Two Gentlemen of Verona

This year we hadThis summer I was part of the teen repertory production of Two Gentlemen of Verona at Theatricum Botanicum. In fact, I actually got one of the lead female roles and Ventana got the other. It was a really good experience even though there were some things I wasn't happy about at all (my love interest for example). The group had a bunch of people from other years as well as new people. two directors, Aaron (who we had last year) and Willow who I've also had before. It was interesting because they never directed on the same days which was rather confusing since they might give us two different notes. Two Gentlemen of Verona was Shakespeare's first play and thus has some story issues as well as themes that you see throughout the rest of his plays. It tells of the story of two best friends; Proteus and Valentine. Valentine go off to Millan to serve the Duke, while Proteus stays behind with his love, Julia. When Proteus goes to visit Valentine he finds himself under the spell of the beautiful Silvia who Valentine is engaged to. Trickery ensuing, Valentines is banished, Julia disguises herself as a boy serving Proteus as a sevant, and everything ends in the forest. I played Julia. I had a really amazing time doing the beginning scenes of the play with Rachel, who played my sevant. We got along well and it was very much fun to do. I feel like this part was very good for me to play because it was challenging and diverse and different from the parts I normally play. I learned a lot did new things. It was fun to see everyone else who had more comedic parts. For example, my friend Mallin played Sir Eglamour, a flamboiant suiter of Julia and friend to Silvia. She seemed to be having lots of fun and was really quite funny to watch on stage. We also had an amazing dog who was part of the play. She was so cute and all of us were always petting her. She was super sweet and would always do things on stage that were perfect and hysterical. I had some really good friends in this group. Mallin, Katie and Lily were both in it last year and it was so nice to be with them again. I'm really sad that Mallin is to old for the camp now. Thankfully we'll still have a year with Lily, she has really nice energy and is great to talk to. I also loved being with Danny again. He was in two of our plays several years ago and it was great to have him back. In all it was very different from years before, and challenging, but still quite fun.







(last picture is Miranda, me, Ventana, Mary and Danny. Mary and Miranda were not i the play)

Pictures thank to Scott Garen and Ben Neuhart.

The End and the Beginning

Well, the year is coming to a close. It is an end as well as a beginning. A time to start afresh, and let things go. Looking back on 2008, I realized that I grew a lot this year. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. This year we performed the play "The Mouse that Roared." That really felt like the beginning of things to come in high school. It was a challenge and also extremely fun. I learned to golf in one of my favorite classes of the semester. I survived Spirit Week without many scratches and even earned myself a bow from the teacher I impersonated. My acting grew at Theatricum this year. My scene and monologue were big challenges and I am so proud of how hard I worked and that I was able to pull through. I got a great part in Taming of the Shrew and had a wonderful time. I learned a lot about acting, Shakespeare and what helps me with a scene. Being in a repratory Theatricum play has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl. It was one of the highlights of my summer I really hope I can be a part of it again next year! I took some great photos this year. I'm not a master or anything, but it's nice to improve. I audtioned for Pippin and sung in front of people on my own. That has been a big fear for a while. Even though I didn't get the part I wanted I made my new part really fun and I'm so happy with what happened. I've taken chances with the role and wasn't afraid to look odd in front of everyone. The Native American trip will always linger in my mind for 2008. It was an amazing experience and I am so lucky to have been there. I will never forget the memories I have from there, the beautiful canyon, the friends I made and the laughs I had. I fulfilled another childhood dream by performing in the Halloween skits. I played in the winter concert loudly and didn't mess up more then twice. In all I think this past year really helped me begin to conquer some of my fears and well as accomplish some of my dreams. I had a wonderful time and I made so many good memories. I remember 2007 as a rather strange year, but I know I'll remember 2008 as one where I had hard times as well as fun ones. Goodbye 2008, hello 2009. What do you have in store for me I wonder. What goals will I accomplish and fears will I conquer? Happy old year and happy new year.
May 2009 bring joy and good fortune.

Summer Farewell

The wind blew cold,
Autumn was coming with red and gold.
I had lots to do,
The days grew shorter I knew it was true.
-By Eve Neuhart (in fifth grade)

Yesterday was my last day of summer and my final Midsummer Night's Dream performance. I've had a very good summer and although I'm sad that it's over, I also feel like I accomplished a lot. I have grown so much. I am more confident of who I am.
The play was extremely fun and it was so sad saying goodbye to all my new fairy friends! I hope I can do it again next year. I already miss hearing the lines from on stage while I sit playing cards backstage. The "Oh"s and "But what say I, no Thisby do I see!"s. It was such a fun experience!
Theatricum has taught me so much over the years, but never as much as this year. I learned more about acting and Shakespeare, as well as how to play the flute in front of people. It is a home away from home to me, and I know it will always be that way. My directors and teachers are my family I feel like I can trust them and their judgement. Overall, I just feel so thankful to Theatricum for all it has done for me over the years! I'd be a different person if not for it, and I highly doubt that person would be anywhere as good as the me of today. Thank you so much for all you've done, my directors, teachers, student, and most of all Theatricum, , the place, for welcoming me into your branches.
Goodbye lovely summer. I will not forget you in a hurry. Welcome autumn. Welcome school, tenth grade and the rest of my life. Welcome, and goodbye.

