Romeo & Juliet: Lottery Syle

Adaptation Statement:

This specific adaptation of Romeo and Juliet is a lottery style. Each unique individual is given the opportunity to find what love means to them and deserves to discover, experience and explore it. The ensemble will work together to create the characters and world of the play based on the unique abilities and personalities of each person in the room. It is about the process: what does it mean to get in a room with other people and create something? It is a collaborative experience creating and adapting the characters within this story. When performed, the audience should see the strings; it's about people coming together to tell a story. The work is never finished.

Creative Team

Adapter/Facilitator: Katherine Warmka

Choreographer: Zsofi Eastvold

Fight/Movement Choreographer: Matthew R. Olsen

Artistic Development Associate: Irie Unity

Faculty Advisor: Matthew R. Olsen

Fight Captains: Lynnlee Johnson, Olivia Nelson

Cast

Ensemble

Annika Bakke Lynnlee Johnson

Gabriel Byron Ainsley Knox

Conor Johnson Heidi Mintz

Sophia Nelson

Chorus: Olivia Nelson

Rehearsal Photos

Production Photos

Find more photos here!

Facilitator's Note

Hello!

My name is Kate Warmka and I am the adapter and facilitator of this project! I am an artist and a scientist.

“According to physicist Werner Heisenberg, artists and scientists share a common approach. They enter into their work with one hand firmly grasping the specific and the other hand on the unknown. We must trust ourselves to enter into this abyss with openness, with trust in ourselves, despite the unbalance and vulnerability.”

-A Director Prepares

As an artist, my main priority is the process. It is my favorite part of the work. I find joy in the research and the path of discovery. I have spent most of my life trying to separate the two worlds. However, my work changed when I realized how the two go hand in hand.

My whole life, “type” has been something that loomed over me as an actor. Am I too short? Too young? Too old? It is something that is constantly debated in the industry. Last spring, when I was forced to read My Life with the Shakespeare Cult in Acting III (thank you Matthew Olsen), I came across this quote.

“Shakespeare’s plays don’t demand that you find the “prettiest” lady to play Juliet. They demand that you listen hard when Romeo tells you that Juliet is the sun.”

- My Life with the Shakespeare Cult

It was a reminder to me that everyone is worthy of getting to breathe life into Shakespeare’s words and more importantly deserves to live in a world of love. We are each ingenues, hopeless romantics, best friends, mentors, and enemies in our own ways. We are more than one type. We are complex.

The goal of this project is not to “get it right”; it is to learn, to take risks, to make choices, and to hopefully have some fun in the process. It is about growth. It’s important to recognize where we were, where we are, and where we will go. No feeling is final. This is about exploring the comedy and tragedy (the tramedy if you will) of life. So, join us in laughing, crying, quirking an eyebrow, and more as we share the highs and lows of this story.

With love and excitement,

Katherine Warmka