'Tis a rock! A peak! A cape! – A cape? Forsooth! 'Tis a peninsula!

Robynn Rodriguez (Constance, Bellerose) came to our class today. She was very fun to talk with. She has time touring with other theatre companies and seems to keep her options more open then some of the other actors. She is well favored here in Ashland and has always been invited back, even on some of her year-long touring absences. I admire her for passion to explore theatre in a variety of environments and push herself beyond a need for safety and security.

After class Dad and I went back to our hotel room and took a much needed 3 hour nap. It felt good to have the afternoon off, especially with the excitement of Cyrano de Bergerac brewing in the air!

Cyrano de Bergerac is set in Paris France, 1640. Parisian theatre was very popular; they loved realism, spectacle, horse shows and melodramas.

The first production of Cyrano de Bergerac opened Dec. 28th 1897, with a cast of 70 to 80 actors. Playwright Edmond Rostand was just 29 years old. Men in France lived by a code established by their birth order: the 1st son inherited everything, the 2nd son went into the church, and the youngest sons went into the army. Their family would typically buy their promotions.

At the time there was a “code of duello.” Men wear weapons at all times and all men were trained in weaponry. They fought duels for almost any occasion: insults to family, clothing, politics, intelligence, etc. All duels were fought to the death.

Women sought the “Précieuse” (the precious ones) – a movement of women that demanded men with wit, intelligence, good manners, a talent in the arts and cleverness with language. In contrast, “Gascons” were men of empty boasting. They have pride, a gift for exaggeration, courage, grandeur of spirit and a love of the grand gesture.

The play has been translated and performed many times, and is responsible for introducing the word "panache" into the English language - which not only refers to Cyrano's white plume, but also to his flamboyant spirit.

Tonight we saw the understudy for Cyrano, but I could not imagine the role being played by anyone better. He stepped into a role bigger then Hamlet without a script and never broke character. He only faulted once, but he called for a line so seamlessly that I hardly noticed. Richard Howard is fabulous! In the last scene where Cyrano prepares himself for his death and recites the letter he wrote to Roxanne, I found myself in tears. I collected myself only for the curtain call, for which the entire audience rose to their feet. Richard Howard delivered the language so beautifully that I felt the emotional life of his character completely. I can only dream that someday someone will love me as much as Cyrano loved Roxanne.

This play was a perfect ending to my theatre experience this year in Ashland. Here’s to many more!

OSF bring King John into WWI

Today Miriam Laube came to talk with our class, “Wake Up with Shakespeare”. She plays Hermione in The Winter’s Tale, and Julia in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. She is a very beautiful woman who seems to take her craft very seriously. She is a very intellectual actor. I found her very agreeable, and while we talked very little about her own process, I can tell that she thinks deeply about her roles and seems to be intently focused on movement. She worked with a movement coach to develop how the pregnant Hermione would carry her body. I think her performance last night in The Winter’s Tale was real and truthful.

At 2:00 PM we went to the OSF performance of King John. It was my first time in the New Theatre and I found it a sterile, but intimate space. The production was set in World War I, and while the sets are very simple, they are also very powerful. Everything is painted grey to resemble stone. Photographs and enhanced images of WWI are projected on the floor and walls to create scenery and dreamlike sequences. King John has a bald head, which physically heightens his weakness of power. I find the politics of this play extremely interesting and I wonder why so many companies shy away from producing King John – probably just another financial dispute over ticket sales.

We went to the green show at 7:15 PM, which is always enjoyable. Although the musicians cancelled this evening, so the music was a recording.

At 8:30 PM we saw The Merry Wives of Windsor. After the lecture we went to at 12:00 PM, I was very excited to see this production.

Merry Wives is a special type of language play, because it best reflects the use of vernacular contemporary to Shakespeare. In it we hear phrases like “set quick I’ the earth” (to be buried alive) and words like “fardels” (a burden that you carry). We also see linguistic extremes (school master vs. foul language) and rude word usage. A prostitute is referred to as a “laced mutton,” and oaths are thrown about like “big gar” (often mistaken for “By God”) which is similar to “Oh, Buggar!” But the language is a little dense for modern audiences, as we see when Mistress Quickly takes the boy for a Latin Lesson. Scholars consider it the “pivot of the play” but it is often cut because modern audiences don’t understand it.

