'In Acting Shakespeare' performance comes to Pruis Hall

In order to perform in a Shakespeare show, much less a one-man Shakespeare show, one would assume to have a lifelong relationship with the Bard. For James Devita, his journey with Shakespeare it has been a little stranger than most.

"In school, I hated Shakespeare," Devita said. "I thought you needed a Ph.D. to understand him."

And yet, oddly enough, Devita is the star and writer of "In Acting Shakespeare," a one-man show that takes the audience into the world of Shakespeare. The play is adapted from "Acting Shakespeare" which was originally written and performed by Sir Ian McKellan, a prestigious Shakespearian and theater actor.

Devita said seeing McKellan for the first time as what inspired him to not only like Shakespeare but also to act professionally.

"I think a lot of people get turned off by Shakespeare if they don't see it done well," Devita said. "I read him in class, and I don't think that's how Shakespeare should be enjoyed. When I saw Mr. McKellan perform, I actually understood Shakespeare; it was fun."

n "In Acting Shakespeare," Devita takes the audience through different passages of his own life while paralleling those sections with different parts of Shakespeare's life. The show also makes numerous references to McKellan's show.

"The show finds me as a laborer who goes through the metamorphosis of becoming an actor," Devita said. "It's essentially about my becoming an actor and trying to perform to do this Shakespeare thing I have no idea how to do."

In many ways the show is just as much about Devita's life story as it is about Shakespeare himself. The play even opens with Devita receiving permission from McKellan to do the show.

"After we got permission, we went through about two years of revision," Devita said. "And one thing we found is the personal stuff for McKellan didn't work. We ended up changing McKellan's sections with parts that were more personal to me."

Devita said during the revision process he heavily researched Shakespeare's life.

"I read a lot, in particular a lot of hypothetical prose on his life," Devita said. "It was all to try and pose a possible life for him, go through his life and paint a picture of him."

The story became personal enough that Devita ended up changing the name from "Acting Shakespeare" to "In Acting Shakespeare," fearing audience members may confuse the play with McKellan's.

When asked about the challenges and advantages of doing a one-man show, Devita said there aren't necessarily challenges, but it is a different experience.

"It scares the heck out of you, but in a good way," Devita said. "It's a huge challenge, but I think you need to remember to let the audience be who they want to be. That may not make much sense, but every audience is different so you have to play the audience the way they are. If they are quiet you need to let them be quiet. ... It's kind of like starting a relationship. I need to start to get to know them while they get to know me."

Devita said one of his goals for the show is to allow the audience to enjoy Shakespeare and make it accessible, even if they haven't been able to before.

"If there's one student who connects to the material and thinks, ‘I like that,' then I think the show is a success," Devita said. "The irony of this show is that it's Shakespeare for people who hate Shakespeare."

Devita also brought two workshops to Ball State for acting students — one was on Wednesday and one is today — mostly attempting to help actors try and tackle classical pieces, a process he said can be difficult.

"It's just hard to get a balance between the rhetoric and honesty of acting," Devita said. "The language is hard because people don't speak like that anymore, but you also have to portray the character honestly enough for the audience to believe you."

When asked what would make this show successful, Devita paused before answering with a chuckle.

"[It will be successful] if they show up and if they are still there after intermission," Devita said. "But really I like the challenge of people who don't like Shakespeare and getting them to be able to appreciate Shakespeare. Just come out and hang out with me a little bit; you may have fun."

"In Acting Shakespeare" will play at 7:30 tonight in Pruis Hall.