From: James Ayres <jayres(a)cvctx.com>
Reply-To: <weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 16:54:12 -0700
To: <weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Round II
Bob:
This is wonderful ! Thanks very much.
Doc
On May 15, 2010, at 11:46 PM, Pees, Robert wrote:
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 dislocations‹monumental 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: ŒTis now the very witching time of night,Š(Hamlet 3.2)
(³ŒTis 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 enough‹Come 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 againŠ² 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 reunion‹Hal 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 hell‹Lear and his daughters (King
Lear 1.1)(Lear¹s scorching treatment of his youngest daughter would
be cause for resentment by most children‹which 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 Olivia‹the fool consoles the fool
(Twelfth Night 1.5)(³Nay, either tell me where thou has beenŠ²
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, Š² 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 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)(³Come, I will go drink with you,Š²
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
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