tavern stage for our next three productions, Of Mice and Men, A Midsummer Nights Dream, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.

During his childhood, Daniel moved back and forth between Texas and Utah. He moved to Georgia when he was ten, then went back to Texas for his first two years of college at Southern Methodist University, before moving back to Georgia to receive a BA in Theatre at UGA in 2004. Daniel told me that joining the Apprentice Company really made theatre a focus in his life.

Since completing his Apprenticeship Daniel has been on stage at the Shakespeare Tavern many times with roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Troilus and Cressida, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Taming of the Shrew and King John.

His favorite role so far in Shakespeare was the 2007 production of The Taming of the Shrew where he played Biondello. In Non-Shakespeare, he enjoyed playing Lucky in Waiting for Godot at the University of Georgia.

His Dream roles are Iago in Othello, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet and Tom in The Glass Menagerie.

When I asked Daniel what his favorite line in Shakespeare is, he responded with a line from Love’s Labour’s Lost:

“Love’s feeling is more soft and sensible than the tender horns of cockled snails.”

Daniel says that he is happy in Atlanta, but would like to work more in film.

When discussing his role in Of Mice and Men, Daniel says that Slim is very strong, centered and confident. He is not driven by ego and is very kind. He has authority. He feels that Slim is very much a grown up role.

Daniel finds inspiration in the work of Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Matt Damon and Ewan McGregor.

Something that you didn’t know about Daniel? He cheats at Monopoly every time he plays. Oddly enough although he may be stealing from the bank the entire time, he never wins.

-Redd

February Featured Actor - Nicholas Faircloth

2008-02-08T13:07:00.000-08:00

Since 2003, Nicholas Faircloth has been an active member of the Shakespeare Tavern family. He is currently playing Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, a new role for him in one of our most popular plays.

Nick has lived in Georgia for most of his life. After high school he looked into going to Northwestern and NYU, but after traveling to Europe, he decided to apply and was eagerly accepted to the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA) in England. LIPA was a brand new school with students from all around the world. Anthony Hopkins and Paul McCartney were regular guest teachers. Nicholas received a BA with Honors in Performing Arts. He came back to the US and began performing in the area, and started to randomly meet other members of the Tavern family. In 2003, he auditioned for the second Apprentice Company. At callbacks, he ran into Kirk Harris Seaman, who he had gone to High School with and hadn’t seen for many years. Both Kirk and Nick became members of the 2003-2004 Apprentice Company, and two years later Nick became a member of staff here.

Nick says that his favorite role is usually whatever role he is immersed in at the time. He particularly enjoyed playing Howie in Our Town in 2004.

Nick likes to let things happen in his life. He doesn’t have any set plans to go into film or move to other cities, he likes to wait and see what opportunities cross his path.

His dream role in Shakespeare would be to play Hamlet. He has played Laertes before and says that he would love to see the play from the other side.

On playing Mercutio, Nick loves that he is a he is playing a performer. He finds that Mercutio is a reactor, and talks at and not to people. Nick believes that Romeo is “Love,” Benvolio is “the Soul”, and Mercutio is “the Reactor”. He also admits to finding the bawdiness fun.

Nick’s idols are Al Pacino “I could watch him read the phone book”, Robert de Niro in seventies, Gene Hackman, Daniel Day Lewis, and Sean Penn. He likes people who know how to behave.

Something you may not know about Nick? As a kid one of his first roles was as a Mexican bandito. He also confesses that he cries….. a lot.

Nicholas will be on the Tavern stage again in Of Mice and Men in March, and in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead as Rosencrantz in May.

-Redd

January Featured Actor - Rivka Levin

2008-01-09T10:36:00.000-08:00

Rivka Levin is a woman of many talents. An accomplished actress and musician, she has been a friend to the tavern for over a decade, and began her work on stage here in 2005. She is currently performing in Twelfth Night as Maria.

With a BFA in Musical Theatre from Syracuse and an MFA in Media and Performing Arts from The Savannah College of Art and Design, Rivka is a very experienced and highly trained performer. She is also an accomplished harpist and singer.

