“This whole thing is exciting,” St. Louis actor Reginald Pierre said of Shakespeare Festival St. Louis’ daring staging of Henry IV and Henry V in one brief run. “Doing two different plays and cycling between them on alternating nights.”
Tonight, May 17, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis premieres “Henry IV,” directed by Tim Ocel, at 8 p.m. and then performs it nightly (taking Tuesday off) until the premiere of “Henry V” next Saturday, May 24, directed by Bruce Longworth.
The alternating performance cycle kicks in at that point, with the festival staging ambitious double features of both productions aT 4:30 p.m. June 7 and June 14. The festival, which is staged across from the Saint Louis Art Museum in Forest Park, closes June 15.
“Those will be fascinating days,” Pierre said of the double features.
Pierre plays the same role in both productions, that of Westmoreland.
“Ralph Neville was his name,” Pierre said of the Earl of Westmoreland. “He always ended up on the right side.” Ending up on the right in the clashes of British nobility was not easy, as one learns by watching Shakespeare’s history plays.
“He eyed people in situations and always knew which way the wind was blowing,” Pierre said of Westmoreland. “He could scan the room and place himself in the right position to further his own career. People like that always surround themselves with smart people.”
The character rubbed off on Pierre, who took the opportunity of surrounding himself with a smart person in Suzanne Mills, the festival’s voice and text coach. Shakespeare wrote these plays, primarily in metered verse, in the last years of the 16th century. Even veteran actors like Pierre could benefit from coaching on voice and text.
“Suzanne helped with the meter and the historical background,” Pierre said. “She has been a godsend.”
For the craft of acting, Pierre has his own method by now.
“With acting, a lot goes into finding a common element with the character,” Pierre said. “You break it down into basic needs. Everybody wants love and validation and, to some degree, power.”
Pierre has worked extensively in the local theater scene, citing recent performances with Hot City Theatre and Mustard Seed Theatre.
“Acting is something I always wanted to do, but it took a long time for me to get started going after it professionally,” Pierre said. “It’s becoming a bigger part of my life.”
Westmoreland will be a big part of Pierre’s life between now and June 15. In “Henry V” and both parts of “Henry IV,” Westmoreland has a total of 179 lines. The festival is presenting “Henry IV” in a synthesized version, so Pierre likely will deliver even fewer lines than that. But these lines are more than 400 years old and not easy to remember or deliver. But Pierre is into it.
“I like Shakespeare,” he said. “He states ideas in phrases that are very clever and beautifully constructed. Plus, it’s in meter.”
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