Kate Perello (Part One of Three) 

NEW TIMES Have you ever participated in the Shakespeare Festival before?

PERELLO This is my first time participating with CCSF this summer. I knew a few people who have acted in their shows for a few years, and even though my friends have moved on to other opportunities, I have made many great friends here in this production. It’s such a small world!

NEW TIMES What role are you playing?

PERELLO The role I’m playing is a sprite/fairy/spirit, Ariel, also known as a servant to Prospero, a magician and protagonist on the island.

NEW TIMES Besides learning lines, what have you done to prepare for your role as a fairy?

PERELLO Funny thing is, learning lines [for me at least] was a huge preparation because it may seem easy to go to Sparknotes and only get the general idea of what my character is saying and jot it down on paper and into my head. However, I remember when I studied Shakespeare at PCPA, we were given Shakespeare lexicons that had the definition of every word in every Shakespeare play [including a, if, my, or, etc.] As tedious as it may be, I used it to my advantage and practiced learning what each word meant in order to understand more about my character’s senses and project it in my scenes. Using these tools enabled me to memorize my lines a lot easier, and it went to a deeper transition to make my character more believable. It also helped me in each scene to use tactics I didn’t think I would use, but ended up being really powerful on stage. Other preparations included a lot of physical work. Ariel moves all over the place chasing other characters, tending to Prospero’s needs; there’s no time to sit down for Ariel. I work out a lot in my spare time, but doing yoga really helped me to become limber and flexible as well as help me to breathe deeply, since I can be out of breath easily. Yoga is such a great practice, I’ve been doing it for a couple years and I’ve seen a difference. It helped a lot playing Ariel and it also helps me in my everyday life. I use it as much as I can, and I strongly encourage others to use it too!