Ethan took a camera around with him for the first day of rehearsal to catch some of those "creative moments" that happen when you put some serious-minded artist types together in a rehearsal room. This is what he gave us back:
Ethan and I got to the bar around 4:00 to check in on final preparations for the event (thanks to the understanding of both of our respective day jobs). Third "floor" of Red Sky Bar is actually their rooftop. It's adorned with party lights, orange drapery, and is somewhat reminiscent of the wedding sequence from Monsoon Wedding. Aside from a large construction site directly opposite, it's actually pretty scenic and was perfect for the event. When we got there, Wes and Less Than Treason were already on site, and after a quick search for some extension cord, we were in business.
Started out the night with a few close friends coming from work, and the crowd swelled up soon thereafter. Tim brought a few friends from work, and Darren made his 2.5 hour commute from eastern Long Island just for the event. Also from the production team, Kristina Curatolo (props) and Heather Caulfield (publicity) soon joined as well.
Around 7:30, Less Than Treason kicked things off with two songs, and Ethan got up to the mic to make the official welcome. I'd tell you what he said, but I'd been derailed by a cocktail and a conversation in the bar downstairs. I hugged him later, and told him everything was going to be alright. He seemed confused.
The show went 'till 9 o'clock when we wrapped up and made our respective ways home. All in all, it was a great time. For the cast, it was the first time Darren, Tim and Ethan all got to hang out together in a relaxed setting, and it was really something to see our friends come out to support the show. Though this is the only official drink-up/fundraiser for the show, we certainly enjoyed the chance to raise a glass with friends, and would be glad to do so some time in the near future, perhaps post-rehearsal or park performance.
Thanks to very much to all who came, and catch you soon,
- Rob
We've started working to develop some of the publicity posters that we would like to use for the show. So far they center around the "Che Shakespeare" image we have been using thus far to keep things simple for continuity sake. However, we were able to (hopefully) keep things fresh with the different looks.
Having spent some serious time looking over all of Shakespeare's characters and motivations, we decided we would partake in the general enthusiasm towards sports and create a fantasy draft for Shakespearean characters, nominating the ideal actor or actress to play each role. After several long nights of excel spreadsheets and tears, we are happy to present our findings to you:
Leading male: Ole Leonardo di Caprio - as far as the comedies go, none of Shakespeare's leading males have to be good at acting. In fact, many of the roles are just place holders for plot development. We find that this matches very well with Leo's skill set - just look pretty.
Leading female: Young Leonardo di Caprio - as all female roles were played by boys during Shakespeare's era, we thought it would be best to take a traditional approach and cast a youthful Leo in this role. It's hard to say when exactly he shed his boyish charm in place of a leading male look (although some would say they are still waiting for this transition), but one thing is for sure, the screeching pubescent voice of the Titanic Leo is exactly what we need to pull this casting off.
Jealous angry black man: Samuel L. Jackson - we think this pretty much stands on it's own.
Guy that looks like girl: Ryan Phillipe
Girl that looks like guy: Hillary Swank
Angsty Teenager (male): Owen Wilson (suicidal angst), Michael Serra (loveable angst), Paul Dano (emo angst) - this was a tough one, and hence the three way tie. Each actor has a unique approach to the "angsty teenager" role that we couldn't pass on. Michael Serra offers a loveable angst that manifests itself as a stuttering, bumbling, affectionate "you're such a great friend that I have no interest in sleeping with" way. Paul Dano presents the quintessential emo angst that would rival even the most depressed NYU student or Williamsburg hipster. His performance in Little Miss Sunshine made even the most pacifistic hipsters want to join the airforce so they could have the opportunity to be even more miserable than they already are. Owen Wilson: this was a wildcard. Because of age you'd think that he wouldn't have made the cut, but rest assured he's the black horse not to be overlooked. The fact that Owen Wilson had so much angst that he actually attempted to kill himself makes him the perfect candidate for the part. Sure, he's a little old, but we think some true magic could happen if you put him on stage (with a razor blade).
Angsty Teenager (female): That Girl from "Juno." - we apologize for not knowing her name, nor taking the time to look it up. We didn't like her enough in Juno to really pay attention to her as anything other than "that pregnant chic in that movie that Michael Serra was in."
Hamlet: Kenneth Branagh - self important, attention hungry, whiny.
Ophelia: Angelina Jolie - both Ophelia and Angie are crrrr-aaazy (she used to carry around a vial of Billy Bob Thorton's blood for Christ's sake!).
Macbeth: James McAvoy - he's the only Scottish actor we know...or at least he played a Scottsman in that movie with Forrest Whitaker (that guy is sweet).
