Contributed by Scott Myers, WWT Director of Public Relations
This weekend I sat in Starr Jaycee Park and watched something magical happen.
I've seen it nine times now and every time I am amazed at what happens when the cast of Water Works' annual Shakespeare In The Park in Royal Oak transitions from rehearsals off site to the first rehearsal on the stage in the park.
The truth is that it's always a bit of a mess. At the first park rehearsal no one knows exactly how they're going to get to and from the stage, what the sound is going to be like, where the lights are going to hit, where the audience will sit and if a frisbee will land on the stage from the park's disc golf course.
And yet it's at this moment that the magic of doing theatre outdoors under the stars begins to happen.
This weekend the woods started to come to life again. The bottoms of the leaves were illuminated by the stage lights, the sounds of footsteps began echoing through the branches and the laughter of the cast & crew filled the air. Sitting there in the park watching it take place, I couldn't help but envy the adventure of which this cast and crew were about to embark.
Over the next few days paths will begin to emerge from the grass around the theatre, the imprints of the cast making their way to and from the stage. They will find stories that aren't written, experiences the audience will watch before and after each character appears. A commaradarie will overcome the staff as together they bring a new shape, form, and energy to a work of art hundreds of years old, pulled into living color before our eyes, wrapping around the audience from the bleachers to the blankets down front.
The light will dance across the stage, the laughter, songs, and dancing will fill the air, the smells of popcorn and bug spray will waft through the park, and then three weeks later,only the paths will remain until the leaves begin to fall like Shakespeare's words falling back into place on his old pages.
History is made in Royal Oak, one Summer at a time.
It really is quite magical.
This weekend I sat in Starr Jaycee Park and watched something magical happen.
I've seen it nine times now and every time I am amazed at what happens when the cast of Water Works' annual Shakespeare In The Park in Royal Oak transitions from rehearsals off site to the first rehearsal on the stage in the park.
The truth is that it's always a bit of a mess. At the first park rehearsal no one knows exactly how they're going to get to and from the stage, what the sound is going to be like, where the lights are going to hit, where the audience will sit and if a frisbee will land on the stage from the park's disc golf course.
And yet it's at this moment that the magic of doing theatre outdoors under the stars begins to happen.
This weekend the woods started to come to life again. The bottoms of the leaves were illuminated by the stage lights, the sounds of footsteps began echoing through the branches and the laughter of the cast & crew filled the air. Sitting there in the park watching it take place, I couldn't help but envy the adventure of which this cast and crew were about to embark.
Over the next few days paths will begin to emerge from the grass around the theatre, the imprints of the cast making their way to and from the stage. They will find stories that aren't written, experiences the audience will watch before and after each character appears. A commaradarie will overcome the staff as together they bring a new shape, form, and energy to a work of art hundreds of years old, pulled into living color before our eyes, wrapping around the audience from the bleachers to the blankets down front.
The light will dance across the stage, the laughter, songs, and dancing will fill the air, the smells of popcorn and bug spray will waft through the park, and then three weeks later,only the paths will remain until the leaves begin to fall like Shakespeare's words falling back into place on his old pages.
History is made in Royal Oak, one Summer at a time.
It really is quite magical.
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