Wow, thanks for the memories, photos, and Angela’s brilliant haikus, Clayton. She was a force. The MND rehearsals and final performance provided some of the best moments (and yuks) that summer. Rest in peace,
dear Angela. Jayne
From:
"shakespeare-at-winedale-email-list@googlegroups.com" <shakespeare-at-winedale-email-list@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Clayton Stromberger <cstromberger@austin.utexas.edu>
Reply-To: "shakespeare-at-winedale-email-list@googlegroups.com" <shakespeare-at-winedale-email-list@googlegroups.com>
Date: Monday, July 29, 2024 at 2:00 PM
To: Robert Faires <robert.faires2787@gmail.com>, carl smith <carl_smith@mac.com>
Cc: Shakespeare Winedale <shakespeare-at-winedale-email-list@googlegroups.com>, "winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org" <winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org>
Subject: Re: [Winedale-l] Re: Angela Breckenridge
All of these remembrances and photos of Angela have been remarkable and moving. You have all expressed much of what I was thinking and feeling as I grappled with this loss.
Thanks to all of you for these little flashes of Angela’s fire, and to Doc for gently breaking the news to us. That obituary was stunning and I felt a pang at remembering how, after talking with Angela once
about her life in New Orleans, I’d had visions of visiting her there and seeing a bit of her world of artistic adventures and teaching and inspiring others. Like the city she loved, she gave off sparks of shared life-cherishing joy and go-for-it intensity
in the face of the tough realities of life. As you said, Jerald, I wished I’d had a chance to get to know her better.
I remember thinking on the first day of the 2015 reunion, as we were working on 1.1 of “Midsummer,” that
wow, Bob’s Theseus got more than he bargained for when he “won” this Hippolyta. Angela came ready to tussle. And Mike and Joy, the fairy trio was something special – watching you three weave your way through Carl’s beautiful arrangement of the Titania
lullaby, it was clear that Angela’s fearless and dynamic movement liberated something in you two. As a trio you were such a tight and well-connected team, and that is evident in every photo I saw as I went back through my reunion snaps. I didn’t manage to
capture the fairies in full sinuous motion, but this one shows you three in full energetic onstage-audience mode.
I love Angela’s “Oh yeah, big shot?!” expression in these Hippolyta photos – this is from 5.1 when Theseus was trying to convince her that his hounds are pretty great too….
Doc I’ll send these to Tedd, thank you for including his contact information.
Sadly I did not manage to interview Angela for my post-reunion oral history project. But I had emailed her to see if she wanted to write any reflections down and send them to me, so we did exchange a few
messages, and she eventually sent me a short note featuring her haikus for the first night (Madge’s brilliant idea!).
First here’s what she wrote in her final note to me:
After some consideration, I remembered the haikus.
The attached is from a journal entry, so may include more than just the poems. I don't know if I ever posted or shared the whole list of
them with you, but more than any other expression I've tried to write about the reunion, these have a preciseness that far exceeds my lame attempts at narrative.
This may explain why those attempts at narrative were so inept. I needed to say less, not work so hard to add to those phrases what amounted
to a superfluity of nothing.
That feels much better.
If you aren't able to use these in the collaborative piece, that's aok.
:)
Ang
And this is the journal entry:
Homework for the Winedale reunion casts. We were to compose a haiku about our experience or feelings about being a student of Shakespeare at Windale. We are to share these with each other on our first night together.
After receiving a postcard from my mentor Grace Tiffany, I finally got inspired.
Haiku 1-8
Funny you should ask
Yes, we sewed them all ourselves
Don’t know why button’s there
Semi-conscious fool
Should’ve skipped the shiner bock
And finished that Crown
I know I know this!
Ev-er-y Syllable!
Vexing stage. Words gone.
[sigh]
Another sonnet?!
Where in my brain will it fit?
Ready? Set? No go!
Hold the mirror up
To eat-breathe-feel every drop
Down to words, words, words
Climb the throne of kings
Sit in or on or ‘afore it
And leave a player
Never wish too much
Accept the dreams you make of
Words gifted, your choice
Silently daybreak
Opens petals of word flow’rs
Grateful for a barn
Love to all,
cs
--
Be vigitant, I beseech you!
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