Merry Wives is a Citizen Comedy – a satire of common characters, laborers, tradesmen and merchants in an urban setting about money and sex. It examines class vs. social order, fear of foreigners, and the cohesion of communities against outsiders.

There are strong myths associated with this play – some of which are supported in history/documented and some unfounded. It is often thought Merry Wives was written to bring back Falstaff, supposedly Queen Elizabeth’s favorite character, who death is mentioned in Henry V. Inept historians often link a version of the play to a celebration performed for St. George’s day, April 23rd 1597 – but this is false because it would have revived a character that was still in the works and was not dead yet. Although this play is of interest on a number of levels, it is a commoners comedy, and devoid of the typical substance seen in most of Shakespeare’s works.

I am somewhat disappointed in the artistic choices the OSF made in this production. The costumes are over-the-top and cartoon-like, distracting from much of the play’s content (what little content there is). I everything silly (not in a good way) and I do not believe the humiliation of Falstaff was presented to its full potential. Overall I was not satisfied with the dramatic visual presentation or the artistic view of the production as a whole.

"She loved me well deliver'd it to me." - Alas!

In class today we did not spend very much time with The Importance of Being Earnest. We did, however, sum the performance into one word. My word is “physicality.” I thought the actors do a tremendous job of making the words of Oscar Wilde three-dement ional. Our class seemed to think the play humorous and enjoyable entertainment. Hilary then spent the rest of our class time discussing The Winter’s Tale.

Shakespeare wrote The Winter’s Tale at the age of 45. He embraced the new style of romance and set the standard with 4 plays of this genre: Pericles, Prince of Tyre , Cymbeline, The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale. There are 2 location, a place of reality (Sicilia with its linear storyline) and a forest infused with fantasy (Bohemia, where the story meanders). At intermission the play is in the state of tragedy. Leonates, suspecting his wife of adultery, separates himself from all who love him. His son tragically dies in the processes, he is told his wife has been killed in childbirth and his new-born daughter is sent to be left to the wolves. A violent storm comes to bring rebirth. When the audience returns from intermission 16 years have passed, the universe expands and a new generation is of age, bringing the promise of better times. For the first time we see the element of forgiveness.

At 12:00 Dad and I ventured to the park talk. We thought that James Newcomb was going to be speaking, but 15 minutes prior to the talk, we were informed that he would not be joining us. Instead, Christopher DuVaul came, whom I much prefer. As one of my favorite actors from last season, I was very excited at the prospect. Unfortunately at that point I had not seen him in any of the plays this season, so I had to store the information away until I could connect it to his performance tonight. I listened very intently and laughed a great deal with him in spite of my ignorance.

At 2:00 PM we saw OSF's The Winter’s Tale and I was grateful for the discussions I had in class and with DuVaul. The costumes and set was wonderful as expected. Beautiful silhouettes of trees moved in and out against a colored sky. I felt the performers were very clear in their objectives and therefore made the plot clear and reasonable to me. I saw the initial moment that Leonates jealousy arose. It was of no surprise to me that he felt that way, looking upon his wife casually flirting with her party guests.

When it was time for Hermione’s return I saw the director’s clear choice - Paulina kept Hermione safe the past seven years – she did not die and was not brought back to life from a statue. This concept came easily to me in the way the actors delivered their lines and followed through with their objectives.

We went to the green show, “The Shakespeare Songbook” at 7:15 PM. Actually, we arrived much earlier to secure a seat on the brick wall surrounding the grassy knoll. The dancers this year are very lovely and at the same time very strong. The musicians really did a wonderful job writing the music to Shakespeare’s lyrics in new and interesting ways. It was very delightful.

At 8:30 PM we attended Two Gentlemen of Verona. It was very exciting to see such an innovative production. The director set Verona in an Amish town, Milan in a socialite city of today (the Hamptons perhaps) and the Forest in Goth alleyways. These contrasts worked extremely well and heightened the stakes of the players. In OSF’s production, Valentine leaves the Amish village to see the world, while Proteus is forced out on his mission trip by a parent. This creates conflict for Julia, who follows to protect her love from the outside world and ensure his safe return, and provides ample reasoning for Launce’s unwillingness to leave home.

