Happy Birthday Shakespeare!
Posted: Wednesday 24 April 2013 Filed under: 2013 | Tags: Bell Shakespeare, Team Rosencrantz, The Players, William Shakespeare Leave a comment »Team Rosencrantz celebrated Williams Shakespeare’s 449th birthday yesterday at Bremer State High School in Queensland. Students and teachers at the school were thoughtful enough to prepare the awesome chocolate cake pictured below, which they presented to The Players after their performances of Such Sweet Sorrow and Macbeth: Undone.
Lorelle, one of the dedicated teachers at Bremer State High School, poses with one of her students, The Players, and that delicious cake
St John’s College in Lismore also made a Shakespeare cake to celebrate the occasion last week.
Thanks to all the schools across the country who give our teams of Players such a warm welcome as they travel far and wide!
Synchronised Swimming
Posted: Tuesday 23 April 2013 Filed under: 2013 | Tags: Bell Shakespeare, Moranbah, Queensland, Team Guildenstern, The Players Leave a comment »Joe and AJ of Team Guildenstern have happened upon a leisurely pursuit that suits the touring lifestyle of a Player, as they explain in their new video blog…
Planet Players: Episode One
Posted: Friday 12 April 2013 Filed under: 2013 | Tags: Bell Shakespeare, New South Wales, Orange, Team Rosencrantz, The Players Leave a comment »Welcome to a new series of video blogs, beamed to you live from towns across Australia. In the first installment, Team Rosencrantz gets up to mischief in Orange…
Life on Tour with Bell Shakespeare
Posted: Tuesday 9 April 2013 Filed under: 2013 | Tags: Bell Shakespeare, Team Guildenstern, The Players Leave a comment »
We in team Guildenstern have just returned to Sydney from our first touring stint around the south of NSW. We were lucky enough to visit locations such as the beaches of Wollongong, historic Albury, picturesque Wagga Wagga and our nation’s capital, Canberra. Now that we’re back in Sydney I’ve had a chance to reflect on what I enjoy and find difficult about life on the road.
Sometimes it can seem be tough being on the road and away from your friends and family but I prefer to take a different view. It’s also a great opportunity to visit places that you’ve never been to before, see some sights and make new friends. I’ve been on tour for most of the past year now and this is a list of things that I really love about touring.
1) No traffic – It is so much less of a pain EVERYWHERE but Sydney. As I write this we are sitting in bumper to bumper traffic trying to make our way through Sydney’s north shore. That’s not a problem we faced anywhere while we were on the road.
2) Getting to Know the Team – Being on tour gives you a great chance to get to know the people you’re working with. We’ve had some awesome nights in the great serviced apartments that we get accommodated in cooking each other dinner, playing board games and watching movies.
3) Sightseeing – we’re pretty busy getting from school to school to share our love Shakespeare with you legends but occasionally we get to see some stuff. While we were in Canberra we made it to the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition at the National Gallery and we had a great time at the beach in Wollongong.
4) Swimming Pools – most of our accommodation has a swimming pool or a spa which is a great way to relax after a big 3-show day. I know I certainly don’t have a pool at my house in Sydney.
5) Tunes on the drive – Resident DJs Ildiko, Joe and Jane supply all the greatest hits from 80s, 90s, 00s and today. Some afternoons it gets pretty gangsta in our Kia Carnival.
6) TV show and reading binges – Being out on the road on your own is a great chance to catch up on the latest TV series that your friends are raving about or finish that book you bought last month in the comfort of your own cozy hotel room.
For the next couple of weeks we’ll be battling the Sydney traffic in the day and seeing our friends and family in the evenings but I’m looking forward to our upcoming trips to regional Queensland and South Australia. If you’ve got any tips for good restaurants, let me know. That’s my other favorite thing.
AJ
10 Things…
Posted: Thursday 21 March 2013 Filed under: 2013 | Tags: Bell Shakespeare, Team Rosencrantz, The Players Leave a comment »Our journey as The Players has started and there have already been so many beautiful things that we have seen, done, and experienced. In the car between shows, the members of Team Rosencrantz often talk about how much we love seeing the reactions of the students and teachers who watch the shows we perform every day; the joy in understanding the plot and the laughs at the framing characters.
In considering what it is we do, how we do it, and the team that supports us, the following was produced (in the format of this speech from 10 Things I Hate About You, the great nineties adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew).
10 Things We Hate About You
We hate the hand of fate that points to us,
That marks our plan to deliv’r this,
We hate our KIA little mini bus,
Our lady of good carriage, our mistress.
We hate the passing months already been,
The insights and love that keep us feeling keen.
We hate the morning coffee, the taste of dawn,
We hate reciting Shakespeare so early I’ the morn.
We hate the staff who back us, everywhere we go,
The smothering of love show after show.
We hate that you can really help us find
Ourselves, no matter what the time of day,
We hate that we are constantly reminded,
Relax, the work is there, now time to play.
