A couple of years ago, Jeb Makula made his first venture to a Prenzie audition—and he didn’t get cast.
This year, Jeb Makula was cast as Orgon in our production of Tartuffe and will also be appearing as Demetrius in Titus Andronicus. For those of you who aren't familiar with the shows, those are pretty big parts.
As the assistant director, I have the privilege of watching actors improve and grow as the rehearsal process goes on, and I can say first hand that Jeb has worked his butt off for the show. We first worked together in “Pericles” last year, and (while he still did an awesome job in Pericles), it is fantastically exciting to see how much he has grown as an actor since then.
Jeb wrote this blog after his first audition experience with Prenzie, and I love it because it really reminds me of my own journey into this theatre company. I auditioned for “Taming of the Shrew” when I was still in college, and didn’t make it. And now, here I am a couple of years later, assistant directing an amazing show and getting ready to play Lavinia in Titus Andronicus.
It’s amazing what a couple of years can do.
-CO.
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It's official, I did not get a part in A Winter's Tale with the Prenzie Players.
I have been attending Prenzie's (mostly) Shakespearean plays for the past three and a half years, ever since my wife convinced me to go see A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was phenomenal. They showed me that not only did Shakespeare not suck, but that his plays could be extremely fascinating. In all of the shows that we have seen, the actors have been excellent, and the directing always brings a nice edge to the show. The performances are very memorable. At home, several of the actors occasionally even come up in our casual conversations, and we have wanted to see performances by other groups simply due to a Prenzie actor being part of the cast.
With my background in drama, a mere 14 years ago in high school, I occasionally thought about auditioning for a part. Fear and a complete lack of any Shakespearean experience kept me from ever trying it ... until this past week. Last season's performances of Much Ado About Nothing, a fantastic comedic performance, and Trojan Women, the most gut wrenching tragic performance that I have ever seen, one that I could only describe as “beautiful”, were so amazing that I couldn't help but want to be a part of it.
I asked myself, “What is the worst that could happen? They make me dress in leather chaps and a submissive mask and lead me around by a chain?” ... Only if I get cast.
So, I spent the summer reading up on Shakespeare and watching videos such as "John Barton's Playing Shakespeare". I am now amazed at the intricacies and depth of his work. And also amazed at how it was made so bland during high school.
Maybe I would have hated it no matter what at that age.
In addition to learning about Shakespearean acting for a decent chunk of the summer, I also told quite a few people that I was planning on auditioning. I knew that I would be really nervous and want to back out. I was right, as I was driving over the Arsenal bridge, I distinctly remember thinking, “You know, you really don’t have to do this, just turn left towards Centennial instead of right toward the Village.” I forced myself to go right.
At the beginning of the auditions, I was rather intimidated, as almost everyone else there had acted in multiple Prenzie plays. Even the few non-Prenzies had quite a bit of experience performing in various other plays in this area.
Then the auditions began, and they were a blast. I would be assigned a part in a scene with one to three other people, and then we would rehearse for about five to ten minutes, and head out to perform it. Then I would be assigned another scene with someone else, and perform that one, and so on. And even though I didn't really have a clue what I was doing (and sometimes what I was saying), the other actors were great, and I felt comfortable there (and since this was my first real experience speaking in the language of Shakespeare, I couldn’t have asked for anything more).
Excitement (and no small amount of stress) raced through me when I opened the e-mail for Monday's call backs. And seeing my name in big texty letters gave me a rush of adrenaline. That night when I arrived at the theatre, I even felt comfortable enough to try out a few ideas that I came up with on the spot. Regardless of whether or not they worked (not so much), the fact that I (a devoted introvert) was willing to try 'bold' things with a group of people I didn't really know, says a lot about the environment of the audition.
Unfortunately, as I said above, my auditions ended there. I was not asked to be part of the cast for A Winter's Tale. JC, the director, did send me an e-mail saying I had improved IMMENSELY (emphasis his) from the workshop earlier that week, and that he hopes that I come to future auditions. I know that those words could be seen as a courtesy, but I truly believe that he is pulling for me to do well.
Now I know that I have a lot of work to do before I am ready to audition for Troilus and Cressida in December. But, I realized one thing just before I went to sleep last night (and I roused my mostly asleep wife to tell her) ...
Even though I wasn’t cast, and even though I made mistakes that I will be kicking myself for these upcoming weeks, I was actually at the theatre performing scenes with these amazing actors. Disguising myself. Finding a baby in a basket. Duping rubes. Agreeing to poison a king.
I was there, and that is really f*****g sweet.
By Jeb Makula
