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After months of continuous buildup, tonight it seemed that we officially entered “crunch time”. Ensemble members trickled in and immediately got to business discussing the scenes we were going to be working. In the name of efficiency, check-ins were done standing, and we limited ourselves to 5-10 minutes of discussion before we hammering out logistics for the final scene of the play. It was clear from the get-go that folks were not here to mess around!

Last Friday, we found out that the woman who was playing Olivia would not be able to continue with SIP this season, and the group engaged in a lively, down-to-earth conversation about how to deal with it. At first it seemed like the best solution was for me to play the role, but then one of our “crew” members spoke up to say she would give it a try. This was very exciting—we’ve been gently nudging her to perform more all season—and, though she cautioned us that she wasn’t positive she could handle the workload, we lavished her with praise anyway. It’s always disappointing when someone leaves the group during crunch time… but it’s also always a thrill to see who steps up to save the day. And, we assured this brave ensemble member, even if she decided not to take the role, the fact that she was willing to try meant the world, in and of itself.

Tonight’s session started out with a great check in! A longtime ensemble member excitedly shared that, “I picked up a copy of Julius Caesar, and I read the first act… And, you know, I understood it so well! I was in my bunk laughing, and my bunkie was like, ‘What you laughing at?’ I said, ‘You have no idea.’ A few years ago, this would have been like reading Spanish.” This is enormous—her first year with SIP, it wasn’t until the first performance that she finally understood the plot—and quite inspirational for many others in the group.

After a longer-than-usual check in, we got rolling with Act III, scene i. It’s been a little while since we’ve worked on it, and we needed to flip some of the blocking to accommodate other changes we’ve made, but it mostly held up! This was Matt’s first time through the scene (he’s playing Feste now), and the zannis (newly empowered and energized from their recent breakthroughs!) guided him through, discovering new shtick along the way.

As promised, I brought in some blocking I had written for Act II, scene iii, the scene that tripped us up quite a bit last week. As people trickled in, I handed my notepad to our resident “director” and said, “I just thought, as one director to another, you might like to see how I did this.” After spending a few minutes intently perusing the notes and “floor plans,” she looked up at me and said, “Isn’t it crazy that I know exactly what this means, even in your crazy shorthand?” I grinned and replied, “It’s not crazy at all. You’re a really good director, and we’ve been working together for a long time. Of course you get it.” She smiled and then returned to the notes.

Facilitators were running on fumes as we circled up for check-in. The men’s ensemble had just completed four days of back-to-back performances, and earlier in the day the men had wrapped their season with an emotional final session. There was a good deal to share. Matt began, “Obviously, there are things that this (women’s) ensemble has taught me that the men’s ensemble couldn’t, but– ” He was interrupted by a returning member: “Be careful about what you’re gonna say, Matt!” With jokes out of the way, Matt went on to share some important takeaway lessons from the men’s season. The group listened intently, nodding along.

Today, rehearsal began before the facilitators even pulled up to the facility. Two of the women, a returning member and a newbie, had been outside taking in the first rays of spring sunshine when the returning member surprised the other with an unexpected proposition. According to the newbie, “She busted out her script and said, ‘You wanna read Shakespeare lines?’” The duo proceeded to run dialogue from one of the many scenes they share. These sneak-attack Shakespeare rehearsals seem to be a recurring thing amongst our ensembles, and I can’t say we disapprove.

Our session tonight began with a little dramaturgy. One of the women shared with the group the story of the Globe Theatre, one of the crazier Shakespearean anecdotes which goes something like this: When Shakespeare was a member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, the company primarily did their work in a theater called simply “The Theater” in central London. The Theater was owned by some of the actors in the company, but the land the theater was on was only rented, and in around 1598 the lease was up. The landlord tried to lay claim to the building in addition to the land, but the Lord Chamberlain’s Men would not have that. Shakespeare and his fellow actors, dressed as soldiers, dismantled the entire theater, brick by brick, and moved it to a new piece of land. This retelling doesn’t have a modicum of the energy and color this woman’s retelling had. Her excitement and amusement were infectious.

We started our session with some good but unusual news. Our Toby and Malvolio painted a closet together during the week and took some time during check-in to marvel at the unusual collaboration. “Malvolio and Toby actually accomplished something today by working together,” Toby said. “It’ll never happen again,” Malvolio laughed.

One of this season’s dedicated new members took a seat next to me as the ensemble trickled in. Enthusiastically, she shared with me that she had been noticing Shakespeare everywhere this week—in movies, in books, and even in casual conversation. This was curious, as I too had been seeing reference after reference crop up “in the wild” in recent days. Together we began to ponder the deep cultural impacts of Shakespeare, such that we both in our vastly different day-to-day lives feel the influences of his work regularly. With a smile on her face, this once-shy ensemble member stated that she fully intends to keep building her Shakespeare knowledge once she gets out. Snaps to that!