We hate that we are making friends far and new
But most of all we hate since hate is due,
‘Cos hate is love, what we most have for you.
Undoubtedly we will continue to be amazed and find new love for everything we do as actors, teachers and facilitators of Shakespeare. So to all the schools and students that we have yet to roll into, know this, we cannot wait to entertain, and be entertained by you.
Team Rosencrantz
The Players hit the road!
Posted: Thursday 14 March 2013 Filed under: 2013 | Tags: Bell Shakespeare, The Players Leave a comment »Teams Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have finally hit the road, embarking on our first whirlwind leg of touring. It has been an amazingly challenging and wondrously fulfilling two weeks already! This week both teams have ventured beyond the city of Sydney to entertain you in some of Australia’s most spectacular and breathtaking surrounds.
Our journey so far has been almost as epic as some of the Bard’s greatest plays themselves (whether comedy or tragedy – we’ll let you be the judge)! In only a few short weeks we have undertaken intensive studies in voice, movement, comedy and performing Shakespeare (along with some of the more drier topics of workplace health and safety, safe driving and senior first aid – all still very important though)! We finished our rehearsals and packed our roadcases and we are having an absolute ball! So, without further ado, allow me to introduce to you the Players for 2013!
Below, we have the artists formerly known as Team AJ, now dubbed:
Team Guildenstern
AJ, Ildiko, Jane, Joe
Next up, we have Team JW, to be known hereafter as:
Team Rosencrantz
Janine, Jenna, Griffin, Ray
We are extremely excited to be setting off on this amazing adventure and look forward to catching up with you all. Make sure you have some questions or comments ready as we’d love to have a chat with you post-show, where hopefully we can churn out something a little more coherent than this:
It had been been a loooooong week! But come young waverers, it’s time for me to sign off and hit the road once more. BIG THANKS to the exceptional schools we have visited so far – cheers for having us!
Parting is such sweet sorrow – but we shall see each and every one of you very, very soon! Perhaps tomorrow… and tomorrow… and tomorrow!
That’s it from me! Adieu, adieu!
Ildiko
Regional Performance Scholarship auditions
Posted: Thursday 7 June 2012 Filed under: 2012 Leave a comment »Calling out to all budding actors in regional Australia: Don’t forget to book an audition for Bell Shakespeare’s Regional Performance Scholarship!
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to audition for the chance to come to Sydney for a week in 2013. You will spend the week in the rehearsal room with Bell Shakespeare actors and on top of that, you will have access to some of the best theatre practitioners and directors who will help develop your acting and performing techniques.
Take a look at where our 2003 winner Miranda Tapsell has ended up: http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-diary/a-big-night-for–sapphires-to-sparkle-20120520-1yz37.html
(We’ll give you a hint: it’s a film festival and it’s in France! This could be you!!)
Our 2011 Winners at Bell HQ in February this year
We will be running auditions at the following regional centers:
Orange
Lismore
Wagga Wagga
Bathurst
Penrith
Dubbo
Port Macquarie
Newcastle
Wollongong
Coloundra
Townsville
Mackay
Alice Springs
Darwin
Ballarat
Frankston
Warrnambool
Launceston
Hobart
Geraldton
Mandurah
Albany
Drop us a line at learning@bellshakespeare.com.au or call us on 1300 305 730 to find out when we will be in your neck of the woods. If you can’t make it to a venue, we will also be accepting video auditions this year. Just email learning@bellshakespeare.com.au for more info.
For more information about this special opportunity, check out our facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/events/423927577647900/
Break a leg!!
Sneak Peek into the Rehearsal Room
Posted: Thursday 12 April 2012 Filed under: 2012 Leave a comment »Romeo And Juliet rehearsals are in full swing! The set is in the room, the costumes are being made and our Players are bringing their characters to life.
We snuck into rehearsals last week and took a few sneaky photos to share with you. We hope you enjoy them!
Felix busting out a tune
Stay tuned for more Romeo And Juliet action on the meet the players blog.
That’s a wrap!
Posted: Monday 26 March 2012 Filed under: 2012 Leave a comment »Team H have just wrapped up the first leg of their tour. Now it’s Romeo And Juliet time!!
Snapshots from Team T
Posted: Thursday 22 March 2012 Filed under: 2012 1 Comment »Team T (aka The Fairies) have been taking some happy snaps of their time on the road. Enjoy…
Felix's new shoes! Call it method acting, he wants to walk in Macbeth's shoes. Talk about commitment!!!!
Shakespeare was the mayor of Cessnock, WOW!!! Who would have thought, we are meant to be here! Thanks Cessnock the players have had a ball.
This is a photo from Newcastle grammar. We're performing in their chapel which is cool! It Makes performing Macbeth feel more eerie and dangerous! Who knows what those supernatural beings and "evil spirits" will think when called upon during the show!
Just some crazy photos of The Fairies!
