Very interesting. I saw Redgrave when she played Prospero at the Globe in London. Her take on the character and his relationship to Miranda was very tender. She was criticized for being a weak Prospero, and it's true she was no powerhouse. But for the first time, I liked Prospero and felt his motivation was truly "in care of [Miranda]." In terms of redemption, resolution, and love, she brought it on.

Thanks for the recommendation, Mike!

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

On Tue, May 4, 2010 at 9:11 AM, Mike Godwin <mnemonic@gmail.com> wrote:

Not sure if we can plunder this for ideas, as Terry suggests, but the recent passing of Lynn Redgrave made me think of "Shakespeare For My Father," which I was lucky enough to see in Chicago in 1994.  I liked it very much. As you may know, Redgrave used Shakespeare to mediate her feelings about her father, about redemption, about resolution, and about love. And of course there was plenty of comedy in there too. It made me wonder if there was an affordable copy of the play on Alibris or another of the used-book sites.

Later today, I hope to put together a short summary of the plays we've mentioned so far as serious candidates for scenes.


--m



_______________________________________________
Weeklong-l mailing list
Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l




--
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)