What you see...

Hello! Today I went to the library and watched all of the versions of Twelfth Night that I hadn't yet seen (including the ten minute silent version; thanks Beckie!) What I found were really clear examples of a lot of the stuff that we, as a cast, have been trying to focus on.
TIMING!! Most of the movies I watched today were not funny at all. I think I laughed once or twice when Sir Andrew would dance, but that was it. Many of the scenes were so slow that although I knew what was going on, I didn't care at all because I was bored!
Another thing that got me to go back and think and re-evaluate a lot of my choices, was the difference in stakes. In the best versions, every scene had high stakes, and it was so much fun to watch! In the other versions, some of the scenes were discounted and it made me wonder why they were included at all.
Perhaps the most helpful thing to hear was the words that the actors chose to stress. I know Matt has been talking about this a lot as well, but it is nice to hear it from someone outside of yourself or the company you have been working so closely with. Yes, the language sounded beautiful when the actors took their time and indulged each word, but the sense and importance were both lost. It was like the words had taken all of the actors hostage and wouldn't let them make any decisions in delivering them. Contrastingly, when the actor chose the most important words to get the sense across, the positive difference was amazing!
Just nice to see/hear some examples of what we have been striving for or fighting against.

-Viola