Ontario Visited News – Our SHAW FESTIVAL Adventure!

~ Adventure #2, Part 8 – Beyond the Stage ~

“Ontario Visit explores the magic of theater behind the scenes with the Shaw Festival’s Beyond the Stage Tour in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The rehearsal hall told the whole story!”

Rehearsal Hall

The Shaw Festival play is all set.

The actors and actresses have been chosen; the play script has been finalized; the sets have been designed and constructed; the costumes have been sewed, fitted and finished. Now what? The performers much learn their lines, practice their parts and, of course, rehearse.

The room we entered was large and spacious. There were some lines on the floor to mark position. This is where the plays become a reality! As I looked around the rehearsal room, I wondered how they did it, learn all those lines, when to come on stage, where to stand or sit. Amazing! And, to think that these fabulous actors and actresses had to learn not one play, but two! I stood in awe at the thought of this miracle of human capacity.

We had met many performers during our long Ontario Visited journey. They all seemed human! The rehearsal hall brought into light that they were actually “super” human, “sponges” of lines and positions. I looked forward to seeing these “super” humans in action in the two plays we were scheduled to experience!