BWW Preview: Feminine Cast Highlights Award-Winning Young Company's ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

First Stage's prestigious Young Company, a troupe of advanced high school aged professionals-in-training, recently earned top honors in the Utah Shakespeare Festival/ Southern Utah University Shakespeare Competition this October. The 12-year old company of more than 50 youths sends a select group to compete in Utah and then tackles classical theater year round in Milwaukee that continually prepares them for these elite competitions. This December, under the direction of veteran Milwaukee actor Marcella Kearns (pictured) Young Company tweaks a challenging Shakespeare play with mature themes: All's Well That Ends Well.

In an interview with the Director, Kearns spoke to the enigmatic Bertram in Shakespeare's play that focuses attention on the young man protesting his arranged future and then rebelling. Shakespeare's character has recently lost his father, been required to inhabit his father's aristocratic responsibility and is forced to marry the lower class Helena against his will. Heady personal transitions filled with the emotions of dreams, grief, loss and love inhabit the teenagers Shakespeare chose for his timeless stories. Bertram eventually runs away leaving his unconsummated marriage and bride Helena with a seemingly impossible quest for her to win his love and respect.

Helena accepts Bertram's challenge because of her love for a husband who has no love for her, which eventually involves sexual trickery with the help of a maid Diana to attain Helena's goal, and regain her husband's love. The coming of age story for Bertram collides with Helena's impossible adventure quest in a story that can be interpreted several ways, given the actors and directors chosen staging of the production.

Kearns explains producing Shakespeare's play with all women adds another surprise element to the Young Company presentation. After two days of casting auditions, Kearns determined the young women could completely fulfill as she says, "The complexity and truth to these very tricky roles."

To begin the directing process for the young women, Kearns asked her cast to find pictures of men so they could inspire and then inhabit masculine movement, physicality and pitch ranges of the male voice. While a challenge, Kearns also feels that as portrayed in Romeo and Juliet, young performers can perfectly reflect the determination, impulsiveness and turmoil of Shakespeare's characters because they present a similar youthful voice.

This voice, the inexperienced persona searching for maturity,, helps explain Bertram's fleeing his responsibilities and Helena's determination to win what she has a right to, which she in turn has won through her own cleverness and talent.. Helena has every right to claim Bertram's commitment after marriage where she achieves her deferred dreams while Bertram seeks to sort out the personal losses and responsibilities he is faced with.

What can sometimes be played only as a classic male/female romance touched with comedy transforms into a moving tale exploring highly adult themes: grief, honor, loyalty, rebellion and unrequited love. Kearns says, "How you navigate these characters [Bertram and Helena] helps the audience suddenly understand more about the play...making the mistakes of youth..and then they discover the reason behind the changes [in the characters] we see on stage."

"There's also a strong mother-daughter relationship between Helena and Bertram's mother, the Countess played by Isabelle Abbott, who loves and supports Helena on her quest." Kearns continues. "The Countess opens this play, only one of two women who do this in Shakespeare's entire canon."

Alison Pogorelc, who recently won the 2015 Larry Lott award for outstanding performance in the Utah Shakespeare Festival/Competition adding a first in monologue to her honors, takes on Helena, a character who struggles with opening her heart to her desires. Mary Elsa Henrichs plays opposite her in the role of Bertram and Megan Watson inhabits Diana, the women in between the newly married couple. These high school seniors are veterans with Young Company, and complete the 14-member cast that also uses women for the several stage positions--an effort to grow these women into the adult theatrical world. Young Company has consistently been gaining a reputation throughout college campuses in America's theater programs where these First Stage Academy/Young Company graduates become highly sought after.

With a busy holiday season ahead, and much entertainment to enjoy in Milwaukee, take the time to honor this highly professional, award-winning Young Company cast at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center this December. In a play were everyone discovers they where not who they thought they were, and how dreams require determination to fulfill, believe what Kearns believes: "I love what these young performers bring to the table, infinite creativity and an extraordinary work ethic."

Performances of the Young Company production run from Friday, December 11 through Sunday, December 20. Celebrate strong women and all youth, their exceedingly creative capabilities by experiencing a First Stage Young Company performance of All's Well That Ends Well.

First Stage's Young Company presents William Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center Friday, December 11 through Sunday, December 20. For information, performance schedule, and tickets, please call 414.267.2961 or www.firststage.org.

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