Last week I got to sit in on a portion of the New York auditions for BEST OF BOTH WORLDS, which will be my second assistantship. I will be assisting Diane Paulus, a DL alumna who is in her first season as Artistic Director at the American Repertory Theater in Boston. The auditions were amazing. The show is an R&B/Gospel musical adaptation of Shakespeare's THE WINTERS TALE, so the auditioners came in with and R&B or Gospel song. The voices I heard blew me away. One of the roles is for a young boy, and the child actors/singers who came in were adorable and astounding.
It was also great to meet Diane for the first time. She was so welcoming to me, and struck me as an inspired leader and a great listener. It was really helpful to hear her describe what she was looking for in some of the roles; that started to give me a sense of her point of view on the production, and her priorities in how we tell this story.
I also got to meet casting director Stephen Kopel, and the authors: Randy Weiner, who wrote the book & lyrics, and Deirdre Murray, who composed the music. It seems like an incredible team.
I head to Boston in about 3 weeks, and can't wait to get started.
(posted by Laura)
1 comment:
Laura, I'm so excited you get to work on this! We'll be Shakespearing on track together. "The Winter's Tale" is my favorite Shakespeare play, and the picture of (Hermione?) gave me goosebumps. I am going to try my darnedest to make it to Boston to see the show. It'll be my treat to myself before we start rehearsal on the one-acts. Sounds like you and Diane are going to hit it off!
(posted by Ed)
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