ODDFELLOWS PLAYHOUSE
2008 SUMMER SHAKESPEARE ACADEMY

APPLICATION FORM

What is it?
An intensive, four-week Shakespeare-in-Performance program for high school students, culminating in a production of Measure for Measure and The Taming of the Shrew. Participants are cast in a significant role in one of the two plays, and a supporting role in the other. The selection of two shows provides more opportunities for the participants. Each play is edited for time to keep the performances as close to two hours as possible. Students who wish to participate but do not want the responsibility of a major role will be cast in both plays in a supporting role.

When is it?
June 30 – July 26, 2008. The program runs Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. Performances of Measure for Measure and The Taming of the Shrew are on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, July 23-26 at 7:00.

Where is it?
Oddfellows Playhouse, 128 Washington Street in Middletown. The performances will take place in the theatre.

Who is eligible?
The Summer Shakespeare Academy is open to anyone ages fourteen through nineteen, although you must have completed ninth grade. Enrollment is by application and audition. Application forms are available from the Playhouse. Auditions are conducted by appointment until all slots are full.

What do I need to do to audition?
Contact the Playhouse (860-347-6143 or info@oddfellows.org) to register. For the audition you must:
1) Bring your completed application form.
2) Prepare a short monologue – either a selection from one of Shakespeare’s plays or a sonnet. Monologues should be at least twelve lines long, maximum twenty lines, and must be memorized.
3) Dress comfortably. You may be asked to do some movement.

When will I find out if I have been accepted?
You will receive notification of your enrollment status within 5 days of your audition appointment. A $50 deposit is due one week later to hold your place in the program. The balance of the tuition payment is due May 16.

What does it cost?
Tuition for the four-week program (over 120 program hours) is $650. Limited financial aid is available.

What is the program curriculum?
The Summer Shakespeare intensive will focus on rigorous theatre training directly connected to the performance of Shakespeare’s plays Measure for Measure and The Taming of the Shrew. The program will focus on production, but will use the rehearsal and production process as a teaching medium as well. Classes in text analysis, for example, will be specific to YOUR character development, and classes in stage combat will lay a foundation for performance fight choreography. Week #1 will focus on an introduction to the world of Shakespeare, the casting of the play itself and the first stage of rehearsal, called “table work”. Week #2 will continue rehearsal, while adding special skills needed for the show such as voice work and stage combat. Week #3 will continue the work from the first two weeks, with greater attention to refining the work for performance. The final week will focus on performance. We will have four performances total, Wednesday July 23, Thursday July 24, Friday, July 25 and Saturday, July 26. Following the final curtain, we will strike the set.

Daily Schedule:
9:00-9:30 Welcome & Warm-up
9:30-10:45 Rehearsal/tech/classes
10:45-12:00 Rehearsal/tech/classes
12:00-12:30 Group Work/Sharing of Knowledge
12:30-1:15 LUNCH
1:15-3:00 Rehearsal/tech/classes
3:00-3:30 Group work & Closure

See photos from last year's production's of Othello and Much Ado About Nothing

Is there a limit to enrollment?
YES. Enrollment is limited to 25 students. Once enrollment reaches 25 we will start a waiting list. This cap ensures the optimum learning and performing experience for everyone by keeping classes small and allowing for everyone to be cast into appropriate and challenging roles.

How do I apply?
Application forms are available at Oddfellows – call (860) 347-6143, e-mail info@oddfellows.org or download the form here. Forms must be filled out on both sides and brought to the audition. If you are accepted into the program a $50 deposit is due one week after your audition. This deposit will reserve your place in the program. The balance is due on May 16, 2008.

Who are the staff?
Jeffery Allen The program and production are both being directed by Oddfellows artistic director Jeffery Allen. Jeffery is in his fourth season as artistic director of Oddfellows Playhouse. He served as the Director of Education for Cleveland Public Theatre, Northeast Ohio’s leading alternative theatre prior to coming to Connecticut. He also spent four seasons at Great Lakes Theater Festival, Cleveland’s only professional classic stage company in the nationally recognized Education Outreach program, working directly with students grades K-12 to explore the power, passion and relevance of classic drama, notably serving as primary artist-in-residence in the rural outreach program to Auglaize County, Ohio. Jeffery is a proud member of the Lincoln Center Theatre’s Director’s Lab and Actors’ Equity Association. Acting credits include The Lark (Cesear’s Forum); Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge (Cleveland Public Theatre); Macbeth; Antony & Cleopatra; A Child’s Christmas (Great Lakes Theater Festival); ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore (Pelican, NYC); She Stoops to Conquer (Upper Westside Rep, NYC)
Directing Credits include To Kill a Mockingbird, Gold in the Bones, Macbeth, Prometheus Bound (Oddfellows Playhouse); Tale of the Allergists Wife (Ivoryton Playhouse); Up the Mountain (Cleveland Public Theatre); Julius Caesar (Cleveland Shakespeare Festival); Merchant of Venice (Red Hen Productions); The Crucible, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Nights Dream, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Willoughby South High School).
Robert Resnikoff Robert studied acting and directing at Boston University’s School of the Arts and interned at the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival. He has played leading roles in plays by Stoppard, Tolstoy, Rice and other in New York, and a few plays and musicals in stock. He has also done two short films, some industrials and considerable voice-over work. He had his own radio show on WSHU, Fairfield, and hosted on America’s largest classical music radio station, WQXR-NY. As an arts administrator, he has worked for the New York Philharmonic, the 92nd Street Y and the Shubert Theater in New Haven, among others. He is a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association, the Screen Actors’ Guild, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Mariah Sage Mariah is an actor, director, educator and acting coach who currently teaches drama at Quinnipiac University and frequently teaches adult acting classes at Hartford Stage. She has taught acting to undergraduates at Brown University and NYU/Tisch, and to students grades 1-12 with the nationally recognized education outreach program at Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland. Mariah has performed with theaters across the country and in Europe and holds a BFA in Drama from NYU/Tisch and an MFA in Acting from Brown University where she was a Stephen Sondheim Fellow.
Jane Harris Jane is an actress, teaching artist, playwright, and Oddfellows Playhouse alum. She trained professionally with the Hartford Ballet, and holds a BA in English and Theatre from Central Connecticut State University. Her playwriting was recognized at a theater festival sponsored by the Kennedy Center, and was published in The Helix. Jane teaches and directs numerous classes and productions at Oddfellows Playhouse and Hartford Children’s Theatre. She most recently directed the mini-production A Thousand Cranes. Acting credits include leading roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Antigone.