High-fives, kid wrangling, and the usual "ews" and "aws"

Our first student audience for Much Ado had a great time today. The theater gods blessed us with temperate weather, a virtual army of kid-wrangling staff, extra volunteers and house staff, and a full audience. (Which is a trend that will continue, since all of the fall student shows are sold out!)

I sat in the house with a bunch of middle school boys, who just couldn’t get over how much kissing there was, but I think my favorite moment was when Claudio discovers that Hero is alive at the end of the play and gives her the sweetest hug, which elicited a huge “Awwww!” from nearly every girl in the audience. Nick Childress (Claudio) won more points later in the Q&A with the actors afterwards when a student, half seriously, half jokingly, asked if Nick’s girlfriend minded his having to kiss Emily (Kitchens, who plays Hero) in the play. Nick took the question very seriously and said that, yeah, he and his girlfriend had to really talk about it, and she accepts that it’s part of his job, and that “she knows I love her.” Another big “Awwww!” from the girls (and I think some of the adults, too.)

Dogberry (played by Danny Scheie, above) was also a big hit—although the vocabulary was a little out of their range, his buffoonery and exclamations of “I am an ass” of course got big laughs. But, beautifully, it also seemed to make him quite endearing.

Andy Murray (Benedick) and Domenique Lozano (Beatrice) also involved the audience wonderfully—when Benedick realized he was in love with Beatrice, Andy high-fived a student in the front row. Then Domenique, skulking through the third row to overhear the gossip on stage, hid by sitting in a student’s seat and putting the girl on her lap as a shield. They were very professional and fun and the students felt really part of the action. Every group left in a good mood and talking about the play.

I am really, really proud that we can share our extraordinary theater work with so many students. We do great stuff here at Cal Shakes, but art of such a high level demands to be seen and shared with young people especially. I heard it said today on NPR that youth participation in art is “rehearsing for a better society,” and I know that to be absolutely true.

Photo by Jay Yamada.

You never know how much kissing is really going on in a show until you play it for adolescents.

The first Student Discovery Matinee of the year was yesterday morning, for John Steinbeck’s The Pastures of Heaven. We had about 420 people in the house, the majority of whom were from under-served Oakland middle and high schools. Two of those schools had also had a Pastures residency this spring in which they studied and dramatized stories from the book. The students were an excellent audience, and proved themselves respectful and interested for the entire show—and, as usual, there was a lot of vocal response! I tell you, you never know how much kissing is really going on in a show until you play it for adolescents! The Tularecito story seemed particularly interesting and affecting to this audience—their reaction was to laugh at first, and then were drawn in to his real sweetness, and were very quiet when he was sent to the asylum. The Tortilla Sisters won applause, and the flash-paper fire was also a hit, of course.

In the Question and Answer session afterward, some usual questions came up such as “How long did you rehearse?”, “Have any of you been on TV?,” as well as “What was your favorite character to play?” and “How do you practice for hard roles like Tularecito?” This last one gave Tobie (Windham, pictured at right as Tularecito, with Emily Kitchens as Miss Morgan; photo by Jay amada) a chance to elaborate on how stepping into someone else’ shoes really helped him understand someone with development difficulties, since it’s so easy from the outside to think they are just really strange. The other very interesting thing that came up was that the character of Raymond Banks says about going to see an execution, “I think it’s a Mexican this time.” When that line was said, there was an audible gasp in the audience, which was of mostly Latino origin. One boy asked, “Why was that a joke?” Actor Catherine Castellanos said that she didn’t think it was a joke, but that the character said it in a way that might have seemed disrespectful because of the time period in which these stories are set, and that people were viewed very much by whatever easily perceived characteristic they had, be it race, or anything else and hopefully we are a lot better at being respectful of everyone now.

Ava Jackson and Clive Worsley were the stars of the hour, making everything run great and be fun at the same time; the PIPs were all enthusiastic and did great with their groups, and being in the new space was pretty amazing backstage and front. (Sorry, I know we go on and on about the bathrooms, etc., but Artistic Learning really got the advantage of all this today!)

Thanks to everyone who makes this kind of thing happen; we are so proud that we can provide this incredible opportunity to get young people in to see great actors, in a great play, in a great space. Wow.

Click here for more information on our Student Discovery Matinees. John Steinbeck's The Pastures of Heaven runs through June 27.

Behind the Scenes at a Student Discovery Matinee

The following is an account of our Student Discovery Matinee Series from the perspective of Trish Tillman, director of Artistic Learning. the first half of this piece ran in Cal Shakes' May 2010 newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, click here.

When I was growing up, I was lucky to be able to see many kinds of performances in my city: Some of them I liked, and some I didn’t; either way, just going into the theater itself gave me a thrill. I always felt a powerful combination of anticipation, ceremony, and specialness, which made me feel alive. Part of our mission at Cal Shakes is to provide that kind of experience to as many students as we can, which takes a lot of inspiration, organization, and good humor.

