Ahh, Clayton, thank you for so beautifully
expressing the fun, the energy, the amazement, and of course, our gratitude
to Michael for such a memorable evening.......and...since you mentioned
it.......
Madge
said it well. Thank you Michael for bringing so many of us together.
I counted eight from this list in all, including Doc, who by a wonderful
coincidence was celebrating his wedding anniversary last night with JoAnn.
I
have to tell the story a bit, to celebrate our host. We had a lovely time,
and Michael was so generous and thoughtful about every detail. After
being shooed in to the renovated State Theater by Michael, waltzing giddily past
all the folks waiting in line (!), we watched "In a Better World," and yes, it
was a gripping, beautiful film, go see it when it hits town and tell others
about it, we were all transported. Amazing performances. Then we
walked through downtown Austin, which was all abuzz with sparkling lights and
heady SXSW energy, and made our way to the posh new W Hotel near the river.
Our destination was a back room of its snazzy restaurant. I felt
like we'd suddenly landed at an after-Oscars party. Waitresses whizzed in
for fancy cocktail orders. Rumors swirled of Kevin Bacon's appearance at
the bar. And at the end of one of the two tables in our room sat Susanne
Bier, the Academy-Award-winning director of the film, beaming. Michael
graciously introduced each of us to her during the evening and we were honored
to be known his "Shakespeare friends."
(Oh,
and to continue promoting the film, it was fascinating to hear her speak about
it after the screening -- she was on "Fresh Air" recently and you can find that
interview on the npr website.)
Then
Michael got our attention to say something. He began to tell Ms. Bier the
story of Doc and the rest of us emailing him during the Oscars, and how he had
this virtual Winedale cheering section during the ceremony. He joked about
how Doc had first sent him an email early in the evening... "And he clearly had
no idea where I was!" -- so Michael texted him a photo of the back of Rupert
Murdoch's head....
Anyway:
as a special treat, in response to all our real-time email support,
Michael told everyone that he'd asked Susanne to bring something special along
to dinner. She suddenly pulled out out from somewhere a zippered
homemade-looking pillow-cover kind of thing, and began to open it, and, sure
enough.... there it was, all gleaming and magical... the Oscar.
Wow.
We
took turns holding it, somewhat stunned, admiring its heft, daydreaming and
roleplaying (Doc launched into a comic gem of a mimed speech) for a fleeting
moment... except for Terry, who wouldn't hold it but posed for a photo making
rabbit ears over Oscar's head.
And
yes we held it for each of you who couldn't be there with us.
So,
it was a big Oscar-winning night for Shakespeare at Winedale, and expect to
receive some funny photos of various reunion folks holding an Oscar over the
weekend.
It
was great also to meet Michael's oldest daughter (a talented film director) and
son-in-law (a charming young Norwegian who just stepped away from a career as a
diplomat, had a really wonderful conversation with him) -- I expect you lucky
New Yorkers will get the chance to hang out with them down the road -- and their
friends. Terrific company. I hope all these folks can gather again
someday, with more of you there as well.
I
ended the evening amazed at how each person in that room had a story to tell,
and a gift to share with the others around them, whether it was Lisa talking
about her son Max, or Donna about her work and the film project about Terry, or
Maggie's husband Steve about his love of music.... So, forgive me for
waxing thankful, but I just want to say in closing (wrapping up my acceptance
speech?) that I'm so grateful to know each of you, especially as I grow older
and see what a challenge it is to keep true friendships alive and blooming.
Michael talked during his UT film school visit about how his goal is to
help create films that are "evergreens." That's a great word for what the
folks on this list are in my life. So thank you for that, thank you Doc
for bringing us all together, and thank you again Michael for a memorable
evening.
See all of you at a Camp Shakespeare performance this summer, I hope, if
not before.
cheers,
cs
P.S.
Here is a link to the youtube clip of Ms. Bier winning the Oscar and then
thanking our own dear Michael from the podium... and yes we held that same darn
statue! I'm still starstruck....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez8L_DDLPSs
On Mar 12, 2011, at 12:04 AM, Madge Darlington wrote:
What an incredible evening! Thank you Michael
for hosting tonight. The film is indescribably good and everyone should
see it. I feel blessed to be in the company of all of you on this list
and feel lucky that I got to see so many of you in person
tonight.
Love,
Madge
On Fri, Mar 11, 2011 at 5:12 PM, Maggie Megaw
<maggie@bizaffairs.com>
wrote:
We are on the ground-- see you shortly!
Maggie Megaw
Business Affairs Inc
2415 Main
Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405
--
Madge Darlington
Co-Producing Artistic
Director
Rude Mechanicals
Co-Director
Grrl Action
(512)
627-6038
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Clayton Stromberger
Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale
College of
Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin
www.shakespeare-winedale.orgcell:
512-363-6864
UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726