It's neater, more legible, and easier to flip through in the attachment. But
in case you can't open the attachment, see below:
HAIL FELLOWS,
A few things:
Here is the scroll of every scene¹s number [many with
descriptions and notes you sent with them], which is thought fit, through
all Winedale, to play in our interlude in the barn on Reunion Day at 2:00.
But not quite: Please note that some of the scenes are
merely described, not numbered, and you¹ll have to find them yourselves.
Also, some of the scenes that were suggested before we requested that you
think about mystery and magic, reunion and reconciliation, may no longer be
apt.
Take a look, and take this last chance to send to the list
any scenes you¹d like to have under consideration, by midnight tonight. (On
my watch at least you can cheat into the wee hours, as I will be asleep.)
And if anything already sent has been left out, please let me know, and I¹ll
add it.
Be vigitant, adieu, cheers,
Alice
P.S. Also find here in one place, fyi, the concepts and arguments sent by
fellow classmates. for how to approach various scenes as a program.
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA
News that Antony has married Octavia
Raucous drinking scene
2.7 song-and-dance
AS YOU LIKE IT
2.5 Ducdame
3.2 Corin and Touchstonetalking-clown magic
4.1
5.2. 5.4 ("howling of Irish wolves" followed by Hymen's mirth in heaven.)
COMEDY OF ERRORS
Knocking at the gate, Dr. Pinch
CYMBELINE
2.2 Iachimo in the trunk
4.2 funeral song
5.5. Imogen (Fidele) ³awakening²
HAMLET
3.2. (³Tis now the very witching time of night² through ³To give them
seals never my soul consent²)
Advice to the players
Grave diggers
1 HENRY IV, 2 HENRY IV, MERRY WIVES (done in 2000) Falstaff scenes, "Chimes
at Midnight"
1 HENRY IV
3.2 Justice Shallow and Justice Silence reminiscing about their youths and
absent friends. It is so, so right for us. It's the scene I'd most like to
see on the menu.
2HENRY 1V
5.4
HENRY V
1.1 (O for a muse of fire)
5.2. )(³Fair Katherine, and most fair/ Will you vouchsafe to teach a soldier
terms² through ³There¹s witchcraft in your lips)
3 HENRY VI
1.4 Duke of York: "o tiger's heart.
HENRY VIII
Wolsey and Catherine.
Epilogue.
KING LEAR
2.4. Regan and Goneril dismantle Lear, culminating in Lear¹s ³O reason not
the need² speech, right before he heads out into the storm. This scene
resonates with the aging me, a hyperbolized (but in its essence often
accurate) rendering of the dynamic when aging parents abdicate
decision-making powers to their children.
4.7 Lear-Cordelia reconciliation (Lear awakes to Cordelia) (CONTRAST WITH A
CRUEL SCENE?)
NOTE: Gail once saw a group of RSC actors do the Pyramus and Thisbe scene
from MND and segue from that straight into 'Howl, howl, howl', transforming
P and T into L and C.
LOVE¹S LABORS LOST
5.2 The Pageant of the Nine Worthies
MACBETH
Porter's scene
Weird sisters:1.1, 1.3., 4.1
3.2 - 4. Banquo¹s murder, his ghost at the banquet
MEASURE FOR MEASURE
1.1 the duke sets up Angelo
Angelo-Isabella scene
exchange in the prison between Isabella and Claudio ("of those that lawless
and uncertain thought / imagine howling....")"
MIDSUMMER
3.1. Bottom transformed and taken by Titania
3.2 Magicked lovers, lost and found in the forest
Bottom's Dream and report to the Rude Mechanicals
Act V (done in 2005)
MUCH ADO
Dogberry and the great chase
5.1 Beatrice and Benedick after the nonwedding (done in 2005)
OTHELLO
1.2
How to win Desdemona
PERICLES
(Has a great party scene; and a shipwreck, when Marina is born and her
mother Thaisa dies and has to go overboard.)
2.2, 2.3. Pentapolis, ³triumph² (jousting event) and banquet
3.2 Thaisa revived by Cerimon (NOW YOU¹RE TALKIN¹ MAGIC)
5.1, 2, 3 Marina revives Pericles; they are united with Thaisa.
ROMEO AND JULIET
1.3 Great R&J nurse scene: The nurse holds forth, introducing us to her
nursing methods and her long-deceased husband, while Juliet laughs, and Mrs.
Capulet waits patiently for her to shut up so she can tell Juliet that she's
gonna marry Paris.
1.4 Queen Mab (done in 2005)
2.4 Another great nurse scene:. Mercutio, Romeo, et. al. The nurse comes
with her "servant" Peter to give Romeo a message from Juliet. Her entrance
is later, but the entire scene is wonderful.
TAMING
Wooing scene (done in 2005)
servants at Petruchio's return
TEMPEST
Drunks (2.3) (done in 2005).
5.1, 1-56)(³Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes and groves² through
³I¹ll drown my book²)
Epilogue.
Song: Full Fathom Five
TWO GENTLEMEN
Pirates (4.1?)
TWELFTH NIGHT
Drunks, 1.5. (done in 2005)
WINTER¹S TALE
Paulina shows Leontes his infant child
(3.2 ) (This scene, which incorporates the trial of Hermione, fills the
emotional reservoir eventually tapped by the statue scene in Act 5)
3.3 Antigonus¹ dream
4.4 Dance of the 12 satyrs
5.3, final scene Hermione¹s awakening.
OTHER WORK
Sonnet 30 (remembrance of things past)
Sonnets 40, 116, 130, 138, 142 or others
BY OTHER AUTHORS
-Importance of Being Earnest: handbag reconciliation scene (PLEASE RE-READ
- SO FUNNY)
-"Brats of Clarence" by Paul Menzer
-"Everything and Nothing" Jorge Luis Borges (Mike says Irby translation is
better than Kerrigan!)
-"Little Gidding" -- Eliot
-³Brush Up Your Shakespeare" from Kiss Me Kate
by Cole Porter. (We'd have to change some lyrics, prob'ly.):
The girls today in society go for classical poetry
So to win their hearts one must quote with ease
Aeschylus and Euripides
One must know Homer, and believe me, Beau
Sophocles, also Sappho-ho
Unless you know Shelley and Keats and Pope
Dainty Debbies will call you a dope
But the poet of them all
Who will start 'em simply ravin'
Is the poet people call
The Bard of Stratford on Avon
{Refrain}
Brush up your Shakespeare
Start quoting him now
Brush up your Shakespeare
And the women you will wow
Just declaim a few lines from Othella
And they'll think you're a hell of a fella
If your blonde won't respond when you flatter 'er
Tell her what Tony told Cleopatterer
If she fights when her clothes you are mussing
What are clothes? Much ado about nussing
Brush up your Shakespeare
And they'll all kow-tow
{Refrain}
With the wife of the British ambessida
Try a crack out of Troilus and Cressida
If she says she won't buy it or tike it
Make her tike it, what's more As You Like It
If she says your behavior is heinous
Kick her right in the Coriolanus
Brush up your Shakespeare
And they'll all kow-tow
{Refrain}
If you can't be a ham and do Hamlet
They will not give a damn or a damlet
Just recite an occasional sonnet
And your lap'll have honey upon it
When your baby is pleading for pleasure
Let her sample your Measure for Measure
Brush up your Shakespeare
And they'll all kow-tow - Forsooth
And they'll all kow-tow - I' faith
And they'll all kow-tow ...
