INTERVIEW: Shakespeare comes to the Catskill Mountains
Photo: Sarah Reny is the artistic director and founder of Catskill Mountain Shakespeare. Photo courtesy of the artist / Provided by Richard Hillman PR with permission.
This summer, theatergoers in the Catskill Mountains of New York will have a chance to experience William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night from the comfort of their tucked-away wooded paradise, located approximately 90 minutes north of New York City. A newly formed theater company called Catskill Mountain Shakespeare has started performances of the Bard’s work on the grounds of the Emerson Resort & Spa in Mount Tremper, New York, with shows continuing until Aug. 29.
At the helm of the new theatrical project is Sarah Reny, artistic director and founder of the company.
“The inaugural production is going to be a really musical, raucous and fun production,” Reny said in a recent phone interview. “Fun feels like such an overused word, but genuinely it is so joyous. And the actors are so wonderful and big and bright and incredibly talented, so I feel like it’s a fun night of entertaining Shakespeare that doesn’t take itself too seriously and that tells a really clear story.”
The cast is made up of multiracial actors who are classically trained, according to a press release. They are under the direction of Kelly Galvin, with costumes by Camilla Dely, atmospherics by Hamilton Guillén and original compositions by Mariah Lotz. This creative team has a unique place to work with in Mount Tremper.
“We’re actually at the back of this beautiful resort called the Emerson Resort and Spa — in the back, right along this creek with the mountains jutting out of it,” Reny said. “Naturally the creek has provided some interesting hurdles. For those in the theater, they will know exactly what I mean, as in it’s really loud, but luckily we’re able to add mics. Hopefully that counterbalances it all so that it adds a really nice ambient sound as opposed to being overpowering. But a big mission of ours at the theater company is to really use the Catskills. I love seeing theater that feels like it’s really organic, like it’s grown from where it is, if that makes sense. It’s not separate from the location; it’s of the location. And that’s really what we’re hoping to do.”
Reny, who began her own acting career in Montreal at the age of 7, has been visiting the Catskills for almost three years. She splits her time between the mountains and New York City, and she noticed that there wasn’t a huge outdoor festival of theater in the Catskills, at least none that she was aware of. The actor-turned-artistic-director said she so appreciates old-style repertory theater — the summer stock that offers classical works under the starry skies (much like the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, which is not too far away).
“It truly was like an idea fell into my lap one day last January,” she said. “The whole idea landed in my lap at once. It wasn’t something I was searching for; it just kind of happened, and then I couldn’t really shake it for weeks and weeks. So I was like, I guess I have to do it. I produced when I was in college, but this is my first time doing anything like this, like really starting anything from the ground up and learning how to do things like build a website, and become a 501c3, and hire lawyers and directors and actors, and find the money, and all that stuff.”
The COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to disrupt concerts and live theatrical performances around the world, has certainly augmented how Twelfth Night is being presented in the Catskills. However, since the production was born during the shutdowns and quarantines, the team members were prepared for this most recent surge from the Delta variant.
“I think in some ways actually we did have an advantage because we were already going to be doing something that’s a little smaller because it’s our first year,” Reny said. “I do think that in some way it did lend itself to the natural state of starting a new company. Obviously the tricky things are ensuring people’s safety, being responsible for all these people, making calls and when we make calls. So we decided to push the season to August as opposed to doing it in July, which is what we had initially intended. … We decided months ago that we were going to keep it at 50 percent capacity, which I think we’re all really happy that we did because now we don’t really have to rejig too much now. So I do think that as much as it has been tricky for the whole industry, no doubt, I actually funnily enough think that it has offered us some interesting advantages and played to our newness.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Catskill Mountain Shakespeare presents Twelfth Night through Aug. 29 at the Emerson Resort & Spa in Mount Tremer, New York. Tickets are $30, or $15 for students. There are also low-or-no-cost tickets available. Click here for more information and tickets.