To give you a sense of what I mean, here’s a little backstage look at how the staff experience our Student Discovery Matinees.

7am – Wake up and realize that we are going to be receiving over 500 students, age 8 to 17, in a matter of hours! Mentally check the paperwork prep we’ve done for the last two months, and get moving.

7:30am – Down an essential cup of coffee and head to the theater.

8:30am – Arrive at the theater parking lot. The chill from the night before still has a hold on the air, so we pull on extra sweatshirts and jackets. We set up orange cones for traffic patterns in the parking area and then trek up the hill to the amphitheater. Then all of us, a group of about 12-15 staff and volunteers, gather to familiarize ourselves with today’s schools and seating chart. Each person is assigned to lead one or two groups, given a reminder of the rules to tell the students.

8:45am – Wipe dew from chairs. Let them have dry seats! We put out programs on the seats for the show, pick up any remaining trash from the previous evening's performance.

8:58am – The shuttle driver departs to pick up groups coming by BART. Other staff and volunteers duck backstage to set up breakfast for the actors who will be arriving soon to work hard in the sun for the next two hours. Grab more coffee.

9:25am – Groups begin arriving; buses and cars fill the lot. The Cal Shakes staff is on hand to greet them, share the rules of attending outdoor theater, and do a head-count. Our walkie-talkies crackle as we communicate from the top of the hill to the bottom parking lot about who’s arriving.

9:45am – As groups arrive, they line up and begin the ascent. We always hear students wondering aloud about where the heck the theater is out here in the woods.

9:50am – Each group is led to a designated grove on the theater grounds to await their time to be seated. Each group gets an entrance time so that not all 550 students are trying to get into the theater at once!

10:05am – As they wait, students usually decide to picnic. Even though it is barely past breakfast, we notice that they seem to be devouring their lunches.

10:25am – Students line up to enter the amphitheater. Their faces light up as they enter the space and see the set. No curtains, no dim lights. The set for John Steinbeck’s The Pastures of Heaven is like a giant three-story dollhouse featuring different rooms on many levels; a real, rusted 1920s-era Ford pickup truck sits on the stage, one wheel off. Then students start to talk about what this play might be like—the sense of anticipation grows.

10:45am – Teaching Artist Clive Worsley takes the stage to do his fabulous pre-show welcome. He goes over some key points from the play in plain, student-ready language; has the students do a call-and-response; and generally primes the energy of the house.

11:00am – Music starts. An actor enters. The audience is suspended in the moment before everything begins, breathing lightly. Then the other actors come onstage, and ... ACTION!

11:30am – As the play progresses, we sit among the groups, always amazed at how real and potent theater is for young people: They laugh loudly, gasp outwardly at the surprise moments, and snicker at any hint of romance. They’re told not to talk, but inevitably they want to check in with their friends with a glance or a poke as they share the experience. We feel that as long as it’s about the show and it’s respectful, reactions are good.

12:20pm – Intermission. Kids rush to the café for goodies. We watch to make sure no one strays off into the woods and we overhear them chatter about Act One—which characters they like, which parts stick in their mind, and which girls have already picked an actor to have a crush on.

12:31pm – Sweater comes off. Sunscreen goes on. The fog is long gone. Act Two begins!

1:30pm – The crowd rises, applauding loudly. The actors look happy and the students start to chatter. Clive jumps up on stage to give instructions for the Question and Answer session.

1:40pm – The post-show Q&A is a treat rarely enjoyed by our evening audiences. The actors, once out of their costume bonnets and aprons, reappear onstage to answer questions ranging from, “How do you become a professional actor?” and, “How did you do that stage effect?” to, “Have you been in movies?” and, “Is anyone in the cast boyfriend and girlfriend?”

2:07pm – Back down the hill they go. If the students are lucky, they run into one of the actors leaving the theater to get some rest before the evening show, and can pepper them with additonal questions.

2:10pm - We prepare the grounds for the evening performance, repeat to each other the amazing things we heard from the students that day, and begin looking forward to the next Student Discovery Matinee.

Seats are still available for the June 8 and 10 Student Discovery Matinees of John Steinbeck’s The Pastures of Heaven! In addition, our Student Discovery Matinees for Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing—September 30, Oct 6, 8, 12, and 14—are booking up fast. Please forward this to a teacher you know or, to bring your own school group, please call Ava Jackson, Artistic Learning Coordinator at 510.809.3292 or email learn@calshakes.org. You can also learn more by visiting our website at calshakes.org/studentmatinees.

Visiting the Real Pastures of Heaven.

