I feel bad for the '75 and '86 classes sometimes, since 1980 was the best
year. First time three plays had been done both weekends. (Three plays had
been done before, but not every weekend -- that was 1978.) First time a
complete tragedy ("King Lear") had been done in the summer. (When I
mentioned this on the street to Jerald Head, he dismissively said our doing
Lear "would be a tragedy, all right." He underestimated us.)
Of course, we had ringers. Terry Galloway, for example. And Jeff Larsen. We
also had, for the first time anywhere, both Cindy and Teresa Jaynes on the
same stage. Robert Faires was there. Some guy named Bruce Meyer. Joy Howard
(who'd been the Nurse in a spring R&J, but now was cast as a twin Dromio to
Robert Perica's Dromio). Phyllis, Caryl, Rich -- everyone was special, and
if you had been to Winedale before (as I had, just the previous summer -- I
returned in 1980 lucky enough to play in the shadow of these greats!), it
was obvious that all the great streams of magic had converged. Sure, 1983
was great -- not least because the "Hamlet" that Clayton remembers had Mize,
Larsen, and Rando (all of whom had participated in 1980). Yes, 1986 was
great, not least because the class of 1980 had shown just how it all could
be done.
Not that I can claim to be much more than a witness to the sheer greatness
of 1980. (If I have seen less far than other men, it is because giants are
standing on my shoulders.) But when I hear Jerald or Zieg reminisce, I sigh
and smile sadly, shaking my head, thinking "Ah, if they only knew."
Love,
--Mike
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 7:12 PM, Clay Stromberger <
cstromberger(a)mail.utexas.edu> wrote:
Thank you Eric for luring the reclusive Dr. Head out
in the open! He took
the bait.
Fear not, Jerald, anyone who set foot in the barn after the summer of '75
has wished for a time machine so they could somehow turn back the cruel
clock and sneak into that parade.... I was only 82 miles away that summer, a
goofy teenager messing around with a Super 8 movie camera, and I still am
ticked off (unfairly of course) at my parents for not taking me out there to
see it. Your wonderful little description only makes me wish to go back in
time even more.
But let me add that if you were not in attendance for the summer of '86,
you missed some really amazing, amazing moments, earned through, as I
recall, intense hard work and genuine suffering and
crawling-up-from-the-depths effort. Even the unflappable Zig looked stunned
and drained after those performances. We told him the group was terrific.
"Really?" he asked, dazed.
And I have to say that being a part of the first Winedale "Hamlet" in '83
with Rando, Larsen, Mize & Co. wasn't too darn bad.
I even remember that the summer of 2000, Doc's last, so far from the days
of the Polka Dots, had many moments of aching beauty and riveting ensemble
electricity. Still the best "Pericles" I've ever seen. And the Camp
Shakespeare Bad Quarto "Hamlet" a few years ago may have been, as Doc put it
himself, the best complete performance I've ever witnessed in the Barn.
Kids ages 10 to 14 or so who weren't even alive when Don Pedro and that
parade marched into the Barn.
Doc always has had, and shared, that rare gift for looking backwards (to
the glories of '71, '75, other breakthroughs) and forward (what THIS group
can do with its potential) at the same time. There was always something
great to be done, with the lesson being, there still is today. That's one
of the experiences we all share, no matter what summer we were lucky enough
to alight in that old barn.
Come out to Camp Shakespeare performances next weekend and you'll see it's
still going on, this very moment.
cheers,
clayton s.
On Jun 11, 2010, at 8:47 PM, Jerald Head wrote:
Heat indeed. And now we start. The best class of Shakespeare at Winedale?
Such competition, how tiresome and unnecessary. Really there is only one
best class, and we all know it was the legendary Class of '75. The "Much
Ado" will forever be remembered as a turning point in the history of
Winedale. Not only for the fact that it was the first year a complete play
was performed, but also for the use of the entire community and surroundings
for the beginning, including the parade with soldiers on horseback and the
amazing Polka Dots marching ensemble. I really did not want to participate
in such a discussion of "The Best..." but for sake of historical accuracy, I
felt compelled to respond. I feel this should be the end of this discussion.
Besides who the hell is Autolycus? Some ancestor of Odysseus? Oh now I
remember. Wasn't he a character, a peddler or something, in one of those
"problem" plays, "The Winters Tale." I recall seeing it in the barn
perhaps
in the 80's but the Reagan years all seem to blur together for some reason.
I vaguely recall a frozen statue and some pastoral nonsense involving
sheep. I recall that the statue did a fine job of being a statue,
outstanding in fact. So lets put an end to this petty "best of" nonsense. We
are all proud Winedaleans. It is just that some of us have much more to be
proud of as we approach this historic reunion than others.
Sincerely,
Jerald, proudly a member of the historic class of '75.
On Jun 11, 2010, at 6:00 PM, James Ayres wrote:
Good for you, Eric. All we need is a bit more heat!
Doc
On Jun 11, 2010, at 8:07 AM, Thomas, Eric wrote:
Doc,
David has thousands of fans so be prepared. Start cooking, pull out the
extra chairs, and just go ahead and expand the barn. Has there ever been a
better Autolycus at Winedale? And now that I think about it, was there ever
a better class (Summer ’86)?
Just thought I’d try to heat up this list-serv a bit.
Eric
*From:* winedale-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org [
mailto:winedale-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org<winedale-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org>
] *On Behalf Of *James Ayres
*Sent:* Thursday, June 10, 2010 7:43 PM
*To:* David Ziegler
*Cc:* winedale-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
*Subject:* Re: [Winedale-l] Fwd: CampShakespeare '10
While we have not made final arrangements for everything I can report this
with some degree of confidence:
1) Performance is at 2:00, n'est-ce pas?
Yes.
2) Is there a banquet or bbq or meal and further celebrations afterwards?
Yes.
3) Until what time is above event to unfold?
Probably about 7.
4) Are we out of Winedale that evening, out of our accomodations? (Sp)
No. You have reservations for the evening of the 14.
5) Or are we staying through the evening and vacating on August 15?
Yes. After breakfast.
Sorry to have to ask someone to repeat him or herself, but fans are lining
up and would like me to clarify these details.
Just how many "fans" are you talking about?
Looking forward (you can't IMAGINE how much) to being with you all!
David
From: jayres(a)cvctx.com
To: winedale-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:39:58 -0700
Subject: [Winedale-l] Fwd: CampShakespeare '10
>
------------------------------
The New Busy think 9 to 5 is a cute idea. Combine multiple calendars with
Hotmail. Get
busy.<http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?tile=multicalendar&…
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Clayton Stromberger
Outreach Coordinator
UT Shakespeare at Winedale
College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin
www.shakespeare-winedale.org
cell: 512-228-1055/ office: 512-471-4726
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