The Fakespeare Festival, featuring Titus: The Light and Delightful Musical Comedy of Titus Andronicus and Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), presented by Awkward Stage Productions Society, at the York Theatre until Aug. 28. Tickets: $15-$35, at tickets.thecultch.com or 604-251-1363. Info: awkwardstageproductions.com.
North Vancouver theatre actress Jenika Schofield found her voice after her feet finished their last plié.
Schofield trained in classical ballet for 12 years, before it no longer became a passion, she says. Soon after, Schofield had an “aha” moment.
“When I stopped dancing, I was down at the beach by the (Northshore) Auto Mall and started singing ‘Part of Your World,’” recalls Schofield. “I thought, I didn’t sound bad but I didn’t sound good either.”
It was clear Schofield needed voice lessons. She also joined her high school’s improv team, at Carson Graham secondary, becoming entranced with the spontaneous side of acting.
“I love the idea of creating something from nothing and being able to play whatever character I want,” says Schofield.
Schofield then put all of her talents – singing, dancing and acting – into “one beautiful package called musical theatre.” Her first turn on stage was a starring role as Princess Jasmine in Carson’s adaptation of Aladdin.
Last summer before Schofield’s senior year of high school she auditioned for Awkward Stage, a Vancouver based not-for-profit society that provides real-life performance and production opportunities to youth “in that awkward transition” from play acting to professional employment.
Schofield won the role of Lavinia in Awkward Stage’s musical-comedy reimagining of the Shakespeare tragedy Titus Andronicus.
That experience led Schofield to another onstage role, Hodel, in the acclaimed Royal City Musical Theatre’s production of Fiddler on the Roof this past spring.
Schofield is now reprising her role as Titus’s daughter Lavinia, in the remounting of Titus: The Light and Delightful Musical Comedy of Titus Andronicus, which won the Fringe Festival’s 2015 Pick of the Fringe. Joining Schofield on stage is her former Carson Graham improv teammate Drew Ogle.
This year’s show, which runs throughout the month of August, is set to be even better. Awkward’s adaptation of Titus has expanded from its original 90-minute musical into a hilarious two-act extravaganza, as part of the Fakespeare Festival, a “cheeky” new festival at the York Theatre celebrating clever Canadian twists on Shakespeare.
In describing Awkward’s take on Titus, Schofield says the writers of the script and score – Andrew Wade and Jenny Andersen, respectively – blatantly make fun of and address the extreme violence and racism in Shakespeare’s original play in a hilarious manner.
“There’s an epic killing that is set to a rhythmic gymnastics routine,” explains Schofield.
For the Fakespeare Festival, Titus is being performed in repertory with Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), the Governor General’s Award-winning comedy that turns two classic Shakespearean tragedies, Othello and Romeo and Juliet, onto their heads.
Were Shakespeare’s classic tragedies originally comedies that got lost in translation? That’s what Constance, a beleaguered spinster academic from Queens University believes. A clever and entertaining comedic search ensues through a modern rabbit hole as Constance attempts to save fair Juliet and wise Desdemona from their harrowing fates. Foiling Constance’s plans is the devious part of her mind, a.k.a. the Trickster, a character that Schofield plays.
The Trickster is the clever, sneaky part of Constance, explains Schofield.
“Think Inside Out, but for adults,” she adds.
Schofield’s post-secondary plan is to attend Capilano University for a year, starting this fall, before eventually making her way to law school. While a law career could potentially take centre stage in her life, Schofield won’t leave acting that far behind.
“I definitely will never stop singing, because I love how I feel when I’m on stage,” she says.
