Twelfth Night Tour at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
This summer, I was cast as Malvolio and Antonio in Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s summer production of Twelfth Night.
. It was a delight to bring FREE Shakespeare in the Park a to over 10,000 people in more than 40 communities across the tristate. From stops in Westwood to Madeira, Ohio, and Richmond, Indiana to Erlanger, Kentucky, we were proud to increase the affordability, availability, and accessibility of the arts in places that needed it. We ran from July to September 2022.
Professional Debut!
I started rehearsing for this during the run of the apprentice show Stupid F***ing Bird at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, so that first week of running back and forth between the companies helped me begin to understand what it could be like as a professional actor trying to remain booked and busy with potential overlaps. Through this 2 and a half week rehearsal process I explored my range as an actor and dived into the physicality and vocal quality of each character to make Malvolio and Antonio unique, specific, and instantly recognizable for kids. I’m really grateful to my castmates for teaching ways to sustain my voice and use it healthily because Malvolio was doing A LOT (see images below).
In addition to performing my tracks, I, alongside the rest of the cast, were tasked with assembling out set and lights each and every day. We loaded everything in and out of that van so much that we got it down to a 30-40min science! I’m grateful that our fight captain also just so happened to be technically inclined and helped us with drilling and with repairs.
This was my first professional job without any kind of internship or apprenticeship attached to it. My goals this summer included three things: building my network, building my resume, and building my work ethic. This was a great chance to be make connections with people I never would have encountered otherwise. Whether those connections help me get further full-time work or not, I will definitely recommend this tour to others.
