WILL POWER used to Raise Funds for New After-School Program for At-Risk Kids Produced by American Globe Theatre in New York City

Friday night there was a party at American Globe Theatre in Manhattan to raise funding for a new after-school theatre program serving at-risk kids. John Bail, coauthor of Will Power: How To Act Shakespeare In 21 Days, gave a short lecture on rhythm in words, comparing plays written in iambic pentamenter to hip-hop music. Two actors with longstanding relationships with AGT helped him out by demonstrating an exercise using rhyming couplets.

Then a performance was given of Comedy of Errors (directed by Kelly MacKinnon) that had everyone in stitches. The clowns, the two Dromios, as well as the leading actors and actresses were spot-on with their over-the-top renditions of their characters. Their commitment made it so muhc fun and entertaining to watch.

Afterwards, John signed books, selecting a unique line from the First Folio of 1623 for each purchaser. Those who bought two copies of the book received a copy of the 40-minute audio The 7 C's of Good Acting: Guiding Principles for Effective Rehearsals by John Basil and Stephanie Gunning as a bonus gift.

The party was attended by Michael Messina, executive editor of Applause Books, Kay Radtke, publicist, and Brian Black, production editor, as well as TV & film actress Olivia Thirlby (United 93, Kidnapped), a former student of John Basil.