The Shakespeare for Performance class at the Advanced Studies Program (ASP) stands out each summer because its members serve not simply as students, but also as cast members.
In their roles as such, they must memorize two full length plays in five and half weeks: Macbeth, which premiered July 14 and played until July 16; and The Comedy of Errors, performed during the final week of the program. The students have ten days to memorize all of their lines, as well as understand them.
“The best way to start off is to write down all of your lines to get them in your head,” says Noelle Michaud, with the advice given by the master teacher.
For student Jonny Meehan, who played the part of Macbeth, this meant learning 700 lines of dialogue. He was not originally enthusiastic about the role, but according to fellow student Angeline Jacques, “everyone embraced their parts; no one was sore about the roles they got.” These were decided in the first couple of days of the program, in a “mass audition” where the interns and director could get a sense of how students reacted and composed themselves in various improvisation games. The course’s director, Kevin Gardner, made it clear that nothing the students had done up to that point mattered; for everyone, it was a new beginning.
Gardner, named by New Hampshire Magazine as the state’s Best Theatre Critic in 2008 is acclaimed by student Jake Simard as “brilliant; the best director I’ve ever had, hands down.” According to Michaud, Jacques, and Simard, Gardner’s familiarization with the plays is so prominent that he is able to detect when word order is confused, or when one replaced “the” with “thy.” The students say that he knows Macbeth by heart; it is the blood pumping through his veins.
Along with the constant drilling of lines, the members of Shakespeare also have rehearsal during study hours in addition to class time. This provides insight on how little the students are seen around campus in the evening, and why their relationships with each other may seem stronger than the ones they have with other members of their dorms.
Another difficulty presented by dedication of study hours to memorizing lines can be seen in the struggle to find time to complete their Writing Workshop homework. Students are busy on the stage, so they must try to accomplish other material in the morning, before sports, or after they check in to their dorms in the evening. Simard explains that it is difficult to change gears and transition from performing and memorization to writing essays.
There have been many positives for members of the class, though, including an improved ability to understand Shakespearean verse, truly appreciate it, and direct the emotion back to those watching. Intern Chris Gebauer says that “it’s not just words; it’s everything behind it. [The students] must have full control of the language and convey the meaning to the audience.”
Students arrive with no connection to Shakespeare except perhaps a brief encounter in their English classes, and leave with a deepened relationship to the text after five and half weeks. “Together we’re making something out of nothing. It’s very fulfilling, and it never gets old,” says Kevin Gardner.
However difficult this task may be, none of the students regret their enrollment in the class. For many, it was not their first choice, but that matters little now. “I can’t imagine my St. Paul’s experience without the people that I’ve met,” says Jacques.
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