Our Play is Preffered: Best Ensemble

Last night, Richmond Shakespeare was proud to sit with the theatre community of greater Richmond and celebrate the achievements of our colleagues. We were also honored with three nominations, including Rebecca Cairns and Annie Hoskins--nominated again for Best Costume an award they won last year.

This year we had two award-winners: a special recognition for Vanessa Passini's terrific fight work in Henry V [The History Cycle], and the company of actors from A Midsummer Night's Dream, who won as a cast for Best Ensemble. Those actors are Sandra Clayton, Brandon Crowder, Kerry McGee, Stacie Rearden Hall and Adam Mincks.

This recognition in particular was satisfying for me, as we set out many years ago to craft a company in which the collective efforts of actors, designers, directors, musicians and volunteers all work together; perhaps more so than any other, the theatre is a collaborative art form.

I first saw the five-actor format (yes 5) of performing William Shakespeare in the early 1990's at the University of Richmond: a program called Actors from the London Stage. Five gifted players create all the roles in a given Shakespeare. My first experience was with As You Like It, which was honored last year in several categories. It's a thrilling challenge, to craft more than one role, often alternating between them onstage—few challenges in the acting world can match it (solo shows of 'full commitment' come to mind), and I'm very grateful these lovely actors were so recognized.

They, and the supporting team behind them were indeed the best ensemble: Andrew Ham, Bryan Laubenthal, Jake Allard, Holly Harris, Holly Lucas, Richard Moxley, David White and J. David White, Rebecca Cairns, Annie Hoskins, Flora Vassar. Congratulations to each and all.

Not a word of me. All that I will tell you is that the duke hath dined. Get your apparel together, good strings to your beards, new ribbons to your pumps. Meet presently at the palace. Every man look o'er his part. For the short and the long is, our play is preferred.

Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Award Nominations Announced

Congratulations to Richmond Shakespeare artists! But before I list the nominations, let me give a special shout to Vanessa Passini. Selected for an award before the event even takes place, Ms. Passini has won an award for outstanding Fight Choreography to Vanessa Passini for her work on Richmond Shakespeare's Henry V [The History Cycle].

We're also nominated in a new category, "Best Ensemble Acting" for which I'm delighted to report that the cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream has very rightly been recognized. They should be nominated just for enduring emotional rainouts.

Finally, our exquisite costumers, Rebecca Cairns and Anne Hoskins are nominated for their truly outstanding work, also on Henry V [The History Cycle]. I always feel like I hand these two ladies a pocketful of lint for supplies and they return with the most gorgeous costumes a director could hope for. They are the 2008 winners in the same category; I couldn't be more pleased that their work is receiving recognition again.


One can always gripe and moan about artists not nominated (Joe Carlson's stunning Laertes comes to mind! as does James Bond's marvelous direction on Henry V--so there's mine!) but I want to take a moment to thank the critics as they attend, ponder, enjoy, endure, and evaluate the productions that make up our theatrical culture. They do it for very little compensation--sometimes none, I'll wager---factoring in the gas to see Sycamore Rouge or Swift Creek Mill (not far, but it adds up), and I couldn't be more pleased that the success of last year's ceremony has led to year #2.


Let me go on record right here to invite the RTCC awards for year #3 to Richmond's newest performing arts venue, Richmond CenterStage.



Cheers!
-Grant Mudge

Too Like the Lightning

After thirteen years, you'd think I'd get accustomed to rainouts. On average, we lose three (3) performances per summer. At that rate, for 2009, we're officially done with 'em. Someone please tell the weather deities.

That said, I love all the weather references in the first 20 minutes of Midsummer, besides "I will move storms;" there's

"Brief as the lightning in the collied night
That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth
And ere a man hath power to say 'Behold!'
The jaws of darkness do devour it up,"

and, upon being asked why her chekk is so pale, Helena responds, "Belike for want of rain(!), which I could well beteem them from the tempest of my eyes!" Will's was an open-air playhouse---these lines can't be mere coincidence; they help bond us together----actors and audience in one experience. Magic.

We'll be back for more tonight.

'Midsummer' Gets Final Added Performance

We had hardly communicated the addition of July 29 when it became clear it well sell out---in less than five days, there are now only two (count ‘em, 2) remaining seats for that Wednesday added show.

As such, I’m pleased to announce a final additional night (once it’s gone, folks, there will be no more) of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Tuesday, July 28, 2009. Visit the website below and click on tickets---before someone else grabs yours.

Catch the fastest-selling show in town….before it’s gone.

