Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Ralston.
Mary, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was one of eight students in the Shakespeare Tavern’s Apprentice Program in 2006-2007, then I transitioned into working part-time with the company as an actor, lighting designer, and education artist. I learned text work, voice and movement, stage combat, music, and arts education from the Tavern’s incredible teachers and performers, and I’m now on full-time staff where I act, design lights, help teach stage combat to the current apprentices, and occasionally direct.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
All in all, I’d say it’s been pretty smooth. Most of my struggles have been the ones that every actor I know deals with. In my first several years working with the company, I went through a series of part-time “real-world jobs” to make ends meet that were exhausting and often demoralizing because of the way people treat low-wage workers. There are also sometimes tough years where I don’t get cast very much and I struggle a lot with my sense of self-worth as an actor, but I think that’s nearly unavoidable in this business.
I wouldn’t quite categorize it as a struggle, but it’s also a unique challenge when there is a lot of work to be had at the Tavern; working at a theatre that’s producing 51 weeks out of the year can make it hard to find a chance to go and play with other companies. It can sometimes be overwhelming to be working on several shows at the same time, often with very short rehearsal processes. But that’s also uniquely rewarding, and being part of a group of artists and technicians bringing a complex show together in just a few weeks is just awe-inspiring. It’s such a rush, but it’s also such a rush, you know?
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Atlanta Shakespeare Co. story. Tell us more about the business.
We produce almost exclusively Shakespeare in a setting very similar to what Shakespeare used: a unit set, period costumes, no fourth wall. We do very little cutting of the plays, and no conceptual settings so our primary focus is the text. We’re always striving to make Shakespeare accessible and natural without dumbing it down or coddling our audiences, which means we have to have a razor-sharp understanding of every single line and word that we say, not just the dictionary definitions, but the intent and context of each line.
Since our rehearsal processes are short, that means that our company members are used to doing a lot of homework. We also train five to eight apprentices for nine months each year in text analysis and performance, movement, singing, and stage combat so that our performers are amazingly well-rounded and versatile. I think our single most unique feature is our direct-address performance style where we speak Shakespeare not just to our scene partners on the stage, but also into the eyes of the audience, acknowledging their presence there with us in the moment. That’s a powerful, vulnerable, electric way to perform, and it brings a really unique energy to each performance.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I’ve had a lot of very good luck in terms of circumstance: I had access to great education and I have a wonderful family who supported me materially and emotionally through school. I had inspiring teachers, I found good scholarships. Every time I felt like giving up an opportunity came along that made me want to keep going. I feel extremely lucky to be where I am and extremely lucky that the company can keep making enough money to stay in business, but there’s a lot of day-to-day work that backs up that luck.
Our Artistic Director Jeff Watkins always has his nose to the grindstone directing, raising funds, paying bills, etc. The same goes for every member of the staff and company. Everybody is constantly working their butts off, which I think sets us up so that the good luck can propel us forward when it comes but the bad luck won’t sink us when it hits.
Pricing:
- $15 general admission preview first Thursday and $20 for first Friday for new shows
- Main floor seats $22-$45
- Box seats $22-40
- Balcony seats $22-35
Contact Info:
- Address: 499 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30308 - Website: www.shakespearetavern.com
- Phone: 404-874-5299
- Email: boxoffice@shakespearetavern.com, jeanette@shakespearetavern.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shakespearetavernplayhouse/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShakespeareTavern
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/shakespearetav
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/atlanta-shakespeare-company-atlanta
Image Credit:
Jeff Watkins, Jeanette Meierhofer
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