So, to that end, I asked Rich Turley if he'd be willing to share his experience of bringing Petruchio to life for this year's show.
And he, foolish chap, said yes!
Here's a shot of the Royals from A Midsummer Night's Dream and Rich is the gentleman playing Lysander, front and centre of this picture - no chiton for Petruchio though.
All these wonderful actors - from left to right: Ben Hamilton, Sally Feetenby, Fred Radcliffe, Rich, Rob Wilcock, Lucy Nichols and Shaunagh Radcliffe - will be involved with or appearing in 'The Taming of the Shrew' and I hope to be able to get all of them to put pen to paper at some point and give you their experience of character building for, and appearing in, this year's show.
But Rich's first blog contribution is below:
So ... what happens when you have a friendly chat over
dinner about amateur theatre, take a run to Dartmouth Castle, chat to a bloke
with a beard, watch an open air production of King Lear and send an inquisitive
e-mail? Well, in my case, you end up with the role of Petruchio in the 2014
Inn Theatre production of Taming of the Shrew!!!
If you’ve ever had the urge to get involved in theatre
but were afraid to do so then read on ... or read on regardless just for the
fun of it!!
Casting my mind back to August 2013 it was as simple as
that – I went to watch two close friends in King Lear and was so overwhelmed I
asked ‘how can I get involved’. Max
Brandt (the bloke with the beard) replied ‘send me an e-mail’ and so I
did. I expected to start off with ‘third
bench on the left’ or the likes and put it out of my mind. A few weeks later I
get a call from Jane to audition for Theseus in the winter production of
Midsummer Nights Dream. Blimey!!
After doing some research I had the ‘pleasure’ of my
first reading. So ... picture the scene,
new boy in town, surrounded by seasoned professionals ... my voice quivered as
I read the opening lines of the play. I
must have done something right because I got the part.
And do you know what – I had nothing to be nervous about
when it comes to the people involved.
The Inn Theatre Company is without doubt one of the most welcoming and
friendly group of people you could ever want to meet. They went out of their way to make me feel
comfortable and put any anxieties I had behind me – another reason for anyone
out there to get involved!!
For the rest of the Dream story have a look through the
blogs – you’ll find out I ended up playing Lysander. That’s a whole different story and suffice to
say it was an amazing experience and helped me learn so much about myself, how
to do my best to act (Hermia will vouch
for that!!) and opened my eyes to just what’s involved in translating the
Bard’s words to life.
If (like me) you never really got Shakespeare in your
school days then I can assure you he is a complete genius and when you delve
into the meaning of each line you start on a journey of the human condition ...
priceless!!
So ... back to Taming of the Shrew. I’ve been asked to share my experiences as we
throw ourselves into the hard work required to bring the 2014 production to
life. I’ll share the highs (and lows)
and a little bit of what makes me tick ... as I said to Jane (our esteemed
director) I wear my heart on my sleeve and I intend to do the same with my blog
entries.
And every word is true...said the bloke with a beard. I've actually got the distinct pleasure of playing several scenes with Rich this year cos I've been cast as Petruchio's servant, Grumio.
The sheer pleasure of learning about your character(s) and working these guys is already evident. We've got several workshops up-and-coming to help us (both text and movement - particularly important for this year's Commedia Dell'Arte inspired production) and everybody is buzzing...despite being pretty knackered after a winter of getting to grips with The Dream.
Keep in touch with the blog, because I'm sure there will be plenty for everyone to enjoy, and who knows? You may even pick up some really useful tips!
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