McLean at the Shakespeare Festival

McLean School once again attended and performed well at the annual Shakespeare Festival at the Folger Library in Washington, DC. After a very rough dress rehearsal on Thursday for the Upper School, the cast rehearsed last Sunday until all the kinks were worked out. Monday, our students did a very good and pride-worthy job for its Festival audience. They also brought home 5 awards and one mention for creative interpretation. They are:

The Show Must Go On Award to Hayley M. and Matt G.

Hayley was recast just three days earlier to fill in for a sick cast member and did a commendable job.
Matt performed in spite of being seriously ill before and after the show.

The Fat Knight Award to Ian P.

Ian was commended for his believable portrayal of a character obviously much different from the actor himself.

Acting with Distinction Award to Kate W. and Elisa F.

Kate and Elisa both performed their parts with clarity of character and clear portrayal of the story.

***After these performances, the casts and directors are invited to hear criticism of their work – both what worked well and what needs more attention. The panel of judges are professionals in the field of theatre including actors, directors, professors, and many other branches of expertise. We were given notes on what went well and what needed more attention, of course, but one note is worth mentioning: although she did not get an award because the idea was not done clearly enough, Natalie S.did do some interesting and commendable work as the Ford’s (Matt G.) puppet or costumed self.

The rest of the cast are to be commended as well for reaching personal goals regarding performance. Every one of the cast did his/her job successfully – and that’s big:

Paul B.
Andrew C.
Nicole F.
Becky P.
Lily M.
Sara H.