Winter's Tale: Delightful, Whimsical, Joy to Watch

Joneal Joplin and Jens Rasmussen

Despite a mauling by a bear and the death of a child, Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival’s production of “The Winter’s Tale” has a delightful, whimsical tone that makes it a joy to watch.

Under Drew Fracher’s direction, it’s very much a visual production, both in the kinetic blocking that makes much of Act II a medley of physical comedy and in the show’s set and costume design.

Written late in Shakespeare’s life and classified as a “romance,” “The Winter’s Tale” begins as a tragedy and ends as a comedy and feels like an upside-down “Romeo and Juliet” in that respect, including its focus on the adults instead of the young lovers.

With Fracher’s production, Shakespeare’s tale of Sicilia’s King Leontes’ irrational jealousy and its dire consequences — his son’s, his wife’s and an honorable nobleman’s deaths, the end of a life-long friendship with Bohemia’s King Polixenes — turns on contrasts and humor.

As a prologue, Fracher establishes an urban, aggressive tone for Sicilia with a dance at court by four women whose appearance is best described as starched and whose choreography has a militaristic undertone to it.

Marcus Stephens’ set for Sicilia extends that tone with its sparseness, gray walls and vertical blinds that hang above the sides and back of the stage, their shadows appearing to look like prison bars cast across the stage.

By contrast, his Bohemia is a world of nature, filled with trees and foliage, while the back wall disappears and is replaced by a bright blue background.

Similarly, costume designer Christine Turbitt gives the Sicilians a formal, restrictive look, while the Bohemians’ clothing has an earthy and free-flowing look to it.

Fracher further delineates the differences between Sicilia and Bohemia with his use of music: The opening dance sequence relies on loud, recorded percussion instruments and has an assaultive quality to it, for example, while the young people’s folk dance in Act II utilizes violin, viola and guitar played by members of the cast and brings the community together in celebration.

But Fracher’s use of humor provides the most subtle and obvious contrasts between Sicilia and Bohemia.

Leontes, who defies the Oracle of Apollo, and the Bohemian pickpocket Autolycus both operate outside the law, and each is a primary source of humor in this production, one as the object of the humor, the other as the engine for it.

Although Leontes’ jealousy may be unfounded, Grant Goodman makes the character’s sense of betrayal genuine, as he does Leontes’ paranoia, but he rarely and only late in Act I brings the king to a state of rage.

Instead, he plays the jealousy with an understated tone — it’s all delivered as asides — that’s both reasonable in its delivery, if occasionally cutting, and, as a result, humorous, as if Fracher and Goodman are commenting on how illogical Leontes’ jealousy is by bringing it to the fore and poking fun at it.

The engaging Giles Davies, by contrast, plays Autolycus as a happy-go-lucky all-around rogue — both in his winking delivery and his large, flowing movements that make the audience believe Autolycus improvises his way through life — whose crimes fit into the genre of comic caper.

Davies’ free-wheeling comedy invites the audience to relate to Autolycus as co-conspirators, whereas the rational demeanor Goodman brings to Leontes creates humor but also creates tension and makes the audience nervous.

Although the rest of the cast in major roles turn in the sort of performances that appear effortless but rely on precise technique, two performances standout, in particular:

As Paulina, an engrossing Wendy Robie is intense and provides the production its moral center with the sense of conviction and power she brings to the role.

L. Peter Callender, double-cast as Antigonus (the epitome of honorable in his depiction) and The Old Shepherd is a joy to watch as the latter, with Callender bursting with life and dance in the role.

As for the bear, it’s giant, furry, growls and, thanks to Kevin Dreyer’s lighting design, is outlined by lightning flashes during the storm that make it look even larger and fiercer because it becomes more of a giant blur and shadow than a distinct creature.

By Andrew S. Hughes South Bend Tribune

Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival

Jens is excited to again join forces with director Drew Fracher, with whom he's done two award winning

productions (Skin Tight and Gruesome Playground Injuries.) Together with an outstanding cast that includes Giles Davies, Grant Goodman, Shanara Gabrielle, Wendy Robie, and Joneal Joplin he will be appearing in the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival's production of The Winter's Tale.

Tickets and more info here.

New York Times Feature

Photo by Julie Glassberg for The New York Times

Teaching City Dwellers How to Make It in the Wilderness

Jens Rasmussen is an actor who is equally adept on the Shakespearean stage and in the great outdoors.

So on the side, instead of waiting tables, he teaches backwoods skills, including lessons on how to start your own campfire from flint and steel. Put away those matches, city slicker, and learn to cook outside on the open flame, right in the middle of the city.

