FPD Theatre presents STEAMPUNK ROMEO & JULIET

CAST LIST

NOTES (You really should read these notes. Trust me!)

First rehearsal: Monday, March 20, 3:45-6:00 PM.

Everyone was cast and has a separate speaking part. Some people are in multiple roles, so read everything. As always, I wish I had a few thousand extra lines to spread out among you to reward your excellent work, but the play would be about 7 hours long. Audiences would kill us – if they survived.

I have listed the characters as referred to by Shakespeare. We will, as you might expect, be making some changes to the names and genders for our production:

All female-cast roles will be played female.

For characters like Gregory, the script name will be your last name and we will invent a new first name.

For others, such as Peter, we will change to something similar – perhaps Petra in this case.

Prince Escalus will be played as Queen Victoria. A Victorian steampunk show needs Victoria herself!

Some characters are referred to differently in the various versions of the play. Clown, for example, is referred to as Servant in many versions – but then again, so are some of the other servant characters. The script you get on Monday will clear everything up for you.

I am doing something very unusual with Friar Laurence. I am splitting the role into two separate characters: Friar Laurence and a to-be-named Abbess. I was surprised how well this actually worked with the text.

The Prologue performers will be doing both Act I and Act II prologues. These sections may be done in unison or broken up into separate lines. That will be decided in rehearsal.

Some people have asked how I cast my shows. Honestly, it varies from production to production and is impossible to completely explain. Yet there is some method behind my madness. For our Shakespearean shows, I look heavily at four factors: the audition, previous experience with Shakespeare and other texts with elevated language, previous coursework and training in advanced acting techniques, and specific fit for character. If after those factors have been considered I am still having trouble deciding a role, I lean towards Seniors and Juniors since this will be their last opportunity to do Shakespeare at FPD. We perform Shakespeare every other year.

Thank you for a wonderful audition. What a treat it was to hear your talents demonstrated in the words of my favorite playwright!

CAST OF CHARACTERS

PROLOGUE