Amen, Clayton, amen.
m
From: Clayton Stromberger [mailto:cstromberger@austin.utexas.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 02:13 PM
To: Barker, Michael
Cc: James Ayres <jayres(a)cvctx.com>om>; winedale-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org 1970-2000 alums
<winedale-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Subject: Re: [Winedale-l] Camp Shakespeare
So much to talk about after that day and those performances. The Porter, for starters,
did not need to fear being forgotten. His droll sauciness and absolute sense of
self-possession was such a startling contrast in that moment of spiritual bleakness and
hasty deception, just as I'm sure it was meant to be. You have to wonder how he ended
up in that castle, and what he thinks about all that happens next....
Michael and Aubrey, I think you are right, it was a performance that sent you deep into
the play, and inspired you to want to read the play again and figure out, "Why did I
never notice that before?"
A brilliant touch: Lines were reassigned in several scenes to amplify the echo of the
"threes" in the play. Along with three "Way-yard Sisters" (the
original pronunciation was kept, a wonderful touch) and the three murderers and the three
apparitions, the Old Man and Ross became Three Old Men, each with walking sticks,
old-timers bearing the woes of age and of the time as they croaked and wheezed out their
stories of dire sights. Later, the scene with Lennox and a Lord became a scene of Three
Lords who spoke almost chorally to the audience of the events. At the beginning, the
Bloody Man became the Three Bloody Men. A mysterious world where these threes kept coming
around. And of course the threes gave new opportunities for diligent teamwork.
Then, speaking of scenes and moments overlooked in previous readings, Doc kept the Thomas
Middleton insertions from the Folio -- those bits we usually skip over with a smirk
("Obviously Shakespeare couldn't have written THIS!"). I've never seen
a performance with Hecate and the songs, because in most productions (think of the famous
RSC one with Ian McKellan) they just wouldn't fit -- it would be jarring. But in the
Barn, with the joyful play of the Camp kids as our guide, those scenes were delightful
openings for the ensemble to create a different kind of magic. I was fortunate enough to
be visiting Camp for an article I was writing for Alcalde the afternoon the kids and
counselors and interns sat in a big circle in the "Great Room" to begin
improvising the tunes for the two songs -- for one, they started with a pounding, haunting
melody pounded out by Gabe (Macbeth) on the keyboard and the layers were added one
improvisation and suggestion at a time. In the end the songs were something you'd
want to keep on a CD, with Hecate -- a middle-schooler from Gonzales, TX -- presiding over
it from the balcony, arms spread wide in a pose of macabre glee, and the witches dancing
and spinning in sync below.
It was especially exciting to see the Camp first-timers dive in whole-heartedly and play
with the veteran Campers; you could sense (as we often did at at Winedale, and I certainly
felt this way about my first summer) that these new participants were just now realizing
their full potential to be a part of this process of creation, and were kind of happily
stunned to realize, "Yes, I can do this, I'm actually doing it now!"
My favorite moment of the Camp reunion was seeing the Macbeth crew and all of the kids
from all of the different years in a big circle, and then big semi-circle, singing the
same songs -- kids who are now college juniors and kids who are off to sixth grade, all
smiling as they helped each other sing along. At a certain point in the "Irish
Dement" song, which itself came out of Doc's Winedale classes of the '90s,
they all spontaneously began dancing with linked arms, my son Augie (a three-time Campers)
swinging around with his buddy Kiran (Don Pedro in the first session) as a dozen other
pairs did the exact same thing, without any prompting.
And yes it was also a Winedale reunion of sorts, which was great -- along with all
mentioned before, I also spoke with Lynn McGuire and Leigh Hopper from the
"weekenders" group of two summers ago. And of course Kris Betts, class of
'83, who will be working with Camp next summer, and whose daughter is in James's
class -- a whole strand of connections going at once, thanks to this very unique place.
And I may be forgetting some folks too, it was a lovely and intense whirlwind.
A simple, sweet highlight for me was sitting next to Santi Dietche, a big kid now at UT
(studying film, working at Alamo Drafthouse down the street from us in South Austin), and
a former Camper and Outreach participant. As we sat waiting for part two to begin, he
said to me, and to no one in particular, "It's just great to be back home."
The next day he posted a photo of the Barn stage with the caption, "My favorite
theater in the world." Amen to all of that. We all have our stories and our
histories from our time there -- Winedalers, Campers -- and we can all call it home, to
the person sitting next to us, or to ourselves in our quiet moments alone.
Thanks for that, Doc.
Hope to see a bunch more of you back home sometime later this summer or next.
cheers,
cs
On Jul 17, 2012, at 4:39 PM, Barker, Michael wrote:
Well, dear friends, I had the most incredible experience on Saturday celebrating the 10th
Anniversary of Camp Shakespeare.
Kathy drove (thank you, Kathy) with Stan, Malcolm and myself arriving at 1030 am.
There was a brunch under the trees at the picnic tables and then all the alums formed a
semi circle and individuals did speeches from a variety of plays they had performed in the
past. Each one was staggering. The spirit of each character was so full. I’ve never
seen a Rosalind so energetic, Benedick’s speech to Claudio was never so humorous,
Jacques so wise and melancholy, Touchstone so free spirited, etc.
