Greetings from Messina High School! We have been BUSY! With zoom as our best friend now, we have rehearsed online — and we have started to record! Brace yourselves, this production will be a hybrid of an analogue 3D//digital zoom//audio-de-luxe entertainment! If you don’t believe us, why not check out our trailer and some witty banter betwixt Beatrice and Benedick. More teasers to follow.
Romeo & Juliet — Farewell & Thank You!
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents’ strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark’d love,
And the continuance of their parents’ rage,
Which, but their children’s end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
Photos: Tom Hafner
Photos: Dora Lutz
A glooming peace this morning with it brings.
The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head.
Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things.
Some shall be pardoned, and some punishèd.
For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.
And farewell friends, thus R&J ends…
Thank you, everyone, for making this happen — and a big THANK YOU to our great audience!
Romeo & Juliet — Recap while the house was dark
While we had a short break, some of the actors and the producer got together and thought about the current production.
Maybe we should explain first why we chose Romeo & Juliet. Romeo & Juliet is a gorgeous play. It has several elements in it that the audience can relate to: teenagers falling in and out of love, generational conflicts, jealousy, friendship, quarrels… Everyone knows the story, and we wanted to tell it in our very own way. How do you feel about it? Is Shakespeare still relevant today to you?
Ken Lawler (Producer and Set Design): Yes, of course Shakespeare is still relevant today! His characters are relatable, the complexity of the human nature hasn’t changed much in the last 400 years or so and Shakespeare’s themes and motifs are timeless and as such still very much relevant today.
Sara Brandt (Romeo): Absolutely! Shakespeare’s drama and comedy are timeless, and Romeo and Juliet is one of the most enduring plays for a reason.
So Sara, you have played several female lead roles (Rosalind and Lady Olivia), how is it to play a man? (asks the director with a grin on her face)
Sara: Not too different, really. The role of Romeo is pretty action-packed. Dancing, kissing, climbing balconies, multiple choreographed sword fights and death by poison. But even harder than the action is the truly profound sadness that Romeo experiences. When Romeo promises to stay with Juliet forever, I often find myself crying for real.
Maria, how about you? What challenges did the role of Juliet bring to you?
Maria Binica (Juliet): Juliet goes through an emotional roller coaster throughout the play. In only one scene, she can change from being hopelessly in love, to cursing the heavens. She matures very fast and I think this is one of my biggest challenges, to present these emotional changes and her development, from a child to a woman.
What about the others – John, Jennifer, Claire and David, what brings you to theatre?
John Yates (Capulet): I have been actor, director and writer. Everything I`ve done in the way of acting, has been with Entity. They are 20 years old, and I was there virtually at the start.
Jennifer Mikulla (Lady Capulet): I´ve always loved theatre, to act in one of Shakespeare´s play is the dream of every actor and thanks to Conny, I have fulfilled my dream 5 times over.
During my time with Entity, I have played many roles, most recently I was the chair of the Entity FEATS committee. FEATS being the four-day international theatre festival which Entity hosted for the first time in Ottobrunn this year.
David Hall (Montague): For me, working together with others is the main attraction – the team effort.
Claire Middleton (Lady Montague): Being now retired, I decided I wanted to do something with people and to have fun. I always had a problem with public speaking and I decided it was time to get over it. I am not over it but it doesn’t seem to be so important anymore, because I have found my talent for costume making!
We love our Theatron, but it bring about particular challenges, doesn’t it?
Ken: Well, outdoor theatre is how Shakespeare did it, so we try to live up to this. Since we set up and strike the set for every rehearsal and performance, it must be built in a way that this can happen quickly enough and yet it must convey the idea of the real place, in our case, Verona.
Sara: Since we don’t use microphones, it’s a constant challenge just to be heard. We have to be louder than the beer garden, the children playing nearby, dogs barking, airplanes flying overhead…
John: Yes, getting the correct volume is always a problem. I love the “sweet spot” though, where you get the echo of your own voice. It disturbs tremendously, but is fascinating none the less.
Maria: Outdoor theatre — you never know what to expect.
David: Especially with the weather, it is always an unscripted participant. We spend a lot of time looking at the sky with furrowed brows.
Claire: My main challenge is getting my voice loud enough as well as coordinating with the other actors. Perhaps the biggest challenge for me is keeping the time when beating the drum for the dance in scene 7!