Lady Mcbeth: Glen Close - scariest actress known to mankind.
Idiot Savante: Zach Braff - funny in an "I'm surprised you can actually form a sentence" sort of way. We find ourselves laughing with/at him and wondering "why?" It's not that he isn't funny, he's quite funny, we just don't know why that is.
Falstaff/Bottom: John Goodman - he's damn funny.
Talentless Clown (who dies): Adam Sandler
King: George Clooney - he's the king of hollywood (and womanizing) so why not be the king?
Prince: Brad Pitt - what sucks most about being prince is that you are second fiddle to the king, like a little sidekick that is always one step behind the big man. True to form, with Clooney as king, we had to put Pitt as prince. Don't worry Brad, Hal got his chance too.
Darren and Rob met up in Astoria over the weekend to work through a rough sketch of the show's movement, entrances and exits.
I had originally met Less Than Treason's co-founder Wes Shippee through our work together on Radiotheatre NYC shows, and when it came time to find a band to play at Booze for the Bard, Less Than Treason was the first to come to mind. The band accepted our invitation, and will be playing 7:30 - 9:00 on the night of the event (Thursday, June 26th).
Check out their website at http://lessthantreason.com, or at their Facebook fan page linked here. The website also features two great tracks, 'As Yet Untitled,' and 'Seymore.'
We're psyched that they'll be joining us, and look forward to a great show.
- Rob
Hi everyone, it's me, Rob. So far I'd posted a few updates on the progress of the production in a blog on MySpace, but we figured it'd be a good move to get the posts onto our main website and out in the open. Please feel free to leave any comments or drop us a line, we'd love to be in touch with you as we ramp up to getting this show on its feet.
Winding back the clock, if you would like to check out older posts going back to when we first got this thing going, feel free to peruse below. More to come soon.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Been a while! A brief update...
Sorry for the long break between updates! A lot's gone on since March, here are the bullet points:
- Darren St. George has joined the cast, he'll be playing various roles, not the lease of which include Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, Horatio and more
- 'We Love Our Willy' bar night, dates and times have been announced and are as follows:
Red Sky Bar
47 E. 29th St. (between Park and Madison)
Thursday, June 26th 6-9 P.M.
$10 bracelet at the door - all proceeds to benefit the No Jacket Required Theater.
Drink Specials: $3 Bud & Bud Light drafts, $4 Cosmos & Appletinis, $5 well drinks- We had our first cast read-through, and also did some messing around with the Macbeth sketch on its feet. Exciting and daunting all at the same time that this thing is actually going to happen.
There's little over a month left until rehearsal in earnest starts, so things are starting to kick into full steam. Hope you're enjoying the warm(er) weather, and more to come soon.
- Rob
PS: we've started experimenting with Twitter. If you're of that sort, feel free to follow us at 'shakesabridged' and we'll most certainly follow you back.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Destination: Under St. Mark’s Place
Ethan and I took a look at Under St. Mark’s Place a few weeks ago. On top of being one of the better deals available in terms of an Off-Off Broadway space, it also has a look/feel that seems to fit what we’re gunning for with the show. So the news bit on this is that we’ve signed the contract, put in our deposit, and are good to go for August 14 - 30, at 8PM, at Under St. Mark’s Place (94 St. Mark’s Place).
It is also worth noting that Under St. Mark’s Place also has a bar, and that’s not a bad thing either.
Next step in the location hunt is to nail down a location (or locations) for our free open rehearsals/performances in Central Park. Our first thought at this point is the Shakespeare Statue down at the end of the mall, but if you have any other suggestions or ideas, let us know.
- Rob
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
We’re on Google. It’s no big deal, I mean, really.
You wake up one day, you spin out of bed, you type into Google "Shakespeare Abridged." Some time goes by, you think that you are actually looking for some sort of, text, or Google Books version of the plays. But before you even get there-- you run into http://www.shakespeareabridged.net. And then you think to yourself-- Shakespeare Abridged? Is that the show that I’m MySpace friends with, like, 3 other people for? And the answer to that question is, basically, yes.
And the interweb knows it.
And if I remembered how to post an illustrative photo here, instead of just describing it to you and leaving the photo in our ’photo’...’album’...you’d know it, too.
6/4/08: update since this was posted, Rob later signed OUT of Google, and then found the webpage on page 2. But at least it's there. Because if it's not on the Google it doesn't exist. I've been told.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Unincorporated Lodge or Association
According to the bank, No Jacket Required is considered an Unincorporated Lodge or Association. Like the Elks.
From what the bank told us, we qualify as an "Unincorporated Lodge or Association." Like the Elks.
