Acting the part

Renegade Readers Theater is a radical staged reading series
BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer

PHOTOSBY CHRIS KELLY, staff Above: Kate Cordaro, director of education at Two River Theater, listens to students rehearsing for the performance of "Eat the Taste." (L-R) Alexis Briscuso, 15, of Middletown; Ben Hayward, 15, of Neptune; Marly Stasi, 16 of Red Bank; and Michelle Joline, 16, of Colts Neck, read their lines.

A group of seven students from five area schools got a crash course in live theater when they spent an intense two weeks rehearsing for a staged reading at the Two River Theater in Red Bank.

The high school students who auditioned and were cast had only three rehearsals to get to know the characters and the play prior to a staged reading of the farce "Eat the Taste" before an audience last Saturday.

"They auditioned on Monday and we cast it that night. The next day they were sent the scripts and they rehearsed three times," said TRTC's Director of Education Kate Cordaro.

"It's really only 12 hours of rehearsal," she said, adding that the students would have the scripts in hand during the staged reading.

The exercise was the third in the theater company's series, "Renegade Readers Theater," which is presented in TRTC's Marion Huber Black Box Theater.

"It requires a full commitment from the students," Cordaro said. "They have to read the play over and over and study the character they are playing. It really requires them to step up. Most of them have no experience with staged readings," she said.

The cast for "Eat the Taste" included two students from Red Bank Regional High School, Michelle Joline and Marly Stasi; Lucy McGrath, Long Branch High School; Nick Saint Onge, Rumson-Fair Haven High School; Middletown High School South students Alexis Briscoe and Katie Kroeper; and Ben Hayward, Neptune High School.

Cordaro explained that staged readings are used by theaters all the time. Usually, the actors only get a couple of hours to study the part before the reading.

"We use them just to hear the first draft of a play we are thinking of using next year," she said.

She noted that the students were made aware of what they were getting themselves into, but occasionally they are overcommitted with other things and drop out.

Cordaro said the student actors don't have to memorize their parts but the more familiar they are with the play, the better they will be. And they do have fun, she said, explaining that the play "Eat the Taste" by Greg Kotis ("Urinetown") is dry and witty in an off-beat sort of way.

The play is set in 2008 during the final days of the second Bush administration. John Ashcroft, the de facto attorney general, is leaving politics to begin a second career - on Broadway. Confounding expectations, he's tapped "Urinetown" creators Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann to pen his debut one-man show. Employing G-men, handcuffs and aspirin, "Eat the Taste" is the untold, behind-the-scenes story of the making of a musical that has yet to be made.

"In the age of the 'Daily Show,' kids are much more politically savvy than they used to be. They get it. They are in on the joke," Cordaro said of the student actors.

Cordaro said casting for the readings is tricky.

"It's always about finding the right fit for each role. We had 25 kids auditioning for seven roles. We look for some traits that fit the character.

"For this play, we needed smart, funny kids who are able to get the tone right."

She explained that the tone of the play is deadly serious, even though what the character is saying is totally ridiculous. In other words, she said, "It's not done with a wink at the audience."

This is the third of four plays in the Renegade Readers Theater program, which is in its second year.

"Last year, we kind of tried it out. This year, we've tried to shake it up with different kinds of material," Cordaro said.

The last reading, "On the Razzle" by Tom Stoppard, will be presented in May.

" 'On the Razzle' is almost like 'Hello Dolly' in that a man goes to Vienna with his two clerks to have a good time in the city. It's smart and funny and about mistaken identity," she said.

She noted that after each reading there is a question-and-answer period with the cast and director.

Cordaro said the program gives young theater-lovers from different schools a chance to meet and work together with professional theater artists on plays that their high schools aren't likely to produce. Each actor is given a Renegade Readers T-shirt that they wear during the reading.

"Eat the Taste" was directed by Cordaro, who was classically trained at the Stella Adler Conservatory through NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She has taught acting, scene study, monologue workshops and audition technique for nearly 20 years. Directing projects for young people include "The Heroes Project" and "Alice" for the Two River Theater's education department.

"Many talented, funny kids auditioned for this piece and we have an incredibly strong cast," she said, adding, "I am excited to explore the hilarious world of American politics with them."

Tickets are $5 and reservations are required. Call the box office at (732) 345-1400 for information about the May reading.