Taming of the Shrew

Yesterday was our first performance of "Taming of the Shrew". I was really nervous because I play the flute on stage and I was afraid I was going to mess up, but it turned out far better than I could have imagined!

For the past couple weeks we have been working on the play. I could imagine putting on a play in such a short amount of time. A bunch of my friends from the other camp were in the play, and it was nice to get to act with them. There were also new people who were really nice as well.

I think it was one of the most fun plays I've ever done. Aaron, our director, let us have a lot of fun with it. We had an "orchestra" where we did a bunch of sounds through-out the play. Drums, tambourines, whistles, flutes, glasses, you name it. I also really enjoyed my part. It was a good size and I had a lot of fun scenes. I ran around a lot, and I got to act along side a good actress, and a really nice person. Sarah and I were in every scene together. It was really neat watching her, for she is really funny! I had a scene with Ventana, even though it was holding her down during a fight. We also got to do a little dance in the beginning of the show. I had a couple scenes with my friend Julia which I enjoyed a lot. In all, it was just a really great experience.

The performance went amazingly well. Everyone remembered their lines, and everyone's characters were defined and funny. Everyone who saw it seemed to like it! My flute solo, for our wedding scene, went better than ever. Of course there were a few mess ups in the show, but I don't think the audience noticed. I think everyone had a great time, and I'm looking forward to our next show on Saturday, the 23rd.

I miss everyone already and it has only been one day. I can't imagine saying goodbye to everyone after Saturday. I have made so many friends and I get along with everyone. I love you all so much!

More pictures are coming soon!

Scenes and Monologs

Yesterday we had our performance of the scenes and monologue high school group at Theatricum. Camp was really different than the previous years, and yet it was still really fun! I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. It was a good mix of fun theater games, Shakespearean life and vocal warm ups.

I didn't know anything about the play "Twelfth Night" from which my monologue is from. I had heard that it was a fun play and I was excited to work on my monologue. We found out that we would be spilt into three groups for our monologues, each would be working with a different director. I would be working with Aaron, which I was reasonably happy about. I've had Aaron as a fencing teacher for many years now. He's one of the teachers that I've known the longest. We started out by reading our monologues on stag in front of everyone else in our group. I was un-happy that Ventana was not in my group, but I was also looking forward to getting to know new people. I began to read the monologue the way I thought I would be said, in a sort of comedic, storytelling way. Aaron stopped me and asked if I knew what the monologue was about. In the end, it turned out that it was in the opposite direction as how I had originally interpreted it.

I was extremely excited to work on my scene, not only because Ventana was in my group, but also because my director was Mike, who is probably my favorite director. He did our last two plays in the youth camp, which have both been great. We all read threw our scenes, then began to block them. It was harder than I expected. I didn't seem to have enough emotion. Besides, my partner was nowhere near the man of my dreams. It was challenging, to say the least. And then there was Mike, he was still my favorite, but he wasn't as cheerful and friendly as before. He was in a bad mood.

We continued to work on the scenes and monologues. The later was going very well, Aaron said I was doing great and I felt good about it. My scene was the opposite. My partner Max would spit when he talked and it often times landed on my face. He would get to close and I would have to step back, which didn't work when I was supposed to love him. Mike's bad mood continued, and over all, it wasn't quite going according to plan. Ventana was also having trouble with her scene. She didn't like her partner Brogan at all, and she had to get thrown to the ground, which she didn't enjoy.

As the weeks past, I made some great friends, old and new. I have known Corinne since we did "Shakespeare's Magic" six years ago, but this is the first year I became good friends with her. We get along really well. She's really nice and likes to talk, which is nice on those mornings when all you want to do is listen. Since she loves to bake she decided to bring different cookies everyday to camp. She brought tons of tasty treats like apple oatmeal cookies, or Russian tea cakes, or chocolate cookies cooked around a Hersey's kiss. They were all very very yummy. I can't wait to visit her bakery once she gets one!

Another friend I made was Julia. I first I thought Julia was one of the annoying girls who I never get along with, but I soon got to know her and found that I got along with her quite well. She is really sweet and has a gentle way about her. Although she is going into twelfth grade, she didn't feel any older. She was in my scene group and soon we became good friends. She to had a scene partner who she was not very happy about. I'm happy because Julia is in Taming of the Shrew with me, so I will see her again soon!

In the end, all is well that ends well.

We had a great performance. I did my scene better than ever and my monologue was very good! I had a ton of fun and I will miss everyone a lot!