Rivka is an Atlanta Native. From a very young age she knew that working in performing arts was her chosen career. She first heard about The Shakespeare Tavern in 1996 when she was performing in a band with Matthew Trautwein, who was in a show at that time. She came to The Tavern as a patron and was excited because she feels that we “get Shakespeare right”. She continued to be an avid patron for years until she was a harpist in The Tempest and then was cast in A Christmas Carol in 2005. Eight months later, she was hired on as Development Director and because a full time member of the staff.

Since then, Rivka has also appeared in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Love’s Labor’s Lost.

Her role in Love’s Labor’s Lost has been her favorite Shakespeare role so far. She says that she fell in love with her character Jaquenetta and had the opportunity to really invent her. She also enjoyed the challenge of playing a character that wasn’t overly intellectual.

In Non-Shakespeare, she greatly enjoyed playing Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest. It was her first experience with period theatre and her character was very witty and idealistic. In comparison, her other favorite role was that of Philimonte in Learned Ladies, a strong matriarchal character. Both shows were important to her as she felt that the casting was excellent.

In the future, Rivka’s dream roles are Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing “I get her. She’s in love with her own wit”, Desiree in A Little Night Music, and Genevieve in The Baker’s Wife.

As far as acting for the camera? Rivka did eight films at The Savannah College of Art and Design and would love to do other Independent Films.

Rivka’s favorite line in Shakespeare is from Much Ado About Nothing, a line of Beatrice’s that goes “But then there was a star danced, and under that was I born”.

When asked about her character in Twelfth Night, Rivka says:

"Maria (aka Mary and Marian) is a waiting gentlewoman to
the countess. She is clever, and loves a good practical joke. I've
discovered that she also has a temper, and is not afraid to speak her
mind. She obeys her mistress (Olivia), but also has some distinct
opinions on the choices Olivia makes. She is in love with Sir Toby Belch
(though she tries hard not to show it), and is amused by his
drunkenness, even at the same time as she counsels him that "drinking
will undo you". For all that she dislikes Malvolio and hatches the plot
to trick him into believing that Olivia loves him, she also has a soft
heart and comes to feel remorse for how far the game ends up going."

She also says that what she likes best about Maria is her sense of humor and her quick wit. She likes that the other characters clearly respect Maria’s cleverness.

Something you didn’t know about Rivka? She has a strong tomboy side that wants to climb trees and get muddy.

Something that you might know is that she is also one third of the popular Celtic Folk band Three Quarter Ale.

-Redd

Apprentice's Perspective, Volume I, Issue 2

2007-12-16T00:32:00.000-08:00

Hey blog friends. It's Jacob. 'member me?

Did I say weekly? Maybe not. In fact, I even had a whole post written up, but it was apparently eaten by the draft system on blogger. Oh well...here is some info on what I've been up to.

- I found out who I'm going to be in Twelfth Night! Please come out and see me in January as *deep breath* Valentine / Sea Captain / Servant / First Officer / Priest. My real star making turn as the Sea Captain comes in the second scene, so I suppose you could leave after that, but if you did, you'd miss a pretty darn good show. Everyone has been working ridiculously hard on it, as the time crunch is, apparently, even more severe than in a "normal" Tavern production. No worries, though. It forces one to step up their game when they know they're under the gun. Or at least it forces me too. I'll speak from my own experience.

In conclusion, come see it. It's a lot of fun!

- I would also be remiss if I didn't point out that my partner, Tiffany, is ripping it up as Fabian in Twelfth Night. She's really good, y'all.

- Since we last spoke, I've gotten to audition for two other shows at the Tavern. The first, Of Mice and Men, was interesting in that I was able to audition with a fellow apprentice. I was also, sad to say, a little more nervous than I would be normally, just because it was my first "real" Tavern audition. And, granted, you won't see me in Of Mice and Men, but the experience was invaluable. Plus, you will see an apprentice make an appearance, as Mark Schroder will be playing "Interstitial Banjo Guy"! Congrats, Mark!

