Shakespeare in the Park: Three Musketeers at Main Street Green Friday, September 8

Whitehall non-profit Gold Junction Presents, along with several local sponsors, are excited to bring Montana Shakespeare in the Parks back to the Main Street Green on September 8th for The Three Musketeers.

Confused why this non-Shakespeare play was chosen to make its way to Whitehall? Read the following snippet from The Clarion's interview with Three Musketeers director Kevin Asselin.

What made you decide to do a non-Shakespearean play this season? Why The Three Musketeers? Two answers. So, Shakespeare in the Parks does have a history over the last 51 years of selecting material that is not only Shakespeare but other relevant classics. There's a strong history of doing George Bernard Shaw, Molière, and a number of other classics throughout the course of Shakespeare in the Parks' history, so that's been formulaic for some time. I feel this alternating process is important for us to adhere to; one year doing two Shakespeare productions, and then the next year producing a Shakespeare and another relevant classic.

But this past summer, I was really inspired by the younger generation that comes out to experience our plays. Our productions are always so exciting for me to experience, knowing that the actors are getting an opportunity to perform for an audience that is multi-generational. That there is such a huge interest from our younger community is exciting! I think that's, in part, a carry-through from our education programs.

This past summer I was up in Choteau, Montana to see King Lear and I was struck by the number of young people sitting in the front row. I thought to myself, "Oh my God, all these young people are here to see King Lear, of all plays!" So, as a way to give back to, not only all the generations that we perform for, but specifically our young people, I wanted to give them something tied to their journey. I think there's a lot of opportunity for young people to see themselves reflected on stage with The Three Musketeers. And of course, the exciting qualities of sword fighting and the adventure quality is, I think, intriguing for young people. That was a big part of why we chose The Three Musketeers.

How do you feel the character of D'Artagnan will relate to audience members, especially our younger audience?

I think that D'Artagnan is an exciting character for all audiences, but especially young people. Becoming a Musketeer is D'Artagnan's lifelong dream. His journey from leaving home, a very rural environment, and courageously journeying as a young individual from that kind of upbringing to an environment that is more urban and ruthless in nature is something many people can relate to.

The leaps we take in life, whether leaving home for the first time to go to college or embarking from middle school on to high school, carry a level of anxiousness and require a level of courage that oftentimes might not be employed in our daily lives. I think we all experience that in D'Artagnan's journey.

There are a lot of hard lessons that D'Artagnan encounters, and we all can relate to that. So, there's much to reflect upon, I think, with our audience members as they watch D'Artagnan's journey, and I think for young people to experience that kind of journey is really exciting.

As a trained fight director, how does a play like The Three Musketeers differ from other plays that you direct?

A play like The Three Musketeers is iconic because of the opportunity to do quite a bit of storytelling through movement. As a fight director, I feel it's always important to talk about the fact that it's not about the spectacle. It's about the opportunity to further the story through movement.

With stage combat, it's the interpretation of the story through violence, and the demonstration of violence on stage, and it's such a big part of the world of The Three Musketeers – They live and die by the sword, and the sword itself is an iconic piece of the landscape, the atmosphere, and the culture of The Three Musketeers. The sword itself becomes a character. I think about how that character plays through the storytelling, and how we can keep our audiences connected to the importance of that gesture throughout the course of the play.

I operate very differently as a director versus a fight director in some ways. I think there are a lot of similarities, but I never approach choreographing a fight with a planned idea. I really rely on the actors to inform me in terms of their skill level, and their ability to move freely. These things will always play a role in how we're going to choreograph a fight, whereas with blocking and staging when directing, I'm always doing some preplanning that I then move away from as we get through the process.

But ultimately, the storytelling piece between stage fighting and just blocking itself, I think, are parallel in the fact that space and movement will forward the story for an audience's experience. And whether you're using a sword, your fist, or just language, how you are working in space physically is going to really influence the way in which the audience experiences the story, and stage combat and sword fighting add a dynamic of excitement that might not be explored as much.

It's exciting to be able to delve into this play. I've worked with Musketeers as both a fight director and an actor in the past, but have never directed it, so to bring my experience with fight and the work that we've been doing with Shakespeare in the Parks is an exciting opportunity to tell the story in a fresh way and make it unique and special for our audiences.

Don't miss The Three Musketeers, as presented by Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, September 8th at 5:30 PM on the Main Street Green next to the Star Theatre.