The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company has expanded its Rhodes Junior Apprentice Company program to include a production of “Romeo and Juliet.”
Directed by Michael McCambridge with Kingsmen Shakespeare Company and California Lutheran University, the production of “Romeo and Juliet” will be presented at 2 p.m. July 30 and 31 and Aug. 6 and 7 in Kingsmen Park.
The junior apprentices will also take biweekly classes taught by members of the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company, the professional theatre company of CLU. Topics will include improvisation, voice and movement for Shakespearean acting, and advanced acting techniques.
The junior apprentices also write Shakespeare-spoofing skits that they perform in Will’s Corner before each production of the 2011 Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival on the CLU campus. They interact with audience members as part of the “Greenshow” pre-show entertainment and work backstage. They also act as ushers, stuff programs and sell refreshments.
This year’s festival will feature performances of “The Taming of the Shrew” from July 1 through 17 and “The Merchant of Venice” from July 22 through Aug. 7. Pre-show entertainment featuring the Rhodes Junior Apprentices and college-aged apprentices begins at 6:45 p.m. and shows begin at 8 p.m.
The junior apprentice program is named in honor of Rick Rhodes, an Emmy Award-winning composer from Oak Park who coordinated it for many years before he died in 2005.