Mr. Rasmussen, who grew up in Wisconsin, does this on the waterfront across the East River from Midtown Manhattan, in a narrow lot in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, at the edge of Newtown Creek, under the Pulaski Bridge.

It is the home of the North Brooklyn Boat Club, of which Mr. Rasmussen is a founding member. Last Sunday, he pointed to an assemblage of tan bricks at the water’s edge and said, “This is our hearth.”

His students — Victor Calvo and Amreen Quadir, both internists at Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn — sat on a thick wooden plank between a chain-link fence topped with razor wire and a concrete wall covered with colorful graffiti tags.

The doctors, who are engaged, told Mr. Rasmussen they had booked the lesson partly to learn some skills “in case, in the future, we do Doctors Without Borders-type work and the bus breaks down — that kind of thing.”

Dr. Quadir saw Mr. Rasmussen’s Groupon listing offering a workshop (at $100 per person) for “Fire Crafting on a Wilderness Adventure” teaching “how to build fires in the wilderness before you cook a delicious campsite dinner.”

That is how they wound up spending a frigid Sunday afternoon cutting vegetables with woodsman’s knives, and then whittling curly shavings from wood slats for fire-starting. They were instructed by the theatrical Mr. Rasmussen, who seemed impervious to the cold, as he doffed his tan rancher’s jacket and tended the camp, wearing a smart outfit of heavy woolen Army-surplus garments.

“Now, if the chips were down, and you really needed to start a fire,” he said, and he went about demonstrating how to elicit a spark, briskly swiping a stone against a piece of iron.

Soon, Dr. Calvo was coaxing sparks from his stone, and had his flammable char cloth smoldering. He then pushed this into a ball of shredded newspaper and blew sharply upon it. When it blossomed into flame, Dr. Calvo dropped the fiery handful into the fire pit and heaped those wood shavings atop.

Mr. Rasmussen fed the crackling fire from a big pile of urban-foraged kindling — old packing crates and castoff scraps from local businesses — and he put a blackened coffeepot on the grill over the leaping flames.

He stoked the fire and the conversation, poured the pair a cup of tea, and began readying the meal on a rough-hewed wooden plank that served as his outdoor kitchen counter. He put a pan on the grill and heated some olive oil and spices, then some vegetables and finally some rice and beans. Then he whipped up a batter of sourdough and cornmeal to deep-fry some hush puppies in a Dutch oven full of hot oil.

Self-reliance is the theme here. Mr. Rasmussen wore around his neck a woodsman’s knife from Sweden in a leather sheath with copper rivets he tooled himself. He cooked with wooden utensils he carved himself, and pulled materials from a woodsman’s basket that he made by felling a black ash tree in Maine. And that ax, he made the handle. And that wanigan wooden box he kept opening for supplies? Made that, too.

Mr. Rasmussen, who is married and lives nearby in Greenpoint, said he grew up partly on a farm near Oshkosh, in a “back-to-the-land kind of family.”

“We have a nature deficiency here in New York City, and so there’s a real profound connection when we participate in these elemental experiences,” said Mr. Rasmussen, who has spent weeks at a time sleeping in the woods, survivalist-style. “With this, we’re tapping into something that goes back millennia and connects us with our ancestors.”

The doctors cut some apple slices, which Mr. Rasmussen dipped into flour and batter to make apple fritters in the hissing and spitting pot of boiling oil.

He sat the couple near the fire to “discuss the priorities of survival” should the city one day descend into chaos. Building a fire could help provide drinkable water, a safe sleeping spot, heat and food, he said, pulling out a pocket survival pack that included a sewing kit and dental floss for stitching wounds.

By dusk, the spot had become a chuck wagon scene. The falling snow hissed as it hit the fire.

After eating, the doctors headed back to civilization, and our urban pioneer poured out his cowboy coffeepot into the campfire, dousing the flames till next time.

By Corey Kilgannon

See the Original New York Times piece here.

'Hamlet' comes to Springer stage for first time since 1876

Jens Rasmussen in Hamlet

Almost every high school student in the United States has to read “Hamlet.”

As these students grow up, many resist going to see Shakespearean plays.

“A lot of people will say, ‘Shakespeare is not my favorite.’ But I ask, ‘Have you seen it?’ ” said Chris Graham, who plays the title role of Hamlet in the latest Springer Opera House production.

“Shakespeare has to be seen, not just read to truly understand the plays. I hope this will attract people to see a Shakespearean play.”

John Ammerman, is a theater professor at Emory University and is an associate artist at the Georgia Shakespeare Festival. He’s done “Hamlet” twice at Georgia Shakespeare Festival, where he played Hamlet and the ghost of Hamlet’s father. Now, he’s directing the play.

