05/18/2001

Love's Labour's Lost

The Love's Labour's Lost" The Shakespearean Youth Theatre (SYT) is a group of young people, ages twelve to eighteen, whose desire to enjoy, study and perform the works of Shakespeare has brought them together. They have worked with several professional actors and Shakespearean scholars and are under the artistic direction of Dana Sachs. Since its founding in 1996 the group has produced four plays: "The Tempest," "Twelfth Night," "Much Ado about Nothing," and "MacBeth."

This summer they will perform "Love's Labour's Lost," a romantic comedy set in the lovely court of Navarre where the King and his compatriots decide to isolate themselves from the world for three years of study, vowing to see no women during that time. However, when the beautiful Princess of France arrives with her ladies on a diplomatic mission, the men find themselves caught and the comedy begins.

"I think this play is very funny and the wordplay witty," says Sarah, a member of the cast. "Working with the cast again this year is great!"

"It's neat doing a play no one has ever heard of before," Matt comments. "Love's Labour's Lost deserves resurrection. It's really funny!"

Katie, another young actress, says, "Setting the play in the 40s is cool because, for the first time, I can buy my costume instead of making it. It's amazing how much sense a late 17th century play makes set in the 1940s and performed in 2001."

"Love's Labour's Lost" will be presented on Friday, June 1st at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, 2nd at 2:00pm at the Stony Creek Puppet House Theatre in Stony Creek, Branford.

The entire troupe is dedicated to performing quality productions of Shakespeare and learning about the play, the playwright and theater. To this end, the cast is highly involved in every aspect of the production, from selecting and editing the play, to publicity, sets and costumes. Cast committees, with the guidance of the director, handle the production. Cast members organize publicity, design the programs, make the sets, find props and sew costumes. By getting involved in the whole production the cast is able to better appreciate and understand theater and Shakespeare.

Early in the year, the cast meets with the director to discuss possible plays for the season. The discussion ends with an assignment of several plays for closer rereading and consideration. The cast then votes on the play, taking into consideration issues such as casting, audience appeal, and, of course, personal taste.

In past years, the plays have been edited for length and content, MacBeth being the group's first unabridged production. Each cast member reads and researches the play and submits his or her edited version of the script. The director then reads each one and synthesizes the final script. This process has increased the cast's understanding of Shakespeare, character development and script analysis.

Getting involved in SYT also means diving into the text. The group has taken classes on Shakespeare and his times with Professor Tonkin from the University of Hartford, stage combat with Geoff Gilbert, text analysis with Marcella Trowbridge of the Oddfellows Playhouse and acting classes with Bruce Altman. Also popular were the workshops with the Royal Shakespeare Company of London on their visits to New Haven.

To check out past performances, learn about this one, see photos, get directions to the theatre and to make reservations, visit the Shakespearean Youth Theatre's Web site: http://www.shakespeareanyouththeatre.org (SYT) is a group of young people, ages twelve to eighteen, whose desire to enjoy, study and perform the works of Shakespeare has brought them together. They have worked with several professional actors and Shakespearean scholars and are under the artistic direction of Dana Sachs. Since its founding in 1996 the group has produced four plays: "The Tempest," "Twelfth Night," "Much Ado about Nothing," and "MacBeth."

This summer they will perform "Love's Labour's Lost," a romantic comedy set in the lovely court of Navarre where the King and his compatriots decide to isolate themselves from the world for three years of study, vowing to see no women during that time. However, when the beautiful Princess of France arrives with her ladies on a diplomatic mission, the men find themselves caught and the comedy begins.

"I think this play is very funny and the wordplay witty," says Sarah, a member of the cast. "Working with the cast again this year is great!"

"It's neat doing a play no one has ever heard of before," Matt comments. "Love's Labour's Lost deserves resurrection. It's really funny!"

Katie, another young actress, says, "Setting the play in the 40s is cool because, for the first time, I can buy my costume instead of making it. It's amazing how much sense a late 17th century play makes set in the 1940s and performed in 2001."

"Love's Labour's Lost" will be presented on Friday, June 1st at 7:30pm and Saturday, 2nd at 2:00pm at the Stony Creek Puppet House Theatre in Stony Creek, Branford, CT.

The entire troupe is dedicated to performing quality productions of Shakespeare and learning about the play, the playwright and theater. To this end, the cast is highly involved in every aspect of the production, from selecting and editing the play, to publicity, sets and costumes. Cast committees, with the guidance of the director, handle the production. Cast members organize publicity, design the programs, make the sets, find props and sew costumes. By getting involved in the whole production the cast is able to better appreciate and understand theater and Shakespeare.

Early in the year, the cast meets with the director to discuss possible plays for the season. The discussion ends with an assignment of several plays for closer rereading and consideration. The cast then votes on the play, taking into consideration issues such as casting, audience appeal, and, of course, personal taste.

In past years, the plays have been edited for length and content, MacBeth being the group's first unabridged production. Each cast member reads and researches the play and submits his or her edited version of the script. The director then reads each one and synthesizes the final script. This process has increased the cast's understanding of Shakespeare, character development and script analysis.

Getting involved in SYT also means diving into the text. The group has taken classes on Shakespeare and his times with Professor Tonkin from the University of Hartford, stage combat with Geoff Gilbert, text analysis with Marcella Trowbridge of the Oddfellows Playhouse and acting classes with Bruce Altman. Also popular were the workshops with the Royal Shakespeare Company of London on their visits to New Haven.

To check out past performances, learn about this one, see photos, get directions to the theatre and to make reservations, visit the Shakespearean Youth Theatre's web site.

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.