Ivan Cordeiro's video: Booth

Booth John Wilkes Booth was the ninth of ten children born to British-born Shakespearean actor JuniusBrutus Booth. His mother was Junius' mistress, Mary Ann Holmes. As a youth, Booth attended Milton Boarding School, where he recited from such classical writers as Herodotus, Cicero, and Tacitus. At age 16, John Wilkes Booth made his stage debut in Richard III at Charles Street Theatre in Baltimore. His inexperience earned him a hissing audience reception. After working with stock companies in Pennsylvania and Virginia, Booth played Horatio in Hamlet alongside his brother Edwin. Booth stole the show, and soon he was touted by critics and audience members alike for his attractiveness, talent, and exceptional memory. Many noted Booth's naturalistic acting style that differed greatly from the gesturism that dominated the day. Often compared to his brother Edwin, John Wilkes Booth developed and epic sibling rivalry that manifested itself, among other ways, in controversial political views. Booth was a noted Confederate sympathizer. During the 1860s, it is believed that Booth served as a Confederate spy, smuggling supplies like the anti-malaria agent quinine to the South, during the Civil War. During the summer of 1864, Booth began formulating a plot to kidnap President Lincoln. After the fall of Richmond, he approached a group of conspirators with a new plan: the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and other key members of the cabinet. The intricate details of John Wilkes Booth's assassination of Abraham Lincoln and final 12 days have been the subjects of countless writings - fiction and non-fiction. On April 26, 1865, he died of a shot by Union soldier Boston Corbett on the porch of William Garret's farmhouse, where he'd been hiding since the night before. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (one-act performance work; solo show; complete script available) John Wilkes Booth broods on surrender in a Virginia farm after shooting the president. Son of Semele Theatre, LA Festival Production; July 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival June 2014 (Winner, Encore! Producers’ Award) ​