Ty Mitchell is in his first season portraying Benvolio in the Michigan Shakespeare Festival’s High School Tour production of The Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet, which will visit approximately 40 high schools this spring. He recently took some time to share his thoughts on what has become a very popular extension of 17-year-old Festival.
What do you find to be most challenging in playing Benvolio?
Apart from playing Benvolio at 7:30 am? There's not much about the guy not to like. The hardest thing about playing Benvolio may be tapping into his very genuine, wholesome dedication to his companions and his good morals. Benvolio is just a good guy who wants a good time with his friends, but is still the responsible one. Benvolio is much more responsible than I am.
This is your third month playing the same role. How has it changed?
Hopefully Benvolio hasn't changed throughout the process. It is never my intention to alter a character, or to alter a character's intentions, once the show is underway. However, the time does allow the character intentions that are already there to be strengthened and more well defined.
We know the High School Tour has gotten positive reviews from teachers and students, but what about you individually? What feedback have you received?
I frequently get the question of "how do you get your hair to do that?" And quite honestly, my response is usually "what is it doing now?" Most recently I was asked after a show if I worked at A@F. I have not. Generally, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive to me in person verbally and on Facebook, from teachers, tweens, and in-betweens.
Normally when you are cast in a show, you get to work on the same stage for the run of the show. With the Tour going to the schools instead of them coming to us, you have to perform in very different theatre spaces (with different technological possibilities) for every show. How do you handle that?
Many of my entrances and exits are made through the audience aisles, so I have to make sure to double check that all doors have been unlocked. Also, Jay (Donley) and I like to discuss options for things we could possibly climb on in our drunk after-party scene. Because Benvolio is such a physical character, I have that sort of thing as my own "fight call."
At the end of every show, the Company holds a Question-and-Answer session with the students. What are the most common questions asked (and what are the answers)?
“What got you started?” and “Where did you study?”
I quit baseball in 10th grade so I could be in my first show: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I didn't have any lines, but they gave me a rapier and had me come out of the ground to kick some Woodlander butt. I was hooked on theatre ever since.
I earned my BFA from Albion College with double majors in theatre and psychology. After I graduated, I did a year-long apprenticeship at the Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea.
What is your favorite question that you have been asked (and what did you answer)?
Q: Can I have your number?
A: No.
The Tour closes in early June—do you have any plans for the summer?
In May/June I will be in the Tipping Point Theatre's production of Crimes of the Heart. In my off hours I will be training my Capuchan to feed me grapes by the pool.