Bob
Wow! Have you been waiting for this for years? I can barely yank myself out of
work mode to contemplate playing and here you are with 3 hours of scenes
readimade. Damn, i already feel the full inadequacy of my pathetic
preparation.... Oh well, chalk it up to another typical winedale experience.
Meanwhile, can i plead for a little JOY (the emotion not the comrade) and
sillliness - will try to come up with something more than the interlude from MND
Yours in embarrasment
Bruce
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Sent: 5/3/2010 2:59:18 PM
Subject: Some more scene ideas
Hi everyone,
Here are some additional ideas for scenes. For what it's worth, I am fine with
fan favorites as well as more obscure gems.
A few ideas for possible opening scenes
1. Hamlet III, ii. Hamlet's advice to the players. Perhaps an effective way
to swell an opening scene with our entire crew of patches. ( Just fyi, the act,
scene and line numbers in this email refer to the Riverside Shakespeare, Second
Edition.)
2. Sonnet 30 ("When to the sessions of sweet silent thought/I summon up
remembrance of things past,..."), a fitting poem for a reunion.
3. Henry V Prologue (Might be interesting to somehow marry the "Muse of Fire"
speech with James Loehlin's traditional no-smoking injunction at the beginning
of a performance; perhaps the Chorus could get busted for lighting a cigarette)
Revenge and Cruelty
4. 3 Henry VI, I.iv.. This scene is to Shakespeare what a mechanical shark was
to Steven Spielberg-it's an early-career stroke of genius with more than a hint
of sensationalism. Richard Duke of York is ensnared by adversaries led by the
powerful Queen Margaret, who mockingly coronates him with a paper crown. Before
his brutal execution, York delivers a number of choice insults, including the
line "O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!" This is a truly great scene
that remains relatively little known.
5. Titus Andronicus, II, iv.. Enter the Goth empress's sons, Chiron and
Demetrius, ridiculing Lavinia, whom they had just mutilated and raped. Exeunt
Chiron and Demetrius and enter Lavinia's uncle Marcus. His speech upon seeing
his niece is a real challenge for any actor.
Love
6. Othello, I.iii. 60-169. Confronted by an angry Brabantio, who claims that
his daughter was seduced by sorcery, Othello explains how he won the love of
Desdemona: "She lov'd me for the dangers I had pass'd,/And I lov'd her that she
did pity them./This only is the witchcraft I have us'd."
7. Romeo and Juliet , III.ii, 1-31. Juliet delivers her ecstatically
passionate soliloquy "Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds" A great speech.
Though the soliloquy stands on its own, the next 111 lines also feature a
remarkable exchange between Juliet and the Nurse, who shares with Juliet the
news of Tybalt's death and Romeo's banishment.
8. Sonnets 40, 116, 130, 138 or any of a number of others.
Jealousy
9. Antony and Cleopatra, II, v. A messenger from Rome reports to Cleopatra
that Antony has married Octavia. Cleopatra's reaction is befitting a woman who
is never, never, never, never, never off-stage. I think this scene has much
comic potential.
10. The Winter's Tale, II., iii. Holding Queen Hermione's infant son, her
loyal friend Paulina confronts King Leontes, who, blinded by jealousy, refuses
to acknowledge the child as his: "This brat is none of mine,..."
11. Othello, III, iii. Famous scene where Iago plants and carefully
cultivates the seeds of jealousy in Othello's mind.
12. Sonnets 138, 142 and others
Treachery and Lechery
13. Cymbeline, II, ii. The villain Iachimo smuggles himself into Imogen's
bed-chamber via a trunk. Short scene but highly dramatic.
14. Measure for Measure, II, iv. The powerful Angelo will spare a nun's
brother...in exchange for her virginity.
Drinking and Carousing
15. Antony and Cleopatra, II, vii. Drunken Romans, geopolitics, a Bacchanalian
song and dance-what could be better?
16. Any of a half-dozen scenes featuring Falstaff
17. The Tempest scenes with Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo (the task here would
be to make the scenes, as Terry Galloway suggests, new and fresh rather than
recycled; the Toby,/Clown/Aguecheek noisemaking scene in Twelfth Night also
falls into this category)
18. The Porter scene in the Scottish Play
Time
19. The theme of time seems appropriate for a 40th Anniversary reunion. A
number of scenes in Richard II, The Winter's Tale, and other plays emphasize
Time, and dozens of the Sonnets also play with the theme. And multiple scenes
in Lear deal with age. Finally, let's not forget the fat knight's "ill white
hairs" described by King Henry in 2 Henry IV (it would be great to have the
banishment speech included!).
A few ideas for possible closing scenes
20. The Epilogue to Henry VIII. ("All the expected good w' are like to
hear/For this play at this time, is only in/The merciful construction of good
women,..." is a line that could be a tribute to those six who have in this
process acquired the collective shorthand title of the "gals')
21. The Epilogue to The Tempest ("Now my charms are all o'erthrown"), or
Prospero's speech after the pageant ("Our revels now are ended"). A bit
predictable but crowd favorites for good reasons.
22. A bawdy jig.
And I suspect that we could also just throw darts at random pages of Hamlet and
Lear and identify more great scenes. My list above also doesn't harvest enough
from the great comedies.
Best regards,
Bob
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