“This is a fabulous cast,” Ammerman said. “Everybody has their own personal strengths. It’s truly an ensemble group.”

Ammerman set the play in the Victorian era of the 1890s, rather than the Elizabethan. There’s no one wearing tights, he said with a laugh.

“Paul (Pierce, the Springer’s artistic director) and Ron (Anderson, the Springer’s associate artistic director) wanted to do something different,” Ammerman said. “I think the Victorian era really complemented the sense of repression in the play and how etiquette made people function under their public facades.”

The costumes are form-fitting, which also makes the characters stand up straight.

The cast had two weeks to get ready for opening the show tonight. “This cast hit the floor running,” Ammerman said. He’s had to drive back and forth from Atlanta to oversee rehearsals.

Playing Hamlet

Graham, a transplant from Atlanta, did back-to-back Springer shows, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” and “The Glass Menagerie,” in 2001-02.

It’s been even longer for Bruce Evers. Evers last was at the Springer 15 years ago in “Inherit the Wind.” Before that, he was in “A Doll’s House.”

Since he was last here in Columbus, Evers has done “Hamlet” twice with the Georgia Shakespeare Festival in Atlanta. It’s the first time he’s had a large role. He’s playing Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, who killed Hamlet’s father, then married his mother.

For Graham, now married with two children and a demanding job at Aflac, the timing hasn’t been right to get back on stage. But for “Hamlet,” he’s taking vacation days for rehearsals and the daytime performances for school groups.

“This is the greatest play ever written,” Graham said. “I didn’t think I’d ever have the chance to play this role.”

Graham is thrilled to play Hamlet for the first time on the Springer stage since Edwin Booth played the role in 1876.

“It’s quite a legacy to be part of,” agreed Jens Rasmussen, who is playing Laertes. Laertes is the brother of Ophelia, whom Hamlet loves.

“I just want to be somewhere between Burt Reynolds and Oscar Wilde,” referring to the stars whose names are on a plaque outside the Springer, Graham joked.

Rebecca McGraw, who plays Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, is also happy to be acting in “Hamlet.”

“This is a life-long dream come true,” she said.

The new kid

Cynthia D. Barker is new to the Springer. Last summer, she received her master’s degree from the Hilberry Classical Repertory Co. in Detroit. In September, she packed her belongings and moved to Atlanta, where she’s found a welcoming theater community. She moved to Atlanta on a Tuesday and went to audition for “Hamlet” on Saturday. A few weeks later, she got the job, playing Ophelia.

“This is a like an actor’s spa,” she said of the accommodations at the Springer. She can get out of bed, get dressed, go down one floor to rehearse and then hit the ground floor to the theater. “This is an actor’s dream,” she said.

Unlike some actors who do not watch movie versions of the plays they’re in, Barker rented every movie version she could find.

Barker likes the 1996 Kenneth Branaugh version the best, featuring a very young Kate Winslet as Ophelia.

And there’s sword-fighting

Jason Armit is the fight choreographer, returning to Columbus after having choreographed the fights in “Romeo and Juliet.” The big fight is between Hamlet and Laertes and Pierce jokes that there are body parts all over stage.

Armit, though, makes sure that the actors are safe. It helps, he said that both men are athletic.

“Some people (like Graham and Rasmussen), I can choreograph in a day and a half,” Armit said. “They retain all the steps. With two other people, it may have taken more time.”

Rasmussen loves the fight scene.

“And I get in a sword fight,” he said. “It’s the best final scenes ever.”

BY SANDRA OKAMOTO

from an original article appearing in the Ledger-Inquirer

Petruchio, expertly portrayed by Jens Rasmussen

At the outset, you’d think an umpire had yelled “play ball!” The antics, cavorting, double entendres, and mistaken identities in the wickedly funny opening production of Virginia Shakespeare Festival’s 2008 season, “The Taming of the Shrew”, never stop. This rascally

entertaining comedy of misdemeanors and intentions is off and running from the moment you sit down.

Kevin Stidham as Lucentio and Matt McGloin as Tranio

In the Italian city of Padua, a rich young man named Lucentio, (perfectly cast in Kevin Stidham), arrives with his servants, Tranio, (near–genius comic timing by Matthew McGloin) and Biondello, (a winning performance by Connor Hogan), to attend the local university. Lucentio is excited to begin his studies, but his priorities change when he sees Bianca, a beautiful, mild young woman (charmingly played by Amaree Cluff), with whom Lucentio instantly falls in love.