Grant Mudge
Artistic Director
Richmond Shakespeare
804-232-4000 Admin
804-232-4400 Fax
http://www.richmondshakespeare.com/

NOW OPEN! – the 2009 Richmond Shakespeare Festival
THRU JUN28.09 – Henry V [The History Cycle]
JUL2-12.09 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Seven Shows Only!)
JUL16-AUG2.09 - Hamlet

RTD PREVIEW: "The Bard is Back at Agecroft"

Shakespeare Festival kicks off with “Henry V”
BY MELISSA RUGGIERI TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERPublished: June 11, 2009

Richmond Shakespeare Festival Productions: "Henry V" (tonight-June 28); "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (July 2-12); "Hamlet" (July 16-Aug. 2) Where: Agecroft Hall, 4305 Sulgrave Road. Gates open at 7 p.m., and the Festival Young Company entertains on the grounds; all performances begin at 8 p.m. Tickets: http://www.richmondshakespeare.com/ or 1-866-227-3849

With a trio of productions this summer and only three more months until its new permanent indoor home, Richmond CenterStage, is ready, the folks at Richmond Shakespeare are understandably excited.

On his desk, Artistic Director Grant Mudge even has a mini version of the CenterStage countdown clock currently facing Broad Street.
But before that fall season launches -- it will mark the 25th year of Richmond Shakespeare -- its popular summer shows on the grounds of Agecroft Hall will commence tonight.

This season, the group is tackling "Henry V," "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Hamlet," which Mudge is also directing.
Last year, "Henry IV, Part 2," was the centerpiece production. Mudge said the cycle of Shakespeare's histories will be completed by 2012.
"The stories are universal," he said of Shakespeare's ongoing appeal. "They're personal stories, personally told, and doing them at Agecroft really is something special. It's 500 years old and came from England, so we play in the courtyard just as Elizabethan actors would."

Starring in the role of King Henry in "Henry V" is London-born actor Phil Brown, who played Prince Hal the past two summers in "Henry IV, Part 1" and "Part 2."

Brown came to Richmond two years ago after being recruited by director James Bond -- who also is helming this year's "Henry" -- and the self-described "Shakespeare geek" said playing King Henry is tricky yet rewarding.

"When Shakespeare was writing 'Henry V,' one of his challenges was that he was writing about the king, the be all and end all of great kings. He had two tasks: to present the king in a way that wouldn't get him into trouble with Elizabeth and also to write a real human character facing real problems," Brown said last week.

"In 'Henry V,' the crown almost acts like a mask. The prince becomes the man, and the man has to deal with the responsibilities of the crown. In that respect, it's very complex, because you're trying to find where the voice is the king and where the voice is the prince and where to find the human balance."

Brown trained for three years at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, where he participated in many Shakespearean workouts.
"A good drama school training gives you the solid foundation, and every professional play you do after that, you learn more as you go along," said Brown, who, along with the rest of the cast, has been rehearsing the past five weeks, including rigorous fight scenes.

"Our choreographer, Vanessa [Passini], has been putting us all through our paces with sword drills," Brown said. "Hopefully, fingers crossed, the sword fighting will look quite cool."

Though Brown and his wife, Emily, plan to move back to New York at the end of the summer, he is still looking forward to CenterStage opening.
"Hopefully, once it's established, it's the kind of thing that breeds more art, essentially," he said.

But for the next couple of weeks, the only art Brown will be concentrating on his nightly portrayal of Henry.

"James [Bond, the director] says that Shakespeare is the most muscular form of theater," Brown said. "It kind of forces you to use your technique more than anything else. I believe if you can do Shakespeare well, you can do anything well."

Phil Brown, 2009

May 10 - Have you seen the 'countdown clock?' It faces Broad Street between 6th and 7th, hung on the construction trailers at Richmond CenterStage. All of us at Richmond Shakespeare are enormously excited about our new theatre---opening in very short time! In fact, I have a little miniature version of the clock on my desk and today, both of them read 124 Days.

In two days, on May 12, at 7:30pm we'll hold our last event of the indoor season at 2nd Presbyterian, a staged-reading of Cymbeline, about which you may already have heard. Daryl Clark Phillips (Falstaff '07 and '08) leads a stellar cast including Ray Bullock, Richard Koch, Vicki McCleod, David Janeski, Billy Christopher Maupin, Asher Nicholson, Brad Tuggle, Lucas Hall, Alan Sader (Exeter in Henry V), Ally Wepplo, and James Wingo. Cymbeline is directed by David White and produced by Liz Blake. Catch Liz herself in this summer's reprsise of Hamlet.

This fall (in four months!), Richmond Shakespeare will indeed move our indoor season to the new Gottwald Playhouse inside Richmond CenterStage. Look for an inaugural season announcement (it's also our 25th Year) right at the start of the summer Richmond Shakespeare Festival.

