Well, my 2008 cast for The Taming of the Shrew has been chosen and announced.  I knew I couldn’t wait until after spring break was over to announce the parts, so I made sure I had it finalized last Thursday in order to announce it Friday morning.  Was everyone happy?  No.  Am I content?  Yes.  Does that mean it was easy to deal with disappointment?  No.  Do I still feel like I made the best decisions?  Yes.  So there you go.

Goodness, don’t I sound grumpy?  Yes.  Okay, I’ll quit writing in one-word sentences! Before I announced who got what, I explained to the school just how difficult it is to create a cast.  It’s not that choosing the right person for the right role is especially difficult, although there are times that it can be a little tough.  For me, it’s the fact that I know someone (and probably more than one someone) will be disappointed.  When five boys put down “Grumio” as the role they want, and seven girls write “Katharina,” odds are someone isn’t going to be happy - four boys and six girls, to be exact!  So I reminded them that I had to make the best decisions I could for the good of the production, and that I was sorry in advance for anyone who was disappointed.

I also explained to them that in order to alleviate some of the disappointment, I was adding the Induction back into our production.  Many of them looked at me with blank stares, which I had anticipated, so I gave a short run-down as to what I was talking about.  The Taming of the Shrew was written with an introduction, which tells the story of a drunken tinker, Christopher Sly, who is tricked into believing he has been asleep for 15 years and that he is really a wealthy nobleman.  This creates a framework for the rest of the story - Christopher Sly is actually watching a performance of The Taming of the Shrew while he enjoys his newfound wealth!

The problem with this framework is that most copies of Shrew only include the Induction at the very beginning, prior to the start of the action of Shrew itself.  So it appears that the frame is incomplete - that we meet Christopher Sly & Co., but never hear from them again after Act II!  But I was fortunate to have been told about the Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works 2nd Edition (2005 - ISBN 0199267170), which contains further pieces of the frame story, possibly from other versions of Shrew in existence at the time.  This wonderful book provided me with an additional part of the story, making the “shrew-taming” a play-within-a-play, and allowing me to give every person who auditioned a part in our production!  In addition, our production will be different from many versions of Shrew as quite often, the framework is left out altogether.

So, how did the kids react to the roles they received?  For the most part (in fact, I’d say 99%), everyone was fine with the roles they received (or they were quiet about their grumping).  One person was terribly upset that he did not receive a bigger role.  And I felt bad for that one person…but in looking at the cast I created last week, I know in my gut that it’s a strong cast.  Even including people that would have been cut had I not added the Induction, I know that this has the potential to be another amazing production from this fledgling theatre troupe.  I explained this to the disappointed person and gave him the choice of quitting or staying…but if he stayed with the troupe, there would be no more complaining from here on out.  The person opted to stay, and even called me later that evening to apologize for his reaction. I hope he was sincere…only time will tell if he is willing to embrace a smaller role to make our production a success. There are NO small parts…only small actors!

Posted Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:42:24 and filed under auditioning, Staging Shakespeare, Schools, Education, The Taming of the Shrew, Acting, Theatre. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.