The Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival Sets the Stage for Experiential Learning

This summer, the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival celebrated its silver anniversary. Fans of The Bard gathered on campus to watch live performances of As You Like It and Macbeth following a two-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“For everyone associated with Kingsmen, it has been a joy to once again perform in front of live audiences—to hear the laughter, the applause, and feel the gratitude from the audience for being back in Kingsmen Park,” said Michael J. Arndt, MFA, artistic director of the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company, which facilitates the annual productions.

Among those most eager to participate in this year’s festival were a group of interns, who carried out various stage, technical, instructional, and administrative roles. Current or incoming California Lutheran University students and graduates filled these internships, many of whom have had theatrical aspirations since childhood. 

Cultivating Their Craft

Arndt notes the John C. Slade Apprentice and Intern Program gives pre-professional theater students the opportunity to work side-by-side with those established in their fields.

“Acting interns are cast with the professionals and work with them as colleagues but are able to observe the craft and discipline of the professionals,” said Arndt.

Similarly, those working on the productions’ technical facets, lighting, sound, costuming, props, and scenery, directly interact with experts from inside and outside the university.

Of this summer’s 58 cast and crew members, 13 were interns delving into their respective craft. One of them, Jennie White, collaborated with the festival’s composer, Emmy-nominated Christopher Hoag, to build and edit the sound space used during productions. Her experiences with sound, lighting, and electrical work will undoubtedly prove beneficial during her senior year this fall.

“I’ve learned a lot about the technical equipment and processes that we use for our festival, which will help me this year in my role as the technical DA for our department,” said White, a double major in theater arts and english.

First-year student Hadley Julca, who played the roles of a page in As You Like It and a servant to the titular character in Macbeth, learned how to set up a truss, the piece of equipment used to support lighting, screens, and other stage components. Having performed in front of audiences since the age of four, she enjoyed gaining knowledge from watching her fellow thespians during rehearsals. 

She also appreciated the feedback and insights she received from those overseeing the productions.

“I love how willing the directors and teachers are to talk to us about the shows and how they take the time to work with us when we ask,” said Julca.

“Cal Lutheran students and graduates gained plenty of hands-on experience during this year’s productions,” said Kingsmen Shakespeare Company Executive Director Timothy Hengst.

Hengst, who also serves as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, adds the festival allows student and graduate interns to build their portfolios and network with professionals in the entertainment industry.

Aside from Hoag, other industry insiders who participated in this year’s Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival included:

• Lighting designer Leigh Allen, a recipient of an LA Drama Critics Circle Award for career achievement
• Sound designer Gary Raymond, who has toured with over 400 bands
• Television and film actor Matt Orduña (Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS: Los Angeles)
• Theatre and television actor Caroline Kingsolving (Criminal Minds, Medium)
• Actor Michael Faulkner, who has toured globally for theatres and appeared in numerous TV commercials 

“We are fortunate to be in close proximity to Los Angeles,” said Hengst. “This gives theatre students a competitive advantage in making connections with professionals working on stage and behind the scenes.”

In Good Company 

At the heart of many successful stage productions is the camaraderie established among cast and crew members.

“There is a great support system here that makes it easy for me to learn and grow while not overwhelming myself. The people are what make this experience and what makes learning and growing here easy, fun, and wonderful,” Emmalee Villafaña, '22, said.

The theater arts major worked as a publicity and office intern serving as office administrator and production manager Elizabeth Wold’s “right-hand woman.” Villafaña employed her social media skills to create posts to promote the festival on Instagram and Facebook and assisted with responding to emails from the cast and crew, merchandising, and distributing tickets.

Another recent graduate from the class of 2022 Bianca Akbiyik (theater arts and communication major) relished her internship calling it “an amazing experience.” She worked as a camp counselor for Camp Shakespeare instructing pre-teens and teenagers enrolled in the two-week programs on how to prepare for live performances at the conclusion of camp. 

“For the interns who teach, Camp Shakespeare provides them the opportunity to communicate their knowledge to younger actors. They teach classes based upon their personal areas of expertise and direct the campers in scenes and abridged full-length plays,” said Arndt.

In addition to imparting her acting method to camp participants, Akbiyik performed on stage in both productions. She established valuable relationships with other theater professionals while learning how to better focus on her lines during accelerated rehearsals.   

“I watched my first Kingsmen show the summer before my freshman year, and I was blown away by how amazing the work produced on my campus was,” Akbiyik said. “As soon as I found out CLU students could be interns, I knew that this was something I wanted to be a part of before my time at school came to an end.”

A Balancing Act

Stage life is often fast-paced with changes, and challenges, occurring without warning. Electrical issues may arise. Props get lost. A main character can call in sick before a show, requiring the use of an understudy, who must get fitted for costumes at the last minute.

Moreover, performers often must practice their lines unaccompanied and without repeated feedback from a director. 

“As an actor, I’ve learned that most rehearsals happen when there isn’t a set time. Meaning, you have to take the time on your own to memorize your lines and remember the blocking that the director gave you in the previous rehearsal,” said Kieran “Kiki” Ragland, a junior majoring in theater arts who played the characters of William in As You Like It and Fleance in Macbeth.

Ragland comes from a family of Shakespeare aficionados and has watched the playwright’s stage and screen works since his youth. He also led Shakespeare Camp’s beginning and advanced campers in acting games and skill-building sessions, which taught him the importance of patience and responsibility. Citing the “adrenaline rush” he experiences in live theatre, Ragland wants to become a working actor after graduating from Cal Lutheran.

Alumni Jules Weiss also plans to put her theater arts degree to use. When the festival concludes, she will seek part-time work in stage management, a talent agency, or another area of the industry then take classes in Los Angeles to broaden her knowledge. Like Ragland, she served as a camp instructor and acted in both plays, choosing to participate in the festival after playing Lear in King Lear under the direction of Arndt. Her major “combined all her passions – singing, dancing, and acting – into one.” 

Throughout the productions as well as Shakespeare camp, Weiss remained mindful of the need for self-care to avoid burnout. She credits those overseeing the shows for prioritizing the well-being of interns.

“Being an intern for the festival is a huge time commitment. It requires a lot of balancing between all of our responsibilities for the festival and also making sure we take care of our own mental and physical health,” Weiss said. “The Kingsmen board, and specifically Caitlin Arndt, have been huge advocates for us in making sure that we are taking care of ourselves so that we can perform the best we can in all of our duties.”

As all of these interns plan to either act or work behind the curtain professionally, finding ways to combat fatigue and best perform their duties will benefit their careers… and lives…on the world’s stage.