Shakespeare boot camp

Eleven advanced acting students are spending their summer learning stagecraft, performance and technical skills as apprentices with the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company, a professional theater group based at California Lutheran University.

The apprentices spend 10 weeks during the annual Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival building sets, sewing costumes, leading summer theater camps for kids and understudying the professional actors who this year are performing Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale" and "The Comedy of Errors" on the outdoor stage at the Thousand Oaks university.

"I'm new to Shakespeare, so it's really fun just to be immersed in it for the summer," said apprentice Anthony Simone, who is studying psychology and theater at San Diego State University.

Anatasha Blakely, 22, just graduated from Southern Utah University with a bachelor's in classical acting, and she's passionate about the works of William Shakespeare.

"I think storytelling is really important. It's how people learn about each other and I think you can learn more from a play than from a textbook," the apprentice said. "And Shakespeare's language is just so beautiful and genius. There's something about it that's timeless."

For Kenny Toll of Simi Valley, being part of the Kingsmen Festival has been almost a lifelong tradition. Toll, 21, is studying theater at San Francisco State University and has had walk-on parts in Kingsmen plays since he was a child. Both his parents were involved in the festival, he said.

Now he's back for a second straight summer as an apprentice. "It's a crash course in everything theater," Toll said. "It's not just acting. It's putting up the sets and the lights, and you learn everything and it's just a completely well-rounded thing for anyone who wants to do theater."

Carrie Colton, 22, has a degree in classical acting from Southern Utah University and is studying for a master's in math education to become a math and theater teacher. She said serving as musical director for children's summer theater camps at CLU is an invaluable experience.

"We have to plan our own lessons and it's totally on us, and I've learned so much about what kids respond to and what they like to hear," she said.

The schedule for the apprentices is pretty tough, with their day starting about 8:30 a.m. and often going late into the night until the end of rehearsals or post-performance cleanups.

As well as having small parts in the plays, they understudy the professional actors and are responsible for creating an entertaining pre-show program for the audience.

‘It's a lot of hours of hard work, but the payoff is worth it," Blakely said. "Watching these really experienced, incredible actors makes all the hard work worth it. And I think I am learning a lot about using the Shakespearean language."

Performances of "The Comedy of Errors" began Thursday and continue through July 18. "The Winter's Tale" will run from July 23 to Aug. 8. For more information, go to http://kingsmenshakespeare.org or call 493-3014.

--- Published in the Ventura County Star on July 2, 2010