wow... we have a play

After yesterday's rehearsal I (for the first time thus far) took an objective look at the work we've all been doing and had the realization, "Wow. We have a play."

I was very pleased with my own work yesterday, which is nice, but that feeling was exponentially increased while watching the rest of the cast work. Since I'm not in Acts III or IV I got to watch, and let me tell you, everyone is doing an incredible job. I'm seeing some subtlety and nuances in my classmates that I've never seen before and it's truly inspiring to watch. But above all, it is very clear that everyone in the cast has been putting SO MUCH WORK into this piece. Everyone is pulling their own weight and bringing new stuff to the table every rehearsal and it's amazing to be a part of. And when Duke pulled that banana out of his tights I almost shit my pants. I just wanted to let everyone know all of this because I'm grateful to be surrounded by such dedicated actors and a brilliant director (legitimate thought, not ass-kissing).

- Frank

Sir Mandy...

So there was an article in the New York Times about Mandy Patinkin (Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride) who is now playing Prospero at the Classic Stage Company. I know we have been grappling with being word-perfect with our text this week (and over the past few months, as well), and he had a quote in the article about what an undertaking it was for him to get the text into his mind and body:

'Memorizing the role, Mr. Patinkin said, was another challenge: "It took 10 weeks, three to four hours a day, walking all over the streets and in the park and the gym. Finally, I had the part of Prospero in my brain. And then I spent three months just walking around and thinking about it."'

So, yeah, I guess the bottom line is that this stuff takes wagon-loads of time and effort (at least for Mandy Patinkin). The article itself is pretty cool, as well, so I am attaching the link. See you all tonight!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/theater/14roth.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

- Sir Andrew

Toby's penance

After I hit John in the mouth today, I figured I better find out where I'm really supposed to hit him.

Now we can all fashion our bodies into deadly weapons.

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0112643/english/safety_ppoints.htm#body

Feste’s findings

I have been thinking a lot lately about icons, images, and models for Feste. The haggard (a mature wild hawk or falcon) and the magician. I have been feeling a bit androgynous in rehearsals, trying to pay attention to carrying a male physique but I’ve been slipping into tactics that I think females use more often than males. I feel like a woman especially when acting as a more female figure toward Antonio in ‘Bring Me a Boat.’ It’s just an interesting thing to think about.

As I have been thinking about this image of a haggard I found this passage from Anne William’s “Art of Darkness”:

As the lovers prepare to depart, Porphyro declares the storm “Of haggard seeming but a boon indeed” (1. 344; my emphasis). The text of “La Belle Dame” shows that to Keats “haggard” is a word loaded with the wight of mortality, a mortality quite conventionally associated with the feminine: the Knight is called “so haggard and so woe-begone” (1. 6). The various meanings of “haggard” themselves reveal these feminine associations. Beneath the current senses of “thin and worn” and “emaciated” lie the obsolete ones of “wild-eyed,” “wantan,” “unchaste,” “intractable,” “willful.” And “hag,” the syllable buried in the word, is a harpy or witch, a female demon, a nightmare.

I have also attached this link for your viewing…please excuse the cheesy music and introduction, but I think that Feste’s inner energy is very haggard-like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW7wsDhouus

I think his outer energy is very much like Edward Norton’s character in this clip from THE ILLUSIONIST. The sword trick is one that is playful and entertaining on the outside, but also has a tinge of truth and challenge underneath. It is a trick that Feste would love to share.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgOnwRrfUuA&feature=related

Observation exercise

Black Shirt Wearing John Cusak Look-Alike Man

So, yesterday I went to Ritter's and observed the above man. Here is what I found. . .

-takes up more space; isn't afraid to spread out over the whole booth
-Roaming Eyes: will look in the eye for a bit and then switches to looking right, left, or down quickly
-always either looked at people straight on or with chin tilted up (never "looking up" to them)
-less spacially polite; pounding on table to emphasize, gesturing with utensils
-always moving something, even if very slight; hardly ever FULLY still
-heel tap when sitting randomly, never more than one at a time
-almost always either chewing on a toothpick or moving lips or jaw very slightly
-not held anywhere; very loose when at rest
-rests with mouth open
-always adjusts hips when sitting down or changing positions
-uses his chin to communicate directions instead of pointing
-sometimes would sit with arms above head (right arm holding left wrist and left wrist facing up; both wrists resting on top of head)
-touch his nose with his thumb with rest of his hand in a fist
-uneven shoulders; not sitting straight
-completely confident air (status: equal or better than others at the table)
-don't always turn head to look, but cock it and use eyes instead
-leads from his belly
-sometimes sit with weight on outside of feet, sickled
-doesn't ever support his own weight with sitting up straight: always leaning on something (back against the wall, hand on thigh or bench, table)
-walking strides are wider (not longer)
-kicks a little forward before putting foot down when walking
-arms swing, very nonchalant: more lower arms than anything else
-one arm swings a little more than the other

from Sir Andrew,,,

Sir Toby and Sir Andrew Redux:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R65fWlSLoZo

Skip to 2:36 for Toby and Andrew.




Thanks, see you at rehearsal.

Were we not born under Taurus

If I'm a man born under the sign of the bull, I figured I better figure out what implications it has.

Taurus, an earth sign, is the second sign of the Zodiac, ruled by the planet venus. It is a sign of strength and solidarity with great appreciation for sensual pleasures and a propensity for excess (cue alchoholism). Interestingly, Taurus is a sign of of great stability and discipline, which also yields great stubbornness. While, I've been somewhat broken of my discipline, the stubbornness is very apparent, "I'll drink to her as long as their is passage in my throat..."

S[eaking of throats, another interesting little tidbit: rather than governing legs and thighs, as I say in the first act, Taurus actually governs the throat, and Tauruses usually possess strong and pleasant voices, with immense appreciation for music and singing, "Lets a have a song!"

Tauruses also tend to be a bit materialistic and are quite dexterous in their pursuit of the good life.

Taureans passionate nature places great emphasis on fidelity and honor, and they make great and generous friends, though the rapport is oftentimes unspoken. They are often physically very strong and solidly builty, though they need to engage in consistent exercise to compensate for their somewhat indulgent nature.

Sounds like there's a lot of Toby in here to me, with a few discrepancies here and there (only stemming from his fall from grace, of course). It's interesting though to think about the kind of man I was before I retiring from the military...