The Strange Bedfellows Play Shakespeare
Shakespeare isn’t just for children anymore. The Children’s Shakespeare Theater, started in 1999 by Diana Green, is in its 14th season. The group started with 17 children, quickly grew to 42, and is presently numbering 80. But why should the children have all the fun? Many of their parents also wanted to become involved in theater after seeing how much their children were enjoying it. Diana formed an adult group “The Strange Bedfellows.” Begun about two years ago, the group started with evenings of scenes. Their performance was a fundraiser for The Children’s Theater. They followed the evenings of scenes with the complete abridged works of Shakespeare (37 plays in 90 minutes). It’s success led to doing their first whole play, Much Ado About Nothing in the Fall of 2011. It was done as a Western. This was followed by A Midsummer's Night Dream set in the 1960’s. The group just performed The Winter's Tale in January.
“The Strange Bedfellows” have found a home in Sparkill in the former firehouse. Simon Basner, owner of the Union Arts Center, has opened up this space for music, lectures and theater. Diana has found that the space lends itself to doing theater in-the round, allowing the audience to be closer to the action. Tickets for shows are as follows: Adult $15; Senior $12; Children under 18 $10.
The group is planning a Spring show to be held at the Union Arts Center on May 31, June 1, 7, 8. This Twelfth Night Block Party promises to be a new and exciting adventure. The street will be blocked off and the doors to the venue will be wide open. The show begins in the street with a shipwreck scene, moves inside upstairs to a court scene and then downstairs.
Also in the Spring, Diana is planning to start the Supper Play Reading Series. Participants read aloud the whole canon of Shakespeare (37 plays) and enjoy a potluck supper on Sunday afternoons.
Diana says she has done over 50 plays. She started in 1972 when she was 12 years old with Jean Brock. At first they started by just reading the plays till Diana asked if they could perform one. They did Romeo and Juliet and The Tempest in one night. Diana did some acting in college and eventually became a Montessori teacher. She believes the Montessori model of children mentoring each other works well for the children in the theater. Children learn on a spiral learning curve, building on and understanding language more each year. Although most of her time is spent with the adult group, Diana is also artistic director of CST. Why do theater? Diana feels that for some it is an outlet for creative impulses, an opportunity to explore impulses they are not able to do elsewhere in their lives. Other people may feel nostalgic, recalling a time in school they had enjoyed acting. For many people, it is just plain fun.
Dan Hanchrow, manager of a lumberyard, got involved after seeing his step-daughter enjoying the Children’s Theater. Dan is now assistant director of CST. He has done some comedy and improv in the past. He was involved in doing the abridged works of Shakespeare. “It was so much fun, the group just clicked and we wanted to know what we could do next.” More than just reciting the lines, Dan is interested in the nature of the text; getting to the meat of the matter. He says acting is a release for him and he also greatly enjoys the social aspect of working with the group.
Lee Farber became interested in joining the theater group because of his wife Elena’s participation. His contribution has been in the music domain, doing music for A Midsummer's Night Dream. He also tried his hand at some dancing. In the future, he would like to continue using his musical skills and maybe try more acting. He says he really enjoyed meeting the cast.
Christopher Lukas became interested in acting because of his Uncle, Paul Lukas, an actor on Broadway. Christopher did some acting in college, took lessons after he graduated, and began a career in film and public TV. His children’s involvement in CST, and his wife’s urging, led him to audition for a monologue in Antony and Cleopatra. He got the part, becoming a member of “Strange Bedfellows” and doing some off-Broadway theater. On March 17, at 2:30, he is presenting 2 one-act plays and a short film at the Thalia Theater. Christopher likes acting in plays because you start at the beginning and go to the end in sequence, unlike making movies. He enjoys making people laugh and moving them in some way with love of the language.