• Behind The Scenes,  Project Updates

    Our revels now are ended … for the moment … Season One Wrap Up …

    Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and Are melted into air, into thin air: And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep. William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act IV Sc 1 What a ride it’s been! As the dust settles on our final episode for Season One, we’d like to take a moment to say…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Video

    “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? … The Making Of Episode Four: Ben Steel as Juliet

    Join us for a peek behind the curtain as we show you some behind the scenes fun and games from Ben Steel’s episode for Season One of Shakespeare Republic. A slightly more compact behind the scenes video this week, showing the drawbacks of working with animals (even if you weren’t supposed to be) and the joys of filming in yet another bathroom, among other visuals make up this rather smooth sailing version of what went on behind the scenes in episode four. Behind The Scenes Director of Photography: Sally McLean Featuring: Ben Steel, Sally McLean, Shaun Herbertson, Tim McCormick Edited by Sally McLean Produced by Sally McLean, Perri Cummings & Billy…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Celebrating The Bard

    CELEBRATING THE BARD: Ben Steel on playing Juliet

    We have mused on The Bard and now that Season One is airing, we are Celebrating The Bard!  This is a series where we asked each of our ensemble members to write down some background on why they wanted to do the piece they did, how they feel it relates to modern life, what challenges and/or choices they faced and why and any other information that would be of interest to you, the audience.  Director, Sally McLean, also shares some thoughts on the process from her perspective to give views from both sides of the camera.  Each “Celebrating The Bard” piece will be published the Friday after the ensemble member’s episode has aired.…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Project Updates,  Team,  Video

    Do you have a favourite Shakespeare play? Would you play Shakespeare nude? Hear from our cast on this and more during the Shakespeare Republic Season One Launch!

    Welcome to a big week for Shakespeare Republic!  This week we finally begin screening the series after many months of planning and hard work from all the cast and crew and we couldn’t be more excited! Further to our post about our fabulous launch event held last week at the lovely Courthouse Hotel in North Melbourne, we can also finally release the full video filmed by the talented Paul Anthony Nelson of Cinema Viscera and hosted by Special Guest, Shane Savage from, among other things, Australian Web TV phenomenon, Chris & Josh The Webseries where he plays “Chris” as well as co-writing and co-producing (really, it’s so exciting to see how well…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Project Updates

    Ben Steel in shirt and tie with a webcam … Day 4 is complete!

    Before I write anything else, I’d like to say: Happy Birthday Juliet!  Juliet’s birthday is one of the few exact birth dates Shakespeare gave us in the text of his works. According to his play Romeo & Juliet, she was born on “Lammas Eve at night” (August 1), so her birthday in Shakespeare’s play is July 31st … which is today! Day four of filming was actually our first night shoot of the season, filming the wonderful Ben Steel as he wrangled a laptop and webcam for his episode of Shakespeare Republic.  Of course, I had the bright idea of trying to catch the dying light through the windows in the opening…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Video

    VIDEO: Musing On The Bard: Ben Steel On Shakespeare

    As part of our Musing On The Bard series, we sat down with each of our ensemble members to find out what their thoughts are on Shakespeare, the challenges they face when working with Shakespeare text and any other thoughts they might like to share with you and us as they embark on this journey into our new Republic. To kick things off, we have started with Republic member, Ben Steel, who shares his feelings on facing Shakespeare for the first time, as well as his musings on who Shakespeare might have been.  (Please note – Ben is somewhat alone in our Republic in regards to his views on Shakespeare’s history/identity…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Video

    VIDEO: Cast Interviews: Shakespeare In Three Words

    We asked the ensemble of Shakespeare Republic to describe what Shakespeare means to them in three words. Their answers were honest, inspiring and surprising – and all different. So what does Shakespeare mean to you?  Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. To ensure you don’t miss anything, feel free to sign up for our newsletter, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook or subscribe to our Youtube channel. Shakespeare Republic … all the world’s a stage!

  • Behind The Scenes,  Video

    VIDEO: Cast Interviews: What Was Your First Encounter With Shakespeare?

    We sat down with the ensemble of Shakespeare Republic to hear their responses to the question: “What was your first encounter with Shakespeare?”.  Their answers range from the insightful to the surprising with a few laughs thrown in for good measure, which we think many will relate to. And it got us thinking – how did you first encounter Shakespeare?  How did you feel about that encounter?  What were your first impressions?  Did that change?  We’d love to hear from you about how you first met the Bard, so feel free to leave your comments below to become part of the conversation and share your story of your first Shakespeare encounter. To…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Video

    VIDEO: Behind The Scenes: What Is Shakespeare Republic?

    When Shakespeare Republic Director, Sally McLean, first floated the idea of putting together a series that explored Shakespeare from an actor’s perspective through performance, with a few yet-to-be-revealed twists, little did she know that a few short months later she would be laughing herself silly on the banks of the Yarra with friends and fellow collaborators, Michala Banas, Alan Fletcher, Rowena Hutson, Billy Smedley and Ben Steel, plus getting to work again with friend and Director of Photography for her earlier films, Yanni Dellaportas.  And if she had known, she would have thought of the idea a LOT sooner! Luckily we thought to bring a few cameras along on the day…