Carousel offers Shakespeare outdoors
Carousel Theatre’s teen Shakespeare program performs iconic play outside on Granville Island
At one point during a preview show for Carousel Theatre for Young People’s (CTYP) Teen Shakespeare Program‘s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a boy of about two, his eyes as wide as saucers, wandered up to the stage from a nearby Granville Island walking path.
He almost made it to the actors and into the scene before his dad sprinted over, scooped up the grinning toddler and exited stage left.
Stage left in this case is the south side of the grass-covered hill by Performance Works at the east end of Granville Island.
The audience laughed and the actors didn’t miss a beat as an unexpected visitor — be it friend or fowl (in the past whole flocks of geese have made unscripted appearances) — is part of the Shakespeare al fresco experience, an experience that is a great way to spend a summer evening.
During a recent preview performance the cast of close to 20 teenagers was in fine form as actors romped, danced and sang their way around the stage.
This production is set in a kind of backstage swing era theatre. Director Mike Stack felt that setting, with its costume changes and choreography, would go a long way toward engaging today’s screen watching kids.
One of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is made up of a bunch of stories taking place in a world of magic and love. In this comedy, which can go bonkers at times, you have four young lovers in an enchanted forest with fairies and sprites and there’s a feud going on between a king and queen. There’s also a group of actors rehearsing a play they are going to put on as part of a wedding celebration. Delivering the magic is the mischievous Puck (played here by Lucy Layton and Piper Trounce). The sprite flits around dispensing love drops. Sometimes things go wrong. Packed full of fun and games and make-believe this play, at its centre, is a rumination on the idea that true love isn’t always perfect.
“The course of true love never did run smooth,” says young lover Lysander (Nico Pante) at the beginning of the play.
“I think it almost ends up satirizing how ridiculous and how arrogant people can end up being when they are in love and when they are passionate about something. It is a ridiculous play and it is so much fun,” said Atticus Cseh, who plays Bottom, an overzealous actor who ends up with the head of a donkey.
This production, with its toetapping rhythms, fairies and magic potions, is catnip for an imaginative young brain. On the evening of the preview a good one third of the audience was under 12 and was enjoying itself, Shakespearean English and all.
“I definitely think there is a perception that Shakespeare’s plays are not penetrable. This one is a lot more open than that. It’s fun. It’s good for everyone. Everyone can understand it,” said fourthyear Teen Shakespeare Program member Cseh, 17. “The language is a little less complicated. I think anyone can enjoy it, really.”
It also helps to have characters like a Puck and a Bottom, whose mischief and silliness go a long way to keep a kid’s interest.
“I think this year Bottom is very much a clown-like character,” said Cseh, who does deliver a bold and bouncy Bottom. “I think like most clowns there is a really deep-seeded need to be loved by the audience and the other characters, so there is a lot of arrogance with Bottom and a lot of overconfidence.”
For Teen Shakespeare Program rookie Trounce this project has been a wonderful and supportive introduction to Shakespeare and the navigation of his language.
“So far it has been so much fun. I have never really done anything intensely Shakespeare-focused and I am loving what I am learning so far,” said Trounce, a Charles Tupper Secondary student. “Everything about it has been so much fun and just an amazing learning experience,”
An experience the young actor said got better and better and more interesting as the rehearsals went forward. With each pass through the play Trounce became more and more in awe of Shakespeare’s language and layered story telling.
“Generally I love the colourfulness of the language and the double meaning that is hidden in there,” said Trounce. “The deeper you get into a play the more connections you find. The more understanding you have of it and it just unlocks this whole new world.”
A big part of the learning experience for the Teen Shakespeare kids is figuring out how to perform outside in such a fluid environment
For Trounce the setting for the stage fits perfectly with this particular piece of work. But outside comes with challenges. The actors really need to speak up and Trounce said that veterans of the program had another really good piece of advice: “If something happens just go with the flow.”
“Being outside is a blessing and a bit of curse at times,” said Cseh. “It is a wonderful space. You are out there in the fresh air, the audience is right there. It is just more dynamic.
“On a busy night, you will have people on the side of the hill you have to manoeuvre past and sometimes there will be loud planes or geese that go overhead,” added Cseh.
An offshoot of the 28-year-old CTYP program, this summertime Shakespeare tradition has been going since 2000. For the young actors, it becomes a foundational tool for them moving forward in acting.
“I think one of the great things about Teen Shakespeare program is you have a really, really strong grounding in Shakespeare and classical theatre,” said Cseh who just graduated from Templeton Secondary and plans on continuing with acting this fall at the Arts Umbrella’s Theatre Conservatory. “I think there are very few classical theatre programs. There are a lot of musical theatre and film acting (programs). So it’s just so great to get this solid grounding in theatre and the core of theatre and the traditions of theatre. We also get a lot of history and a lot of really great books.”
Cseh admitted when he started with the program four years ago he wasn’t completely gung ho about turning his summers over to Shakespeare. However, it didn’t take long to figure out that he was now with his people and Shakespeare was actually making his summers a whole lot better.
“It is a really positive thing. Most of my friends are theatre kids,” said Cseh. “I think there is a small number of people who are actually willing to completely dedicate themselves to theatre, to put in the time required to really achieve top-notch excellence. I think I can number everyone in this program among them.
“When I started this program I was doubtful and I was worried I would be wasting my whole summer but this program has changed my life on a really profound level and impacted me more than anything has I think,” added Cseh. “I would really encourage others to just give it a shot.
“I feel more at home at Carousel Theatre then anywhere else.”
For Trounce the initial exposure to the Teen Shakespeare program was a nerve wracking journey into unchartered territory, but the emotional embrace she felt from the group soon squeezed any butterflies out.
“I was quite nervous the first day, because there are a lot of people in this program,” said Trounce. “I just immediately felt super welcome and it was just an amazing atmosphere. Everyone was just talking to each other and joking around with each other. It’s a fantastic atmosphere because we are all so excited to be here.”
The show runs for 90 minutes with a 15-minute intermission. There is a festival style village, concession and activities for the kids before the show and during intermission.