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
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@cvctx.com
> To: winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:39:58 -0700
> Subject: [Winedale-l] Fwd: CampShakespeare '10
>
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> >
The New Busy think 9 to 5 is a cute idea. Combine multiple calendars with Hotmail. Get busy.
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Clayton Stromberger
Outreach Coordinator
UT Shakespeare at Winedale
College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin
cell: 512-228-1055/ office: 512-471-4726