Shakespeare in Cambridge
I thought while I was visiting a friend who was attending the University of Cambridge, that I would audition for the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival. I’ve been in a few Shakespeare plays while I was in highschool and I wondered if I have what it takes to be a Shakespearean actor. But, first I thought I’d check out some performances during the Festival, to see if I really might have a chance.
The Festival has become a significantly cultural event here in Cambridge. I can expect a crowd upwards of 25,000 people coming for the productions which will run eight week long. Since the city naturally attracts people here, the Festival has benefited and has acquired not only a national dimension, but an international one too. That can be a little intimidating, for one who thinks they can perform in a Shakespeare play, like me.
My evening at the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival was a unique experience for me. Prior the the performance, members of the audience are allowed to picnic in the idyllic setting. I didn’t know that, but I sat back anyway to enjoy an evening of a very dynamic a visual theater experience. I read in the program that the artistic policy of the Festival strips away unnecessary theatrical artifice and gimmickry. The Company exist only to provide access for all to marvel at the works without assuming any prior knowledge of the author or the play being performed that night. This I found intimidating too. No gimmickry?
I was really impress with the elegant amphitheater of Robinson College. It was an ideal setting for Shakespeare’s fast paced comedy-tragedy and masquerades. As I left the theater and headed back to my Cambridge Hotel, I knew I didn’t stand a chance if I auditioned for next years Festival. These actors were so fabulously good. So believable. I loved every minute of it. But, I wasn’t disappointed with myself, instead I was glad to know there was such marvellous talent out in the world.