INTERVIEW: Pandemic inspires Shakespeare@ to stage ‘Richard II’ at home
Photo: Derek Wilson stars as Bolingbroke in Richard II. Photo courtesy of Shakespeare@ / Provided by Glenna Freedman PR with permission.
Winner of the Resourcefulness Award during the COVID-19 pandemic might just go to the Shakespeare@ theater company, based in Jersey City, New Jersey. Rather than cowering into a corner of theatrical silence, the company, headed by artistic director Sean Hagerty, has rededicated itself to its central mission with the launch of Shakespeare@ Home, a new audio initiative that will bring radio dramas to eager listeners.
Their first production is Richard II, which was released this week and stars Jamie Ballard as the title character and Derek Wilson as the ever-scheming usurper Bolingbroke. Wilson is an accomplished actor who has been away from the stage (and the virtual stage) for a number of years. Keeping him busy have been roles on AMC’s Preacher and Hulu’s Future Man.
“Sean and I, when I first started acting in 2004, we did this little tour for the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey to different schools and things, and we did Hamlet and Twelfth Night and Midsummer,” Wilson said in a recent phone interview. “And so Sean and I knew each other from then, and I hadn’t talked to him probably in over 10 years. And I got this email from him asking if I’d be interested in doing this, and I’ve been wanting to sort of get back into doing Shakespeare. It’s been almost five years since I’ve been on stage, but, yeah, I just jumped at it. I loved the play. I thought it sounded cool, and I thought it sounded like a cool way to deal with what’s happening.”
[Read Hollywood Soapbox’s interview with Jamie Ballard.]
After he signed on the dotted line, Wilson realized he had some challenges in front of him. There was a definite learning curve on acting in a Shakespeare play virtually — using Zoom for rehearsals and never meeting his fellow cast members in person. In addition to Ballard, Wilson is joined by Keith Hamilton Cobb, Aria Shahghasemi, Andrew Sellon, Jonathan Forbes and Ashlie Atkinson.
“Every day we were figuring out little issues and adapting,” Wilson said. “Also, one of the biggest challenges is we’re in vastly different time zones, so I’m on the West Coast. And I’m eight hours behind people in the UK, and so I would have rehearsal at 7 a.m. or be recording at 7 a.m., which is 3 or 4 in the afternoon for them. So I’m trying to wake up, and they’re just ready to go. So that was interesting. For the recording, I just made sure I got up very, very early and was warmed up and ready to go.”
Wilson said he found Bolingbroke something of a conundrum. The character, who is a foil to Richard II, never lets his true motivations become apparent to those in his company. Therefore actors need to simply make a decision on his drive and determination (and his level of villainy).
“Even at the end of the play, it’s ambiguous as to what his motivations are,” the actor said. “One of the big questions is: is he coming to usurp King Richard, or is he legitimately coming just for what he’s owed, his inheritance, which is what he says. I made the decision that he’s coming to usurp Richard because it just seems like that’s what it is. And especially for radio, there’s some nuance that you miss when it’s just voice, but there’s also some nuance that you gain when it’s just voice. … For a radio style play, I just wanted to be as specific as I can, and that may or may not read. I don’t know, but at least I have a choice in my head.”
The entire drama was recorded a couple weeks ago. Wilson joined with Hagerty and Ballard in the virtual rehearsal room for a few sessions before joining the other cast members. It was a fulfilling and sometimes surreal experience.
“It’s such a strange way to do this,” Wilson said. “This sounds strange, but when you’re doing a play, you’re in the room with people. I don’t know these actors’ stature. I don’t what they feel like in a room. … When you’re working intimately with actors you get all that stuff, but this way we’re just little faces in little boxes. And it’s difficult to build a rapport, but I feel like we did as much as we could. I never met any of these actors in real life, so I don’t know them at all. But I just know them as these little squares on my computer screen, and we’ve done this sort of crazy thing together and shared something but don’t really know what it’s like to be in a room with each other. And that’s really strange when you’re working on a play, so that’s been very interesting.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Shakespeare@ Home presents Richard II as a free audio drama. Audiences can download or listen to the production by visiting the theater company’s official website.
