The Taming of the Shrew by Willliam Shakespeare

       I first heard about this particular production when I was asked to attend the callbacks for "The Taming of the Shrew," not knowing what I would see when I arrived in the room. At callbacks, I was amazed by all the Latine faces in the room, wondering what exactly what this production was going to be. The director, Ryan Matthieu Smith, explained to us that their production of "The Taming of the Shrew" would be set in 1880s Tejas with a primarily Latine cast, making my eyes pop in amazement and my heart beat with excitement. Even after casting had been set, working on this production was all I could think about. After working with Shakespeare Dallas in their production of "Othello" as a Production Assistant, I emailed the Company Manager, Korey Kent, and told him that as a Latina, "The Taming of the Shrew" excited me, and seeing Brown and Black faces represented in this wonderfully chaotic Shakespearean tale I asked him if there was any way I could get involved. Korey and Ryan happily found a spot for me as a Directing Intern, where I would then be under the leadership of Associate Director, Kristen Kelso.

      My involvement in the rehearsal process ranged from a variety of tasks, from writing down what changes were made in the script to giving actors notes about their Spanish pronunciation to stepping in for actors who were absent. The majority of my work involved in helping Kristen Kelso with whatever she needed: writing down her notes, Spanish pronunciation and practice for the actors, and simply being on book for her and the actors to call line. What I enjoyed most with Kristen is that she would ask my opinion about certain cultural practices and sayings, as I come from generations of Tejanos and this was a Tejano take on an Elizabethan play. In moments that Kristen was not available at rehearsals, I would help out Ryan Matthieu Smith with whatever they needed help with. One rehearsal was taking specific notes about fight choreography, another was taking actors into another room and doing line-throughs with them when their off-book day came, and even one rehearsal I took over Kristen's role of writing down detailed notes Ryan had for actors and designers. At the end of each rehearsal, Kristen Kelso would invite me to observe what a meeting between Directors and Stage Managers looked liked, and how planning is crucial to the development of productions.

      During tech week I got to observe how outdoor productions consisted of, and how Directors collaborate with Designers and Producers to make sure that the final product was ready for audiences. I would attend Production Meetings and was even assigned the task of creating a Spanish script to Shakespeare Dallas' already existing Pre-Show announcements, adding a little Texas spin to the script. I learned a lot on what it takes to direct a large production with a large ensemble, and knowing that I got to be involved with a production about a culture that represents me, I felt honored that I was given the space to be there.

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Below you will a video about this production of "The Taming of the Shrew," as well as my Spanish translation of the Pre-Show announcements.