Friday, June 25, 2010

Interview with Andy Nagraj



I was able to sit down with Andy Nagraj, one of the actors for the 2010 TSF season. Andy has worked in a variety of theaters in Virginia, Ohio, and Chicago, including The Steppenwolf theater. He is currently pursuing his Masters degree at the PTTP (Professional Theater Training Program) at the University of Delaware.


Andy, what excites you about classical theater?

It’s just (pause) just better. The quality of the work is better than anything else (chuckles). That’s too general. It’s a cliché thing to say, but “there’s a reason these plays have lasted as long as they have.” That’s a very powerful argument to me.


When I was finally able to wrap my brain around what I was reading when I read Shakespeare, and what I was saying when I was saying Shakespeare--it blew my mind that an author 400 years ago could so clearly communicate with me today. Human beings are fundamentally the same. This man got to the essence of that better than anyone else. There is something wonderful about getting to connect that line. Something wonderful about being a channel for these plays to come out.





(Andy Nagraj in Ohio Shakespeare production of Two Gentlemen of Verona)


What excites you to do musicals?
There is a sense of heightened reality with Shakespeare work and I think if you step back and squint a little bit, it’s very similar on how musicals operate. The function of the song, of people not being able to contain themselves and bursting forth into song there's something really enchanting about that. I have a lot of fun when I’m in musicals and it doesn’t always seem like work. It’s a different beast, still closely connected to what we do. There’s a different connection that the audience gets to experience as well. I’m really excited to operate in both worlds doing Shakespeare and a musical. Also I’m in the production of Two Gentlemen of Verona which will have music throughout. I heard about the Love’s Labor’s Lost production last summer, and I’m very much excited to be a part of that and see how that works.

What roles are you playing at TSF 2010 season?
Jacques in As You Like It, Launce in Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Shem in Two by Two.

(Andy Nagraj in PTTP As You Like It, photo by Bill Browning)














What excited you about these roles?
 Well, Jacques is a part I’ve been fortunate enough to play before at PTTP in one of my first roles. Its a part that’s good for me. I’m ideally suited for it. (Chuckles)

Why do say it’s "ideally suited" for you?

It’s the type of person I am, very much something that I get. We all have different temper mentalities and are suited to different parts. I read it on a page and I get it, and when there are parts that aren’t like me is when even more exciting. I hope that it I get to play it again, something that pops up in my career.
Two Gentlemen... will be fun for me because I’ve been a part of two other productions, one with Ohio Shakespeare and one recently with PTTP. I’ve never played Launce and it’s a confusing part. A clown, a clown with a dog, shows up in the middle of the love story. What’s extremely exciting, in how to make his story serve the play and not just make it a stand-up gig.
For me that’s the most exciting part in both my Shakespeare roles. The challenge of it; of folding that into the show and making it serve the play. Having it be a part of the play, not just be Jacques doing the “All the world’s a stage” or doing my funny bit with the dog and not having it being a self-serving joke.
When Raymond told me I got to be a part of the musical, I was really excited about that. It’s been two or three years since I’ve been able to do a musical, it’s a genre that I very deeply love and something I hope I get to pursue for the rest of my life.

All the World's A Stage.... and someone had to stitch it together!

 
Anthony expresses his patriotism while sewing!

Our work is never done at the Texas Shakespeare Festival!  There is always something more to do--just ask our Properties and Costume Departments.  Each show is unique and requires special elements.  Props artisans and costumers are able to reuse some things from TSF storage (we have collected several things over the years), but there is always something that we have never needed before that must be newly created. 

Like the other departments, costumers and props artisans work three shifts a day in order to make sure everything comes together before opening night. We couldn't do it without them! 

In the Costume Department we have: 

Emma Cullimore, Lee Dumas, Caitlin Johnson, Julia Kosanovich, Anthony Paul-Cavaretta, Stephanie Shaw, Caroline Spitzer, Tiffany Towns, and Courtney Wood.

Representing Props we have: 

 Damien Charkiewicz, Katrina Miller, and Ronnie Wells.


 
Caitlin always makes time for a smile in the costume shop!
  
Julia keeps her focus and always makes deadlines.
  
Even the props shop is stitching today--- Katrina busies herself with burlap sacks for Two By Two.  
Designers get in on the action, "two." Steve works away on his designs for Two By Two and Two Gentlemen of Verona.
  
It's time for final touches! Stephanie makes everything look beautiful. 
  
Tiffany makes sure everyone looks great from head to TOE.
  