Those performances come first---we'll continue to bring great summer shows to marvelous Agecroft Hall, beginning this 12th annual festival with the performances we've all been waiting for: Phil Brown's Henry V and the return of Jeff Cole's Hamlet. Sandwiched in between, I'm happy to annouce another return--for a limited run--of Andrew Hamm's critically acclaimed production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Just prior to the summer festival on Saturday, May 23, I invite you to our first public "Mission Meeting." We'll gather at Agecroft Hall, from 1-4pm, to re-craft, re-dedicate and help to re-write the mission of Richmond Shakespeare. To RSVP and to receive more information, e-mail us at MissionMeeting@RichmondShakespeare.com. Come be a part of charting our next 25 years.

Thank you for joining us on this adventure, and be sure to keep in touch! Call, write, and comment or e-mail me here. Of course, you can always just catch my arm at a performance of Richmond Shakespeare.

Cheers,

Grant Mudge
Artistic Director

Jackie Jones on 'Midsummer!'

Local and beloved actor Jackie Jones (also a baker of muchly sought goodies), saw A Midsummer Night’s Dream recently and sent this lovely e-mail:

One is A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at

http://www.richmondshakespeare.com/

Andrew Hamm's Dream cast IS a dream cast and

does the show in all its Shakespearean bawdiness.

Each of the cast portrays numerous characters to

definite distinction. This production really gives its

audience members the flavor of Shakespeare's

fun with words (be forewarned: no joke is left

unturned) without any of the stuffiness sometimes

used to cover it up! I'd say this would be great for

highschoolers, and middle-schoolers - and maybe

even precocious upper-elementary with the right

homework in advance. And there is original (and

traditional) music!

You’ve only five (5) chances left to catch it at

2^nd Presbyterian’s perfectly Elizabethan chapel!

Richmond Shakespeare
804-232-4000 Admin
804-232-4400 Fax
www.richmondshakespeare.com

NOW PLAYING
APR16.09 to MAY10.09 – A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare

ONE NIGHT ONLY
MAY12.09 - Cymbeline, by William Shakespeare (Staged Reading)

Style Weekly

Do you have your tickets yet?

Issue Date: April 22, 2009, Posted On: 4/21/2009 STYLE Weekly review of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' The cast of Richmond Shakespeareare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," at rest. Clockwise from top, it's Brandon Crowder, Stacie Rearden Hall, Adam Mincks, Kerry McGee and Sandra Clayton.

There was a moment during Richmond Shakespeareare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" when I literally could not stop laughing. Near the play's end, the sheer lunatic brilliance of director Andrew Hamm's off-kilter rendering of the Shakespeare classic reached such a fever pitch that I found myself lost in the sea of silliness. I would have been more embarrassed about my guffaws if there weren't several others in the audience doing the same thing. Possibly the Bard's most endearingly romantic comedy, Midsummer's plot involves fairies, love potions, a man semitransformed into an ass, and quite a bit of mayhem. As if that were not enough, Hamm's inspired cast pushes every envelope available. Sensual interludes between lovers stray into serious PG-13 territory. Characters who are supposed to be bad actors are hilariously horrendous. Some of the physical comedy looks downright painful, thanks to fight choreography help by David White. Ensemble members throw themselves into multiple roles with abandon. Brandon Crowder leads this rowdy band, effecting breakneck changes between the regal Duke of Athens to the almost aggressively swishy Flute and eliciting laughs with as little as a well-placed glance along the way. Adam Mincks chews the scenery ravenously as donkey-eared Bottom, who attracts the affection of Fairy Queen Titania (Stacie Rearden Hall) thanks to the juice of a magical flower administered by Puck (Kerry McGee). Hall's lusty looks are bracing while McGee is alternately fervent as the love-struck Hermia and delightfully impish as Puck. Sandra Clayton rounds out the crew ably with several small but vital bit parts. It seems peckish to note that some of Shakespeare's lyrical language gets lost in modernisms such as "Sweet!" and "Awesome!" But Hamm makes up for it by inserting charming musical interludes into the action with a cast (particularly Hall) in spectacular voice. For a show not billed as a musical, this "Dream" sings. David Timberline "A Midsummer Night's Dream" plays at the Second Presbyterian Church, 5 N. Fifth St., through May 10. Tickets are $13-$26. Call 1-866-BARD-TIX or visit www.richmondshakespeare.com.