{Refrain}
Better mention "The Merchant Of Venice"
When her sweet pound o' flesh you would menace
If her virtue, at first, she defends---well
Just remind her that "All's Well That Ends Well"
And if still she won't give you a bonus
You know what Venus got from Adonis
Brush up your Shakespeare
And they'll all kow-tow - Thinkst thou?
And they'll all kow-tow - Odds bodkins
And they'll all kow-tow
{Refrain}
If your goil is a Washington Heights dream
Treat the kid to "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
If she then wants an all-by-herself night
Let her rest ev'ry 'leventh or "Twelfth Night"
If because of your heat she gets huffy
Simply play on and "Lay on, Macduffy!"
Brush up your Shakespeare
And they'll all kow-tow - Forsooth
And they'll all kow-tow - Thinkst thou?
And they'll all kow-tow - We trou'
And they'll all kow-tow
-Something from Lynn Redgrave¹s Shakespeare for my Father
-"Slings and Arrows" The Canadian TV show can very easily be
found on youtube.com, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owfeSoW-DmY. (Here is
the link to episode 1 of Season 1, or first part anyway...they annoyingly
divide the episodes into 7.5 min segments, but, we must endure) Anyhow,
youtube seems to include all of Season 1-3. This is the first episode
withthe cheeky Hamlet song shortly after the introductory bits and credits.
³Three Minute Hamlet²
There was a king nodding in his garden all alone,
When his brother in his ear poured a little bit of henbane,
Stole his brother's crown and his money and his widow,
But the dead king walked and got his son and said, "Now, listen, Kiddo.
I've been killed and it's your duty to take revenge on Claudius;
Kill him quick and clean; and tell the nation what a fraud he is."
The kid said, "Right, I'll do it, but I'll have to play it crafty,
So no one will suspect me I'll let on that I'm a dafty."
So for all except Horatio, and he counts him as a friend,
Hamlet, that's the kid, lets on he's round the bend;
And because he's not yet willing for obligatory killing,
He tries to make his uncle think he's tuppence off the shilling;
Takes a rise out of Polonius; treats poor Ophelia vile;
Tells Rosencrantz and Gildenstern that Denmark's "Bloody vile";
Then a troop of traveling actors, like Seven-Eighty-four,
Arrived to do a special one, that gig at Elsinore.
Hamlet, Hamlet, acting balmy.
Hamlet, Hamlet, loves his mommy.
Hamlet, Hamlet, hesitating,
He wonders if the ghost's a fake, and that is why he's waiting.
So Hamlet writes a scene for the players to enact,
So Horatio and he could watch and see if Claudius cracked.
The play was called "The Mousetrap," not the one that running now,
And sure enough, the King walked out before the scene was through.
Now, Hamlet's got to prove his uncle gave his dad the dose.
The only trouble being now that Claudius knows he knows.
So while Hamlet tells his mommy her new husband's not a fit man,
Uncle Claud takes out a contract with the English King as hit-man.
Hamlet, Hamlet killed Polonius and hid corpus delicti.
'Twas the King's excuse to send him for an English hempen necktie
With Rosencrantz and Gildenstern to make quite sure he got there,
But Hamlet jumped the boat and put the finger straight on that pair.
When Laertes heard his dad's killed in the bedroom by the arras,
He comes running back to Elsinore tout de suite hot-foot from Paris.
And Ophelia with her dad killed by the man she was to marry,
After saying it with flowers, she committed hari-kari.
Hamlet, Hamlet, ain't no messin'.
Hamlet, Hamlet, learned his lesson.
Hamlet, Hamlet, Yorrick's trust.
Convinced them all men good or bad at last must come to dust.
Then Laertes lost his cool and was demanding retribution.
The King said, "Keep your head, and I'll supply you with solutions."
So he arranged a sword fight for the interested parties
With a blunted sword for Hamlet and a sharp one for Laertes.
And to make double sure that the old-belt-and-brace was limed,
He arranged a poison sword tip and a poisoned cup of wine.
The poison sword got Hamlet but Laertes went and fluffed it
'Cause he got stabbed himself and he confessed before he snuffed it.
Now, Hamlet's mommy drank the wine, and as her face turned blue,
Hamlet said, "I think this King's a baddy through and through."
Well, "Incestuous, murd'rous, damned Dane," he said to be precise
And made up for hesitating once by killing Claudius twice,
'Cause he stabbed him with his knife and forced the wine between his lips,
And he said, "The rest is silence," and he cashed in all his chips;
And they fired a volley over him that shook the top-most rafter;
And Fortinbras, knee-deep in Danes, lived happy ever after.
Hamlet, Hamlet, end of story.
Hamlet, Hamlet, very gory.
Hamlet, Hamlet, I'm on my way.
And if you think that was confusing, you should read the bloody play.
-The Bald Soprano? (one white eye, one red eye)
CLASSMATE CONCEPTS
>From Matt:
I've been away from email (and will be for another two days) but wanted to
drop a quick suggestion for scenes. We use the old Northrop Frye "Argument
of Comedy" model (something Doc made everyone read, I think) to stitch
together a Shakespeare "comedy" by choosing and arranging scenes from
comedy, tragedy, and romance that reproduce the narrative arc that
structures all the comedies (and romances, and failed comedies Lear, R&J,
Othello, Coriolanus, and selected histories etc.) Scenes, in other words,
that fit in big categories, from PROBLEMS to GREEN WORLDS to RESOLUTIONS.
So we'd start with 4 or 5 (or x) "problem" scenes, in
which grumpy old men insist on grumpy old privilege and derail their
children's fun (Egeus, Lear, Oliver) or other "problem" characters do their
thing (RIII, Leontes). Then we stage disguises, departures, fake deaths:
characters leaving for alternative spaces where grumpy old men can't get
their way. Followed by all the wonderful party scenes: sheep shearing,
Malvolio-tricking, prison shenanigans from Measure, 3.1 from Comedy of
Errors, foresters in As You Like It, Outlaws from 2 Gents, tavern scenes
from Henriad, but also the act 3 Heath scene(s) from
Lear, maybe the cashiering of Cassio, Richard III's preacher-and- prayer
ruse, etc. Then we do marriages and reunions and mystical redemptions
across the canon. I think we could even do bits of
tragedy there in the end, and really, the idea is sort of more an obvious
approach to stringing together scenes than it is anything else, but it
should, in any case, help us get at narrative arcs while
not confining us to a single play.
>From Jayne and Kathy:
Kathy and I are sitting in my backyard drinking wine. Sound good? It is. We
are talking about what we remember most from Winedale: laughter, wonderment,
discovery. Here are some of our thoughts, halfway through our first bottle.
Picture if you will: A series of scenes from different
plays, flowing/melding/morphing directly from one to the next, without
break. The people already on stage become part of the next scene and so on.
Accessories and props can help in the transformation. (The rubber chicken,
as always, will be in Kathy's pants.)
Imagine, if you will, Lear and Falstaff on stage together,
if only for a moment. Wonderment.
In some ways - follow us here - this allows us to consider
scenes in a different way. It raises new possibilities, new revelations. As
Lear and his Fool finish, a man from the back table rises and sees a dagger.