Sometimes thread just isn't enough! Damien uses a staple gun to secure pleats on these fashionable footstools.
  
Costumers use tools, too! Caroline cuts wire to create earthy headpieces.
 
Hello, there! Courtney peaks around a rack of costumes while steaming. 
Emma focuses while working on a very detailed piece. Love is in the details, after all.
All's well in the props shop as Alan, director of Two by Two, pops in to visit the head of props, Ronnie.
Then again, Ronnie better make sure he gets Alan two of EVERY animal for the arc...
"V" is for Very extraordinary sewing by Lee. Of course, "V" may also stand for Verona on occasion....

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Interview with Meaghan Sullivan





Meaghan Sullivan Interview


"...within the same year I'll have played the same role twice, which I've never done before and which will be very fun, usually when you finish a run of a play, you finally get a handle of the character so then you're like 'gosh I want to do this again, I want to play it again' so I get that opportunity, which is icredible."



Adam Higgins: A
Meaghan Sullivan: M
A: You have been with Texas Shakespeare Festival before when you were in the 2009 season, you were the maid in Romeo and Juliet, Doreen in Tartuffe, and you were ensemble in She Loves Me. What was that like for you?


(Meaghan Sullivan in TSF 2009 production of Romeo & Juliet)




M: Last summer was probably one of the best summers of my life for a variety of reasons. It was the first time I was really paid to be an actor so it was my first true professional acting job. While I have worked at professional theatres I did interning and small black box theater. It was just, it was just awesome! (laughs) When I got my contract for Texas last year, I took pictures of it, I was just like 'this is my first real gig!'





(Meaghan Sullivan,far right, in TSF 2009 production of She Love Me)

A: What made you want to spend another summer in Kilgore?





M: I Love the people. It feels like a special experience for us, the people from the Shakespeare Festival to be in Kilgore. It seems that Kilgore looks forward to it every year and to be so welcomed is just such a nice feeling. The other actors and artistic staff who work at the festival are a huge draw for me. A few of them are returning and I look forward to meeting whoever else they have found. I'm sure they'll be great.



A: Tell us a little bit about your history as an actress. What brought you to where you are right now?
M: Kind of the classic story of doing plays in elementary school, middle school, high school and then I took All My Sons down to state at University of Illinois and we performed down there –and that’s where I auditioned for the BFA program there and got my BFA in acting at the University of Illinois. After University of Illinois, I lived in Chicago for a year and I did black box theatre and store front theatre. I did an internship at the Milwaukee Rep and from there I met Sandy Robins and then later auditioned for him for the PTTP. I came to Grad School in Delaware in 2008 and it’s where I am now working toward my MFA in acting.


A: So what roles are you playing in the TSF 2010?
M: I am playing Rosalind in As You Like It, and Julia in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. And Martina in the Learned Ladies.


(Meaghan Sullivan in TSF 2009 Production of Tartuffe)


A: What about these parts excited you?
M: I am excited to do the role of the maid in the Learned Ladies because it is kind of similar to Doreen who was an absolute blast to play last year, Moliere writes similar characters for each of his plays so the maid in one play is very close to the maid in another play. It's exciting to reprise a similar role—of course the context is different and the script is unique, but that'll be fun.




And then, Julia I'm excited because I've actually played Julia in Two Gentlemen of Verona before at the PTTP just about two months ago. So within the same year I'll have played the same role twice, which I've never done before and which will be very fun, usually when you finish a run of a play, you finally get a handle of the character so then you're like 'gosh I want to do this again, I want to play it again' so I get that opportunity, which is incredible.





And Rosalind, is the part of all parts (laughs) Harold Bloom said that she's Shakespeare's best role male or female and people say that she's the greatest female role in written history and I agree with that, to a certain extent. I think she certainly says a lot and is incredibly witty—one of the roles that you just want to sink your teeth into, so I'm really excited for the opportunity to get to play her.


(Meaghan Sullivan in PTTP production of Two Gentlemen of Verona, photo by Bill Browning)

Friday, June 18, 2010

Get to know your Acting Interns

Our acting interns come from esteemed universities all over the country (and world) to audition for the Texas Shakespeare Festival. TSF acting interns pay their dues by playing smaller parts in the season and leading roles in our annual children’s show. Here at TSF they get a chance to gain professional experience by working with our directors and production teams. This year the acting interns are starring in The Tortoise and the Hare: a classic retelling of the Aesop’s fable, with memorable characters, striking sets and costumes, and the same powerful message. The story was adapted to the stage by TSF’s founder and artistic director Raymond Caldwell. It is directed by Jennifer Burke and starring our charming acting interns. Let’s get to know them!



