The following piece comes to us from one of the ASC interns. See the Intern Blog for more from them.
Let me introduce myself: David Techman, the ASC’s longest intern (over a year plus summers before that). I mainly work in education and archives, organizing and cataloguing the company’s archive and working on a book about their history. In past summers I had the pleasure of working with YCTC. This past Sunday I saw Session 2’s final performance, consisting of a one-hour Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra in two one-hour blocks.
Unlike in previous years, the day’s entertainment began with the pre-show the camp puts together for ASC shows. The pre-show explored what Shakespeare wrote and what actually happened, beginning with a portrayal of Cleopatra’s death and building up to a portrayal of a boy actor playing the scene form Shakespeare’s play—the ghost of Cleopatra must watch “some squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatness / I’the posture of a {prostitute}.” Cleopatra. I find it difficult to communicate the piece’s brilliance without making the article too long. Also worth noting: the belly dancing and camper Jane J.’s (who played Cleopatra) slam poem set to music, which summarized the action of the two upcoming plays and reflected on the campers’ position in the story.
Julius Caesar director Laurie Riffe kept most of play’s action including such small parts as the opening scene and Artemidorus, a task more daunting than the other directors faced when we consider that this play had to be truncated twice as much. Performing this play first gave the audience a clear backstory for Antony and Cleopatra and showed how much Mark Antony changed. Daniel R., a longtime YCTC veteran, made an outstanding Antony. His eulogy for Caesar climaxed the very well-staged funeral scene. Actors dispersed around the stage and aligned themselves with the audience, shouting and beating on the walls when indicated by the text. For me, seated in an onstage “gallant stool,” it formed an Elizabethan equivalent of Dolby 5.1 surround sound. Brutus delivered his eulogy from the balcony while Antony stood against the frons scaenae, out of his view. For his, Antony stayed on the stage, close to the other actors and Caesar, played by new camper Chris D., who lay beneath a shroud on a great marble dias. Chris opted to play Caesar as angry and passionate rather than as a wooden statue, the way he was portrayed on the Roman stage in a tradition some educators claim Shakespeare continued. His approach yields a Caesar more human than absolute, more susceptible to ambition, and more sympathetic at his assassination. Also deserving of mention are the solid performances given by Rose B. and Brett S. as a crafty Caius Cassius and a tormented Marcus Brutus. (Interestingly, the two appeared onstage together last year as Portia and Basanio). In the end, the production proved a fine tragedy that set the stage for more deaths to follow.
In Antony and Cleopatra, Part I, father and son directing team James and Thomas Keegan highlighted that this Antony differed from the one just seen by casting Margaret C. in the role, a talented young actress of no great stature. It surprised one when not only Octavius Caesar and Cleopatra but even the weak triumvir Lepidus (played skillfully by John P. W.) looked down at him. Perhaps it comments on the character’s (and Margaret’s) power that Antony did not become a weakling. Hannah M.’s Cleopatra brimmed with fervor until audience and messenger alike could feel her wrath, while third year camper Alexi S. brought us an especially militant, calculating, and on-the-ball Caesar, the logical extension of the Octavian seen in Julius Caesar. Alexi knew his ambitions’ loftiness and was ready to strike at any reasonable excuse. The Keegans cast as their soothsayer Jane, who bears a striking resemblance to Elizabeth W., the first play’s soothsayer. The resemblance does not extend to the characterizations, however; Elizabeth’s ghostly sage calling from the balcony little resembled Jane’s earthy, animal prophet who crept and bounded about the stage. It fascinated me to see the dynamics when the triumvirs laid their swords in a triskell and attempted to resolve their grievances before marching against the paramilitary-styled Pompey of Madelaine M.. Antony’s lieutenant Domitus Enobarbus really stole the show in the portrayal by Rachel B., a strong first-year camper with astounding comic timing. The play ended with a scene of sheer brilliance. The actors stood onstage while McKenna D. read a camper-written verse epilogue and the actors from the next play came to replace those with their roles. Part I could not have ended better.
Jeremy West directed Antony and Cleopatra, Part II. After a striking opening, the audience saw a calmer-tempered but impassioned and heart-rending Cleopatra in Rebecca R., who has attended camp almost as many times as her brother Daniel R. from Caesar. Under veteran J. H.’s acting, Octavius Caesar became less militant but more evil, and when his greatness did lead to an angry-sounding level, one attributed the choice to situational specifics rather than a hot nature. Daniel H. gave a good performance as Antony in his first YCTC show as the tragic story drew towards its inevitable conclusion. Amidst the sadness, Anna S.’s clown made the whole house laugh, perfectly pushing la douche écossaise near its final scalding. The play ended with viewers overwhelmed by bittersweet sadness for these impressive figures, and, like their predecessors, the cast received several standing ovations.
I have always known that nothing quite resembles YCTC, but each year I am astounded afresh by the energy and talent these teenagers bring to the stage. Session II has in recent years consisted of mainly experienced campers. This year, however, the majority of the campers were first year. After a mere three weeks, even those new to the ASC’s training could, under the guidance of experts, bring us these wonderful shows. My greatest regret: that the shows only run for one day. One could watch them half a dozen times, each time seeing something new and never growing bored—just like the company’s professional shows. If you have not seen YCTC before, I beg you to come to their shows next summer. Admittance is free, and I have no doubt that you will be amazed.
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