The Working Actor's Journey: Recent Episodes
Nathan Agin
In The Working Actor's Journey, hear from amazing teachers, role models, and mentors about their lifelong careers. Learn from those who have been acting professionally for decades—to see exactly how they approach the work, what decisions and resources have made the biggest impacts on their artistic lives, and to hear their struggles and successes in the business. How do great actors work? What do they actually do? Let’s find out. These conversations are a virtual toolbox for actors, full of techniques, advice, and lessons learned.
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ Diving deeper into Polonius as he navigates the complexities of Hamlet's madness
➤ The dynamics between Gertrude, Claudius, and Polonius as they discuss Hamlet
➤ Unpacking the implications of love, obedience, and parental control in the relationships
Welcome back to The Rehearsal Room for this season (10!) as we continue our HAMLET Project.
📷 cover photo: Jessica Gibbons
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session.
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality.
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Sandy, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif, and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Benjamin Reigel, Nick Bettens, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Jim Stubbs, Alexandra Mitchell, Sharon McCune, Terry Kerr, Ben Farrow, Adriana Roze, Jessica Gibbons and Aaron Mendelson
AUDIENCE: Steven Helmeke, Frank Tobin, Cindy Griffith, Robert Duerr, Marc Wolf and Ava Burton
A big welcome to the many new participants with this project!
We explore...
- Act 2, Scene 2: Claudius and Gertrude set Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two boyhood friends of Hamlet, to spy on him. As Hamlet and his "friends" talk, a company of touring actors enters and Hamlet persuades one of them to deliver a speech. Hamlet hopes that when the players stage their show for the court, he can determine whether Claudius is guilty of King Hamlet's death.
The link above will take you to the Folio version, which we use heavily here.
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ Diving into Polonius' character as he navigates his role in the royal court
➤ Exploring the dynamics between Hamlet, Ophelia, and their families
➤ Analyzing the implications of madness and love in the play
Welcome back to The Rehearsal Room for this season (10!) as we continue our HAMLET Project.
📷 cover photo: Ben Farrow
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session.
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality.
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Sandy, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif, and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Benjamin Reigel, Nick Bettens, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Jim Stubbs, Alexandra Mitchell, Sharon McCune, Terry Kerr, Ben Farrow, Adriana Roze, Jessica Gibbons and Aaron Mendelson
AUDIENCE: Steven Helmeke, Frank Tobin, Cindy Griffith, Robert Duerr, Marc Wolf and Ava Burton
A big welcome to the many new participants with this project!
We explore...
- Act 2, Scene 2: Claudius and Gertrude set Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two boyhood friends of Hamlet, to spy on him. As Hamlet and his "friends" talk, a company of touring actors enters and Hamlet persuades one of them to deliver a speech. Hamlet hopes that when the players stage their show for the court, he can determine whether Claudius is guilty of King Hamlet's death.
The link above will take you to the Folio version, which we use heavily here.
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ Analyzing Polonius' instructions for spying on Laertes
➤ Ophelia's alarming encounter that leaves her frightened and confused
➤ Claudius' maneuvering about the threat posed by Fortinbras
Welcome back to The Rehearsal Room for this season (10!) as we continue our HAMLET Project.
📷 cover photo: Nick Bettens
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session.
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality.
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Sandy, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif, and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Benjamin Reigel, Nick Bettens, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Jim Stubbs, Terry Kerr, Steven Helmeke and Sharon McCune
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Charles Stransky, Frank Tobin, Cindy Griffith, Rebecca Oettinger, Alexandra Mitchell, Roseann Sheridan, Val Lantz-Gefroh, Chris Chinn, Robert Duerr, Celine Noguiera, Adriana Roze, Ben Farrow, Jessica Gibbons, Aaron Mendelson and Sara Giacomini.
A big welcome to the many new participants with this project!
We explore...
- Act 2, Scene 1: Polonius sends his servant Reynaldo to Paris to question Laertes's acquaintances. Ophelia enters, deeply disturbed about a visit she has just had from an apparently mad Hamlet.
- Act 2, Scene 2: Claudius and Gertrude set Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two boyhood friends of Hamlet, to spy on him. As Hamlet and his "friends" talk, a company of touring actors enters and Hamlet persuades one of them to deliver a speech. Hamlet hopes that when the players stage their show for the court, he can determine whether Claudius is guilty of King Hamlet's death.
The links above will take you to the Folio version, which we use heavily here.
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ Meeting Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet's friends with a secret mission
➤ Exploring Polonius' reaction to the description of Hamlet's strange behavior
➤ Analyzing Claudius' and Gertrude's responses to Hamlet's madness
Welcome back to The Rehearsal Room for this season (10!) as we continue our HAMLET Project.
📷 cover photo: Elizabeth Swain
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session.
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality.
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Sandy, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif, and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Benjamin Reigel, Nick Bettens, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Jim Stubbs, Terry Kerr, Steven Helmeke and Sharon McCune
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Charles Stransky, Frank Tobin, Cindy Griffith, Rebecca Oettinger, Alexandra Mitchell, Roseann Sheridan, Val Lantz-Gefroh, Chris Chinn, Robert Duerr, Celine Noguiera, Adriana Roze, Ben Farrow, Jessica Gibbons, Aaron Mendelson and Sara Giacomini.