The second just concluded and, let me tell you, I'm pretty tired from it. The first set of auditions for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead were this past week, and I felt pretty good about them. Jeff McKerley is such a wonderful, sweet man in the audition room. He really put me at ease immediately so I was able to calm down and focus on the task at hand. I was even able to remember all of my monologue - No small feat, as I has just memorized it the day prior. During the cold read portion of the evening, I really took in my surroundings. Everyone being on even ground was exciting. I felt as if I had just as much of a chance as anyone.

Turned out, I did, because I got a callback that I went in for today. It was odd to be reading for R&G with guys that have played Hamlet, Petruchio and The Bastard from King John at the Tavern, but I definitely took ownership of it. It was my time, for good or ill, so I made the most of it. We'll find out what happens with that later on, but there's plenty of time for that. For now, I'm still pretty darn tired. That play is so textually thick that it takes energy to put those thoughts out there.

- We're working on Alexander technique. I know so little about it, I am loath to say anything, so let's just say that it's a new frontier to explore.

- We also started Madrigal class, which has to be the hardest class for me. I came here with a solid working knowledge of what it took to build a scene, create a character, drive a fight, drive a nail and so on. However, music is something I fall behind in. I've been in several musicals before, but I have problems singing in front of an audience. Furthermore, I have no clue about music theory, how to read music, or...anything, really. Thank God our teacher (Matthew Trautwein, who you'll ALSO see in Twelfth Night, as Feste...) is taking it slowly. As is, it's like someone speaking Spanish to me. I know enough to be able to pick out a word or two, but I just feel lost. I'm working hard to try and catch up, though. I know that class will be very good for me.

- After taking a little time away from my monologue in text class, I was able to dive right back into it. I'm having a great time inhabiting Hotspur for the time being. It's a very focused mindset to have.

- Speaking of text class, what promises to be my favorite class is coming up as the year draws to a close. Pizza and monologues. I can't wait. I also can't wait for it to be over, because, once it draws to a close, I'll be heading to my old Kentucky home for Christmas.

That seems as good a place as any to stop. I'll have another entry up...eventually. I'll try and make it sooner rather than later.

Have a great day, blog friends!

December Featured Actor - Matthew Felten

2007-12-06T09:27:00.000-08:00

Matt Felten joined the Shakespeare Tavern with the 2003 Apprentice Company, or the “Grasshoppers” as they were affectionately referred to in house. Matt has been a staple actor here at The Shakespeare Tavern, starring in plays such as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Troilus and Cressida and many other productions. During December, Matt will be playing Tiny Tim, The Ghost of Christmas Past and Peter Cratchit in A Christmas Carol.

Matt grew up in Winston Salem, North Carolina. His history with Shakespeare goes back to when he had just graduated high school. He spent a summer with the Carolinian Shakespeare Company in New Bern, NC, performing in Romeo and Juliet. He also trained with Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, Massachusetts during his Junior year of college. Matt has a BA in Theatre Arts from Furman University.

Matt’s first onstage experience at the Shakespeare Tavern was during a 2003 production of Macbeth. He loved the immersion in professional theatre as well as being on stage with part of the Senior Company. Matt’s favorite line in Shakespeare also comes from that play. He loves the line “Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill”.

Matt also busies himself around the Shakespeare Tavern as the Assistant to the Lighting Designer, an Artistic Association, and as a member of our Education Team. Over the summer you might have found Matt taking Improv classes or teaching Clown Class to our Summer Intensive for Teens.

Matt told me that his favorite roles have been Puck and Hamlet. He found Hamlet to be his most challenging role yet, not because of the staggering amount of lines, but because he finds Hamlet to be so intellectually brilliant.

In Non-Shakespeare, Matt loved playing Picasso in Picasso at the Lapin Agile.

His dream role to play is Richard III. He would also love to play the Devil, but in a more suited businessman character than horns and a pitchfork. He would also love to work on anything by David Mamet or the Cohen Brothers. He’d also love to work in Chicago, as the Improv Theatre scene there is thriving.

Matt finds inspiration in the work of Gary Oldman, Paul Newman, Dustin Hoffman, Buster Keaton and Cate Blanchett.