Zany Cast Makes 'Dream' a delight

Richmond Shakespeare’s season finale a fun one

JULINDA LEWIS SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Published: April 19, 2009

“A Midsummer Night's Dream," Richmond Shakespeare Theatre's final production of its indoor season under the direction of Andrew Hamm, roars delightfully into its raucous conclusion, which includes a play within a play and a wedding celebration.

There is something old (the play by William Shakespeare), something new (the cast and the indoor location at Second Presbyterian Church), something borrowed (costumes and props from previous "Dream" productions), and something . . . (well, there's got to be something blue in there somewhere).

With costumes and set kept to a bare minimum, the cast of five takes on 21 roles, resulting in effects and situations that might have surprised the Bard himself.

This "Dream" features a tight-knit and lovable ensemble. Some of the casting contrasts are startling and ingenious. Sandra Clayton is the elitist Egeus as well as the simple carpenter; Peter Quince, leader of the local community of actors, also known as the Mechanicals; Brandon Crowder is both the noble Theseus, Duke of Athens, and Francis Flute, the bellows mender who plays the role of Thisbe in the play-within-a-play.

And while it is not unusual for men to play women's roles in Elizabethan theater, Crowder's over-the-top Thisbe, dressed in a contemporary beauty queen evening gown and some killer black stilettos, leaves an indelible impression.

Kerry McGee gives Robin Starveling, the tailor member of the acting troupe, a round-shouldered, slumped posture, slow movements and delayed reactions that suggest poor Starveling may have either mental or chemically induced challenges.

The cast is rounded out by Stacie Rearden Hall, who plays Demetrius's lover Helena as well as three other roles, and Adam Mincks, who plays Demetrius, as well as Nick Bottom, who, as the unfortunate object of Puck's prankishness, ends up with a donkey's head and the magically induced love of the fair queen, Titania.

Shakespeare's words, juxtaposed against modern-day clothing and props, and in the hands -- and mouths -- of this enthusiastic and zany cast made 2½ hours in uncomfortable chairs in an overheated chapel fly.

A Midsummer Night's Dream opens next week!

A Midsummer Night's Dream opens next week, with performances Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2:30. (Check out the discounted preview on Thursday, 8pm.)

The actors are (clockwise from Sandra Clayton at top left, Brandon Crowder, Stacie Rearden Hall, Adam Mincks and Kerry McGee. Directed by Andrew Hamm , with costumes by Rebecca Cairns.

April 16 - May 10
Tickets: http://www.richmondshakespeare.com/

Two Sets of Auditions

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Director: Andrew Hamm Saturday, February 21, 1pm., at Tabernacle Baptist Church, 1925 Grove Avenue. (at Meadow & Grove) Those auditioning should prepare a 1-minute monologue, and come prepared to move. Seeking women, aged 20-60, for the downtown season finale. Experience with Shakespeare required. Show runs at 2nd Presbyterian Church April 16-May10. Phone 804-232-4000 or E-mail info@richmondshakespeare.com for an appointment.

HENRY V (The History Cycle)
Director: James BondMonday & Tuesday, February 23 and 24, 6-9pm, at 2nd Presbyterian Church, 5 North Fifth Street. (A few steps up from Fifth & Main) Those auditioning should prepare a 1-2 minute monologue. Seeking men, aged 20+, for the summer festival opener. Rehearsals start April 27, and the show opens at Agecroft Hall June 12. Phone 804-232-4000 or E-mail info@richmondshakespeare.com for an appointment.

Midsummer in December!

Richmond Shakespeare presents

Midsummer in December

A Midsummer Night's Dream

December 15, 2008

7:00 PM

The weather outside is frightful, but love and fairies are so delightful. Join us for a magical staged reading of the Bard's most beloved comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream, featuring some of Richmond's most beloved theatre artists: Scott Wichmann, Jennifer Meharg, Audra Honaker, Joe Carlson, Harry Kollatz, Daryl Clark Phillips, David Janosik, Cynde Liffick, TJ Simmons, Liz Blake, Sarah Jamillah Johnson, Shanea Taylor, Julie Phillips, Frank Creasy and more!

Directed by Andrew Hamm, the show features music by Liz and Andrew, with Jake Allard on percussion. The pre-show music is a mix of Richmond Shakes' greatest hits from Midsummer, Hamlet, and The Tempest, as well as love songs from summer's acclaimed production of As You Like It. Come early or you'll miss it.

Monday, December 15, 2008 at 7:00 PM at Second Presbyterian Church (5 N. 5th Street). $15 Adults, $10 Students and Children. All proceeds benefit the Richmond Shakespeare Annual Fund.

