Timing is everything, but unfortunately the timing didn’t quite work out this year for members of the Cambridge American Stage Tour. The group arrived in Vero Beach last Monday, but Hurricane Irma threatened to turn the talented Cambridge University students’ presentations of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” into a nightmare.
Sponsored locally by the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation, this was the 10th annual visit by the British theater troupe founded by Dame Judi Dench and their visits heretofore had gone off without a hitch. And, while the group was able to perform Wednesday at the Indian River Charter High School, their planned Thursday workshops and that evening’s performance at Sebastian River High School had to be canceled.
On the plus side, they did thoroughly enjoy the jam-packed, albeit shortened, time they did have.
Tuesday evening the 18 cast and crew members were treated by the foundation to a wonderful Indian River Lagoon kayaking trip led by Ronda Cox of Tropical Kayak Tours and her assistant Madelyn Russell.
“We usually take them to the beach but we couldn’t get a lifeguard and were concerned about rough water,” said Marie Stiefel, LRJF board president. “But the lagoon is a very special place; they’re excited about it.”
While the students paddled around, LRJF supporters were busy setting out a huge spread of picnic fare at one of the Riverside Park pavilions including, by special request, key lime pies.
“I bet they’re having a ball,” said Susan Boyd. “I think this turned out to be better, actually, because it didn’t look like many of them had been kayaking. Plus they get to see the lagoon, which is something they couldn’t get anywhere else.”
Virginia was the next stop on the month-long international tour.
“Sooner than later. We would love to have them stay but they need to stay safe,” said Susan Lovelace, who introduced the tour to Vero Beach.
Prior to retiring as director of the International Baccalaureate Program at SRHS, Lovelace had tutored Cambridge University Students in a summer program through the Florida Consortium of Students.
“This is now the 10th year that they’ve been over. First time in a hurricane though; we’ve avoided that until now,” said Lovelace ruefully. “We’re usually the first stop on the tour and then they travel up the east coast of the United States, stopping at various universities and schools before flying back in the beginning of October.”
After Virginia, the group was headed this year to Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Connecticut and, fingers crossed, to Grand Cayman before returning home.
Lovelace said the group also holds acting workshops for local students, adding, “Those are very performative, up-on-your-feet workshops. This year they were doing it with charter students; there were some students from St. Edward’s today and one from Lincoln Park Academy. And then in the past we’ve had the workshops on Saturday and they have been open to students from everywhere. It’s been a lot of fun.”
She noted that CAST members have gone on to work as cast and crew in movies and professional theatre productions, adding, “One of our girls just starred in the Amanda Knox movie and then we had another young man here a couple of years ago who is now the star of ‘War Horse’ on the West End in London.”
The students are housed by local host families such as Eileen Hanley, who began hosting when her daughters were in the SRHS IB program.
“We’ve done this for five years,” said Hanley. “It’s such a great rewarding experience. They love coming here and learning about us.”
The Laura Riding Jackson Foundation also offers nine teen writing workshops each year and has doubled the number of adult workshops to six. “The workshops get bigger every year; people seem to really like them,” said Stiefel.
Their annual Poetry & Barbecue fundraiser, Beyond Water and Walls, will take place April 15 at the Laura (Riding) Jackson home on the campus of the Environmental Learning Center. For more information, visit lauraridingjackson.com.