He becomes Macbeth. Or maybe a woman on a bench rises and goes into "What a
rogue and peasant slave am I..." She is Hamlet.
Someone yells out from the side aisle, and Petruchio
enters and all left on stage become servants, including Hamlet. Laughter.
This would take some serious thinking to put together
scenes that could reasonably follow one another. But we think it's possible.
We wanted to throw our idea out here in the spirit of brainstorming and
exploration. Discovery.
Minimal, simple costumes. Black pants/skirts, white
shirts? This would allow everyone to turn around and become someone else
immediately, on stage, before the audience. Sometimes people would leave and
come back, maybe the stage would be empty for a moment, or one person might
be left standing to perform a sonnet or a song. He is joined by Kate and it
is Petruchio and Kate, and they are joined by the weird sisters around their
cauldron, and that becomes Bohemia, which turns into fairies and so on until
finally, at the end, Prospero is left standing. "Our revels now have ended.
These our actors, as I foretold you, are all spirits and have melted into
air. Into thin air..."
Obviously, it doesn't have to be ANY of these scenes we've
mentioned. It can be all of those wonderful scenes everyone else has thrown
out for consideration. We can have partial scenes, soliloquies, songs. And a
little bear baiting and a back trick or two.
Again, we're just writing out loud, submitting our
thoughts into the conversation. Maybe it sounds like we're talking more
process than substance, but we're not. We really believe that we can find
connections and discover themes that we never knew before. Unless that's the
wine talking. Let us know.
>From Maggie:
This is fun! and such a change from the usual contents of my in box on an
average morning. Given, say, two weeks I¹d love to do two plays, but I
think we will mix it up more and have more opportunity to play if we go with
a variety of scenes. So here¹s my vote for suites of scenes from a (small)
handful of plays. The problem I kept butting up against in trying to find
one scene each from a number of different plays organized aroundfor
instancethe theme of reunion/ reconciliation is that it seemed heavy on the
dessert table, leaving the savory dishes aside. Both for the players and for
the audience, that seemed a less satisfying prospect than this does. Lots
of endings with no beginnings. Mary and Gail seemed to be heading in this
direction a few days ago, and now Bruce and Matt and Jackson have made the
point that taking several scenes from 3-4-5 plays would allow for a range of
scenes that would make better sense together, add up to more to sink our
teeth into, more fun, more texture, more meaning. That and the fact that
this structure would allow us to take off from very different starting
pointsAYL v. Lear v. Comedy v. Winter¹s Tale v. iHIV (Gail¹s failed reunion
idea, which I love) v. Taming v. MSN, for instanceto arrive at their final
but very different expressions of reconciliation (and in some cases magic).
I think once we have the plays, the choice of scenes will almost take care
of itself
>From Jackson:
I was looking forward to working on scenes from a number of plays, even it
meant two scenes each from, say, ten plays (however, the time works out),
i.e. Gail's idea of the storm and the reconciliation, and I, and I thought
others, going back to the beginning of the discussion, were hoping to study
a wide range of plays, juxtaposing Shakespeare's different pproaches to two
or three themes. And making each scene as rich as possible; the iceberg
where 7/8's of the mass is below. That's a lot of work!! But it's a lot of
putting word to the action, action to the word, and much good thinking about
both.
On the other hand, doing two full plays in a week will
mean we spend all our time running lines! Is this Winedale? Or an anxiety
dream of regional theater? Perhaps I'm too blunt, and possibly need to take
a nap. I'm terrible at this email conference. And keep swearing to keep my
mouth shut. I'll say no more. And be a hermit. Mum.
>From Bob Pees:
I also really like Gail¹s idea of starting with children of storms and
moving on to the softening of hearts. One of the reasons that the
reconciliation scenes are so powerful is that they were preceded by jolting
dislocationsmonumental storms, whether meteorological or personal. When
Cordelia says that she has ³no cause, no cause,² we recall that she indeed
has cause to resent her thundering father. When Hermione emerges warm and
alive from her statue-like posture, we recall her previously standing
stony-still in a trial- like setting while Leontes charged her with
infidelity and treason.
So, if feasible within our format, we might want to include earlier scenes
from the same plays that fuel the emotions that we feel when we see and
hear these reconciliation scenes. And as Jeff observes, scenes from
different plays can also reverberate and infuse and reinforce themes. The
possibilities are truly infinite. Below are a bunch of ideas, some of
which incorporate scene suggestions already made, some of which are new
(for example, the silly songs from the TV series ³Slings and Arrow), and
some of which are designed just to continue the conversation about how to
mix and match all of the ideas that are coming in. The list below divides
the themes of Mystery/Magic/Reunion/Reconciliation into two broad
categories (mystery/magic on the one hand, and reunion/ reconciliation on
the other) separated by an intermission, but that¹s just arbitrary on my
part. If I had to pick only a few personal favorites from the list below,
I would go with the statue scene in The Winter¹s Tale, Lear¹s awakening
before Cordelia, and the Falstaff scenes.
Part 1: Magic and Mystery
A bell rings twelve times.
Prologue: Tis now the very witching time of night,(Hamlet 3.2)
(³Tis now the very witching time of night² through ³To give them seals
never my soul consent²)
Scene 1: The Weird Sisters, the Three Apparitions and the Show of Eight
Kings and Banquo (Macbeth 4.1)(³Thrice the brinded cat hath mewed² through
end)
Alternative Scene 1: The Weird Sisters (Macbeth 1.3)(³Where has thou been
sister?² through ³Till then enoughCome friends.²)
Transition 1: The Mackers Song (from the Canadian television series Slings
and Arrows):
Call me superstitious or cowardly or weak
But I¹ll never play a character
Whose name one dare not speak
I¹ll play Hamlet
In doublet and hose
Or either of the Dromios
But sorry, I won¹t play Mackers
I¹ll play Richard the Third
With a hump and wig
Or Henry the Eighth
That selfish pig
But sorry, I don¹t do Mackers
Every soul that plays this role
Risks injury or death
I¹d rather sweep the bloody stage
Than ever do
Mac-you-know-who
So gimme King Lear
Cleopatra
Romeo, Juliet
Doesn¹t matter
I¹ll play them all for free
But I¹d be crackers
To take on Mackers
You see, I¹m skittish about the Scottish tragedy
Scene 2: Bottom¹s Transformation and a Spell-bound Titania (A Midsummer
Night¹s Dream 3.1)(³I see their knavery. This is to make an ass of me²
through ³Tie up my love¹s tongue; bring him silently.)
Transition 2: Mercutio¹s Queen Mab Speech (Romeo and Juliet, 1.4) (³O, then
I see Queen Mab hath been with you² through ³Turning his face to the
dew-dropping south.²)
Scene 3: Othello¹s Denial of Sorcery (Othello, 1.2) (³O thou foul thief,
where has thou stored my daughter?/Damned as thou art, thou has enchanted
her,/For I¹ll refer me to all things of sense/If she in chains of magic
were not bound² through ³She lov¹d me for the dangers I had pass¹d,/And I
lov¹d her that she did pity them./This only is the witchcraft I have us¹d¹)
Alternative Scene 3: ³There¹s witchcraft in your lips²--Henry¹s wooing of
Katherine² (Henry V, 5.2)(³Fair Katherine, and most fair/ Will you vouchsafe
to teach a soldier terms² through ³There¹s witchcraft in your lips)
Transition 3: What potions have I drunk (Sonnet 119):
What potions have I drunk of Siren tears,
Distill'd from limbecks foul as hell within,
Applying fears to hopes and hopes to fears,
Still losing when I saw myself to win!