An interesting fact about Matt? When he was a child he used to enjoy wrapping himself from head to toe in toilet paper and sitting in the drawer of the oven. He doesn’t know why, but he told me the pictures of him look like he is having fun.

After A Christmas Carol, you will be able to see Matt in Twelfth Night, Of Mice and Men, and A Midsummer Nights Dream.

-Redd

November Featured Actor - Bryan Lee

2007-11-01T10:25:00.001-07:00

Bryan Lee joined the Shakespeare Tavern with the 2006-2007 Apprentice Company in August, 2006. Since then, Bryan has graced the Tavern’s stage in Romeo and Juliet, Troilus and Cressida, and Cabaret. Now Bryan is playing Arthur in King John, a young prince who is caught in a tug-of-war for the throne of England.

Bryan grew up in Bleckley County in Middle Georgia. He majored in Theatre with an emphasis in Music at Northwestern State University in Louisiana. He is an accomplished singer and often worked with NSU’s music department

When Bryan came to the Tavern as an Apprentice, he found his favorite thing was being completely immersed in theatre. To him, it felt like an extension of his college training.

You may also have seen Bryan in The Lost Colony at Roanoke Island, The Andrew’s Brothers at ART Station, and several other productions around the South East.

Bryan told me that he always finds the role he is currently working on to be his favorite. He says that he would love to play Puck in A Midsummer Nights Dream, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, and Iago in Othello. Outside of Shakespeare, his dream roles include Chris in Miss Saigon and Sweeney Todd.

When seeking inspiration and looking up to actors, Bryan looks to the work of Alan Cumming and Sir Ian McKellen. He also likes the work of Julianne Moore.

When I asked Bryan to tell me something different and unusual about himself, he told me that he really likes to fish. He likes the ritual of getting ready and going to buy junk food and beer beforehand, and then how peaceful it is on the water.

As far as Bryan’s acting career goes, he says that he feels happy and fulfilled in Atlanta. He wants to be part of making the Atlanta Theatre Community great and he is having fun and being challenged here,

In King John, Bryan is playing Arthur, the nephew of Richard the Lionheart and heir to the throne. When Richard changes his mind on his deathbed, the throne passes to Richard’s younger brother John. Arthur, who is very young, gets caught in the middle between opposing factions. Bryan says that in his personal interpretation of the role, Arthur is very young and does not want to be King. His favorite scene is what he calls the “Eyeball Scene” with Hubert, played by Jeff Watkins.

-Redd

Apprentice's Perspective

2007-10-25T08:48:00.001-07:00

Hey blog readers. I'm Jacob York, one of the eight apprentices who will be working at the Tavern until at least late April. First off, the opinions expressed here are not NECESSARILY the opinions of the Shakespeare Tavern, etc and so on. Just me. When I found out I was coming here, one of my first questions was, "Will I be able to contribute to the blog?" I think blogs are a great way to deliver a personal touch and let people know a little more of the inner workings of the theatre.

The hope for my contributions is that it will give you an insight into what it's like to work at the Tavern in an apprentice capacity. We might not be as visible as folks like Drew Reeves or Laura Cole, our wonderful teachers, but we're a vital part of the future of the Tavern, as Laura mentions in the podcast mentioned on the front page. In MacB, for instance, there are six (I think...I'm doing this by memory...) former apprentices on stage, not to mention the current apprentices running light board and serving you drinks at the front bar.

I'll be trying to do one of these a week, but time can get a little pressed here, so we'll see how well I can keep up with that. I'll have a more cohesive entry next time, but for now, I'll just bullet point a couple of things I feel I have to mention.

- About me: I'm from a small town in Western Kentucky (Benton) and went to school at Murray State University. I've worked all over including Madison, New Jersey, Rothbury, Michigan, and Manteo, North Carolina. My dream role is Hotspur and am ridiculously excited to find out who I am playing in Twelfth Night. I'm sure more interesting tidbits about me will come forth as I work on this blog, but that's an alright basis, right now.

