Embarking on Pericles!

A week from today I'll be opening Pericles, a joint production of the Northwest Classical Theatre Company and Willamette Shakespeare, directed by Daniel Somerfield. We're following the fairy tale aspects of the story by making incredible leaps of imagination through our production elements.  There are just 6 actors playing over 30 characters, we play music and generate live sound effects, and in the 38-seat Shoebox theatre we travel to foreign lands on the deck of a very shipwreck-prone ship.

I am playing Marina, as well as 7 other more minor characters.  It has been a challenge and a delight to make each into a strong, dynamic character. Marina has been especially challenging, since she seems to resist both archetypes of the damsel in distress,  and the warrior princess. Many things happen TO her, and it's been uniquely challenging to find in her text where she is trying to enact change upon others to change her circumstance, and how much she submits to the will of the gods.  She lives in a unique world defined by intense suffering, optimism, and Fate.  I find myself using my imagination to fill in many gaps of her history, which fits nicely, of course, with the larger concept of the play.

I'm looking forward to opening this show, as I believe it is one that will change and evolve greatly during the run.

Pericles runs at the Shoebox Theater (2110 SE 10th between Lincoln and Grant) from Nov. 16-Dec. 9. Visit www.nwctc.org for tickets and information

---