What wretched errors hath my heart committed,
Whilst it hath thought itself so blessed never!
How have mine eyes out of their spheres been fitted
In the distraction of this madding fever!
O benefit of ill! now I find true
That better is by evil still made better;
And ruin'd love, when it is built anew,
Grows fairer than at first, more strong, far greater.
So I return rebuked to my content
And gain by ill thrice more than I have spent.
Scene 4: Apollo¹s oracle reveals the truth to an unbelieving Leontes (The
Winter¹s Tale 3.2)(This scene, which incorporates the trial of Hermione,
fills the emotional reservoir eventually tapped by the statue scene in Act
5)
Transition 4: Antigonus¹s dream (The Winter¹s Tale 3.3)(Come, poor
babe:/I have heard but not believed,/The spirits o¹ the dead/ May walk
again² through ³Exit, pursued by a bear²)
Scene 5: The Resuscitation of Thaisa (Pericles 3.2)
Transition 5: Prospero¹s riff on Medea¹s Incantation a/k/a ³Ye elves²
speech (Tempest 5.1, 1-56)(³Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes and
groves² through ³I¹ll drown my book²)
{Intermission}
>
Part 2: Reunion and Reconciliation
Prologue: A bitter reunionHal banishes Falstaff (2 Henry IV 5.4) (Trumpets
sound. A royal procession swells the stage. ³God save thy grace, King Hal,
my royal Hal² through ³Take them away²)
Scene 1: The family reunion from hellLear and his daughters (King Lear
1.1)(Lear¹s scorching treatment of his youngest daughter would be cause for
resentment by most childrenwhich renders all the more astonishing her words
³No cause, no cause² in Act 4, scene 7.)
Transition 1: A Walk in the Rain (song from Slings and Arrows):
When life takes its toll
When fate treats you bad
You used to be king
And now you¹ve been had
Alone with your fool
You think you¹ll go mad
It¹s nice to take a walk in the rain
A stomp through a storm
Is what I¹d advise
When people you trust
Tell nothing but lies
And kidnap your friend
And gouge out his eyes
It¹s nice to take a walk in the rain
You say your daughters
Are evil plotters
A pitter patter shower will keep you sane
When all has been said
And all have been slain
It¹s good to take a walk in the rain
For several hours
Helps to have a howl in the rain
Without your clothes on
Nice to take a walk in the rain.
Scene 2: Feste¹s reunion with Oliviathe fool consoles the fool (Twelfth
Night 1.5)(³Nay, either tell me where thou has been² through ³the fool
should look to the madman²)[to echo the prior comical song ³A Walk in the
Rain² in transition 1, Feste could perhaps enter singing a couple of stanzas
of ³When that I was and a tiny little boy/With hey, ho, the wind and the
rain]
Transition 2: ³Remembrance of Things Past²
(Sonnet 30):
When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe,
And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight:
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrows end.
Scene 3: Hermione Reunites with Perdita (The Winter¹s Tale 5.3)
Transition 3: The Dance of the Twelve Satyrs (The Winter¹s Tale, IV,
iv)(³Master, there is three carters, three shepherds, ² through ³Here a
dance of twelve Satyrs
Scene 4: Thaisa Reunites with Pericles and Marina (Pericles 5.3)
Transition 4: ³Full Fathom Five² (song from The Tempest²)
Scene 5: A reunion on heaven¹s thresholdLear awakens to Cordelia
(King Lear 4.7)
Transition 5: The Chimes at MidnightFalstaff and Shallow remember good
times (2 Henry IV 3.2)(³Come, I will go drink with you,² through ³Jesus,
the days that we have seen. Come, come.²)(In stark contrast to the
ambitious Hal, Justice Shallow is the steadfast friend to the fat knight.)A
bell rings twelve times.And maybe a robust finale consisting of a song
and/or dance, perhaps Cole Porter¹s ³Brush Up Your Shakespeare² or the
following song from Season One of the television series ³Slings and
Arrows²:
Cheer Up, Hamlet
Cheer up, Hamlet
Chin up, Hamlet
Buck up, you melancholy Dane
So your uncle is a cad
Who murdered Dad and married Mum
That¹s really no excuse to be as glum as you¹ve become
So wise up, Hamlet
Rise up, Hamlet
Buck up and sing the new refrain
Your incessant monologizing fills the castle with ennui
Your antic disposition is embarrassing to see
And by the way, you sulky brat, the answer is ³TO BE²!
You¹re driving poor Ophelia insane
So shut up, you rogue and peasant
Grow up, it¹s most unpleasant
Cheer up, you melancholy Dane
Robert Pees
>From Gail:
Dear Robert and everybody,
An incredibly thoughtful and detailed missive. If we
were to do earlier scenes to prepare the ground for the big reconciliations,
then we might, might want to jettison the magical mystery material to clear
some time for building up. I had even imagined showing the lost children
all in a row at the start: Viola arrives in Illyria; we see Leontes banish
Perdita; we see Lear banish Cordelia; we see Miranda trying to understand
the shipwreck and/or Ferdinand's first scene; we see Marina/Thaisa, and so
forth. I also love the banishment of Falstaff as a ruined reunion, and to
prepare for that there could be the scene 1HenryIV in which Falstaff plays
the King, which would bring a needed comedy to what might otherwise get a
bit sad and repetitious. I like the idea also of highlighting
Father/Daughter, Father/Son or family breakups generally, even when it is a
'made' family like Hal and his chums. We at Winedale are, have been, will
be a 'made family', too.
I would LOVE to see 'Slings and Arrows' and hope someone
will bring it to Winedale. I cannot get it here, for reasons unknown.
A random thought: there is a very funny take on lost
children (one white eye and one red eye, etc) in The Bald Soprano.
>From Doc:
The lost/found is everywhere in the final plays, Pericles/Thaisa/Marina (all
three lost), Posthumus/Innogen/her bros, Hermione/Perdita, and according to
Gonzalo, everyone. And, of course, the reconciliations are wonderful,
though I have a bit of trouble with the Cym ending. We did All's Well once
with a really great ending, with bobo Bertie finally coming around. And
indeed I still remember the wonderful ending of CE. RE: magic, what about
Roz at the end of AYL, and Mistress Quickly and the fairy gang in MWW? Some
brief transitions : Antigonus "dream," Queen Mab. Innogen(Fidele)
"awakening."
Hope I am not intruding. But thought of those.
>From Gail: I've just been teaching Joyce's Ulysses. Here's something
pertinent that Stephen Dedalus says about why he prefers the romances to the
tragedies of Shakespeare:
--If you want to know what are the events which cast their shadow over the
hell of time of King Lear, Othello, Hamlet, Troilus and Cressida, look to
see when and how the shadow lifts. What softens the heart of a man,
shipwrecked in storms dire. Tried, like another Ulysses, Pericles, prince
of Tyre?
--Marina,. Stephen said, a child of storm, Miranda, a
wonder, Perdita, that which was lost. what was lost is given back to
him....
One idea might be to start with the children of
storms--and move on to softening of hearts.
