Brigham Young University’s Young Company will present a production tailored toward young audiences of Shakespeare’s “Henry V” Wednesday through Saturday, Feb. 6-16, in the Nelke Theatre.
The play will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, with Saturday matinees at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. There will be no performances Sunday or Monday. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for children ages two to 11. For tickets, visit the Fine Arts Ticket Office, (801) 422-4322 or byuarts.com/tickets.
The Young Company consists of faculty and students who combine their talents to bring theatre art for elementary school-age students.
Director Megan Sanborn Jones was tasked not only to adapt the production for children, but to present a story that is notoriously difficult to tell realistically on stage.
“I opened up the collaborative process of analysis, storytelling, casting, adaptation, musical soundscape, and aesthetics not just to the cast and creative team, but also to a class of theatre arts seniors,” she said.
“Working with 25 other people to make many of the decisions normally reserved for the director has brought great insight and creativity to the production,” said Jones. “I feel like the imaginary forces I have encountered in this process make this ‘Henry 5’far better than it would have been with my imagination alone.”
The production is also featured in 4thWall, a dramaturgy project run by the Theatre and Media Arts Department. The project works to break down the supposed wall separating the audience from the actors through insights from the rehearsal room, interesting historical information, interviews with the production team and more. For more information about the 4thWall visit 4thwalldramaturgy.byu.edu.
The cast for “Henry V” features Makenzie Larsen as Henry; Camilla Hodgson as Nym, Cambridge and Orleans; Kristen Leinbach as Montjoy, Grey and Mistress; Sarah Flinders as Canterbury, Boy and King; Nathan Stout as Scroop, Pistol and Dauphin; John Valdez as Westmoreland, Bardolph, Contable and Bates; and Matthew Fife as Exeter, Falstaff and Fluellen.
The technical crew includes Becky Wallin, outreach coordinator; Jennifer Reed, production manager; Ward Wright, technical director and scenic designer; Kylie Valentine, stage manager; Ashley Cook, costume designer; Matthew Fife, makeup designer; Hannah Kroff, properties designer; Anne Flinders, dramaturg and assistant stage manager; Mallory Gee, vocal coach; and Anna Dollines, assistant makeup designer.
This production is sponsored by the BYU Department of Theatre and Media Arts. For more information, contact Ken Crossley at (801) 422-9348 or ken_crossley@byu.edu.
Writer: Preston Wittwer
