Shaking up Romeo in Bell Buckle

Patrick Waller as Mercutio, left, dodges a blow from Eric Pasto-Crosby, who plays Tybalt, in the Tennessee Shakespeare Festival's production of 'Romeo and Juliet.' The play opens tonight in Bell Buckle and more shows will be held July 11, 12 and 16-19. (T-G Photo by Mary Reeves) [Order this photo]

Things have taken a tragic turn at the Tennessee Shakespeare Festival being held in Bell Buckle.

No, there's no bad news -- in fact, things have gone very well with this year's first production, "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

"We've had some great crowds," said Joey Waldrop, the 7-foot actor who had audiences in stitches with his gentle, albeit slow, character "Snout." "They've been very responsive, lots of laughter."

Sierra Newman adds details to the paint job that turned a Southern mansion into a Colonial fort while Joey Waldrop looks on. (T-G Photo by Mary Reeves) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

New production

But "Midsummer" closed Sunday and tonight, the professional actors will leave comedy behind and bring the tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" to the stage.

As with "Midsummer," director Lane Davies has moved the setting of the play to America. Instead of warring families of Renaissance-era Verona, the Montagues and Capulets are now French and English families who fought on opposite sides of the French & Indian war in the northeast. Some of the soldiers and men who align themselves with either side are Native Americans, and the duels are fought with swords -- and tomahawks and pistols.

"Romeo and Juliet is so much more than a romantic tragedy," said Waldrop. "It's got these amazing fight scenes, and drama and humor. It has all these layers and I think Lane has done an amazing job of getting them all to play."

Major change

During this last week, the cast and crew have been scrambling to convert the Southern plantation of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to a colonial stockade, but redressing the set isn't the only adjustment they've had to make. Going from comedy to tragedy takes a shift in attitude -- and for some, a shift in character.

"I play Samson," said Waldrop. "He's a real hothead, just this close to going over the edge."

Waldrop welcomes the change, even though his character isn't exactly a shining hero.

"With my body type, I tend to either get cast as jerks or really dumb people," he said, laughing. "This is a nice change. I've been playing a lot of stupid folks lately."

New roles

Even though the Midsummer and Romeo rehearsals overlapped a little bit during the last two weeks, the actors can now focus completely on their new roles. With the exception of a few interns and apprentices, the actors involved with the Tennessee Shakespeare Festival are all professional, Equity actors. Some are in productions going on elsewhere at the same time, in one stage or another, and getting everyone together for rehearsals isn't always easy -- but the actors themselves put the final polish on their performances.

"We've been really lucky‚ this is such a unique setting," he said, waving at the Webb campus. "You'll see actors going off together, working out the details of their scene, making it tighter."

'Fight' continues

Of course, some actors find it a little easier to move from one character to another. Patrick Waller and Eric Pasto-Crosby spent most of their stage time in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" fighting each other as Demetrius and Lysander respectively, rivals for the affections of first Hermia, then Helena. So who are they playing in "Romeo and Juliet?" Members of the rival families, Mercutio and Tybalt.

"Every time we're in a play together, we're fighting each other," said Waller, laughing. He's taking on Mercutio's role and spent the afternoon Wednesday rehearsing the fight scene with his off-stage friend Pasto-Crosby and on-stage nemesis Tybalt.

The fights were choreographed by David Wilkerson, who will be playing Romeo. He has also choreographed and taught fight scenes for the Nashville Opera and Vanderbilt University, and teaches workshops on the fine art of stage combat.

If you go

"Romeo and Juliet," will be presented by the Tennessee Shakespeare Festival on the Webb School campus in Bell Buckle this weekend, today through Sunday. Next week's shows are from Thursday through Sunday, July 16,17,18, and 19. The play begins at 8 p.m. but the gates open at 6 p.m. Families are encouraged to bring picnics and refreshments, and Ryan's Smokin' Rotisserie will have a booth on site. Festival seating is $5 per person. Reserved seating under the tent is $10 for tickets purchased online or $15 at the door.

For more information, log on to www.tennesseeshakespearefestival.com. Tickets can be purchased on the festival site. You can also e-mail info@ticketsnashville.com or call (615) 628-9100.