>From Clayton:
love that idea....
we could even have each player do a few chosen lines from one of the
plays as they exit...
a "mash up" of selected lines from Shakespeare's plays....
Bruce to >>Clay Stromberger <cstromberger(a)mail.utexas.edu5/5/2010 12:31 PM
>>>
I was reading an essay last night on the phrase "Et in Arcadia ego" for
a paper I'm writing, and the author, describing Poussin's "The Arcadian
Shepherds," described one of the duties of art as "allowing
communication about the unutterable." I thought of Bottom's dream again
("no words of me") and then had a vision of the performance beginning
with everyone asleep on the stage, everyone a Bottom, waking up to
attempt to describe a most rare vision, then rushing off to get Peter
Quince and the gang to start rolling on that play and that ballad (or
ballet, as you like). Telling the story of the dream through the play
and playing.
>From Susan:
On this note, I'd be interested in discussions about doing scenes that might
illuminate the life-lessons and truths we all took from Winedale. I, for
one, learned that "in theater, anyone can be anything" (Doc). While at
Winedale, I was a 39-year-old wife and mother of three, but I became a young
maid, a male octogenarian, a gaoler, a bawd, a soldier, a boy, and more. I
saw the reason why when someone like Lynn Redgrave plays Prospero, I learn
new things about Prospero. When Doc shook up traditional
gender/race/age/body type-casting, amazing things happened. I now know that
what he was doing was rare in theater--and it still is. Most folks in the
theater world don't seem to get it, but it's what Shakespeare is telling us,
satirically, when Quince and Company discover they can represent a lion and
a moon rather than producing the real thing on stage. In everything I do, I
keep touting the principle of "anyone can be anything," and I learned it at
Winedale.
--Susan
>From Clayton:
Y'all --
I think the tavern idea is an interesting one and it makes
me think both of the Boar¹s Head scenes in 1 Henry IV but also the Dirty
Duck in Stratford.
I had a little image last night that may have been influenced by the Marx
Brothers (we just watched ³Monkey Business² here at home), and perhaps also
by the margarita at Matt's El Rancho (not quite wine under the trees with an
old friend, but not bad) -- so I¹ll toss it out there for what it¹s worth.
It's sort of a fusion of many of the great ideas and impulses that I've been
reading....
The Barn stage is empty, quiet. (This is the tavern, but
the audience doesn¹t know that yet.... perhaps there are a few clues here
and there, a tavern sign?) Someone enters up above, pensive, heavy in
thought. This person makes his or her way down the stairs, looking out over
the audience. She or he stands center stage. Looks around. A sigh.
³Now.... I am alone.² He or she takes a big breath to break into a
soliloquy, when... KA-BOOM, the Players (as in Hamlet?) come bursting and
streaming in from all directions at once, all talking loudly (a mixture of
lines from all the plays they¹ve just performed), an explosion of sound and
life and energy, taking off various parts of costumes, laughing
uproariously, some of them singing, sharing a bottle of something, and they,
cartoon-like (think Bugs Bunny or again Marx Brothers) stream past the
stunned ³Hamlet² and even perhaps sweep him along (lifting him straight up
from his elbows six inches or so) and deposit him on a bench a pop a mug of
something in his hand and slap him or her on the back. ³What, shall we be
merry? Shall we have a play extempore!?² someone yells (the Player
Falstaff?), and someone across the room yells back, ³Content, and the
argument shall be...² and everyone joins in, ³thy running away!² The Player
of Falstaff groans back, ³Ah, no more of that... an thou lovest me!² It is
a ritual of sorts. Everyone begins to settle into various parts of the
tavern (benches and perhaps a small table appear, Francis in his apron, the
Hostess...). They all have their favorite spots, their post-performance
duties, their own ways of unwinding after a full day of playing. A few are
taking off makeup, perhaps prying off fake beards, as the roar settles into
a murmur and bustle. Perhaps a few look over the texts for the next day¹s
play, new lines. (They are Players, but not "professional actors" -- I know
that is a contradiction perhaps.... )
As everyone finds their seat or corner the center of the
stage is open for a moment. It¹s a kind of empty space that beckons.
Invites. Some of the characters begin to look up from their drinks or
animated conversations and notice. Someone has a little vision, a starting
impulse for some kind of beginning, and stands slowly and then moves into
that space; the others notice, sensing that something is going on. Perhaps a
second player puts down her drink and grabs something from the straw trunk
of props (carted in for sorting during the evening¹s drinking). The first
player says a word it changes everything and a scene begins. These
players have performed so many of Will¹s plays, they know so many of them by
heart, even the roles they never played. So they have a go at something.
(I don¹t have a vision yet of the first scene here but will think on
it....) And others join in. And at some point, that first lively scene has
reached its natural peak no one intends to do an entire play, but they
also are open to any possibility play is in the air, and no one is sure
what¹ll be tossed into the ring next. So suddenly a second scene begins up
in the balcony not to rudely interrupt the first scene, but perhaps to
comment on it, or take what it has begun and comment on it in an unusual
way... and slowly the players begin looking around for things they can grab
and turn into props, and they begin grabbing the tavern crew and pushing
them into the scenes, and they too know the lines, they¹ve seen the plays,
heard the players practice lines during the day there on lunch break... and
as many of you have described very evocatively, scenes ebb and flow, some
perhaps even alternate upstairs/downstairs; and one man and woman in this
time plays many parts.
That¹s as far as I¹ve gotten. At some point, everyone
senses it¹s time to say goodnight. Someone begins a song perhaps the end
of LLL. Everyone joins in. It¹s a bit melancholy, so someone hollers out a
line of something more rowdy, a last flickering of the flame, and they jump
into that. It¹s late. They begin to play one- or two-line moments of scenes
that have to do with parting saying goodbye and step off into the night,
singly or in pairs, each going home. The last person there is Francis, in
his apron, closing up. He looks around, broom in hand (I know, dangerously
close to Carol Burnett territory here! but you can also think of old Firs
left behind in ³Cherry Orchard²), and says ³Now... I am alone...² and
goes off grabbing the last few mugs and dishrags.
Perhaps it's a playing out of the reunion experience in a
compressed form -- preparation, excited and eager arrival, play everywhere,
and then a somewhat heartbroken goodbye, but sustained by the hope for the
next gathering.
Kathy and I are sitting in my backyard drinking wine. Sound good? It is. We are talking about what we remember most from Winedale: laughter, wonderment, discovery. Here are some of our thoughts, halfway through our first bottle.
Picture if you will: A series of scenes from different plays, flowing/melding/morphing directly from one to the next, without break. The people already on stage become part of the next scene and so on. Accessories and props can help in the transformation. (The rubber chicken, as always, will be in Kathy's pants.)
Imagine, if you will, Lear and Falstaff on stage together, if only for a moment. Wonderment.
In some ways - follow us here - this allows us to consider scenes in a different way. It raises new possibilities, new revelations. As Lear and his Fool finish, a man from the back table rises and sees a dagger. He becomes Macbeth. Or maybe a woman on a bench rises and goes into "What a rogue and peasant slave am I..." She is Hamlet.
Someone yells out from the side aisle, and Petruchio enters and all left on stage become servants, including Hamlet. Laughter.
This would take some serious thinking to put together scenes that could reasonably follow one another. But we think it's possible. We wanted to throw our idea out here in the spirit of brainstorming and exploration. Discovery.
