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Shootin’ the Breeze November 28/12 Page 3
Student actors bring a dream to life By Brad Quarin Last Thursday evening, students of Livingstone School in Lundbreck brought Shakespeare’s famous play A Midsummer Night’s Dream to life, with help from their friends at Theatre Prospero. Based in Edmonton, Theatre Prospero is a company that works with Alberta schools to perform plays by the Bard and occasionally other authors. Theatre Prospero returned to Livingstone this month after collaborating on Romeo and Juliet last year. “[This] school’s really fun to work in,” says Liz Hobbs, Theatre Prospero’s associate artistic director. “Everyone’s really enthusiastic and supportive.” This production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, open to the public, included students of Grades 1 to 12 and adult actors from Theatre Prospero. School principal Terri Donald says she is pleased with how it turned out. After Romeo and Juliet, Terri and Liz talked about performing another play that could include more of the elementary school students. They selected A Midsummer Night’s Dream, believing it
Photo by Brenda Shenton From left, Livingstone School students Alexis Bachura, MacKynna Smyth and Kataya McClung are in high spirits at rehearsal last Thursday afternoon while working with instructors from Edmonton’s Theatre Prospero.
would be relatively easy for young kids to perform, Liz says. Although one might think any Shakespeare play would be difficult for young children to grasp, Liz says young kids actually have an easier time than older students with the Elizabethan prose. “It’s sometimes easier to work with the younger ones because they’re not afraid of Shakespeare yet,” Liz says. “They haven’t taken it in school, so they don’t know that they shouldn’t understand what’s going on.” While Theatre Prospero plays are usually funded by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Livingstone School was denied a grant, Terri says. The play happened largely because of a generous donation from parents Simon and Krisztina Wood. Those who attended the play paid what they felt they could for admission, Terri says. Theatre Prospero and Livingstone School had four days to put the production together, says Liz, who served as its co-director. Students from Grades 4 to 12 shared the main speaking roles with Theatre Prospero’s seven actors. In fact, individual characters are shared. One character played by a Theatre Prospero actor in one act is played by a student in another. This might cause confusion, but Liz says this practice is explained to the audience before the show. Sharing makes memorization of all the lines easier, as does rehearsing. Liz says the students often offer suggestions about how the parts should be played, and that they get a variety of benefits from performing. “We give them a chance to be seen and be the centre of attention and stand up and have confidence in themselves,” she says. Among the student actors is Taran Findlater, who’s in Grade 12. He played the character Nick Bottom for the first half of the play. Beforehand, he said he was excited about the role. “I can just really let loose, act like a total weirdo, I guess you can say, just go all out and not care who’s watching.” Indeed, Taran puts a lot of energy into his performance. Taran says he loves acting and hopes he can do
Blue Christmas Service
Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.
Pincher Creek Ministerial, with assistance from Snodgrass Funeral Home, Pincher Chapel and Eden’s Funeral Home, invite you to this non-denominational service. St. John’s Anglican Church 816 Main Street Pincher Creek
Photo by Brenda Shenton Kelsey Norman practises her part in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which was staged with the actors surrounded by the audience.
some more after Grade 12. He finds the language not so much difficult as interesting. He enjoys working with Theatre Prospero, saying they are easy to get along with and provide useful acting tips. Katie Bramer, a Grade 10 student who played Hermia in Acts 2 and 3, agrees Theatre Prospero is easy to work with. “They’re awesome,” she says. “They’re always happy and there to help you.” She adds that they will try to cheer up nervous students. Katie says she was always interested in acting and has taken drama classes at the school. “And I’ve always just enjoyed having fun with other people like that,” she says. She finds there are benefits in the experience. “I think it gives me more confidence in speaking in front of people, and it gives you some variety in school,” she says. “Which is great, because then you’re more excited to come to school.” Taran and Katie both say they are very proud of the show, while Terri described the production as “incredible.”
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