As the Drama Club finds itself deep into the rehearsal process of this years fall play “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare, two members of the cast with different theater background reflect on rehearsals so far.
With two weeks of rehearsal for the Drama Club’s production of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” under his belt, freshman Alex Lauderbach reflects on his experiences thus far. Though this is Lauderbach’s first play, he thinks he’s grasping the concept of acting pretty well.
Because this is Lauderbach’s first show, the act of memorizing lines could be a challenging feat- let alone the fact that the entire script is in the original Shakespearean English. Not only does Lauderbach have to memorize the lines, but he also has to be able to deliver them in an engaging way for the audience.
“I always try to think ‘What is my character thinking?’” Lauderbach said. “I’m just trying to get to the state of mind that my character is in.”
With only a few more weeks of rehearsal until the show, Lauderbach hopes to get to know his castmates better and memorize his lines until the show opens on Nov. 21.
“I’m really excited to get on stage and see what people have done with the scenery,” Lauderbach said. “I’m also really looking forward to having the lines memorized so I can be in the best state of mind for the play.”
Having been in a multitude of shows, ranging from “The Music Man” to “The 12 Dancing Princesses”, junior Anna Stolz knows the drill. When she was cast as Ariel in the Drama Club’s Production of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”, she got to work, immediately studying her lines.
“With Shakespeare, there’s another added level, so I have been going through my script every day, thinking about it when I’m bored in math class,” Stolz said. “It’s a constant thing.”
Even though Stolz has been through the process multiple times, nerves always seem to follow her to every show she’s in.
“I try to think of a reason why my character would be nervous because a lot of times it’s hard to just put the nerves away,” Stolz said. “I think of motivation for how my character would react and evidence for that. It also just helps get me into character, honestly.”
Stolz was drawn to theater for one specific reason: simply to be someone else.
“I get to become someone else entirely, even if it’s just for an hour a day,” Stolz said. “I get to forget my problems and become a different creature, in this case. [Ariel’s] problems become my problems and everything in my life becomes so much less significant.”
Though both actors have different levels of experience, their methods of preparation are similar.
The play’s show dates are Nov. 21-23, and each show will start at 7 p.m.