Minimal, simple costumes. Black pants/skirts, white shirts? This would allow everyone to turn around and become someone else immediately, on stage, before the audience. Sometimes people would leave and come back, maybe the stage would be empty for a moment, or one person might be left standing to perform a sonnet or a song. He is joined by Kate and it is Petruchio and Kate, and they are joined by the weird sisters around their cauldron, and that becomes Bohemia, which turns into fairies and so on until finally, at the end, Prospero is left standing. "Our revels now have ended. These our actors, as I foretold you, are all spirits and have melted into air. Into thin air..."
Obviously, it doesn't have to be ANY of these scenes we've mentioned. It can be all of those wonderful scenes everyone else has thrown out for consideration. We can have partial scenes, soliloquies, songs. And a little bear baiting and a back trick or two.
Again, we're just writing out loud, submitting our thoughts into the conversation. Maybe it sounds like we're talking more process than substance, but we're not. We really believe that we can find connections and discover themes that we never knew before. Unless that's the wine talking. Let us know.
Kathy & Jayne
____________________________________
From: weeklong-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org [weeklong-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Maggie Megaw [maggie(a)bizaffairs.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 12:58 PM
To: weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] thoughts from an old brain
This is fun! and such a change from the usual contents of my in box on an average morning. Given, say, two weeks I’d love to do two plays, but I think we will mix it up more and have more opportunity to play if we go with a variety of scenes. So here’s my vote for suites of scenes from a (small) handful of plays. The problem I kept butting up against in trying to find one scene each from a number of different plays organized around—for instance—the theme of reunion/ reconciliation is that it seemed heavy on the dessert table, leaving the savory dishes aside. Both for the players and for the audience, that seemed a less satisfying prospect than this does. Lots of endings with no beginnings. Mary and Gail seemed to be heading in this direction a few days ago, and now Bruce and Matt and Jackson have made the point that taking several scenes from 3-4-5 plays would allow for a range of scenes that would make better sense together, add up to more to sink our teeth into, more fun, more texture, more meaning. That and the fact that this structure would allow us to take off from very different starting points—AYL v. Lear v. Comedy v. Winter’s Tale v. iHIV (Gail’s failed reunion idea, which I love) v. Taming v. MSN, for instance—to arrive at their final but very different expressions of reconciliation (and in some cases magic). I think once we have the plays, the choice of scenes will almost take care of itself…
-----Original Message-----
From: weeklong-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Robert Jackson
Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 8:21 AM
To: weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: [Weeklong-l] thoughts from an old brain
I was looking forward to working on scenes from a number of plays, even it
meant two scenes each from, say, ten plays (however, the time works out),
i.e. Gail's idea of the storm and the reconciliation, and I, and I thought
others, going back to the beginning of the discussion, were hoping to study
a wide range of plays, juxtaposing Shakespeare's different approaches to two
or three themes. And making each scene as rich as possible; the iceberg
where 7/8's of the mass is below. That's a lot of work!! But it's a lot of
putting word to the action, action to the word, and much good thinking about
both.
On the other hand, doing two full plays in a week will mean we spend all our
time running lines! Is this Winedale? Or an anxiety dream of regional
theater? Perhaps I'm too blunt, and possibly need to take a nap. I'm
terrible at this email conference. And keep swearing to keep my mouth shut.
I'll say no more. And be a hermit. Mum.
-Jackson
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Meyer" <Bruce.Meyer(a)UTSouthwestern.edu>
To: <weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>; <kozusko(a)mac.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 10:48 AM
Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] thoughts from a brain that is spendingtoo muchtime
in the
> Actually, i AM serious about the two play suggestion - massive
> undertaking, so just the kind of impossible task that we are best suited
> for....
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Matt Kozusko <kozusko(a)mac.com>
> To: <weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
>
> Sent: 5/20/2010 8:20:53 AM
> Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] thoughts from a brain that is spending too
> muchtime in the real world....
>
>
> Dear All,
>
> A grinning and excited second for Bruce's suggestion that we consider
> longer chunks of fewer plays so that we can get some of the playlong
> arcs into our storytelling. And two full plays is a great idea, I
> think, if you're serious.
>
> Matt
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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Yes, if at all possible, we must leave the killing out!
Joy
----- Original Message -----
From: Terry Galloway<mailto:tlgalloway@aol.com>
To: weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org<mailto:weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org>
Cc: <weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org><mailto:weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org%3E>
Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 9:55 AM
Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] thoughts from a brain that is spendingtoo muchtime in the
But I want to have fun not just work myself into the ground. Two
plays in a week would kill me. But then I have always loved the more
leisurely approach to creativity
Terry
Sent from my iPhone
On May 20, 2010, at 10:48 AM, "Bruce Meyer" <Bruce.Meyer(a)UTSouthwestern.edu<mailto:Bruce.Meyer@UTSouthwestern.edu>
> wrote:
> Actually, i AM serious about the two play suggestion - massive
> undertaking, so just the kind of impossible task that we are best
> suited for....
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Matt Kozusko <kozusko(a)mac.com<mailto:kozusko@mac.com>>
> To: <weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org<mailto:weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org>>
>
> Sent: 5/20/2010 8:20:53 AM
> Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] thoughts from a brain that is spending too
> muchtime in the real world....
>
>
> Dear All,
>
> A grinning and excited second for Bruce's suggestion that we consider
> longer chunks of fewer plays so that we can get some of the playlong
> arcs into our storytelling. And two full plays is a great idea, I
> think, if you're serious.
>
> Matt
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
>
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Actually, i AM serious about the two play suggestion - massive undertaking, so just the kind of impossible task that we are best suited for....
-----Original Message-----
From: Matt Kozusko <kozusko(a)mac.com>
To: <weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Sent: 5/20/2010 8:20:53 AM
Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] thoughts from a brain that is spending too muchtime in the real world....
Dear All,
A grinning and excited second for Bruce's suggestion that we consider
longer chunks of fewer plays so that we can get some of the playlong
arcs into our storytelling. And two full plays is a great idea, I
think, if you're serious.
Matt
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Oh, no, Doc! Eeeeeek.
O single-soled jest, solely singular for the singleness!
That's Feste, I believe. (I'll be here all night, ladies and germs...)
Okay, okay. It's Romeo. And it means the joke is really lame. I've worn mine out. My wits faints.
Now, if someone would please get the hook and save me from myself I would be truly appreciative.
Jayne
_______________________________________
From: weeklong-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org [weeklong-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of James Ayres [jayres(a)cvctx.com]
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2010 5:45 PM
To: weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Round II
no, from MND, 3.2
Doc
On May 17, 2010, at 11:22 AM, Suhler, Jayne wrote:
> I am amazed, and know not what to say.
>
> (I think that's from Two Gents...)
>
> I, too, am frightened by the level of discourse here. I think it
> would be best for me to just throw in a quick pitch for the rubber
> chicken and be on my way. Here it is: Could we find some place in
> one of the scenes to hurl it across the stage?
>
> Other than that, I think it's best that I spend a little time with
> my Complete Works before weighing in again. (I'm also going on
> vacation.) But know this: I am reading these posts, taking them
> seriously, and, like Terry, loving the energy and genius. I can't
> wait to spend time with all of you.
