They call her Katherine that do talk of her, and they call it Bard In The Yard that do speak of the Shakespeare program held each summer by acting coach Melissa Glover.
The drama school is for youth, and this year was a record turnout, with 22 enrolled to take part. So many wanted to learn about the great bard's theatre skills that Glover had to take on two plays, which is double the usual amount.
This year the kids - and audiences - get to experience The Taming Of The Shrew and As You Like It. The actors for the main characters are in only one, but many of the young aspiring thespians are in both.
"They are wonderful plays to pit against each other," said Glover.
"They have a lot of similarities, but each one portrays them in a different light. As You Like It is one of my all-time favourite plays and the Phoebe monologue is one I've personally worked on for the past 11 years. There is a lot of whimsy in it, a lot of laughter and love. In The Taming Of The Shrew there is also a lot of laughter and love but it is a much different presentation of those things. Instead of whimsy, it uses conflict to draw out the comedy and romance."
In Shakespeare's time it was illegal for a woman to act on a public stage. In these modern times, females make up the bulk of the cast and thus take on many roles written as male characters. It is just part of the learning process, said the actors involved.
Brenna Jacobsen is but 15 years old but has done Bard In The Yard for the past nine years, dating back to when it was operated by founder Debbie McGladdery before she moved from Prince George and Glover took over (this is the fourth year for her). She plays Petruchio, the man who crazily woos the cantankerous Katherine.
"My character is a jerk, but he does it in the name of perfect love," said Jacobson. "He goes to extremes, but he is imitating her behaviour. The worse Katherine is, the worse Petruchio is, and it balances out in the end. You really want to like him because he comes across so charmingly at first, then you see how he really is when Katherine gets difficult with him, and it gets harder and harder to like him. It's such a complex character."
Elizabeth Klassen, 17, plays the female lead of Katherine, and she swears she is nothing like "the shrew" in her own real life. Perhaps that's why, when she recites the lines at home for practice, that her brothers all scatter, she said.
Klassen, too, is a veteran despite her years. She has done Bard In The Yard three times before and, like Jacobson, also participates each year in the Speech Arts & Drama Festival.
"I would love to be an actor, but I also enjoy piano and I'd like to be a piano teacher too," she said.
"I know I would enjoy composing music for movies. Maybe there's a way to do both, I don't know, but I definitely see myself going forward with this."
You can do little else better for theatre training than an immersion in Shakespeare, the two teen actors agreed.
"There are so many great quotes," said Klassen. "And it is from another era so everything you have to do to prepare is an education. And if you want a comedy, Shakespeare has comedy; if you want tragedy, Shakespeare has tragedy. And it is all original."
It has been a classical summer like no other for Jacobsen who also recently discovered a love of singing and earned a spot in the Fraser Lyric Opera Society's production of The Barber Of Seveille.
Each one is another step towards her show business goals, she said, and not just the material. The rehearsal process is just as important for that as the performance process.
"You have to learn how to really get along with people," she said.
"You have to leave behind your personal boundaries and commit to the role, commit to the cast and crew, and believe in the people you're working with."
Both these plays are heavily abridged to keep the content appropriate for young actors and family audiences, and also to fit them both into the performance schedule. The rehearsals and the performances are all being held at Theatre North West that stepped forward to be a sponsor of the program and help foster these up-and-coming performance artists.
There are three performance opportunities: Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday at 2 p.m. and Friday at 7 p.m. Admission is by donation (suggested amount $10) at the door.
