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New York - VASTA 09 - 4 August 2009

I want to thank you again for your performance -- both the text and the acting.  It was thoroughly engaging, thought provoking, fascinating and charming.  Entertaining without being didactic, it wrestled with the complex concepts of the power of language. 
Talking about what the “Big name” teachers were talking about AND demonstrating it, as a teacher AND embodying it fully (as good acting does, must) And reflecting on all of those layers – simultaneously – BRILLIANT!
It was wonderful how you crossed over, if you will, from contemporary language into Shakespeare’s so seamlessly to give it that accessibility.
Well done!  You have created a body of work that is successful on not only a superficial level, but also requires us to sit quietly and really address the fundamentals of how we inhabit/interpret/channel.   I loved the theatricality of the "presentation" - You used your voice/body as the instrument should, in my opinion, be used.  You "sang off the text" as we say - and also inhabited the words, without any over histrionic effect.  The flow between Shakespeare's words and your own was almost seamless. 

Brisbane – Magdalena Easter Gathering – 22 March 2008
“I loved the swing from strength to vulnerability in Flloyd’s character!”
“What I found interesting were the intellectual concepts – valid theories and philosophies, the density and journey of the language”
“Weaving Shakespeare’s text with contemporary language was really, really interesting! So was the student emerging from the audience and the negotiating of roles. It also challenged me to think about Grief”
“The power of the performance was carried securely by excellent performances”
“I loved the open ended mystery of the ‘lost’ son, the ideas around “who owns words/thoughts?, and what is madness?”
Dunedin – University of Otago – 2 July, 2008
“it’s Hugely funny. And I love the bits of technical voice stuff. And I love the discussion about the voice, and Shakespeare, the way words are used”
“the way it jumped around, it was much more a collage of different lengths, and suddenly slid into a completely different mode, spatially, and verbally. For me, as a non-actor, I thought that was really interesting, although you weren’t dancing, it had a choreographic sense to it, and I liked that rhythmic aspect of it”
New York – Performing the World – 3 October, 2008
“I was comfortably confused throughout! I loved not being quite sure what was ‘real’ and what was ‘acted’”
“This would be wonderful for young people, it really shows how important the voice is”

“The play highlights how we can work across generations and across cultures, bringing them together”

Dame June Bloom, world renowned actor and voice expert is about to deliver one of the most insightful lectures she has ever given. With whose voice does Shakespeare speak? When the lecture raises more questions than she bargained for, June is forced by an outspoken stranger to wade through her failing memory. The stranger seeks clarity and closure, which June struggles to provide. Confounded by a growing sense of madness June tries to cling to her knowledge of the voice, but what happens when it is the voice that is contributing to the madness?

Blending cultures and making the world smaller, this production examines people and communication with humor and care. Classic language and modern expression come together, delicately, to create an involving and uplifting experience.

The Fall of June Bloom (or What You Will) represents theatre for the twenty-first century, combining Shakespearean text with heightened contemporary language (prose and poetry) to create a new kind of immersive theatrical encounter. The audience is warmly invited to engage with the topic and the characters, or they are free to sit back and be entertained without any pressure to become more involved. The topic is both amusing and thoughtful, the performance is powerfully moving and extremely funny.

As well as performing in the Phoenix Fringe Festival, and at Estrella Mountain Community College, we also played to an audience of two, in Mary Louise Espinosa’s bedroom.

The Phoenix production featured Flloyd Kennedy as June, and Lauren Dykes (Laine) in the newly revised role of Jenna. (photos: Sandy Ritson)

The Brisbane production featured Flloyd Kennedy (June) and Tony Brockman (Jerome)


The Fall of June Bloom (or What You Will), was also presented as a work in progress entitled "Shakespeare's Voice - Whose Voice?" in New York, at the VASTA conference on Tuesday August 4 2009, with Flloyd Kennedy (June), John Graham (Jerome) and Micha Espinosa (Kate), directed by Judi Lehrhaupt.
(stills extracted from video recording)

Thunder’s Mouth Theatre would like to thank the following for their support, advice and encouragement in bringing The Fall of June Bloom into being
Nigel Bell, Tony Brockman, Therese Collie, Micha Espinosa, Prof. Richard Fotheringham, John Graham, Gillian Kehoul, Judi Lehrhaupt, Vanja Matula, Mark Metzger, Aole T Miller, Allana Noyes, Kris Plowman, Sue Rider, Ira Seidenstein, Sue Smith, Krystal Sweedman, Dr Joanne Tompkins, Jeff Turpin, Anna Yen
Brisbane Magdalena, ASDA, VASTA, EMSAH
For the Phoenix Fringe Festival production we would also like to thank Estrella Mountain Community College, Dave Montgomery, Rich and Cliff from Space 55, The Trunk Space, Michelle Burchfield, Ashley Naftule, and all at the Phoenix Fringe Festival