There are two problems: first, Bianca already has two suitors, Gremio and Hortensio; second, Bianca's father, a wealthy man named Baptista Minola, has declared that no one may court Bianca until first her older sister, the vicious, ill-tempered Katharina gets married. Lucentio

decides to overcome this problem by disguising himself as Bianca's Latin tutor to gain an excuse to be in her company. Hortensio disguises himself as her music teacher for the same reason. While Lucentio pretends to be Bianca's tutor, Tranio dresses up as Lucentio and begins to confer

with Baptista about the possibility of marrying his daughter.

The “Katharina problem” is solved for Bianca's suitors when Hortensio's friend Petruchio, (expertly portrayed by Jens Rasmussen), a brash young man from Verona, arrives in Padua with the intention of marrying a rich woman. He does not care what she is like as long as she will bring him a fortune. He agrees to marry Katharina sight unseen. Let the games begin.

Now we are into the next round of mayhem, which ceases only with the final curtain call bows.

This is a fast-paced, warmly funny, deftly acted and directed company of performers interpret the Bard with glee and endless humor. Director James Alexander Bond has brought much intelligence to the text without updating, altering or resetting the play. No need to reinvent the

wheel. (This too often is the case with productions of Shakespeare and sometimes not successful.)

Bond has brought out many honed, well-defined performances from his cast.

(Sorry, I can’t write about each one of them but my compliments to all and to the departments.)

With lightning agility, the actors execute cleverly staged action sequences designed by David Doersch. Their comic vaudevillian feats are performed with razor-sharp precision. Always in character, the actors leap, cavort and hurtle their bodies and things toward one another with

complete abandon: a theatrical cousin to “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” without wires.

Though “Shrew” is oftentimes criticized for its misogynistic, anti-feminist views, the resolution at the end found in Katharina’s long final speech, (well-delivered by Catherine Gowl), shows us that the tamer can be tamed because, as with everything, politics underlie all: that winning doesn’t always mean you have laid down the highest hand. Rather, if you listen well to Shakespeare’s text and glean from it his pearls of wisdom on the ways of the world, you may learn this: It’s how you use the cards in all the hands you are dealt that brings meaning and success to your life.

Whatever critics and academics argue from both sides of the aisle over what Shakespeare was saying about women and gender divide, in the end, Bond gives us a satisfying conclusion in that both Petruchio and Katharina consider themselves equal to one another. That’s evolution.

by Victoria Racimo for the Williamsburg Yorktown Daily

Backstage Feature on Jens Rasmussen

Role: Petruchio

Project: 'The Taming of the Shrew' at the Virginia Shakespeare Festival

Jens Rasmussen won the role of the egotistical, mercurial Petruchio in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew -- running June 25-July 6 as part of the Virginia Shakespeare Festival at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg -- without ever auditioning in person. It wasn't the first time he'd gotten a part sight unseen. The Wisconsin-born actor has had success by submitting video auditions and reels when he can't be physically present at the casting call.

Being out of town is common for the New York City-based Rasmussen, who has a good deal of experience in regional theatre. Among other projects up and down the Eastern seaboard, he's done plays at the Springer Opera House in Georgia, Mill Mountain Theatre in Virginia, and the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival. He never got a degree in acting or theatre, deciding after high school and a short, unsatisfying stint in the theatre department at the University of Wisconsin that he'd get more experience and challenges out of internships and apprenticeships at professional theatres. "I've sought out learning in various places," he says. "The most important thing was I just auditioned a lot...and then through people I met, I just started getting involved."

When Rasmussen found the BackStage.com casting notice for The Taming of the Shrew, he was performing in To Kill a Mockingbird at the Springer Opera House, but he was undaunted that the auditions were being held in New York and Washington, D.C. He had a strong film reel and had been cast as Father Flynn in a production of Doubt, also at the Springer Opera House, after recording his audition, posting it on YouTube, and sending the casting director a link. There aren't any special tricks to video auditioning, Rasmussen says. He uses a simple webcam attached to his Mac to record his monologues.

Rasmussen's video audition reminded The Taming of the Shrew's director, Christopher Owens, that he'd seen the actor audition twice before, for Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet in 2007 and for Orsino in Twelfth Night the year before that. Rasmussen wasn't cast in either role, but his diligence made an impression. "It wasn't his video audition that totally prompted his casting," says Owens. "His video audition reminded me of him. His two other auditions...impressed me a great deal, kept him in my mind -- his persistence and not being discouraged."

Rather than getting burned out from all his travel and time away from home, Rasmussen says his experience in diverse venues has only increased his passion for and dedication to the process of putting on a play. "Being in the rehearsal room collaborating with other artists is almost as gratifying as sharing that with the audience and taking them on that journey, being a storyteller," he says. "It's been creatively fulfilling. When I have something better in New York, then I'll stay there. But I'd rather be out of town doing what I love than sitting in New York waiting for the phone to ring."

By Anna Bengel for BackStage.com