Week 1

Can you believe it? We’re at the end of our first week as Apprentices at Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. This week marked the beginning of our exciting journey, as we dived into explorations of movement, voice and of course, Shakespeare. But before I get too far into what I discovered this week, I think a good place to start is with an introduction.

My name is Caroline Casey and I graduated from New York University this May with a B.F.A. in Drama & English. While in school, I studied at the Experimental Theatre Wing as well as Stonestreet Screen Acting Studios. Between these two studios and the experience of moving to New York City, I learned technicalities of acting as well as how to trust my impulses. But with graduation approaching, I was feeling pretty lost as to what my next step as a young actor would be.

One night this spring, I had seen a production of As You Like It at Tisch. The beauty of the language and the relationships between the characters overwhelmed me. I nearly wanted to jump onstage to play Rosalind. Incredibly inspired, I grabbed my phone to explain this to my Mom but before I could dial, I saw an email from Adam. He offered me a spot in the Apprentice program. Having never studied Shakespearean acting before, I realized that this might be a new acting frontier I could explore. The program would let me work with text I had only studied as an English major. Without thinking twice, I emailed Adam that night.

And only a week into the program, I can honestly say how excited I am to be here. We’ve had inspiring movement classes with Yo-el, moving voice classes with Paul, and thought provoking discussions with Adam. In just one week, it’s incredible to feel and see the impact of this program on not only myself, but also the others around me.

As I figure out the format of my posts, I know I want to write about an experience each week. So for my first week, I think it’s appropriate to describe Yo-el’s movement class last night. After days of classes divided by section, this was the first time all 24 Apprentices were moving together again in space. As we were walking, I was so happy to see faces I had missed over the past few days. Yo-el tossed 3 tennis balls into the space and asked for us to catch and throw the tennis balls with our cores. As the tennis balls were moving through space, I realized my responsibility to the task, but also that it didn’t matter who threw the ball or caught the ball. Even though it was a movement exercise, it was also an exercise in trust. I knew the 23 other Apprentices would be there to catch the ball if I dropped it.

Which leads me to my favorite part of the program. The Apprentices. Not only are they hard working and thoughtful, they are inspiring artists who engage with this program passionately. They take me by surprise every day and only encourage me to delve deeper into the work.

Because of this, I think a large part of this blog will be dedicated to the work of my peers. Who better to write about?

Maybe Shakespeare.

CC