An Interview: Sam

sam: I'm Sam, I'm in fourth grade and I played Nick Bottom.

mel: Sam, was anything about Shakespeare Club surprising to you?

[Sam takes a long think]

It was surprising how everyone focused. Like when you come into Shakespeare practice everything calms down.

When you got into the club, what did you expect the meetings would be like?

I thought we'd just walk in and do a play.

Did you find things boring or hard work?

Yeah...hard work, but not really boring.

How did you feel going through four performances in one day playing Nick Bottom?

It was pretty tiring but I was excited. The worst part...the scariest part is right before you get onstage, and then you get onstage and it's not that bad.

Why do you think that is?

Because, like, when you're going to walk up onstage, you're nervous 'cause you can see the audience, but when you get onstage it's just like doing a run-through.


Did you have a favorite performance?

The last one, because everyone was tired but they wanted to end with a bang.

And did people give you compliments in the days following?

Yeah...mostly they said, "Were you the donkey? Hey, donkey...donkey!"

Are you glad you played Nick Bottom or was there another part you wanted to play?

I'm glad I played Nick Bottom. At the beginning I thought I wanted to play Puck...but I was kind of excited about Puck and Nick Bottom.

What do you think you want to be when you grow up, Sam?

A physicist, or maybe an actor.

If you were a scientist, how do you think your experience as an actor would help you?

It would help me focus.


Do you have any ideas how to make Shakespeare Club better?

[long think]

I think it would be better if you could add a line.

What do you mean? Help me understand.

Like when they say, "Apricots and dewberries," you could say...like, "Oh my favorite!"

Oh, you mean change Shakespeare's text? Yeah, that's the one thing we can't do.

What advice would you give to a child who wanted to audition for Shakespeare Club but might be too scared?

It's okay to be scared, but you got to believe you can do it.