Shakespeare Team
&
Renaissance Dinner
2012 Renaissance Dinner
The Indiana Players’ Renaissance Dinner is back! On Saturday, January 28, our most popular night of revelry will unfold at the Rustic Lodge right here in Indiana. The evening will include fine food and even better company.
Sit back and relax as the 2012 IPI Shakespeare Team presents a selection of monologues and scenes from the bard’s most enduring works. Other entertainment and special guests to be announced soon.
As always, Renaissance dress is optional but highly recommended! Surely if someone were to make a flippant remark about your choice of eschapins you wouldn’t want to be caught without your messer!! (However, please note that working matchlocks are prohibited at the dinner. Sorry for any inconvenience, but this policy will be strictly enforced.) Hope to see you there!
WHEN: Saturday, January 28 at 5:30pm
WHERE: Rustic Lodge, Indiana, PA
TICKETS: $30 for Adults - $20 for Students
For questions or to reserve yourself a caquetoire, call Sara Steelman at (724) 349-3906.
2012 Shakespeare Team
The Indiana Players’ Shakespeare Team doesn’t compete until February, but they’ve been practicing since October for this year’s Shakespeare Monologue & Scene Contest. Each year, the Pittsburgh Public Theater holds the Shakespeare Monologue & Scene Contest for students in grades 4-12 at the O'Reilly Theater in downtown Pittsburgh.
The event easily attracts over 1,000 participants, and the Players are proud to have 6 students on our team this year. This years’ team is being coached by Sara Steelman, and our members are Hannah Edgar, Andrew Hastings, Afton Herring, Rain Johns, Tori Meyer, and Michelle Short . If you don’t get the chance to see them compete in Pittsburgh on February 8, you can catch them at the Renaissance dinner here in town on January 28.
2010 Renaissance Dinner
If you didn’t have the pleasure of attending IPI’s 6th Annual Renaissance Dinner on February 5, then you missed out on a grand olde time. The blizzard-like conditions outside couldn’t keep the lords and ladies away from the chance to take a step back in time to the Late Middle Ages at the Rustic Lodge. El vino did flow as the crowd was treated to a variety of period acts that started with the house jester (Amy Provias) mingling with the revelers, juggling devil sticks, and cracking jokes.
The merriment and laughter reached a crescendo as team coach Peggy Buckley introduced the Shakespeare Team alumni in attendance to a round of applause, but then the mood quickly turned to tears as Bethany Geiger became the woeful Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, delivering her climactic speech of madness before drowning in a final act of desperation. After allowing the audience a brief respite to collect themselves, Bethany was joined by fellow 2010 team member Nicholas Strittmatter to perform an innuendo-filled scene from All’s Well that Ends Well that left the audience in tears of a different sort.
Just before the feast was carried in by the serving wenches, the electric lights dimmed as Chris Cramer, Sara Steelman, and “Othello’s Sisters” entered bearing candles and treated the revelers to an elaborate belly dancing performance. This was followed with a brief instructional demonstration by the company with a number of brave volunteers from the crowd giving belly dancing a try to mixed successes. By my trowth, I think everyone enjoyed watching the friar learn the proper way to swing his hips in time with the music.
After a decadent dinner that ensured no one would go home hungry, the costume parade began. Lucky for me I was only a spectator in the costume contest as there were a dozen attendees that easily could have won. The judges’ final decision is still shrouded in controversy as a new rivalry was born between Jesse Daniel and Bill Geiger. Watch out for them next year! It is unclear who actually had the best costume, the friar or the fool, but all of us attending were the real winners.
Best of luck to Bethany Geiger and Nicholas Strittmatter as they journey to the far away land of Pittsburgh to compete in the Pittsburgh Public Theater’s 16th Annual Shakespeare Monologue & Scene Contest. Thank you for such a great evening!
To see a video sample of what you missed, visit: www.youtube.com/indianaplayers
2009 Shakespeare Team Honored
The 2009 Indiana Players Shakespeare Team deserves a congratulations fro their great work this year. Both Bethany Geiger and Clare Welsh received honorable mentions in the 2009 Shakespeare Monologue and Scene Contest. As there were more than 1200 contestants this year, this is a big deal. Way to go!
2008 Shakespeare Team
The fourth annual Indiana Players’ Renaissance Dinner took place on February 8 at the Rustic Lodge in Indiana. This year's Shakespeare Team prepared for the 2008 Shakespeare Monologue and Scene Contest. Team members are Indiana High School seniors Emily Fisher and Katie Patrick and junior Clare Welsh.
