Who doth Shake this year?

When the Stanford Shakespeare Society held auditions last week, Bard enthusiasts and aspiring actors flocked to the stage. Everyone from freshmen to graduate students tried out for the troupe, boasting a wide range of majors from computer science to history.

Though the board cannot release details about those who auditioned, artistic director and junior Nisa Ari revealed promising news — at tryouts the first night, the gender ratio was almost equal.

What was StanShakes looking for in the audition?

“In the audition room, we are looking for excited, interesting, intelligent actors that both have a passion for Shakespeare and for working in an ensemble-type setting,” said Ari. “We expect everyone in the ensemble to bring something new to the table, so we love talking to people about their passions beyond the theater.”

Junior David Terca, who auditioned for the group, said that the members make StanShakes special for him.

“I know a few of the people in the group, and all I can say is that they’re wonderful people,” said Terca, who helped out with last year’s spring show. “I only hope that I should be so lucky to work with them.”

All students were welcome to audition, regardless of previous experience. Terca tried out, despite his limited acting background. He acted in his high school’s drama production for four years, yet he never had to audition since there were only 120 people in his school.

Other students have had more experience in theater. Junior Roselyn Hallett performed in high school and community theater productions in Montana, and junior Stephanie Shih boasts an array of experiences.

“I did a lot of acting in high school. I did musicals, Shakespeare and dramas,” Shih said.

Wondering how nerve-wrecking it could be to go through with auditions?

“The audition is not something to be afraid of,” Terca said. “I went in, recited my monologue to the returning Shakes members and was out of there in 10 minutes.”

The StanShakes directors are not shy in admitting their uniqueness from other Stanford performance groups.

“[This] is a different performing experience than any other on campus because of our year-long commitment to each other as an ensemble,” Ari said. “After training together in the fall, we already have learned to work in the group so that when we start our full-length productions, we can jump right into the real work without having to get comfortable with one another.”

Those who auditioned similarly sang StanShakes’ praise.

Hallett, who said she appreciated “the group’s identity as a troupe,” chose Stanford over the University of Southern California because of The Farm’s superior drama department.

This year’s board includes Ari, executive producer Matt Valesco, show directors Aaron Berg and Shelly Ronen, producers Grant Hinderliter and Leah Schwartz, community outreach coordinator Jillian Keenan, social manager Anna Terteryan and technical director Amy Leblang. The group already has big plans for the year.

“What’s new this year is our commitment to bringing in guest lecturers and workshop leaders during the fall for training,” Ari said. “Although we have worked with professionals in the past, we have made an effort this year to bring in a more diverse group of instructors to train us on everything from movement to silent comedy. Also, by having a showcase at the end of fall quarter instead of an abridged version of a Shakespeare show, we hope to better serve and challenge our actors and their creative goals by creating an experimental forum.”

Expectations are high for this year’s lineup. StanShakes will be performing “Measure for Measure,” notoriously deemed as a problem play by Shakespearean critics. However, the team is enthusiastic to take on the challenge.

“We felt as an artistic team that ‘Measure for Measure’ worked nicely with ‘Macbeth’ to create a season centralized around themes of morality and mortality,” Ari said. “Also, it was a play that our director, Shelly Ronen, had a passion for, and when that is the case, a ‘problem play’ becomes much less of a problem and more of a challenge and adventure.”

Ronen agreed.

“One of Shakes’ missions is to tell stories, to enliven what some see as inaccessible literature and others as untouchable poetry,” she said. “StanShakes works to engage and challenge our audience by pushing boundaries.”