Thursday, July 22, 2010

New Experiences

Hello there! My name is Elena Henriksen and I am the newest education intern here at the American Shakespeare Center. I am from and attend college in Iowa. Currenly I am one year away from graduating with a double major in Psycholgoy and Dramaturgy and a double minor in Shakespearian Studies and Humanities.

My first week here at the ASC is quickly coming to an end. Most of the week has been spent on a number of small projects in the office. There were however two highlights this week. I was first given the opportunity to watch co-founder Ralph Cohen teach a lesson on iambic pentameter at YCTC. His enthusiasm for shakespeare was contagious and something you rarely encounter. As i watched the group of teens absorbing his every word, I found myself remembering the first time my college professors had done that for me. It is a wonderful thing that the ASC is providing this opportunity for younger ages. I would have loved the opportunity to see Shakespeare this way before college.

The second highligh of the week was attending the first run of Macbeth. In this first run the actors come together to perform the show with very little rehearsal before hand. I was blown away . The actors were memorized and able to communicate and negotiate with one another not by words but by simply acting together on stage. Seeing a show like this really makes it clear that all the rehearsal time given to shows now is not necessary. I am now extremely excited to see the fianl product and get my next week at the ASC underway.
Elena Henriksen

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