An Interview: Carina

carina: Um, my name is Carina and I'm in third grade and I played Tom Snout and in the play within the play I played the Wall.

mel: Why did you audition for Shakespeare Club, Carina?

I auditioned because I like to act and perform in front of audiences.

What surprised you about Shakespeare Club?

Um...yoga.

You didn't think we would do that?

Yeah...'cause I knew that yoga would help sometimes when you perform onstage but I never thought that you would do it.

Do you think it's important....Do you think we should do it at all?

Um...yeah, I think we should do it because it helps you be calm before we act onstage...it helps me learn my lines...it helps me think of them in my head when I do yoga.

What do you think about the meditation part we start with?

I like it because, um, it warms up my mouth and it helps me enunciate.

What do you think about our rules and mottos?

I like them...I think they're right because a lot of actors whine and they don't have the courage to be silly.

What did you learn about you this year?


I learned that I'm one of the kids who actually can do Shakespeare because some people think that kids can't do Shakespeare.

Did that surprise you about yourself?

Yes, very much.

What did you think about Performance Day?

Cool...and I thought it came out pretty well.

What was your favorite performance?

Um...probably the last one because that one you gave us all the notes and we remembered them and then we didn't need any other notes because it was the last one.

Were you nervous performing in front of the other kids in the school?

Um...no. Because I act a lot and I usually don't really get nervous.

What do you like about acting?

I like that I can be other characters...not just me...like I can be Tom Snout.

What were you proud of with this play?

I'm proud that I actually learned about Shakespeare because I didn't know who Shakespeare was before I came here.

Do you have any tips to make Shakespeare Club better?

Well, sometimes some actors were saying other actors' lines and they shouldn't really do that.

You mean while they were onstage?

Yeah.

Do you know what that's a sign of? Because sometimes adult actors do that too.

What?

It means they're not really listening to the other actor.

Oh.

What do you think Tom Snout's goal was in the play? What did he want?

He wanted to, um...make the King and Queen happy when they saw the play.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

An actor...no an actress...an actor...no an actress, yeah.

I think they're the same thing. If you wanted to be a doctor no one would say, "Oh, Carina wants to be a doctress."

[Carina laughs]

What kind of acting would you like to do?

I'd like doing things that show up on TV.

What do you think an actor's job is?

To stay focused and perform for the audience.