Commonwealth Shakespeare Company Summer Apprenticeship 2022

Well I’m back in Indiana after 8 weeks in Boston!

I really wanted some more Shakespeare training so how could I say no to working with one of the finest Shakespeare companies in the country? My experience included dusting off my Linklater voice training, Shakespeare boot camp, monologue/scene coaching, a fully staged apprentice company production, and getting to understudy and work on the big mainstage production on the Boston Common!

I could not have had a better time. I met some of the coolest theatre nerds, made some amazing friends, did some cool theatre and gained so much knowledge and experience with Shakespeare!

I think there’s something intimidating and awkward about hopping on board a theatre camp-like program like this as a college graduate, but I’m so happy I took that leap because the age range was actually very wide. There were people that had just started college all the way to actors well out of college like me and even older. Also, this is not to say that my experience was great thanks to the fact that I had other college grads to talk to, because every actor in the program was so talented and kind and fun to be around, regardless of age/experience.

Getting a little bit more Shakespeare training with classes and coaching was excellent but I think the beefiest(?) part of my growth was in the second half of the program when we all buckled down and got to work. I think being surrounded by so many talented and passionate artists really just changes your mindset and pushes you farther than you thought you’d go. Going through rehearsals for our apco shows and understudy rehearsals for the mainstage show really just gave me an energy I hadn’t felt before. I got to play Simonides and Cerimon in our apprentice production of Pericles, Prince of Tyre, and got to understudy Verges in the mainstage production of Much Ado about Nothing. Both were very fun roles and offered new challenges in a pretty intimidating environment. I had never understudied before, and jumping into a role in a show I hadn’t gotten to see a rehearsal of was wild. To clarify, I didn’t perform as Verges, I did however walk his track during an understudy runthrough. I wasn’t going in completely blind, I’d gotten notes and blocking from the OG Verges (shout out to JJ) but many things had changed or gotten cut as they do and as an actor you just roll with it and embrace the chaos right? Honestly it was so fun I loved it. Pericles was exciting for a number of reasons including a great cast, great director, and a collaborative and fun work environment. We did some fun divising work for the shipwreck scenes, and who doesn’t love some interpretive dancing to an ominous drumbeat? There were also some positive covid tests in our cast which was handled properly but caused so much chaos but when we finally got to do our closing performance with our whole cast it felt like a wild reunion.

Aside from artistry my time included clam chowder, secret hitler, a radiohead planetarium presentation, a carousel ride, a rat bite (not me), cheesecake factory, and concluded with lots and lots of bittersweet tears. Of course I’m still in touch with my pals from my apprenticeship company and plan to still be for always. Also hoping and praying I can return to Boston because what a beautiful city! Do this program ya’all.

-RJM