A big welcome to the many new participants with this project!
We explore...
- Act 2, Scene 1: Polonius sends his servant Reynaldo to Paris to question Laertes's acquaintances. Ophelia enters, deeply disturbed about a visit she has just had from an apparently mad Hamlet.
- Act 2, Scene 2: Claudius and Gertrude set Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two boyhood friends of Hamlet, to spy on him. As Hamlet and his "friends" talk, a company of touring actors enters and Hamlet persuades one of them to deliver a speech. Hamlet hopes that when the players stage their show for the court, he can determine whether Claudius is guilty of King Hamlet's death.
The links above will take you to the Folio version, which we use heavily here.
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
Welcome back to The Rehearsal Room for this season (10!) as we continue our HAMLET Project.
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ Diving deeper into the relationships introduced in Act 1
➤ Exploring Polonius' nature as he instructs Reynaldo to spy on Laertes
➤ Ophelia's emotional turmoil as she describes her encounter with Hamlet
cover photo: Sharon McCune
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session.
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality.
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Sandy, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif, and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Benjamin Reigel, Nick Bettens, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Jim Stubbs, Terry Kerr, Steven Helmeke and Sharon McCune
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Charles Stransky, Frank Tobin, Cindy Griffith, Rebecca Oettinger, Alexandra Mitchell, Roseann Sheridan, Val Lantz-Gefroh, Chris Chinn, Robert Duerr, Celine Noguiera, Adriana Roze, Ben Farrow, Jessica Gibbons, Aaron Mendelson and Sara Giacomini.
A big welcome to the many new participants with this project!
We explore...
- Act 2, Scene 1: Polonius sends his servant Reynaldo to Paris to question Laertes's acquaintances. Ophelia enters, deeply disturbed about a visit she has just had from an apparently mad Hamlet.
- Act 2, Scene 2: Claudius and Gertrude set Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two boyhood friends of Hamlet, to spy on him. As Hamlet and his "friends" talk, a company of touring actors enters and Hamlet persuades one of them to deliver a speech. Hamlet hopes that when the players stage their show for the court, he can determine whether Claudius is guilty of King Hamlet's death.
The links above will take you to the Folio version, which we use heavily here.
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
Welcome back to The Rehearsal Room as we kick off Act 2 of our HAMLET Project in SEASON 10 🙌, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time.
New sessions are still being produced; we recently crossed one year working on this play and are about to begin Act 4. Yes, a LOT happens in Acts 2 and 3. 😉
For this month, we'll look at Act 2, Sc 1, and then Act 2, Sc 2 (descriptions below) - and scene 2 has so much going on, we spent multiple months on it, hence the "part a".
🏁 In this session, highlights include: ➤ The transition into Act 2 as we reflect on the journey so far (by reading ALL of Act 1!)
➤ A deep dive into Polonius' approach and the implications of his nature
➤ Exploring the complex dynamics between Hamlet and Ophelia
cover photo: actress Terry Kerr
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session.
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality.
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Sandy, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif, and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Benjamin Reigel, Nick Bettens, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Jim Stubbs, Terry Kerr, Steven Helmeke and Sharon McCune
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Charles Stransky, Frank Tobin, Cindy Griffith, Rebecca Oettinger, Alexandra Mitchell, Roseann Sheridan, Val Lantz-Gefroh, Chris Chinn, Robert Duerr, Celine Noguiera, Adriana Roze, Ben Farrow, Jessica Gibbons, Aaron Mendelson and Sara Giacomini.
A big welcome to the many new participants with this project!
We explore...
- Act 2, Scene 1: Polonius sends his servant Reynaldo to Paris to question Laertes's acquaintances. Ophelia enters, deeply disturbed about a visit she has just had from an apparently mad Hamlet.
- Act 2, Scene 2: Claudius and Gertrude set Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two boyhood friends of Hamlet, to spy on him. As Hamlet and his "friends" talk, a company of touring actors enters and Hamlet persuades one of them to deliver a speech. Hamlet hopes that when the players stage their show for the court, he can determine whether Claudius is guilty of King Hamlet's death.
The links above will take you to the Folio version, which we use heavily here.
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ The tension and intrigue that fill Hamlet's encounter with the Ghost
➤ Exploring the themes of secrecy and trust as Hamlet asks his friends to swear silence
➤ Hamlet's emotional journey as he grapples with these revelations
We continue with The HAMLET Project, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time. To our knowledge, this is the first long-form, open rehearsal of this play available online! So yes, something new with Shakespeare. 😁
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality. (See below for options)
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Lee Ernst, Benjamin Reigel, Nick Bettens, Larry Petersen, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Jim Stubbs and Terry Kerr
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Charles Stransky, Steven Helmeke, Frank Tobin, Cindy Griffith, Sharon McCune, Mikaela Kafka, Osborn Focht, Rebecca Oettinger, Alexandra Mitchell and Roseann Sheridan
A big welcome to the many new participants with this project!