All in all though, the Theatron in Westpark is ideal. The acoustics are good, it is situated in a peaceful, but not too secluded spot and there is a beer-garden close-by that helps us to refresh after rehearsals.
Another question. How does one learn such a big amount of lines – and remember them? Any tips for other actors?
Maria: I needed first and foremost to understand the true meaning of my words and the emotions behind them.
Sara: My approach is to make a recording of the other character’s dialogue, with pauses for my lines. Then, I play the recording and ‘talk back.’ I hope my upstairs neighbours don’t think I’m crazy, shouting and crying at a recording of myself!
John: I have less this year than last, but I think a greater range of emotions, which is no easier than having to learn the text.
David: Yes, repetition carves it into your memory, until the next production, of course.
Jennifer: In short: practise, practise, practise.
And now, let’s hear it from our cast — why should the audience come and see this production?
John: `Cause it is very good. Everyone knows the story, but how it comes to life is always different.
Maria: The outdoor scenery, our beautiful costumes and the set pieces transform the Theatron into 16th century Verona, where people speak in verse, they fall in love and out of love, dance at parties and then fight with swords.
Sara: Absolutely, come for the fight scenes! We have an amazing cast this year, and we have SIX sword fights with NINE different actors.
Jennifer: Audiences can expect to see a colourful production and a lot of insult slinging, kissing and murder. What more can you ask for?
All this is true, and after all: for never was a story of more woe, than this, of Juliet and her Romeo.
William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet
Four more shows!
18-21 July
7pm at Theatron, Westpark
Weather update: 0176 52441735
Romeo & Juliet — Performance Week 1
So it finally happened, performance week 1. We are very proud to be listed as a Kulturtipp by the Süddeutsche Zeitung and Münchner Wochenanzeiger, as well as one of the ten things to do in Germany this July by The Local. So what are your excuses not see us?
What a week! Outdoor theatre holds a lot of surprises, from dogs and small children running onto the stage, to (un)expected rain showers — and sometimes to having an opening night in a hut.
Since the weather gods were not in our favour for our premiere, but we still didn’t want to disappoint our audience, we spontaneously turned opening night into a command performance for 26 audience members, when we moved it into our backstage/storage hut. We set up the Capulet and Montague towers, the tomb, altar and even managed to bring Juliet’s bedroom alive — and all this without ever rehearsing an indoor version. That’s great team work! Below you will find a few impressions from that night.
Photos: Dora Lutz
If you have missed it, here is a review from audience member, Michael:
mit noch feuchten füßen, und augen, schreibe ich diese zeilen. auch wenn am ende noch der klang der gläser stand, heute bevorzuge ich das echo des gesehenen und gehörten. das besondere fand seinen anfang schon im außen: regen. auch wenn ich meine finger 6 tage lang kreuzte, krämpfe mit eingeschlossen, der himmel tut, was er will und so wählte er den ort für dieses schauspiel. und so fanden wir uns im inneren eines art zeltes, gerade so, als säße man selbst in dem turm von julia, so als ringe man selbst mit all den gefühlen die sich in den wunderbar besetzten rollen nach außen stülpten. es war nah. und gibt es einen besseren ort für all das ringen um die liebe, als die enge, die einem herzen gleicht? wo capulets und montagues ins herz hinein- und hinausströmen, wunden hinterlassen und es beschwingen, manchmal im lachen, manchmal im weinen und der glaube hilflos dazwischen steht? und im zentrum weilt ein bett und eine gruft…beides todesnahe orte…und zugleich frieden-bringende.
so sind diese worte noch trunken von dem erlebten und die geschichte die schon hundertmale erzählt und durchlebt wurde, erlebte ich heute wie das premierenspiel, so frisch, als wäre shakespeares feder noch feucht. jede rolle fand ihren passenden lebenshauch, wie wunderbar sie nachhallen: romeo und julia, vorallem aber meructio, friar laurence, county paris und julias amme. wähle ich morgen die montagues? auf welche seite werde ich mich schlagen? auf die seite der liebenden! habt dank….und alles endet mit einem tanz…
And although the whole week was a mixture of sun and (sadly, quite a lot of) rain, we managed to perform in the open — our actual venue.
Photos: Dora Lutz
The weather gods seem to be more in our favour next week, so if you haven’t seen R&J yet, you still have a chance!
Tonight, 14 July and 18-21 July, 7pm, Theatron, Westpark
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