Warmups at 8:30 a.m., rehearsals all day, and then acting classes from 7 to 9 p.m. By the time the dust has settled and Angelique Archer ’20 is finished for the day, she’s already preparing for her next performance.
It’s all part of the job for Archer, a theatre major interning at the Saratoga Shakespeare Company as an acting apprentice.
The Saratoga Shakespeare Company aims to bring the classical works of William Shakespeare to life through accessible, outdoor performances in local parks. Archer is interning through their Young Theatre Professional Company, which helps aspiring actors, directors, and technicians bridge the gap between training and the world of professional theater.
Archer is working nonstop on her craft—rehearsing and training from morning until night to put the productions on stage.
Majors: Theatre and Economics
Hometown: Miami, Fla.
High School: TERRA Environmental Research Institute
She performs alongside professional actors in the company’s mainstage production of As You Like It and takes part in the Shakespeare for All touring show. In addition to acting, she helps out with technical duties, including set construction and wardrobe.
When she’s not on stage, Archer works with kids in the Saratoga Springs community, helping to lead theatre workshops at various summer camps in the area.
She admits that the cycle can be exhausting at times, but it’s all worth it when she sees the stories play out on stage. “One of my favorite memories has to be when this little girl came up to me while I was in character,” Archer said. “That conversation really made me remember why I love performing. I want to perform stories that make people react, that make them laugh and cry. I love acting because it lets me have that connection with the audience that you can’t get through anything else.”
Archer might be working long hours, but she loves every second of the immersion in her craft. “Putting on two shows in six weeks has definitely been challenging,” she said. “But I love that the internship gives me performing experience while allowing me to continue learning and honing my craft. With the classes I’m taking, I can learn about the Chekhov and Droznin techniques. On stage, I can put all my training into action. It’s a perfect balance of experience and education.
This isn’t Archer’s first time performing Shakespeare. She previously took to the stage as Ophelia in the spring main stage production of Hamlet. “When rehearsing shows at Hamilton, we have about nine weeks to create characters and ask the questions necessary to make them real before we perform them in front of an audience. For As You Like It, we were given two weeks of rehearsal. That’s what it’s like in the “real world” of professional theatre. This program has forced me to spend more of my time developing the character outside the rehearsal room. It made me realize that I have so much left to learn.”
Although this is Archer’s first professional theatre experience, she’s been performing on stage since the age of three. She hopes to take her love for acting far beyond graduation. “I would love to be able to make a living just as an actor and be able to share stories for the rest of my life. This internship is hopefully my first step to making that a reality.”
Archer’s internship is supported by the Kevin W. Kennedy ’70 Internship Fund for the Arts.