>
> Jayne
> ________________________________________
> From: weeklong-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org [weeklong-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> ] On Behalf Of Robert Jackson [rjax(a)netcom.com]
> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2010 11:52 AM
> To: weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Round II
>
> Re: a case for comedies...
>
> Reconciliation is by definition a Christian concept, especially in
> Elizabethian times. Do we want to go down that road? The whole
> process is
> primarily one of confession/conversion. Some "reconciliations"
> attempts
> are failures, or outright "sinful" in the parlence. Re: Rich III,
> blatantly
> antiChrist, and Claudius' praying scene in Hamlet, which fails the
> more
> orthodox "deeds over words" requirement.
>
> The "reconciliation scene" at the end of Taming (ahem) for instance,
> Kate's
> speech is highly suseptible to the religious interpretation, e.g.,
> substitute "Christ" for "husband" in that speech.
>
> Kate's main point in that speech is the "care" husbands provide
> their wives,
> which renounces her arrogant dismissal of Petruchio's "Tis with
> cares" with
> her "I care not" in the Wooing scene. I think, strictly from an
> actor's
> point of view, this is the beginning of a new beat that begins to
> wind down
> that scene with a shift in emotion as far as Petruchio is concerned,
> and key
> to the eventual reconciliation, if you will, of "Kate" with
> "Catherine".
> How she sees herself versus how she is protrayed by the world. O
> scandalous
> world!
>
> Yes, this argument IS absurd. But it works for me.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bruce Meyer" <Bruce.Meyer(a)UTSouthwestern.edu>
> To: <weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
> Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2010 2:36 PM
> Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Round II
>
>
>> My admiration for the depth of Shakespeare knowledge that you
>> people are
>> showing is frightening! wish I had the time and the courage.
>>
>> I agree that the reconciliation scenes will not ring true unless we
>> have shown the power of the separation.
>>
>> Will again make a plea for some comedy... surely there can be some
>> joy
>> and laughter in a world of Mystery/Magic/Reunion/Reconciliation!
>>
>>
>>
>>>>> "Pees, Robert" <rpees(a)AkinGump.com> 5/16/2010 1:46 AM >>>
>> I also really like Gail’s idea of starting with children of storms
>> and moving on to the softening of hearts. One of the reasons that
>> the
>> reconciliation scenes are so powerful is that they were preceded by
>> jolting dislocations—monumental storms, whether meteorological or
>> personal. When Cordelia says that she has “no cause, no cause,”
>> we recall that she indeed has cause to resent her thundering father.
>> When Hermione emerges warm and alive from her statue-like posture, we
>> recall her previously standing stony-still in a trial-like setting
>> while
>> Leontes charged her with infidelity and treason. So, if feasible
>> within
>> our format, we might want to include earlier scenes from the same
>> plays
>> that fuel the emotions that we feel when we see and hear these
>> reconciliation scenes. And as Jeff observes, scenes from different
>> plays
>> can also reverberate and infuse and reinforce themes. The
>> possibilities
>> are truly infinite. Below are a bunch of ideas, some of which
>> incorporate scene suggestions already made, some of which are new
>> (for
>> example, the silly songs from the TV series “Slings and Arrow), and
>> some of which are designed just to continue the conversation about
>> how
>> to mix and match all of the ideas that are coming in. The list below
>> divides the themes of Mystery/Magic/Reunion/Reconciliation into two
>> broad categories (mystery/magic on the one hand, and
>> reunion/reconciliation on the other) separated by an intermission,
>> but
>> that’s just arbitrary on my part. If I had to pick only a few
>> personal favorites from the list below, I would go with the statue
>> scene
>> in The Winter’s Tale, Lear’s awakening before Cordelia, and the
>> Falstaff scenes.
>> Part 1: Magic and Mystery
>> A bell rings twelve times.
>> Prologue: ‘Tis now the very witching time of night,…(Hamlet
>> 3.2)(“‘Tis now the very witching time of night” through “To
>> give them seals never my soul consent”)
>> Scene 1: The Weird Sisters, the Three Apparitions and the Show of
>> Eight Kings and Banquo (Macbeth 4.1)(“Thrice the brinded cat hath
>> mewed” through end)
>> Alternative Scene 1: The Weird Sisters (Macbeth 1.3)(“Where has thou
>> been sister?” through “Till then enough—Come friends.”)
>> Transition 1: The Mackers Song (from the Canadian television series
>> Slings and Arrows):
>> Call me superstitious or cowardly or weak
>> But I’ll never play a character
>> Whose name one dare not speak
>> I’ll play Hamlet
>> In doublet and hose
>> Or either of the Dromios
>> But sorry, I won’t play Mackers
>> I’ll play Richard the Third
>> With a hump and wig
>> Or Henry the Eighth
>> That selfish pig
>> But sorry, I don’t do Mackers
>> Every soul that plays this role
>> Risks injury or death
>> I’d rather sweep the bloody stage
>> Than ever do
>> Mac-you-know-who
>> So gimme King Lear
>> Cleopatra
>> Romeo, Juliet
>> Doesn’t matter
>> I’ll play them all for free
>> But I’d be crackers
>> To take on Mackers
>> You see, I’m skittish about the Scottish tragedy
>> Scene 2: Bottom’s Transformation and a Spell-bound Titania (A
>> Midsummer Night’s Dream 3.1)(“I see their knavery. This is to make
>> an ass of me” through “Tie up my love’s tongue; bring him
>> silently.)
>> Transition 2: Mercutio’s Queen Mab Speech (Romeo and Juliet,
>> 1.4)(“O, then I see Queen Mab hath been with you” through
>> “Turning his face to the dew-dropping south.”)
>> Scene 3: Othello’s Denial of Sorcery (Othello, 1.2) (“O thou foul
>> thief, where has thou stored my daughter?/Damned as thou art, thou
>> has
>> enchanted her,/For I’ll refer me to all things of sense/If
>> she in
>> chains of magic were not bound” through “She lov’d me for the
>> dangers I had pass’d,/And I lov’d her that she did pity them./This
>> only is the witchcraft I have us’d’)
>> Alternative Scene 3: “There’s witchcraft in your
>> lips”--Henry’s wooing of Katherine” (Henry V, 5.2)(“Fair
>> Katherine, and most fair/Will you vouchsafe to teach a soldier terms”
>> through “There’s witchcraft in your lips)
>> Transition 3: What potions have I drunk (Sonnet 119):
>>
>> What potions have I drunk of Siren tears,
>> Distill'd from limbecks foul as hell within,
>> Applying fears to hopes and hopes to fears,
>> Still losing when I saw myself to win!
>> What wretched errors hath my heart committed,
>> Whilst it hath thought itself so blessed never!
>> How have mine eyes out of their spheres been fitted
>> In the distraction of this madding fever!
>> O benefit of ill! now I find true
>> That better is by evil still made better;
>> And ruin'd love, when it is built anew,
>> Grows fairer than at first, more strong, far greater.
>> So I return rebuked to my content
>> And gain by ill thrice more than I have spent.
