Titus Online '20
TITUS ONLINE
Welcome to Titus Online,
Theatre Fairfield’s Spring 2020 production! We had to cancel all performances of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, to ensure the safety of our audiences and company due to the coronavirus.
Since you can’t join us live and in person to discover Titus,
we invite you to join us virtually. Titus Online
is a digital dive into the show through videos of actors in rehearsals, stage combat, and voice training; costume renderings; photos of our 3-D set model; actor profiles; and “digiturgy” research conducted by company members on the world of Titus,
Shakespeare’s brutal, bloody, misogynist smash hit of 1594 which was as much about Elizabethan England as it was about ancient Rome. This is a collection of videos, interviews with our design and artistic team, a peek at our Alexander Technique training, my director’s statement on “Why Titus Now?”, and “What You Can Do to Change The World,” a leaflet that was going to be our gift to you, the audience, at the end of the show.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed to Titus Online, especially Theatre Fairfield’s terrific production interns (all of whom are also part of the show!): Kiersten Bjork, ’21, Carlin Fournier, ’22, Kierstin Jones, ’21, Park Lytle, ’21, Samantha Millette, ’20, and Fallon Sullivan, ’20, along with our wonderful webmaster, Maddie Dutilly, ’22.
--Dr. Martha S. LoMonaco, Titus Director and Producer
TITUS
ON YOUTUBE
Videos made by Park Lytle ('21)
Titus
is a play of tragedy and intensity, to encapsulate the bitter rivalries, intense violence, and high stakes for the characters. We designed a trailer to promote our vision and work.
Just as important as encapsulating our vision, we strive to connect to our community. We jumped onto a popular trend of designing our own anime intro to Titus Andronicus
for your enjoyment.
Each actor has put in weeks of intense work to their characters and performances. We hope to share how far they've all come in these personalized showcases of their talent.
To preserve our production in its near entirety, we were able to film large portions of our March 4 rehearsal. We invite you now to see the heights our show had reached before its premature cancellation
TRACY EINSTEIN'S ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE WORKSHOP
Written by Jennifer Foster, Vocal Coach
Theatre Fairfield welcomed teaching artist Tracy Einstein to rehearsal on Monday 24 February to introduce the cast of Titus Andronicus
to the many benefits of the Alexander Technique. Australian actor F. M. Alexander (1869-1955) pioneered his method of mind/body awareness and
re-education in response to his own chronic laryngitis. In this work, students learn to recognize any poor physical habits and replace them with coordinated, mindful movement, often resulting in improved posture, freer breathing and clearer, stronger vocalism.
Tracy Einstein is an AmSAT certified Alexander Technique Teacher based at the Balance Arts Center in New York City where she assists the Teacher Training Course and maintains a private practice. She teaches Movement, Physical Styles, and Alexander Technique classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She is a founding member of Modern Shakespeare Project as well as Clown Gym, and has completed pedagogical training with Christopher Bayes and Lincoln Center Education. She has worked as a Teaching Artist with such organizations as The Public Theater, LeAp NYC, Artists Striving to End Poverty, Redbull Theater Company, and the Refugee Youth Summer Academy.
In Tracy’s words, her greatest interest as an educator “dances at the intersection of embodiment, mindful practice, play, and community.”
These qualities were on full display as Titus
cast members participated in games and exercises exploring the principles of self-awareness and psycho-physical organization. "This helped me get rid of ‘learned habits’ - things we have taught ourselves over the years that don't help our breath, voice, or posture,” remarked one actor following the workshop. Cast members uniformly noted an eye-opening sense of freedom resulting from Tracy’s individual work with them. According to one student, “This was incredibly powerful, both experiencing it for myself and watching my classmates experience it. All of the adjustments made me and my classmates seem so much more powerful - our presence grew so much bigger.”
TITUS
REHEARSAL PHOTOS
