Clashes in the streets, people yearning for connection but being kept apart, a citywide plague...Shakespeare’s 400 year old tale feels as timely as ever, and even more so when told through the eyes of A.B.L.E.’s ensembles.
Click below to watch a scene, or rent or purchase the full project from Vimeo
About this Production
Romeo & Juliet Remix is a one-of-a-kind movie filmed entirely on Zoom, featuring an ensemble cast of 38 actors with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Each actor is taking on one specific moment in this classic story of love and hate. Actors will share roles with 9 different Romeos, 11 different Juliets, 3 Tybalts, and many other citizens of Verona.
Romeo & Juliet Remix will weave Shakespeare's words with original monologues, scenes, songs, and dances developed by the cast. Some of the original pieces include a monologue from the perspective of Juliet’s suitor, Paris, devised and performed by actor Martin Conway, original songs by Christian Boyd and Emmett Fox, and a dance piece by actors Sandia Coleman and Marissa Bloodgood inspired by the imagery of “the nightingale” and “the lark” in the lovers’ final goodbye.
Audience Advisory: Romeo & Juliet Remix includes violence, murder, suicide, sexual situations...and a lot of dancing.
Runtime: Romeo & Juliet Remix is one hour and twenty one minutes (1:21:00) including credits.
Behind the Scenes
Follow our rehearsal process and see photos and videos from our Zoom sessions on our blog.
Over a 10-week rehearsal process on Zoom, A.B.L.E.’s ensembles collaborated with a team of teaching artists and volunteer facilitators to learn Shakespeare’s classic story of love and hate and make it their own. A.B.L.E.’s programming team battled Zoom fatigue, lagging internet signals, and tight living quarters to reinvent their programs for a virtual format. Actors learned the story and characters through games like “What’s in the Apothecary Shop?” and “Bite Your Thumb”, and went on scavenger hunts around their homes to find costumes and props.To make the virtual sessions more engaging, A.B.L.E. mailed each actor a kit at the start of the rehearsal process with visual aids, crafts, and activities. Between sessions, actors have been crafting their own Shakespearean ruffs out of coffee filters, decorating masquerade masks for the Capulet Ball, and creating music playlists inspired by the events in the story.
Romeo & Juliet Remix has been partially supported by:
