AUS presents Romeo and Juliet

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." And 'sweet' was certainly the first performance of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) as students finally got the opportunity to pursue their dream of acting.

Directed by associate professor Anthony Tassa, who recently joined AUS to introduce theatre programmes into the curriculum, the play was the result of the time and dedication students devoted to it outside classroom hours. With four main-stage performances and a midnight show, the students' acting skills were certainly tested.

Notes went backstage for exclusive interviews with the cast and crew. We also took the opportunity to explore a career in acting.

Passion for acting

The minute I stepped into the dressing rooms, I could feel the energy and excitement emanating from the students. How could I not? The group was just about to stage one of Shakespeare's most famous plays in front of a crowd of hundreds of people. And for many of these young actors and actresses, it was to be their first time on stage.

"I love acting," said Mohammad Kabeel who plays Mercutio. "It's one of my greatest passions. Theatre performance is my greatest fear but it's also by greatest goal. I used to direct short movies before, but in films you don't get that direct connection with the audience that you get on stage."

Kabeel said that performing live on stage is probably one of the biggest challenges simply because if you err there are no second chances. And in a play where the lines are Elizabethan English, the challenge is that much more difficult.

"My biggest fear is missing lines or going blank," Kabeel said. "Sometimes you just stand there and the next line doesn't come to you. Then you try to think of the line before it, and you can't remember what it was. So you try to think of the line after it, and you can't remember that either. At that point you just stand there and hope for it to just 'click.'"

Getting into character

According to Tassa, casting is the most important role of the director.

"During auditions you must grasp the sense of character of the individual and translate that into what role suits him or her the most," he said.

Many students were aiming for one role, but were assigned another. One of those students was Mohammad Mamdouh who, to his surprise, ended up landing the role of Romeo.

"I originally wanted to act the role of Mercutio because his character expresses all emotions. One minute he's crazy, another minute he's funny, another he's sad. I thought that would be an interesting role to play," he said. "When I was assigned the role of Romeo, I felt thrilled and scared at the same time."

Kabeel said that another challenge in acting is being able to connect with the other characters.

"Sometimes when the other actors don't connect with you, you don't get a sense of what's really happening in the scene," he said.

Tassa emphasised that in order for a play to be truly successful, everyone must familiarise themselves not only with the plot and the lines, but with all the other characters of the play.

The young performers found that the ultimate challenge was disconnecting from themselves and their own personalities and connecting to that of their characters.

"Understanding the character, how she feels and how she reacts to different situations, can be quite difficult," said Farha Moon, who plays Juliet. "Once I am able to differentiate between Juliet and myself and find the qualities that make us the same, it becomes much easier."

Mamdouh said he faced the same challenge while acting as Romeo. He said that he found it difficult trying to disconnect from his personality and focus on that of the character. Mamdouh added, however, that there were certain traits that he shared with Romeo's character that helped make it easier to act.

"We are both very emotional," he said. "And that is an essential trait in Romeo's personality."

According to the students and their director, when the actor shares a similar attribute as the character he or she is playing, it reflects in their acting and makes their performance not only easier but also more believable.

Theatre is not just about acting

If standing in front of an audience in costume is not your thing, a career in drama, whether it's theatre or film, provides you with many other opportunities. Drama production involves the collaboration of a whole crew including a director, producer, technical crew, designers and a stage manager. Without them, the final act just wouldn't be the same.

Ala'a Al Fadel, student stage manager of the play, was in charge of looking after the cast and crew throughout the performance. She also monitored the stage blocking (every single movement on the stage).

"I'm basically responsible for coordinating all aspects of the production on its opening," she said. "From stage movement to lines, to sound and light cues."

Tassa said that many students discovered they had a passion for something new while participating in the production of the play. Saleha Orfan, for example, discovered her flair for design while being the costume crew chief for the play.

Long-term benefits

Even if a career in drama and theatre is not your future aspiration, a course on performance could teach you a few skills that would be useful in almost any career path.

"We have many people who take our courses just to learn those skills," said John Sammon, director of the New York Film Academy in Abu Dhabi. "We have attorneys, for example, who come in wanting to gain the confidence they need when they are presenting their case before a jury."

Some of those useful skills, according to Sammon and Tassa, include basic communication skills, public speaking, time management and self-reliance, which can all boost your self-confidence.

"Many of the skills students absorb during this experience are transferable across various work positions," Tassa said.

Time well spent

Students said they learned time management as a result of the demanding time schedules they kept to while rehearsing for the play. Theatre Appreciation, the course that Tassa teaches, is currently taken as an extracurricular programme.

"We'd have to practise for several hours three times a week and every time we did, we would rehearse the entire play," said Ahmad Rabieh, who played the role of Lord Capulet. "And if we're not practising together, we're practising with our friends and families."

Students said that at times they would bring their academic work to a practice session so that they could work on their studies whenever they were not required on stage.

They said that because of the considerable time and dedication they committed to the play, they were expecting to feel a void after the final performance.

"I can't believe that in a week's time this will all be over," Al Fadel said before the first main stage performance. "We've spent so much time together and it's become so routine. Now after I finish my classes and go home I'll think to myself 'what next?'"