The following blog was written by Trish Tillman, Cal Shakes' director of Artistic Learning.

Last weekend several of us from Cal Shakes and Word for Word Performing Arts Company went to Salinas to hold some events in anticipation of our upcoming world premiere, John Steinbeck’s The Pastures of Heaven. In a moment of free time, JoAnne Winter and Stephanie Hunt of Word for Word and I stole a chance to drive down a road named Corral de Tierra, through the landscape where Steinbeck set his novel. (Pictured below as photographed by playwright Octavio Solis.)

It’s only about 15 minutes outside of the town of Salinas, away from the flat, linear, farm fields, where the land starts to roll and dip and create hundreds of little valleys and large hills. The hills were lush green due to recent rains, the wildflowers were out, there were cows and calves sitting peacefully in the sun and crooked sycamore trees like line drawings dotting the landscape. And (I’m not kidding) the very air seemed perfumed. We rolled down the windows and just breathed in, trying to identify the scent. It became more and more lovely as we slowly drove, gazing around wide-eyed. Phrases started to be uttered such as: “It would be so wonderful to live here.” “Let’s pool our money and buy a big house.” “If I lived here I’d get up very early, and drink coffee on my veranda.” “I’d be able to write all day.” Just like the characters of Pastures, we fell under its spell, and could easily build in our minds a future of comfort and success. The power of this particular part of the world had imposed itself upon us, quietly and thoroughly.

I’ve rarely had this kind of experience, of “being called” simply from a place. I’ve seen some beautiful landscapes and buildings and could imagine myself living there, but rarely has it felt like it could truly be a home. Combined with the promise of being almost within reach—I don’t live that far from this country, I talked with several people who do live in that area—and the whole thing became very seductive.

But there is always rationalization, and reality. I know the housing prices in those sweet valleys are still inflated, and that the kind of work I want and need to do in the arts might not be readily available there, and I would miss my community of friends and family in the Bay Area. I also remember the slightly-more-than-one-would-expect number of "For Sale" signs on houses that we passed on our drive.

So the dream continues. Still available, folks, the American dream embodied in the California landscape, from the time when Europeans set foot on the eastern shores and started wondering, "What’s out there? I bet it’s something good. Maybe."

Steinbeck Blog Prompt #2: Identity and Community

This is the second in our series of three prompts, designed to help inform our upcoming Steinbeck Project workshop. The Cal Shakes New Works/New Communities program would love for you to leave your input in the "comments" section below, via prose, poetry, links to video or audio, and whatever else you can think of. Posting your comments on an individual prompt blog during its first week gets you entered in a drawing to win a prize*, and all comments are eligible for publication in Cal Shakes newsletters, on our website, and/or in the program for John Steinbeck's The Pastures of Heaven during our 2010 season.**

And so now, without further ado, here's your second prompt, written by Trish Tillman, Cal Shakes’ Director of Artistic Learning and one of the developers of this fall’s Pastures of Heaven residency at Oakland’s Reems Academy.


As we develop our residency work in schools, one of the most important things that our students are trying to understand is the idea of identity in their own lives, and how one’s personality is shaped in relationship with others. If you can think back to middle or high school—or if you are that age now—you know how important social interactions can be to how you are perceived, and how you think about yourself.

One of the main themes of Steinbeck’s work is how complicated social interactions can be between disparate groups of people living in the same place. Much like a neighborhood or a school, his characters come together with certain expectations or desires about how they will live in the community in which they find themselves. When you enter a new group for the first time, what do you expect? How do you begin to understand those around you?


*Prize still to be determined. Please leave your email address somewhere in your comment!!
**Don't worry, we'll ask your permission first.
Art courtesy of an anonymous commenter on last week's blog.

A Midsummer's Afternoon Student Matinee

Hello everyone!

Today’s Student Discovery Matinee was—yes, you guessed it—awesome. The sun was warm but not unbearable; the chaperones were on their game with their groups; the students (a mix of kids who had been in plays, including Midsummer, and some who had never been to a Shakespeare play) reacted heartily but not out of hand; the actors were in fine form; and the Q&A afterward (with nearly all the actors participating) was full of really good questions. Puck transfixed everyone into complete raptness a couple of times, the audience related to the lovers a lot, the Mechanicals started getting laughs just by walking onstage, and the Pyramus and Thisbe play went over brilliantly. You know that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you know everyone in the room is having a great time together? That was there.

Quotes of the day:
Student #1: (enthusiastically) Man, playing Puck would be the coolest thing ever.
Student #2: (authoritatively) Dude, I played him in 7th grade.

Thanks to everyone who helped today!

Pictured above, L to R: Erin Weaver as Hermia, Doug Hara as Puck (on ladder), Richard Thieriot as Demetrius, and Lindsey Gates as Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream; photo by Kevin Berne.