Times-Dispatch: Andrew Hamm is "Cultivating Richmond Theater"

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Cultivating Richmond theater
An insider is devoted to fostering a vibrant local art scene

Sunday, Apr 13, 2008 - 12:03 AM

By CELIA WREN
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

"There's no shame in wanting to be a big fish in a small pond," observes Richmond Shakespeare's new associate artistic director, Andrew Hamm, "if you recognize that a big fish in a small pond has big responsibilities to care for the pond."

An intense 35-year-old with a shaved head, glasses and an earring, Hamm is sitting in the theater company's quiet office in the Fan, drinking coffee and discussing, among other matters, the importance of nurturing a vibrant local theater scene. It is a subject he feels strongly about: His voice is emotional, almost tremulous, as he deplores the inclination of certain big fish (talented Richmond thespians) to relocate to a larger pond (New York City).

"Smaller-city and small-town art scenes need great artists to stay there: That is what makes art healthy," the Virginia native stresses.

Since he began working with Richmond Shakespeare in 2004 -- his first freelance assignment was to supervise music for a production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" -- Hamm has done his part to cultivate the pond that is Richmond theater.

For 18 months, until his promotion in March to associate artistic director, he served as Richmond Shakespeare's director of training, coordinating career-enrichment classes (such as the upcoming clowning intensive) aimed at local actors. "I felt a responsibility to do what little I can, not only to put on a good show, but to help the other artists in town to put on good shows," he says, explaining his perspective on the job.

He has also directed for the company, most recently mounting "As You Like It," running at the Second Presbyterian Church through April 20. Hamm has followed the five-actor template that's a Richmond Shakespeare hallmark: Between a clothes rack and a flower-draped piano, the performers ricochet from character to character, frantically donning hats, aprons and the like to signal their identity.

"I've been calling it a love letter to the five-actor format," says Hamm. "We're not trying to hide the costume changes or the character changes -- we're absolutely glorifying in them!"

All the same, he'll be expanding the cast, to a dozen or so, for the comedy's run at Agecroft Hall July 3 through July 13.

In addition to directing "As You Like It," Hamm has written the production's incidental music, and he serves as pianist for the montage of 1980s pop songs (Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time," etc.) that introduces Act I. "Once alternative and grunge became mainstream, you couldn't have love songs without irony," Hamm said, of the choice of tunes.

"The '80s were really the last time in history where you could have love songs that were really just kooky love songs." (His Virginia Commonwealth University graduate thesis was a theater piece built from Joe Jackson albums.)

As if he didn't have enough to do, Hamm also depicts Hymen in the production, adding that tiny role to a list of previous Richmond Shakespeare acting credits.

"He has a great energy," said James Alexander Bond, the New York-based artist who directed Hamm in "Measure for Measure" and in "Julius Caesar."

"He does his work fast and well, and if something's not going in a direction that feels right, he has no problem letting go and trying new things. He's very specific -- and the more specific a character is, the better it is."

Grant Mudge, the company's artistic director, is equally enthusiastic. "He can work as a teaching artist, he can work as an actor -- his versatility is incredibly valuable to me, " he said. "At any small not-for-profit theater company, if you've got someone who can handle more than one area of emphasis, that's incredibly valuable."

If Mudge sounds a note of pragmatism, Hamm takes an idealistic view of his work. "I view this thing of art-making as mission and vocation," he said.

And for that mission, he thinks, Richmond is an ideal location. "You can perform in front of bigger houses if you wish, in bigger towns," said Hamm. "But I guarantee: You're going to touch people so much more deeply here."

And now from the subline to the ridiculous

(Or maybe riddikkulous.)

I am ridiculously and almost embarrassingly ecstatic to be a part of the production of A Midsummer Night's Dream that is being produced by the Richmond Ballet and the Richmond Symphony, with soloists from the Virginia Opera. Grant and I are to be the narrators of the Shakespeare text that goes along with the music and dance.

Now as many of you know, I prefer my Shakespeare pared down, so as to focus the easily distracted modern attention on the actors and the words. But this is a different beast, and in this case--oh my! The sets are stupendous and the sound is just glorious. And I have no words for the dancing (Ok, maybe divine, just because it's alliterative). To be able to match the flow and the meaning of those words with the nuance of the dancer, is almost too much of a good thing. I get chill bumps even thinking of it.

At some point in the day, I thought to myself, "I could do that." But just as quickly, I came to reality and said (or thought) of course I couldn't! They just make it look so effortless, even 15 feet away from me.

I get the privilege of giving voice to Puck (among other characters), and as danced by Danae Carter, I get free rein to use every impish tendency in me (which as we all know, is a lot).

Could I gush more? Probably. But please come if you have the time. If you have as much fun as I do, you'll be dancing to Mendelssohn all the way home!