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!