Name: Jacob Grubb

Sign:  Aquarius

Hometown:  Fort Worth, Texas

How long acting?  4 years

Dream Role?  MacBeth

Are you a tortoise or a hare?  Hare

What’s the last thing you heard on your ipod? …In the Heights the Musical

What is the strangest fact about you?  I have 11 toes

Coca-Cola or Pepsi?  Coca-Cola

What is your kryptonite?  Brownies

Favorite role to date?  Todd in the Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow

If you weren’t at TSF this summer what would you be doing? Taking summer classes to graduate on time.



Name:  Zachary Layner

Sign: Cancer

Hometown: Central Florida

How long have you been acting? Since doing impressions of Steve Urkle

Dream role? Henry V

Are you a tortoise or a hare? Tortoise

If you were an ice cream flavor what would you be? Cookie dough

If you had a super power what would it be? Invincibility

What’s the last thing you heard on your ipod? I sold my ipod last summer to pay rent

What was your worst job? Abercrombie & Fitch

What do you say when you answer the phone? "Yo"

If you weren’t at TSF this summer what would you be doing? Valeting cars and auditioning for Army Wives repeatedly



Name: Rob Sniffin

Sign: Capricorn

Hometown: Danbury, Connecticut

How long have you been acting? Since 7th grade, about 10 years now. I was putting on shows in my driveway at a very young age.

Are you a tortoise or a hare? Hare

Dream role? Pippin (which I recently got to perform) or Puck in A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream. Someday!

Favorite role to date? Mercutio holds a pretty special place in my heart. Taking on that role changed who I am as a person and an actor.

Coca-Cola or Pepsi: Coca-Cola

What is your favorite kind of soup? Tomato soup

What is your kryptonite? I’m a sucker for cheese

What is the strangest fact about yourself? I am a huge dinosaur nerd. I spent the majority of my childhood wanting to be a paleontologist.



Name: Aiden Eastwood-Paticchio

Sign: Scorpio

Hometown: Ashbury, Connecticut

How long have you been acting? Since age 9 or 10

Are you a tortoise or a hare? Tortoise

Favorite role to date? Angelo in Measure to Measure

Dream role? Iago in Othello

First job? Working at an overnight summer camp for autistic students

If you were an ice cream flavor what would you be? I guess I’d be Aiden Flavor?

If you had a super power what would it be? The power to read minds

What is your kryptonite? People

If you were an animal what would you be? I have trouble classifying myself into archetypes. I’ve been called a clam.



Name: Kristyn Chalker

Sign: Cancer

Hometown: Houston, Texas

How long have you been acting? 15 years

Favorite role to date? Irina in Three Sisters

Are you a tortoise or a hare? Hare

Nickname: KChalk or just Chalker

If you were an ice cream flavor what would you be? Southern blackberry cobbler

What is the last thing you heard on your ipod? Garth Brooks “Rodeo”

If you had a super power what would it be? The power of flight

If you were an animal what would you be? A phoenix

What’s your favorite kind of soup? Lobster bisque

What is the strangest fact about yourself? I have webbed toes!



Name: Scott Gibbs

Sign: Sagittarius

Hometown: Sugarland, Texas

How long have you been acting? 15 years

Favorite role to date? Mr Bungee from A New Brain

Are you a tortoise or a hare? Hare

Nickname: Scotty G

What was the last thing you heard on your ipod? Vampire Weekend "Oxford Comma"

If you were an animal what would you be? Otter

What do you say when you answer the phone? "Hello Darling..."

If you weren’t at TSF this summer what would you be doing? Wishing I was at TSF this summer.



Name: Diedre Cantrell

Sign: Libra

Hometown: Longview, Texas

Are you a tortoise or a hare? Tortoise

Nickname: My first year of college, I frequently went by Bob or DedeBob. That's a really long story...

Favorite past role: Katherina from Taming of the Shrew

What is your kryptonite? I'm going to have to go with the internet. Although it is a wonderful thing to have and extraordinarily useful, it is such a distraction and sometimes keeps me from doing things that are more of a priority.

If you were an animal what would you be? Hawk - I like the idea of being able to see everything that is going on around me... and obviously flight is a big perk.

What is your favorite kind of soup? Tomato Basil

If you weren't at TSF this summer what would you be doing? Probably waiting tables to save up money for the next school year which I am spending in London.



