Toot described the NDSF ON TOUR group as supportive and welcoming, which has benefitted the production, he said.
“It's easy to undertake such a daunting project in such a short amount of time when you have a crew of supportive and viciously intelligent people,” he said.
In addition to preparing for its upcoming performances at Notre Dame, the group has spent some time touring local schools, where they not only perform but also lead acting workshops. Toot said the enthusiasm and interest of the community has been humbling.
“It really makes the entire exercise worth it to see student, teacher and townspeople alike all light up a bit when they connect with Shakespeare in a new way,” he said.
This weekend’s performances of "Romeo and Juliet" will be unique in several ways. For one, it will include live acoustic music, which poses only the single challenge of logistics, Toot said. Otherwise, he said is excited about the addition.
“If I had all the power, I would require every theatre performance to be scored with live music,” he said. “There's a certain breath of life that instruments give, and the texture they provide puts an energy in the room that I find vital.”
Another interesting facet of the production is the style of a traveling troupe, which affords only a small cast with limited props and costumes, allowing the audiences’ imaginations to create the scene. Toot said he sees this as its own element in the storytelling.
“By condensing the experience to a small company of six actors all onstage for the whole experience, we allow a look into the life of the performance,” he said.
The audience will see the performers change costumes, and each piece is tied to a specific character, Toot said.
“As the audience member, you develop a specific relationship to it. It takes no time at all for those watching to jump right into that conceit and take a certain delight in seeing the acrobatics that a simple addition or subtraction of a pair of glasses can display — remember that pair of glasses, that's pretty ... impressive!”
