Al, That is beautiful. I just want to make sure that folks know that they can give a shout out for a scene that may have been dropped, as it were, because we "have not heard the argument" for it as one fit for "mystery and magic, reunion and reconciliation." stan Kirsten Kern,PhD, LMTI Texas Healing Arts Institute School of Massage, Day Spa and Clinic 7001 Burnet Road Austin, TX 78757 stan(a)texashealingarts.com 512 323 6042 -----Original Message----- From: weeklong-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Alice Gordon Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2010 4:12 PM To: weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Weeklong-l] Complete (I hope) scene list 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 Touchstone‹talking-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. (³ŒTis 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 heartŠ. 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 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. 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. 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 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. Winter¹s Tale v. iHIV (Gail¹s 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 itselfŠ 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. 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 ‹Robert Pees 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 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.

Alice, this is wonderful. Thanks. What an embarrassment of riches. A couple of final thoughts before the clock winds down. If we are looking for scenes of grumpy old men (or grumpy dead men) throwing obstacles in the path of true love, the scene from Merchant (I,ii) where Portia and Nerissa tell us about dead dad’s casket test and then catalogue Portia's various aspiring suitors could be a fun opportunity for other players to jump up and sketch some quick impressions. Also, if as suggested by Joy we widen our thematic net to include play and players, then Richard II, V,v "I have been studying how I may compare this prison where I live unto the world...Thus play I in one person many people" leaps to mind. A personal favorite. In general, though, I've been thinking a lot about Jayne and Kathy and Clayton's idea of the tavern as setting, and I think it's a great, rich, productive idea. We've been talking about stitching scenes together along thematic lines and I think that’s key to digging in to the texts and making connections, but ideas keep busting out of that framework, and we want them to keep busting out to some extent. The beauty of the tavern concept is that it provides a frame, a unified time and space, that makes the somewhat anarchic sequence of scene to song to dance to scene to sonnet to scene make sense. I think it would give us freedom at Winedale to keep messing with how we’re organizing what we’re doing, and I think it would give the other audience a way to make sense of the whole even if they don’t get all the internal connections that we are discussing and that matter to us. ‘Nuff said. Goodnight all. --Maggie -----Original Message----- From: weeklong-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Alice Gordon Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2010 2:12 PM To: weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Weeklong-l] Complete (I hope) scene list 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 Touchstone‹talking-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. (³ŒTis 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 heartŠ. 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 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. Winter¹s Tale v. iHIV (Gail¹s 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 itselfŠ 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 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 ‹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.