- Since coming from small town Kentucky, I'm pretty amazed at the amount of theatre here. For instance, I went with another apprentice to see Richard III at Georgia Shakespeare last week. I really enjoyed the design and thought the second act was REALLY tight. I particularly enjoyed Joe Knezevich as Richard and the multi-faced Brik Berkes, who some of you might remember as Prince Hal / Henry V from the Tavern productions of the Henry plays. I'd love to see more theatre in this vibrant area, but alas, I am a poor actor. I gots to pick and choose.

- The highlight of my week so far has got to be the fact that I'm about two hours away from another text class with Laura Cole. Laura has been an inspiring teacher so far, and I can't wait to work my monologue in front of her again.

- I've heard great stuff about King John, opening next week. I'm probably in the minority, in that I've actually seen it before, but I can't wait to see it again from an Original Practice perspective.

- MacB has been great every time I've seen it, also. Which is a pretty good track record, because I've seen it four times now, with my fifth and sixth coming in a week's time.

Those were all of the points I felt like I needed to cover for my first time. So, I'll see you next week, blogfriend!

Congratulations!

2007-10-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

Our Education Director, Laura Cole, has been named Lexus Leader of the Arts for November 2007! Our Artistic Director, Jeff Watkins, was a Lexus Leader September 2001. Congratulations, Laura!

The curse of The Taming of the Shrew???

2007-08-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

Rarely do we find ourselves in the position of having to cancel a performance. Most of the time it is weather-related. On a handful of occasions the number of people in a cast outnumbered the people in the audience, and so we move those patrons to another night and cancelled the show. In the 15 years I've worked here, I think we've cancelled less than 15 performances.

This past Friday we had to make the difficult decision to cancel the performance of The Taming of the Shrew when one of the leads fell very ill with bronchitis (he couldn't say 10 words without coughing up a storm). While we made every effort to try and fill his role for that performance, it just wasn't going to work out in time. So we all did what needed to be done: Box office contacted everyone who had tickets for that show (thanks for everyone's understanding), Stage Management called the cast and crew, our Volunteer coordinator called the volunteers who were scheduled to work, the caterer told the kitchen crew to stop food preparation. Some of us stayed until 8pm to catch any walk ins or people who didn't get the message that the show was cancelled. It definitely felt weird not having a show.

For tonight's performance, here's what you'll find:

The actor who normally plays Hortensio (J.C. Long) will be playing Petruchio (having never played Petruchio before)
The actor who normally plays Gremio (Drew Reeves) will be playing Hortensio (having played the role in previous productions)
We are bringing in an actor (Doug Kaye) who is in other shows during the Threepeat to play Gremio (he has played this part in another Threepeat Shrew).

A few years ago, in another production of Shrew, the actor playing Grumio (different from Gremio), Marc McPherson, tripped and injured himself during an entrance. While he was being taken to the hospital, our Artistic Director Jeff Watkins was outfitting himself in a costume, the stage manager, Cindy Kearns, was photocopying Grumio's lines on to parchment paper for Jeff to read from, and the show went on.

As I type this, the cast is rehearsing in the theater, the costumer has arrived to recostume the "understudies" and I am still selling a lot of tickets! The energy is tense, tinged with excitement. This is what we do really well here at the Tavern (among other things): our actors have so many parts under their belts, they understand how to read the stage directions Shakespeare has hidden in his text so they can get a feel for blocking and intent even before going into a rehearsal. I am so not worried about the show tonight because of the incredible talent we have around here. It will be a wild and fun ride! The show must go on! If you're coming to the show tonight, have a great time; the actors will need your energy, your compassion and your sense of humor.

Regardless of the acting prowess we've got in the company, it makes me wonder: is there a curse on The Taming of the Shrew??

Angels and ministers of grace protect and defend us*...

-Jeanette, Marketing and Box Office

PS. FEEL BETTER, PAUL!!!!!!!!

*this is the blessing we like to say whenever anyone utters the word "Macb-th". Can't hurt to invoke it today!

Busy Bees

2007-06-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

There is so much going on here at the Shakespeare Tavern this week and next week!