One graduate played Hamlet’s father’s ghost and I had no idea how powerful that speech
could be out of the context of the play. When he finished that short speech, I felt
every action that was to follow in the play. One of the students, I believe he is ten,
did a Dogberry soliloquy that defies description. Doc said the boy’s name and he came
bursting into the middle of the semicircle ready to go. Doc started describing who he was
which prevented him from starting and the kid kept looking at Doc for the go ahead,
chomping at the bit. The boy was like the road runner ready to go at the starting line
waiting for the gun to go off, but Doc wasn’t letting him just yet. Doc said “go” and
I’m telling you this kid is not human, he’s a force of nature. He captured a complex very
human Dogberry that was also larger than life that I didn’t think possible.
These kids, both in the speeches before the performance and during the performance of
Macbeth, not only have command of the language, but they put us all to shame in the areas
of projection and articulation.
Now I come to the performance of Macbeth. Wow.
This was a Macbeth that had more action than Pulp Fiction.
It moved like lightning and was as engaging and as full a meal as any fine production of
Shakespeare in my memory.
The act of watching them play the parts was an act of almost doing it with them. What I
saw here is what we experienced in Winedale when I was there in 73, 74, and 75. The
performances grew out of knowledge of the text and the play, but also their individual
performances grew organically out of aspects of Shakepeare’s characters that spoke to
these kids’ own individual personalities. Playing these characters came from deep
within their world view as living people in the 21st century. What gets me is they are
better than all of us ever were (sorry). Too bad they have to become inhibited adults
who panic when they forget their lines and constantly choose the literal over free
imagination. The most important thing is they were having a ball. These young people had
confidence because they know they are doing something so accomplished, beyond what most
people can do or have the opportunity to do. The passion and sincerity of these kids blow
me away. Their power of persuasion in direct communication with the audience is
staggering.
Let’s start with the witches. Every scene with the witches grew in intensity with more
and more at stake until the peak scene before the battle in the second act. This was a
seamless dramatic progression. Who would have thought that it would be totally
appropriate to have one of the witches wearing red framed glasses (Bob Pees’ daughter).
At the very end when the witches follow Malcolm in victory in a ghostly fashion, it really
gaies you the chills. Be careful, what you wish for Malcolm, old buddy, when you get
that much power it’s the beginning of the end. Macbeth was extremely dashing and
perfectly nuanced in his performance. But let’s talk Lady Macbeth. Here we have an
actress who is so good she expresses the emotions of each line with her eyes, her
fluttering eyebrows, and shuddering eyelids. Unbelievable. How on earth does someone do
that. She was a perfectl Lady Macbeth ( Doc and JoAnn’s granddaughter). It was hard to
believe the lovely, sweet girl I met before the performance could be so bad news an hour
later on the stage. I could go on about everyone, because they all had strengths, from
the genuine passion of the girl who played Hecate to the guy who played MacDuff. Here I
have to pause, MacDuff blew me away. When is the last time you heard someone say that.
He became such a major character in the way this fellow played it. The emotions he
expressed were so raw and genuine that the death of his wife and son became simply
intolerable when you looked into his face. The anguish in his voice and face and body
upon hearing this news, you knew Macbeth was a goner. Oscars have been won for less.
Then there was the swordfight between Macbeth and Macduff. The sword clashing was so
intense I had to cover my ears (I certainly couldn’t cover my eyes, I didn’t want to miss
anything). I was so sure one of those swords was headed straight for my face that I
couldn’t believe Doc would allow such danger. That’s when it all came back to me. The
risks you take at Winedale, the risks of failure, the happiness in triumph. Astonishing.
The tears came to all of us giving those kids and Doc that standing ovation.
Viva Camp Shakespeare, viva Doc, viva the Barn.
I’m so appreciative for all of it.
Great to see so many of you this weekend (Jeff, Laura, Madge, Jerald, Susan).
Thank you all from the past, present, and now this weekend I have even seen the future.
In the context of Winedale it is all good.
Sincerely, michael
From:
winedale-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org<mailto:winedale-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org>
[mailto:winedale-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of James Ayres
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2012 10:15 PM
To: winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org<mailto:winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org> 1970-2000
alums
Subject: [Winedale-l] Camp Shakespeare
Something wicked this way comes. For sure! The kids will be performing Macbeth Friday
the 13th! big time magic! at 7. and on Saturday at 1. Both at Winedale. Brunch at 10
before performance if you can join us. Michael Barker is coming so be there or .....
Kirsten, Kathy, Jayne, Craig, and Joy can tell you about Much Ado. It was great to have
them cheering the kids on. The Friday night performance of ADO was very close to being
the best at Winedale since the Camp Sh '08 Hamlet.
So, once again, here is your invitation to join us at Winedale for another special moment.
Please e-mail me for reservations. Please do not make them on line with UT. When you do
that, I receive the notice about one hour before the performance. That service does not
communicate well. I would like more advance notice so I can save you special seats.
Bob Pees daughter, Jessica will bewitching all of us. And my granddaughter, Paxton, will
ladymacbething it.
We're excited. Our 10th anniversary.
Cheers,
Doc
_______________________________________________
Winedale-l mailing list
Winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org<mailto:Winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org>
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/winedale-l
Clayton Stromberger
Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale
College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin
www.shakespeare-winedale.org<http://www.shakespeare-winedale.org>
cell: 512-363-6864
UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
