So much of the magical experience that is seeing a play under the Tent at HVSF is due to the incredibly talented members of the company. Get to know some of these extraordinary actors a bit better in these mini-interviews where they talk about their love of Shakespeare (of course), what it’s like spending a summer at HVSF, and more!
Phoebe Lloyd, French Ambassador, Court, York (Henry V) and The Princess of France (Love’s Labor’s Lost)
When did you become interested in performing Shakespeare?
My high school did Much Ado About Nothing my freshmen year. I lucked out and played Beatrice. It totally changed the way I saw acting, language, and comedy.
Do you have any tips or tricks for memorizing your lines?
Don’t rush it (I often do). Really understand what you are saying before you memorize it. That will change the way it lives in your body long-term.
What has been your favorite moment at HVSF this summer?
Too many to count. But I’d say opening night of Love’s Labor’s Lost will live forever in my heart.
What’s a line from any of Shakespeare’s plays that you especially love?
“I would eat his heart in the marketplace.” — Much Ado About Nothing
Besides seeing a play at HVSF, what’s your favorite thing to do in the summer?
Full day at the beach!
If you were a novelty pool float, what shape would you be?
Flamingo 🦩
Lennon Xin Wen Hu, Gloucester, Orleans (Henry V) and Dumain (Love’s Labor’s Lost)
When did you become interested in performing Shakespeare?
In eighth grade I was required to do A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It got me interested!
Do you have any tips or tricks for memorizing your lines?
Shakespeare is like a song, follow the beat and rhymes then the lines come east.
What has been your favorite moment at HVSF this summer?
Recently there was a snake in the audience, and we had to hold while it slithered away. Gotta love outdoor theater!
What’s a line from any of Shakespeare’s plays that you especially love?
“If music be the food of love, play on.” — Twelfth Night
Besides seeing a play at HVSF, what’s your favorite thing to do in the summer?
Disc golf has been a great hobby in these parts!
If you were a novelty pool float, what shape would you be?
Red Panda
Duane Boutte, Archbishop of Canterbury, The King of France, Erpingham (Henry V) and Sir Nathaniel (Love’s Labor’s Lost)
When did you become interested in performing Shakespeare?
When I was 16 my community theater in Fresno cast me as the Dromio twins in The Comedy of Errors.
Do you have any tips or tricks for memorizing your lines?
I like to memorize the conversation rather than the lines. I think of it as remembering my responses to the actions around me. Then I make sure I’m responding by using the words the playwright has given me, exactly as written.
What has been your favorite moment at HVSF this summer?
I greatly enjoy the full-ensemble moments in Henry V and, in Love’s Labor’s Lost, I love rocking out with the band after intermission and the atmosphere of the “diner” our director created for playing the scene that follows.
What’s a line from any of Shakespeare’s plays that you especially love?
“How will this fadge?” — Twelfth Night
Besides seeing a play at HVSF, what’s your favorite thing to do in the summer?
Hang out in the sun with my husband and two dogs.
If you were a novelty pool float, what shape would you be?
A big hydrangea leaf.
Carl Howell, Nym, Constable, Williams (Henry V) and Dull (Love’s Labor’s Lost)
When did you become interested in performing Shakespeare?
High School! I had a few incredible English teachers who made it so vivid and alive.
Do you have any tips or tricks for memorizing your lines?
With Shakespeare, I find it so helpful to start by understanding what the language is really saying, and what the “argument” is. Once I know what I’m saying, memorization comes pretty easily through diligent repetition of each thought or phrase, saying it out loud over and over while standing up and moving around. Oh, and punctuation is really fun to focus on too, so that I know where the thoughts begin and end.
What has been your favorite moment at HVSF this summer?
I have three “moments.” Emily Ota as Henry night after night. Henry V being one of my favorite shows I’ve ever done! Playing this extraordinary music in Love’s Labor’s Lost, alongside my extremely talented castmates. We really feel like a band and I’m so proud of what we get to make together.
What’s a line from any of Shakespeare’s plays that you especially love?
In Twelfth Night, Sir Andrew Aguecheek says, “I am a great eater of beef, and I believe that does harm to my wit.” Come on, it’s perfect!
Besides seeing a play at HVSF, what’s your favorite thing to do in the summer?
Go to Matcha Thomas in Beacon with my dear cast friends! And when we finish up here, my wife (company member Angie Janas) and I are going to the US Open and then to the beach!
If you were a novelty pool float, what shape would you be?
Great question. Maybe a giant, happy dalmatian puppy?
Angie Janas, Understudy (Henry V and Love’s Labor’s Lost)
When did you become interested in performing Shakespeare?
I remember seeing the VHS tape of Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing at Blockbuster when I was in elementary school. I don’t know why but I thought it looked so cool. After watching it, I was completely obsessed. It’s amazing how much of my life was determined by a VHS clamshell.
Do you have any tips or tricks for memorizing your lines?
Running lines on a walk — walking and talking! People think you’re a little crazy, but saying the words aloud while in motion always does the trick!
What has been your favorite moment at HVSF this summer?
Dancing backstage with Emily Ota while the Love’s Labor’s Lost band (aka Luis Quintero, Timothy Bright, Carl Howell and Melissa Mahoney) plays “Infinite Ones.”
What’s a line from any of Shakespeare’s plays that you especially love?
Paulina’s line from The Winter’s Tale: “It is required you do awake your faith.” It’s such a simple little line, but it contains so much wisdom. I return to it over and over.
Besides seeing a play at HVSF, what’s your favorite thing to do in the summer?
Going to my favorite secret waterfall in the Hudson Valley. And enjoying meals at Hudson Hils, Cathryn’s, and Homespun!
If you were a novelty pool float, what shape would you be?
Definitely a unicorn 🦄
Melissa Mahoney, Montjoy, Hostess Quickly, Jamy (Henry V) and Jaquanetta (Love’s Labor’s Lost)
When did you become interested in performing Shakespeare?
Drama school!
Do you have any tips or tricks for memorizing your lines?
Make sure you understand every word before you start trying to memorize.
What has been your favorite moment at HVSF this summer?
Getting to sing Infinite Ones with my beloved bandmates.
What’s a line from any of Shakespeare’s plays that you especially love?
“Make me a willow cabin at your gate, And call upon my soul within the house; Write loyal cantons of contemned love And sing them loud even in the dead of night; Halloo your name to the reverberate hills And make the babbling gossip of the air Cry out ‘Olivia!’ O, You should not rest Between the elements of air and earth, But you should pity me!” — Twelfth Night
Besides seeing a play at HVSF, what’s your favorite thing to do in the summer?
I’ve taken up hand embroidery this summer. I hope to be as good as Emily Ota one day.
If you were a novelty pool float, what shape would you be?
A doughnut with sprinkles!