This is the intensely beautiful place that we get to perform Shakespeare.  It is miles from where most of us live.  A cast and crew of dedicated professionals commute once or twice a week from Prescott, Flagstaff, the Verde Valley and elsewhere to produce a play that a handful of people will make the journey to see.
      It costs us all something in time and revenue.  It is complicated and not always easy. 
             Sometimes the wind picks up and blows our words away and rearranges our script pages. It can be hot at midday and cold after sunset.
Why do we make the effort?
       Well...
The backdrop is stunning.  The acoustics are amazing. And although it is always challenging, it is endlessly inspiring and always worth it! 

A Midsummer Night's Dream. November 10, 11 and 12, 2023. Laark Productions at Arcosanti!

       Back in my college days I was cast in a play opposite a skinny boy with curly hair.  Soon after we were engaged, he moved to New England to be near me and almost immediately he totaled his car.  We bought that car back from the insurance company, bungeed the hood in place and drove west to settle in Prescott Valley, AZ.  We have lived here ever since. 
       I arrived in the area armed with a degree in theater:  I went to the local job service and the helpful counselor took a look at my resume and in a disapproving voice said "Theater?  what do you expect to do with that?"  Needless to say the job service did not give me any referrals.  I found a job in the fast food industry and worked for minimum wage. Eventually we determined that it cost almost as much for us to insure and license a second car as I was making at my job, so I quit. 
      Throughout the years we found local opportunities to audition and volunteer.  We wrote plays, directed shows, appeared in films and TV.  We cleaned toilets and windows, raised 4 kids, worked long hours, took many classes and sat on many committees.  We made a lot of great friends, and created a great many memories.
        And still some folks are saying, "you can't do that". 
       Five years ago we took a proposal to the Highlands Center for Natural History and sold them on the idea of producing Shakespeare in their amphitheater.  (We were told by a local theater veteran: "You can't do Shakespeare in that space.")  Our first two shows sold out.  We have performed 9 Shakespeare shows since then, and taken an original production on tour. 
        So, thank you to our professors and fellow students at Northwestern College--one of who played the title role in our Macbeth last season.  (Mike Solomonson's Macbeth is the stuff of legend!)  Thank you to our family and to the employers who gave us work in our field. Thanks to the ACT and the Highlands Center. Thanks to the arts community of Prescott, Arizona and the audiences that continue to grow.

The truth is:  We can actually do this!
      

So: you get cast in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and you spend weeks memorizing lines.  You repeat them over and over.   In the car…in the shower…at the grocery store…at rehearsals. (People give you odd looks—except maybe in the shower and at rehearsals!) You try to learn them exactly: but they challenge you.  These words are not easy.  They do not flow. You work out the meanings of the more complex lines, experiment with different speeds and inflections. Look up the obscure words. Practice again and again and again.  You go to rehearsals and it seems that everyone is better memorized and more articulate than you!  You call for line…(curse) and call for line again.
And then--on a late summer weekend three--or two--weeks before opening--you find yourself here:  onstage in one of the greatest performance spaces ever created.  And the astounding acoustics echo back the beautiful, dreadful, meaningful words that you have memorized.
And you are glad you made the effort.

Less than 2 weeks to go and Monday's rehearsal was less than perfect!   and yet...

We are fortunate to work with such talented and dedicated people.  People who value every stage of the artistic process and not just the end result.
to Loring, who scours the antique stores for the perfect 78 for Bianca, (oh, and his Gremio!)...
to Melanie, who contributes a new line reading at every rehearsal...
to Ian, who in the midst of planning his wedding and beginning his internship brings so much raw energy to his role.
to Mia and Cameo who own their small roles and give them charm and personality!
to the Cilano boys--when absent we realize how much we rely on their professionalism and consistency.  (and how darn cute they are!)
to Nate, who is The Glue!
to Ron, who brings elegance and gravitas to even the silliest shtick.
to Robert, the greatest find of this season! (where have you been hiding?)
to Reva and Bekah, both triple threats: beauty, talent and brains -- thanks for working with us.
to Drew, the perfect foil to Ian's Petruchio...willing to take any abuse!
to Duncan, Hamlet with a martini shaker.
to Allie-- six perfect lines.
to Lane: comedy incarnate.

Less than 2 weeks to go.  Rehearsals are rough, so much to finish...

...so much fun, so much creativity, so much energy, so much talent...  
Thanks for bringing this "Taming of the Shrew" to life! We will be ready.
Blessings cast!  You make it all worthwhile!