Samyuktha Shenoy, who plays the Prince of Verona, said he only wished that this opportunity had existed earlier as this play marks the first step towards a theatre programme at AUS.

"It's my last semester here and I'm really sad that this came late into my college years," he said. "But I'm really glad that I at least caught the chance to be a part of this performance."

Study theatre, drama or film at:

The American University of Sharjah (AUS)
Would you like to be a part of the stage or the silver screen? AUS will begin offering its courses in theatre starting next autumn. Two of the courses it will be offering are Play Production, which focuses on acting and performing, and Stage Craft, which will focus on the other technical aspects of production.

These courses are the first step towards a full theatre and drama programme at AUS. For more information and to apply visit www.aus.edu.

The New York Film Academy, Abu Dhabi offers a Masters of Fine Arts in:

• Filmmaking
• Acting for film and television
• Screen writing

Production and certificate programmes in:

• Filmmaking
• Digital filmmaking

— For more information visit www.nyfa.com

Acting: theatre vs film

Though both require the same elements including good actors and a crew, there are some major differences between theatre and film, the prime one being that theatre is live acting while film is recorded. Some of the other differences include modulation and body gestures.

Modulation: In theatre, the actors must project their voices to the very last row of the audience. In film, the camera and microphone can follow the actor anywhere.

Body gestures: Theatrical performances are usually larger than life because so much has to be portrayed and the message has to come across within a limited space and time. In film, the gestures are more internalised. Actors' performances are stripped to create a deeper sense of reality.

— Information provided by John Sammon, director of the New York Film Academy in Abu Dhabi

Other career opportunities in theatre and film

Film and theatre do not just involve acting. It's a dynamic process with various elements coming together. A career in theatre or film could involve:

• Directing;
• Stage management;
• Sound and lighting;
• Costume design;
• Set production/props;
• Ushering;
• Makeup

There's a first time for everything

For most male actors backstage, it was their first experience applying cosmetics – and most claimed it was a weird one.

"Dude, I can't believe I'm wearing makeup!" I overheard one student say in utter discomfort while another male student was comically arguing with the makeup artist to how his mascara should be applied on his eyelashes. "Aren't you supposed to go up, not down?"

Culture should not be a barrier

Actors who are influenced by cultural or religious values need not worry about problems finding jobs. "Cases like the hijab are worked into the costumes; headdresses were quite common during the Renaissance," said Anthony Tessa, associate professor at the American University of Sharjah. "Any piece of theatre needs to respect the cultural values of a society and be respectful."

— As told to Farah Al Sharif, mass communication student at the American University of Sharjah

About the director
By Tahmina Mehdi

To "generate excitement and enthusiasm for drama" among students at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), is one objective of associate professor Anthony M. Tassa, who has been hired to introduce theatre courses at AUS.

As of spring semester 2008, Tassa is teaching two newly offered courses: Theatre Appreciation, which is a theoretical approach to theatre; and Dramatic Process, an acting class.

Tassa had been working as the head of theatre at the Palm Beach Community College in Florida when he saw an advertisement for a position in the first theatre programme AUS has seen. "I thought it was a great opportunity to create some excitement... hopefully this [theatre programme] will open doors to bigger things for some," he said.

— The writer is a mass communication student at the American University of Sharjah

An exclusive interview with Romeo and Juliet

Notes spoke to the students who played the two characters, both before and after their performances.

Name: Mohammad Mamdouh aka Romeo
Major: Mass Communication

Name: Farha Moon aka Juliet
Major: Mass Communication

Mamdouh is originally a filmmaker. He directs short drama films and participates in various film competitions such as the Mini Film Festival.

Why did you join the play?

Mamdouh: Well, normally I direct films and I just wanted to experience what it would be like on the other side.
Farha: I just wanted to try out acting. I love theatre and the minute I knew about the auditions I wanted to grab the opportunity.

Would you ever take acting as a career? Where do you see yourself in the future?

Mamdouh: No, I want to stick to my career in filmmaking — it's what I have a passion for the most. I just did this out of curiosity and for the experience. In 10 years I see myself as a professional filmmaker in Dubai Media City.

Farha: Why not? This would be a start. I've never pursued theatre before – not at this level.

How do you feel? How do you think you'll do?

Mamdouh: I feel excited. I feel scared. I think everyone's hard work will finally pay off.

Farha: As we get closer to the performance I start getting very nervous, but I'm really happy that we made it this far and I think we'll do great.

After the performances

Describe your experience.

Mamdouh: It was a great and positive experience and I learned a lot about the process and what it takes to make such a production and retell such an amazing story.
Farha: Out of this world. I'm normally a very shy person, and more than anything this experience helped me break out of my barriers.

Any difficulties?

Mamdouh: Not really, I didn't forget any lines like I did during the rehearsals because when I work under pressure I tend to do better.
Farha: Honestly at first we found the audience not very enthusiastic about the play. It must have been hard for them to understand and connect to the performance, especially because of the language used. But in the end that was a challenge that we faced and made it, and all in all it was worth it.

Would you do it again?

Mamdouh: For sure. I love it, and having my friends and family there made it a wonderful experience.
Farha: Definitely!

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