In the spring of 2013, we produced our 3rd annual Shakespeare show in conjunction with GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago. After just a few short years in operation, our program tripled in enrollment with 17 actors and 12 volunteer facilitators!
Semester Overview
We get asked a lot “why Shakespeare?” to which we say “Why not Shakespeare?” Taming of the Shrew is a perfect example of why Shakespeare’s work has endured for centuries.
There’s so much to play with; the emotions are larger than life, the characters have very distinct personalities, there is a ton of witty banter, and the themes of gender roles still ring true. To take this up a notch, we’re incorporated music into this production.
As we learned from our group’s success with The Wizard of Oz, music is a fantastic tool to heighten emotion, and proved a fun way for us to explore our main characters – Kate & Petruchio. (Fortunately, Cole Porter also recognized the brilliance of Shakespeare’s poetry, and used much of the original verse as lyrics for his songs in Kiss Me Kate).
Our classes focused on all the different types of relationships in the story – family, friends, romantic, adversarial – and how one behaves differently in different relationships. Actors auditioned for their favorite characters in March, and each performed at least 2 characters in the final performance.
Group Pieces
- Group Song and Dance to “Brush Up Your Shakespeare”
- Girl’s song and dance to “I Hate Men”
- Boy’s song and dance to “I Come to Wive it Wealthily in Padua”
- Small Group Dance to “Too Darn Hot”
Guest Artists
- Actress Laura Rook (who played Juliet in CST’s Romeo & Juliet) joined us for class to answer questions about what it’s like to be a professional Shakespeare actress, dealing with stage fright, and auditioning, and to teach us some warm up games.
- Northwestern Medill School of Journalism student Rebecca Halleck joined us in class and interviewed several of our members for a video piece about art therapy.
- Justin Mitchell from 91.5 WBEZ Radio joined us for several weeks leading up to our final performance for a segment featuring our actor, Colleen Altman. (Click here to listen.)
Performance
April 28th 2013 at Victory Gardens Theatre
GiGi’s Teen Drama Troupe
- Colleen Altman
- Quincy Bane
- Marissa Bloodgood
- Rachel Buchanan
- Jack Butler
- Benjamin Collins*
- Alena Counter-Brown
- Kathleen Daley
- Andrew Kosnik
- Emily Kwidzinski
- Emily Lavin
- Lucas Miezal
- Samuel Floersheimer*
- Sam Petri
- Sam Radinsky
- Hannah Vilic*
- Lucy Walsh
Co-Directors
Mallory Schuh-Alcala & Katie Yohe
Facilitators
- Amanda Averack
- Casey Clack*
- Kristin Frasca*
- Aislinn Gauchay
- Travis Gauchay
- Kate Garwood
- Lawrence Kern
- Lisa Schneider*
- Kendra VanKempen
- Peter VanKempen
Lighting and Sound Technician
Michael Clack
Poster Design
Brandy Taylor of Graphic Sorbet
* denotes first semester with our ensemble
Reviews for Taming of the Shrew
My favorite show is probably The Taming of the Shrew – that was Jack’s first time doing a Shakespeare show. It amazed me!
— Jack’s Dad, John
I was so impressed by the amount of language the students were able to deliver and how well the show flowed from beginning to end. Throughout the show, I couldn’t stop thinking about the students, volunteers, and families equally, and how each group has SO MUCH to gain from being a part of your program.
— Jason Harrington Education Outreach Manager, Chicago Shakespeare Theater