>>
>>
>> Scene 4: Apollo’s oracle reveals the truth to an unbelieving Leontes
>> (The Winter’s Tale 3.2)(This scene, which incorporates the trial of
>> Hermione, fills the emotional reservoir eventually tapped by the
>> statue
>> scene in Act 5)
>> Transition 4: Antigonus’s dream (The Winter’s Tale 3.3)(Come,
>> poor babe:/I have heard but not believed,/The spirits o’ the dead/May
>> walk again…” through “Exit, pursued by a bear”)
>> Scene 5: The Resuscitation of Thaisa (Pericles 3.2)
>> Transition 5: Prospero’s riff on Medea’s Incantation a/k/a “Ye
>> elves” speech (Tempest 5.1, 1-56)(“Ye elves of hills, brooks,
>> standing lakes and groves” through “I’ll drown my book”)
>>
>> {Intermission}
>>
>> Part 2: Reunion and Reconciliation
>> Prologue: A bitter reunion—Hal banishes Falstaff (2 Henry IV
>> 5.4)(Trumpets sound. A royal procession swells the stage. “God save
>> thy grace, King Hal, my royal Hal” through “Take them away”)
>> Scene 1: The family reunion from hell—Lear and his daughters (King
>> Lear 1.1)(Lear’s scorching treatment of his youngest daughter would
>> be
>> cause for resentment by most children—which renders all the more
>> astonishing her words “No cause, no cause” in Act 4, scene 7.)
>> Transition 1: A Walk in the Rain (song from Slings and Arrows):
>> When life takes its toll
>> When fate treats you bad
>> You used to be king
>> And now you’ve been had
>> Alone with your fool
>> You think you’ll go mad
>> It’s nice to take a walk in the rain
>> A stomp through a storm
>> Is what I’d advise
>> When people you trust
>> Tell nothing but lies
>> And kidnap your friend
>> And gouge out his eyes
>> It’s nice to take a walk in the rain
>> You say your daughters
>> Are evil plotters
>> A pitter patter shower will keep you sane
>> When all has been said
>> And all have been slain
>> It’s good to take a walk in the rain
>> For several hours
>> Helps to have a howl in the rain
>> Without your clothes on
>> Nice to take a walk in the rain.
>> Scene 2: Feste’s reunion with Olivia—the fool consoles the fool
>> (Twelfth Night 1.5)(“Nay, either tell me where thou has been…”
>> through “the fool should look to the madman”)[to echo the prior
>> comical song “A Walk in the Rain” in transition 1, Feste could
>> perhaps enter singing a couple of stanzas of “When that I was and a
>> tiny little boy/With hey, ho, the wind and the rain]
>> Transition 2: “Remembrance of Things Past” (Sonnet 30):
>>
>> When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
>> I summon up remembrance of things past,
>> I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
>> And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
>> Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,
>> For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
>> And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe,
>> And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight:
>> Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
>> And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
>> The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
>> Which I new pay as if not paid before.
>> But if the
>> while I think on thee, dear friend,
>> All losses are restored and sorrows end.
>>
>>
>> Scene 3: Hermione Reunites with Perdita (The Winter’s Tale 5.3)
>> Transition 3: The Dance of the Twelve Satyrs (The Winter’s Tale, IV,
>> iv)(“Master, there is three carters, three shepherds, …” through
>> “Here a dance of twelve Satyrs
>> Scene 4: Thaisa Reunites with Pericles and Marina (Pericles 5.3)
>> Transition 4: “Full Fathom Five” (song from The Tempest”)
>> Scene 5: A reunion on heaven’s threshold—Lear awakens to Cordelia
>> (King Lear 4.7)
>> Transition 5: The Chimes at Midnight—Falstaff and Shallow remember
>> good times (2 Henry IV 3.2)(“Come, I will go drink with you,…”
>> through “Jesus, the days that we have seen. Come, come.”)(In stark
>> contrast to the ambitious Hal, Justice Shallow is the steadfast
>> friend
>> to the fat knight.)
>> A bell rings twelve times.
>> And maybe a robust finale consisting of a song and/or dance, perhaps
>> Cole Porter’s “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” or the following song
>> from Season One of the television series “Slings and Arrows”:
>> Cheer Up, Hamlet
>> Cheer up, Hamlet
>>
> Chin up, Hamlet
>
>> Buck up, you melancholy Dane
>
>> So your uncle is a cad
>> Who murdered Dad and married Mum
>
>> That’s really no excuse to be as glum as you’ve become
>
>> So wise up, Hamlet
>>
> Rise up, Hamlet
>>
> Buck up and sing the new refrain
>
>> Your incessant monologizing fills the castle with ennui
>
>> Your antic disposition is embarrassing to see
>
>> And by the way, you sulky brat, the answer is “TO BE”!
>
>> You’re driving poor Ophelia insane
>
>> So shut up, you rogue and peasant
>
>> Grow up, it’s most unpleasant
>
>> Cheer up, you melancholy Dane
>>
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>> communication for the purpose of avoiding United States federal tax
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>>
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I think we're missing only Jeff Larsen from this list. I believe these are
all mobile numbers.
--Mike
Craig Hurwitz -- 224-515-0118
Jayne Noble Suhler -- 214-356-0408
Madge Darlington -- 512-627-6038
Maggie Megaw -- 310-600-5669
Susan Todd -- 512.922.1871
Robert Pees -- 917-545-4537
David Ziegler -- 415-987-1947
Mary Collins -- 646-554-3076
Clayton Stromberger -- 512-228-1055
Matt Kozusko -- 215 760 2779
Mike Godwin -- 415-793-4446
Bruce Meyer -- 972-800-3636
Joy Marvin -- 254-537-2471
Alice Gordon -- 917-655-9091
Robert Jackson -- 646-246-3865
Terry Galloway -- 850-524-0768 (currently text-only)
Gail McDonald -- 001-20-7713-8890 (UK only)
Michael Barker -- 917 690 4759
Doc -- 979-249-7125
Stan Kern -- 512 689 3027
Jeff Larsen -- ???
I think we're only missing Doc, Stan, and Jeff from this list:
Craig Hurwitz -- 224-515-0118
Jayne Noble Suhler -- 214-356-0408
Madge Darlington -- 512-627-6038
Maggie Megaw -- 310-600-5669
Susan Todd -- 512.922.1871
Robert Pees -- 917-545-4537
David Ziegler -- 415-987-1947
Mary Collins -- 646-554-3076
Clayton Stromberger -- 512-228-1055
Matt Kozusko -- 215 760 2779
Mike Godwin -- 415-793-4446
Bruce Meyer -- 972-800-3636
Joy Marvin -- 254-537-2471
Alice Gordon -- 917-655-9091
Robert Jackson -- 646-246-3865
Terry Galloway -- 850-524-0768 (currently text-only)
Gail McDonald -- 001-20-7713-8890 (UK only)
Michael Barker -- 917 690 4759
--Mike
Here's who I've heard from so far:
Craig Hurwitz -- 224-515-0118
Madge Darlington -- 512-627-6038
Maggie Megaw -- 310-600-5669
Susan Todd -- 512.922.1871
Robert Pees -- 917-545-4537
David Ziegler -- 415-987-1947
Mary Collins -- 646-554-3076
Clayton Stromberger -- 512-228-1055
Matt Kozusko -- 215 760 2779
Mike Godwin -- 415-793-4446
Bruce Meyer -- 972-800-3636
Joy Marvin -- 254-537-2471
Alice Gordon -- 917-655-9091
I'm experimenting with adding the phone numbers directly to the names in the
Weeklong-l mailing list -- just stores them in another place, but also
perhaps makes it easier for people to call someone in response to an email
on the list. (If this turns into a problem, I'll fix it.)
--Mike