See all of our talented Texas Shakespeare Festival interns in The Tortoise and the Hare at 10am on July 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29, 31 and 2pm on July 20, 21, 27, 28.  Check back soon to see more behind-the-scenes pictures and interviews.

All the World's A Stage.... and someone had to build it!


TSF Painters are fierce! Amy, Shelley and Oneida take the time to intimidate the carpenters while working on a backdrop for As You Like It.

 As the avid TSF fan may know, all of the season’s sets are crafted by three teams: carpenters, painters, and properties. This year’s teams have been working exceptionally hard, but still have a lot to go. The carpenters arrived an entire week before the rest of the company to get a jump start on their job. Now they spend all of their days sweating in the East Texas heat. Once the carpenters build the walls, trees, rocks, and wide assortment of platforms necessary for this season’s productions the painters take over adding realistic touches. A primary element to every production is the floor. This one element helps transform the entire space, and it is the scenic painters’ responsibility to complete each floor. Backstage was quite abuzz these past few weeks as the carpenters and painters waited on a large delivery of masonite. Finally, the needed supplies arrived and work continued!

Carpenters: Bjorn Falk, Matt Jones, Justen Locke, Sarah Schniepp, Justin Tipton, & Chris Wyatt
Painters: Oneida San Juan, Shellene Seiffert, & Amy Shimko

Matt regains his strength with a tasty apple during break.



Amy manages to have fun in the heat--all she needs is sunscreen and sunglasses!

Justen meticulously pieces everything together.

Safety first at TSF! Good job, Sarah.

Shelley always has a smile---even when setting up floor pieces outside.

Bjorn and Chris take a moment to process their next project--

Oneida protects her back while painting a platform--- paint tools save lives!

 Justin and Sarah enjoy the air conditioning and use of the empty stage.

Next time we will look into the worlds of costumes and properties!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA Director Speaks


In anticipation of Texas Shakespeare Festival’s 25th season I sat down and interviewed Mr. Gregg Brevoort, director of this season’s production of Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Mr. Brevoort travels the country as a freelance director, going where ever he gets a call. He lives in Los Angeles, California with his adorable pet dog, Sparky, who is also joining us this season. Even though there is a dog in Two Gentlemen of Verona Sparky will not be playing the role. Sparky did not seem upset about this, claiming that while he is an avid theatre goer he prefers not to be on stage.


Mr. Brevoort began his training at New York University as an actor, but as he progressed in his training he decided to switch to the newly developed directing emphasis. As most good theatre professionals will admit, being well rounded is the secret to success in the theatre; Mr. Brevoort is no different, he has acted, stage managed, as well as held other administrative duties. (For more information please see his website http://www.gbrevoort.com/)


When asked what he would most like to direct he simply stated: “Shakespeare...it’s like a puzzle.” Mr. Brevoort loves the challenge of directing Shakespeare: “the histories, the tragedies, the more complicated ones.” Where most are scared of, or can not even comprehend Shakespeare, he thrives on it. This is not Mr. Brevoort’s first stint into Shakespeare, as he directed
Coriolanus here at the Texas Shakespeare Festival in 2006.


Coriolanus, as you may not have noticed from seeing the production in 2006 is one of Shakespeare’s most difficult tragedies. This is completely opposite from the comedy he is directing this season. Two Gentlemen of Verona is a much different piece and our version is set about two-thousand years later, in the 1930’s. Two Gentlemen of Verona is a charming tale of two friends who fall in love with the same girl. To enhance the themes of young love and to provide another level of entertainment to the audience this production will feature a three-piece combo and chanteuse, a female singer who sings in night clubs. This is a revival of Tom Whitaker’s 1999 production, in which he did the same thing. The music is sure to please and will provide a fresh take on Shakespeare’s timeless tale.



Design Dessert: Ebarb's Flavorful Fashion for The Learned Ladies

The Learned Ladies is one of Molière's most popular comedies about troubled lovers and meddlesome parents. In his research for the show, costume designer Joel Ebarb related each character to a different flavor of ice cream. Originally set in France, now set in New York, Ebarb tried to think of something that represented the American summertime. What better than ice cream? Each flavor is used as the basis for the design of each costume. Rumblings around the Festival say this will be the funniest show you will see all summer!














Come See The Learned Ladies on July 2, 8, 10, 16*, 18*, 23, 25, 29*, & 31*
(* denotes 2:00pm matinee, all others 7:30pm)
Call the TSF Box Office at (903) 983-8601 to order tickets
Check back soon to read costume designer Joel Ebarb's in-depth interview!