A Typical Week at the American Shakespeare Center

In the current artistic year, the American Shakespeare Center will produce 16 plays in five seasons of rotating repertory. This breaks down to about 500 performances, 1,500 hours of rehearsal, thousands of costume pieces, hundreds of props, and close to a thousand hours of pre-production work.

This is a typical week at the American Shakespeare Center:

Monday 19 July 2010

[All day]  Photo shoot for the Restless Ecstasy Tour (and the first day of their contract). The 11 actors of Restless Ecstasy will perform As You Like It, Macbeth, and Measure for Measure across the United States from September through November; in December they perform A Christmas Carol and The Santaland Diaries at the Blackfriars (along with two performances of each play in their Shakespeare repertory); they’re back on the road from January through March; and they perform in residence at the Blackfriars from April through mid-June. The name of the tour, Restless Ecstasy, is from Macbeth Act 3, Scene 2.

[All day]  Resident Troupe’s day off.

Tuesday 20 July 2010

[All day]  The Restless Ecstasy actors rehearse their Renaissance Run of Macbeth. ASC actors perform a complete run-through of each play on the first days of rehearsal without direction and off-book. The ASC Renaissance Runs simulate how Renaissance acting-troupes put up plays very quickly, without directors.

[Afternoon]  The Blackfriars Resident Troupe rehearses Wild Oats.

[All week]  Resident Troupe actors prepare for Henry IV, Part 2, which begins rehearsals the following week.

[Evening]  Performance of The Taming of the Shrew.

Wednesday 21 July 2010

[Morning]  Macbeth Renaissance Run.

[Afternoon]  Resident Troupe rehearses Wild Oats music.

[Afternoon]  Ralph Cohen, ASC Director of Mission, discusses Macbeth with actors and students in ASC’s Professional Training Program.

[Afternoon]  Jim Warren, ASC Artistic Director, begins Macbeth rehearsals.

[Evening]  First preview of John O’Keeffe’s Wild Oats.

Thursday 22 July 2010

[All day]  Macbeth rehearsal.

[Afternoon]  Resident Troupe rehearses Wild Oats music.

[Evening]  Performance of Othello, followed by a talk-back with the audience.

Friday 23 July 2010

[All day]  Macbeth rehearsal.

[Afternoon]  Taping for Othello and Shrew Backstage Pass podcasts with actors and Ralph Cohen.

[Evening]  Opening of Wild Oats, followed by a meet-and-greet with students from the ASC’s Young Company Theatre Camp.

Saturday 24 July 2010

[Afternoon]  Performance of The Taming of the Shrew.

[After Shrew]  Performance of scenes by students in ASC’s Professional Training Program.

[Evening]  Performance of Othello.

[All day]  Restless Ecstasy’s day off.

Sunday 25 July 2010

[All day]  Macbeth rehearsal.

[Afternoon]  Performance of Wild Oats.

Next week it all begins again. By September we will be performing As You Like It, Henry IV, Part 2, Macbeth, Measure for Measure, Othello, The Taming of the Shrew, Wild Oats—and rehearsing the final Fall Season show, The Fair Maid of the West.

Photo credits (from top to bottom):  Sarah Fallon in The Taming of the Shrew; James Keegan, John Harrell in Wild Oats; Benjamin Curns, René Thornton, Jr. in Othello (photos by Tommy Thompson); Jonathan Holtzman in Macbeth (staff photo).

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