2007 Renaissance Dinner
Even with all the snow, the 2007 Renaissance Dinner was a great success! This favorite community event took place on February 2 at the beautiful Rustic Lodge Restaurant in Indiana. Diners feasted on delicious medieval fare and drink while being entertained by minstrels, jugglers, and swordfighters.
Highlights were the Indiana Players’ award-winning Shakespeare Team performing scenes and monologues from their presentations at the Pittsburgh Public Theater’s 2007 Shakespeare Monologue and Scene Contest.
2007 Shakespeare Team
The 2007 Shakespeare Team members came from Indiana Area High School
and Junior High School and Marion Center High School. Although they
didn't make it to the competition finals, the team knew that besides
hard work, luck has a lot to do with success.
As coach Peggy Buckley noted, "Your mantra needs to be 'Life is not fair—deal with it!' You are all still tops in my book."
Although there were many honorable mentions and finalists in the past, including several competition winners, the real objective of the competition is to instill in the students a love and understanding of Shakespeare, as well as give them an opportunity to work together in a cooperative atmosphere.
From the left, the 2007 team consisted of: (standing) Tyler Mumau, junior; Chris Anthony, senior; (kneeling) Amber Engelmann, 9th grade; Claire Welsh, sophomore; and Kate Patrick, junior; plus Burkely Twiest, sophomore, and Josie Tidwell (not pictured).
2006 Renaissance Dinner
Congratulations
to Tyler Mumau (left) and Kaitlyn Patrick on their performances in the
2006 Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Shakespeare Monologue and Scene
Contest.
Kaitlyn Patrick, the 2005 Honorable Mention winner, portrayed Launce from The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Talented newcomer Tyler Mumau took on the role of Launcelot Gobbo from The Merchant of Venice. Both actors also performed a scene from Richard III, with Tyler as Richard III and Kate as Lady Anne. Out of 950 entrants, Tyler was one of the 25 finalists.
The Shakespeare Team is coached by Walter “Skip” Gray, Peggy Buckley, and Walter Gray IV.
Our teams have had a history of success in the contest. In 2004, Walt Gray and Megan Klingensmith received honorable mentions for their scene from Hamlet and Walt received an honorable mention for his monologue. In 2005, Megan Klingensmith and two other contestants tied for first place. Megan's portrayal of Lady Percy from Henry IV, Part II earned her a copy of the Complete Arden Shakespeare and a season's subscription to the Pittsburgh Public Theater. In addition, Kaitlyn Patrick received an honorable mention for her portrayal of Juliet from Romeo and Juliet.
The 2006 Renaissance Dinner was a great success! Over eighty people attended, ranging in age from 4 to 90. Besides the minstrels, jugglers, unicyclist, and a fire-eater, students skilled in stage combat thrilled everyone with a swordfight in the middle of dinner. Kaitlyn Patrick and Tyler Mumau did a great job with their monologues. Many guests dressed for the dinner, and the prize for best costumes went to Gwen and John Mugliston.
Congratulations to Peggy Buckley for successfully coordinating the event! Plans are already underway for next year’s dinner.
2005 Renaissance Dinner & Shakespeare Team
The guests, many dressed in period outfits, gathered in front of a
large, U-shaped table in front of a fireplace at the Rustic Lodge
Restaurant and were entertained while they dined. Jugglers, fire-eaters,
minstrels, and musicians performed while the diners feasted on roasted
chicken and potatoes, bread, cheese, fruit, and spiced cider. The meal
was preceded by Megan Klingensmith and Kaitlyn Patrick performing their
Shakespeare monologues in preparation for the preliminary round in the
Pittsburgh Public Theater’s annual Shakespeare Monologue and Scene
Contest.
Kaitlyn acted as Juliet from Romeo and Juliet (act IV, scene 1), and Megan portrayed Lady Percy from Henry IV, Part II (act I, scene 3).
In addition to Megan and Kaitlyn (who added her violin skills to the show), the Renaissance performers included singers Theresa Patrick and John Henry Steelman, jugglers Amy Provias and Sarah Bosse, and fire-eaters Corey Lunchuck and Penny Pollack. The Indiana Players extend their thanks to all of the performers for making this event the best yet.
Special thanks go out to Jeff Tobin of Henry Hall Office Products for donation of the Shakespeare team’s rehearsal space, to Ed Anderson of Anderson’s Chimney Service, to the Rustic Lodge management and staff for their patience and service, to Sara Steelman for her invaluable help and guidance in publicizing this event, and to the Indiana Arts Council for their support.
At the 2005 Shakespeare Monologue and Scene Contest, Meagan Klingensmith tied for first place in the contest, and Kate Patrick won an honorable mention.