Cabaret is closing on July 1st and we have very limited ticket availability. The show has been a wonderful success and the cast and crew have worked very hard. I thank especially all of the patrons that have chosen to come and see the show multiple times! It's been lovely getting to know all of you and I hope you can squeeze in one more visit for closing week!

Our staff and especially the wonderful Becky (Day Box Office) have worked very hard this week to get the 2007-2008 Season online for sale. Tickets are now available and our Calendar is finalized. Look out for some amazing shows, including a Shakespeare play that we have never performed before!

Lastly we are gearing up for the opening of The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) starring Tony Brown, Paul Hester and Andy Houchins. We'll be opening on July 6th and running through the first week in August. This play is an absolute riot!

-Redd
(Night Box Office)

The Buzz

2007-06-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

Our greatest marketing device here at the Tavern is word of mouth. And I'm proud to say that we have a very vocal audience. For the current production of Cabaret, we've had patrons post reviews and comments in all corners of the web from http://www.atlantaplanit.com to www.myspace.com/dawnyawn. I've even had freelance writers submit reviews (warning, contains spoilers)! Thanks for creating such a buzz about this incredible production!

Some of you may not know this, but the AJC has cut back on their Arts Coverage. Years ago, a review (no matter good or bad) would bring in bigger crowds. It got the word out to all of Atlanta about what we were doing. There is a great debate on how these cutbacks will affect us, however this season we only received two reviews (for Troilus and Cressida and Cabaret) out of nine productions and yet, for the majority of the season, our houses have been full.

I attribute this to word of mouth marketing.

I want to thank all of you for talking about the Tavern. Whether it's to your friends, your family or to your pet goat (I hear they are great listeners), your opinion matters. And I look forward to reading all of your thoughts online. I encourage us all to start a dialog about theatre all over the web. Here are some sites for you to post your thoughts:

Theatre Review
Kudzu
Judy's Book
MySpace (you must have your own myspace account)
Live Journal (you must have your own LJ account)
City Search
Yahoo Travel
Yelp

Let me know if there are any other places you know of that posts user reviews. Jeanette@shakespearetavern.com

So get vocal! And thank you!

I am grateful for our audiences.

-Jeanette
Marketing

Happy (Belated) Birthday Bill!

2007-04-30T09:06:00.000-07:00

Well, last week on Monday, April 23rd William Shakespeare had another birthday. If the Bard were still around today he would be 443 years old!
We at the Tavern celebrated with Club Member Cupcakes, balloons, and party hats on Sunday the 22nd for our performance of The Taming of the Shrew. Thanks go to everyone who came and celebrated with us!
Did you know his birthday was also his death day? William Shakespeare died on April 23rd, 1616. We didn't celebrate that though. It's hard to find party balloons for that kind of event!
Tonight (Monday April 30th) is our Apprentice Company's final farewell with a night of Shakespeare Scenes! We are very proud and very excited for them! The show is at 7:30pm and you know it will be fantastic!

-Redd

Coaching with the Ed Program

2007-04-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

Imagine that! I get back from a wonderful morning coaching high school students for their Shakespeare Festival (with several other Tavern folk) and discover that a forum for expressing my elation and excitement about the morning has magically opened up in the form of this blog! Well, that's really it - elation and excitement.

This was a festival that has voluntary participation from Clayton County High Schools. They work on scenes from Shakespeare's plays and then show up with the lines memorized, and having worked on the piece quite a bit. They do the pieces for us and we help them tweak them. Then they perform their pieces for judges. Two of us stayed for the performance and we could actually see the difference we had made. It was very gratifying, not to mention hugely entertaining. I saw the most inventive Banquo's ghost ever, for instance. And who would have thought that "Shakespearean Idol" in the form of characters from Shakespeare auditioning to play other characters from his plays (Lady M reading for Tybalt!) could be so much fun?

Watching kids get fired up about my favorite writer/philosopher/psychologist/humorist ( you could keep adding applicable titles indefinitely) is a feeling like no other. I wish everyone who loves Shakespeare and what we do at the Tavern could experience it! Thank you, Laura and Kirk!