The Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company’s performance philosophy is based primarily on the original theatrical practices of acting companies from Shakespeare’s own period. The term "original practices" refers to a recent movement in the production of Shakespeare's plays to employ performance conditions similar to those under which the actors of Shakespeare's time would have performed. This movement has been pioneered by such companies as the American Shakespeare Center. The Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company explores such original practice elements as
1. Performance in non-traditional theatrical spaces. The touring companies of Early Modern England performed not only in purpose-built playhouses like the Globe and the Blackfriars, but in such venues as innyards, and noblemen's houses. The Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company performs primarily in non-theatre spaces, including outdoor settings, bookstores, restaurants, country clubs, bed and breakfasts, and the new Grand Haven Area Arts Council, a warehouse space. Finding creative ways to use a variety of spaces keeps the actors on their toes and results in an exciting performance atmosphere in which the audience feels that anything could happen!
2. Universal lighting. Shakespeare's audiences sat in the same light as the actors, either in outdoor playhouses or in candle-lit indoor playhouses. The members of the audience were visible to the actors and to each other. Many playwrights of that era wrote the audience into their plays. Under universal lighting, an actor may directly speak to and engage his audience. The Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company performs in universal lighting and employs an audience interactive style of performance, making audience members feel as if they are a part of the play.
3. Minimal sets. Acting companies of 16th and 17th Century England did not employ the elaborate sets that contemporary theatre audiences have come to expect. The texts of the plays, the actors' actions, and the audience's imagination helped to transform a nearly bare stage into all of the locations necessary in a given play. The Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company follows this practice in order to maintain an energetic performance pace, uninterrupted by frequent set changes. Using minimal or no sets also means that the company can travel easily and can perform in venues of many different sizes without lengthy set-up time.
The cast of the Summer 2006 production of Much Ado About Nothing rehearses at the Grand Haven Area Arts Council.
