The play was fascinating. The night before, the Actors from the London Stage had just concluded their UT campus performances in a big theater, and so it was interesting to see how they transferred their production from a large proscenium stage to the Winedale theater barn.
All five actors were nimble--vocally and physically--and they used the space creatively. Titania's bower was an umbrella perched on the upper level of the stage. The lovers fell asleep on the stair landings, nicely framed by the handrails. And, if memory serves, Puck liberally helped himself to a sip of the drink of front-row audience member Joann Ayres. Pyramus and Thisbe used a folded umbrella for their self-slaughter, with a funny bit of stage business when the extended umbrella collapsed telescope-like into Thisbe's bosom.
Costumes were minimal--bits of fabric, hats, a handkerchief, etc. adorning ordinary street clothes. Bottom's undershirt was a mesh top that echoed Peter Brook's famous production. The umbrellas were also probably a nod to another famous production, directed by Adrian Noble.
The actors did not hold back on the bawdy stuff. They took a bit of liberty with Quince's line "there is two hard things" (use your imagination and you won't be far off). The translated Bottom definitely liked his new equipment. The wall scene was suitable raunchy. And Oberon's chastisement of Puck--"this is thy negligence"--involved some telekinetic ball-busting.
It was also nice to be in the theater when it wasn't a hundred degrees outside. Though it was the day of the UT/Oklahama game, the theater was full and included a smattering of Camp Shakespeare veterans (including Will Larsen and Augie Stromberger), some of James Loehlin's class of 2010 (who may have had a cup of sack or two as evidence by the amplitude of their guffaws, but who nonetheless were very efficient barn volunteers for set-up, etc.), and Jeff, Clayton, Joy and me from the recent reunion.
It was great to see Doc, who had also arranged for his La Grange High School students to see the play. He reported to me that they liked the dirty parts. Perhaps the only flaw in the evening was that the AFTLS version of the play did not clothe the Philostrate in a stylish Hawaiian shirt.
-----Original Message----- From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Alice Gordon Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 8:52 PM To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Mini-reunion fall 2010
What a handsome quartet.
How was the play?
Love, A
From: Clay Stromberger cstromberger@mail.utexas.edu Reply-To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:58:43 -0500 To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Weeklong-l] Mini-reunion fall 2010
Okay, so it wasn't Zig's garden-by-the-Bay in Oakland, but you may recognize the structure in the background -- four of us were among the folks who came out to Winedale to see the Actors from the London Stage perform "Midsummer" earlier this month. Doc was there too but we weren't able to snag him for this photo... _______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
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