Abby Kesmodel has made it to nationals for the National Shakespeare Competition for the second year in a row! She’s a current junior, captain of the math team, an active Regs Puck team member, and an incredible actor. This interview details all you need to know about Abby and her consistent journey to success in the National Shakespeare Competition.
What monologue did you perform and why?
I performed a monologue and a sonnet. The sonnet was “Sonnet 147,” which is kind of a bit more dark and it’s not something I’d normally do. So I think it was a very fun challenge. And then the monologue was as Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which I just really enjoyed because there’s so many different fun moments you can have within it. So I had a great time playing around with all those.
How do you prepare for each performance?
Well, I mean, there’s so much you can do beforehand to prepare. Like, you gotta make sure you get the body language right. You gotta make sure your timing is right and you’re not rushing yourself. But then there’s also so much that you really can’t prepare for until the day of the contest—like how you’re feeling and how the audience is, because it’s not just you going through the motions of doing the monologue, it’s you doing something in front of people.
Tell me about your experience going to the National Shakespeare Competition in New York City.
Oh my God, it was insane. I’ve met so many other types of theater kids, and I thought were all going to be very hardcore, like intense, conceited actors, but these kids were all just so cool and interested in all sorts of different academic fields and not just acting and things, and it was great to just see everyone perform, and go into the city, and be at the Lincoln Center. I’m just so excited to be back!
What do you think sets your performance apart from your competitors?
I’d say it’s probably that I try to keep my performances really grounded. It’s super easy to fall into the trap of wanting to do things as full out or as big as possible, but you honestly just have to think about what’s realistic. I’m actually playing those emotions out on stage. So if it feels like you’re doing something that’s not authentically you, that’s not gonna come off as well as something that you truly connect with.
What advice would you give to anyone preparing for the next Shakespeare competition?
First of all, just do it for the enjoyment of it. Don’t focus on winning. Other than that, I’d say just spend a lot of time with the text and learn to really love the language and what you can do with it as an actor. I think if you put in the time and you have a lot of excitement about doing it, then you can just really go anywhere with it.
