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Here I am Lady Montague to John Bolen's Lord
Montague. M'lord is a very busy produced playwright and director as well as a talented and generous actor.
I am looking very nun-like in a voluminous, medieval-inspired
costume by director John Huntington, in his visually stunning production of Romeo and Juliet
at Huntington Beach Playhouse. A man of many talents, John is a costume designer as well as an accomplished operatic
performer and vocal coach.
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| Janét with Dean Schwartz, 2002 |
Here is a very windblown Janét in 2002
at Shakespeare in the Village, a benefit held at Balboa Park in Newport
Beach.
Directed by Jill Forbath, our group performed monologues, scenes,
sonnets, songs and dances as a fundraiser for the Balboa Theater. The 100-year-old theater is currently gutted, but
a dedicated group of backers intends to renovate and reopen it.
Here I am with a fellow alumnus of the Professional
Conservatory of South Coast Repertory Theater. The angle of the setting sun prevented us from posing by our lovely ivy-draped pavilion with the azure waters of the Pacific behind us, and
sadly, these beachfront condos don't exactly provide an Elizabethan backdrop.
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| "The Comedy Of Errors" 1998 |
I made this costume, to which the strong beachfront wind
is doing some very strange things in the photo above, when I played Adriana in The Comedy
of Errors at Shakespeare by the Sea (photo at right, in Old Towne Park in San Juan Capistrano); but
at the event pictured above I performed a little Adriana, a little Cleopatra, a little Kate the shrew, and even a little very
mature Juliet. Yes, yes, even after playing Romeo's mother...
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| With David McGaw as Rockin' Romeo |
In 2006 I costarred in the feature film, Rockin'
Romeo and Juliet, a rock-musical version of the timeless drama, which its producers describe as "Shakespeare
meets The Rocky Horror Picture Show."
Music was written and performed by the rock band Oggi, but yes, the story and the words
are William Shakespeare's.
The film premiered in November, 2006 at Zeiss Kinos in Hamburg, Germany. It was
selected as the "Independent Film Tip of the Month" in the November, 2006 issue of Cinema Magazine.
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| With Ginger Wade as Juliet |
Costuming for this very unconventional film ranged from Elizabethan to modern and
East to West, even incorporating elements from traditional Kabuki theater. Besides playing the role of Juliet's Nurse, I designed and made my own costumes, one of which is
shown here.
In addition, I served as Shakespearean dialect coach for the production.
Understand and Express Shakespearean
English
I also work privately as a coach of Shakespearean language, helping actors to understand
and express late 16th Century English, including terminology, phrasing and rhythm, pronunciation and diction. I
offer competitive rates, as well as student discounts and multiple session discounts, for private or shared sessions.
Please e-mail me for rates if you are interested.
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