As is typical of this play, Launce and Crab (his dog) seemed to steel every scene they were in. Launce was very adaptable to the actions of the animal and used quite a bit of improve. The Shoe monologue was slightly adapted, which made the humor new and adventurous. His sister was described as a “water bottle, for look you, she is little on the top and big on the bottom.” When he described the “moan she makes” the actor squeezed the water bottle and waved it about, drenching the front rows of the audience.

The audience was very interactive tonight. One young man cried out when Proteus gave his ring (originally from Julia) to Sebastian (Julia in disguise) to give to Silvia! This provoked the rest of the audience into a fitful of laughter which stopped the show. The actress playing Julia nodded to the young man in great delight (I know, this is terrible! You got it kid!, she seemed to say) and was forced to let the audience settle before continuing the scene. It was all great fun!

I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.

Today I came into "Waking Up With Shakespeare" class ready to discuss Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I found everyone’s opinion of the play interesting. Yet, some could not release the novella from their minds. I felt that somewhere in the midst of it all were those who were lost to the world of the play altogether.

There were several people who did not take yesterday’s discussion into the theatre with them. This caused Hilary to be obliged to repeat information already familiar to most of the room.

Many did not understand the female characters and questioned the loss of Catherine’s eye. I thought it was very clear that her eye was lost in an accost by her brother, but one woman did not see it as I do. Later we were told briefly about Oscar Wilde and The Importance of Being Earnest.

We went to a consort a noon, in which the musician, David Rogers, played the lute and the classical guitar. I found his performance fascinating. His fingers moved very quickly on the strings. He is an interesting looking, red faced man and very talented, He cracked several jokes and his rather unintentional humor made me indulge in his music all the more.

Father and I took a little walk and dropped by the brass rubbing garden. However, there was a pushy woman waiting behind us, and I, not wanting to rush decided to pass on the rubbing for another day.

At 2:00 PM we went to see The Importance of Being Earnest. It was my father' s first time experienceing the talents of Oscar Wilde. I have little to say about it other than it was an utter delight. It is one of my favorite pays and the actors in this production are quite likeable. I had a very good time of it.

We had Mexican food for dinner. Dad had fish tacos and I had the spiciest enchilada I have ever had in my life. Then at 6:30 PM we went to the local movie theatre and saw Woody Allen’s Scoop. It is a very silyl but extremely funny film. I like it very much. I don’t know how Dad feels about it though. He seems spend for the day and has fallen asleep watching So You Think You Can Dance. Perhaps we will talk about it together tomorrow.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde begin the OSF season

It was very difficult for me to get up this morning. Although I have been full of excitement, I did not sleep very well last night. The air conditioning in the hotel room kept switching on and off - Perhaps staying at the Motel 8 wasn't such a good idea. I rolled our of bed a little before 8:00 AM and took a hot shower. I was relieved when my father handed me a cup of coffee from the breakfast car.

We showed up early to class and met our instructor, Hilary Tate, at "Wake Up With Shakespeare". The class is rather large this year. I think there are 24 of us. There are a few familiar faces and some new ones as well. Hilary handed out name cards for our desks, but mind said “Karen” (my mother's name since she made the reservation) instead of “Jamie”. She offered to make me a new one for tomorrow. We read Shakespeare quotes out loud and discussed Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Hilary is very organized and had lost of reference material to share with us.

At 8:30 PM father and I attended Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It was very exciting. This is only the second production of the play, so they worked very closely with the playwright. The set was enormous and turned on a giant turntable. James Newcomb played the lead and is excellent in his role. He has very distinct physical and oval tactics when switching from Jekyll to Hyde.

I enjoyed the women characters very much. The relationship between Catherine and Jekyll is frictional and brilliant. I am glad that I was able to leave my pre-conceived notions from the novella at the door and accept the play as its own entity. The only thing that my father and I wonder at is the scene on the train. The significance of the scene is unclear to us and we suppose that the play would continue nicely without it.

As I ready myself for bed and hope for a better nights sleep, I take my hat off the James Newcomb. What a brilliant actor!