We explore...
- Act 1, Scene 5: The Ghost tells Hamlet a tale of horror. Saying that he is the spirit of Hamlet's father, he demands that Hamlet avenge King Hamlet's murder at the hands of Claudius. Hamlet, horrified, vows to "remember" and swears his friends to secrecy about what they have seen.
I'm excited to finally share the amazing work this groups of artists has been doing. And we're still producing new sessions!
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ Hamlet's emotional journey following his encounter with the Ghost
➤ The complexities of the Ghost's character and his impact on Hamlet
➤ Exploring how Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus navigate the revelations
We continue with The HAMLET Project, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time. To our knowledge, this is the first long-form, open rehearsal of this play available online! So yes, something new with Shakespeare. 😁
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality. (See below for options)
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Lee Ernst, Benjamin Reigel, Nick Bettens, Larry Petersen, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Jim Stubbs and Terry Kerr
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Charles Stransky, Steven Helmeke, Frank Tobin, Cindy Griffith, Sharon McCune, Mikaela Kafka, Osborn Focht, Rebecca Oettinger, Alexandra Mitchell and Roseann Sheridan
A big welcome to the many new participants with this project!
We explore...
- Act 1, Scene 5: The Ghost tells Hamlet a tale of horror. Saying that he is the spirit of Hamlet's father, he demands that Hamlet avenge King Hamlet's murder at the hands of Claudius. Hamlet, horrified, vows to "remember" and swears his friends to secrecy about what they have seen.
I'm excited to finally share the amazing work this groups of artists has been doing. And we're still producing new sessions!
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ Exploring the complex relationship between Hamlet and the Ghost
➤ Insights into the Ghost's motivations and emotional turmoil
➤ The implications of revenge and Hamlet's moral dilemmas
We continue with The HAMLET Project, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time. To our knowledge, this is the first long-form, open rehearsal of this play available online! So yes, something new with Shakespeare. 😁
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality. (See below for options)
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Lee Ernst, Benjamin Reigel, Nick Bettens, Larry Petersen, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Jim Stubbs and Terry Kerr
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Charles Stransky, Steven Helmeke, Frank Tobin, Cindy Griffith, Sharon McCune, Mikaela Kafka, Osborn Focht, Rebecca Oettinger, Alexandra Mitchell and Roseann Sheridan
A big welcome to the many new participants with this project!
We explore...
- Act 1, Scene 5: The Ghost tells Hamlet a tale of horror. Saying that he is the spirit of Hamlet's father, he demands that Hamlet avenge King Hamlet's murder at the hands of Claudius. Hamlet, horrified, vows to "remember" and swears his friends to secrecy about what they have seen.
I'm excited to finally share the amazing work this groups of artists has been doing. And we're still producing new sessions!
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ A deep examination of the dynamics between Hamlet, Horatio, and the Ghost
➤ Insights into Polonius' role and his influence on Ophelia and Laertes
➤ How Ophelia is often misrepresented in traditional interpretations
We continue with The HAMLET Project, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time. To our knowledge, this is the first long-form, open rehearsal of this play available online! So yes, something new with Shakespeare. 😁
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality. (See below for options)
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Lee Ernst, Benjamin Reigel, Nick Bettens, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Charles Stransky and Jim Stubbs
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Steven Helmeke, Frank Tobin, Cindy Griffith, Sharon McCune, Mikaela Kafka, Osborn Focht, Rebecca Oettinger, Alexandra Mitchell, Terry Kerr, Gary Lowery and Steve Robinson
A big welcome to the many new participants with this project!
We explore...
- Act 1, Scene 3: Laertes says good-bye to his sister, Ophelia, and tells her not to trust Hamlet's promises of love. Polonius joins them, sends Laertes off, then echoes Laertes's warnings to Ophelia, finally ordering her not to see Hamlet again.
- Act 1, Scene 4: Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus are visited by the Ghost, who beckons for Hamlet to follow and the Prince will not be held back.
I'm excited to finally share the amazing work this groups of artists has been doing. And we're still producing new sessions!
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ Exploring the relationship between Hamlet and the ghost, focusing on memory and loss
➤ An analysis of language and punctuation in Hamlet's initial lines
➤ Insights Marcellus' and Horatio's fears regarding the ghost's intentions
We continue with The HAMLET Project, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time. To our knowledge, this is the first long-form, open rehearsal of this play available online! So yes, something new with Shakespeare. 😁
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality. (See below for options)
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Lee Ernst, Benjamin Reigel, Nick Bettens, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Charles Stransky and Jim Stubbs
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Steven Helmeke, Frank Tobin, Cindy Griffith, Sharon McCune, Mikaela Kafka, Osborn Focht, Rebecca Oettinger, Alexandra Mitchell, Terry Kerr, Gary Lowery and Steve Robinson
A big welcome to the many new participants with this project!
We explore...
- Act 1, Scene 3: Laertes says good-bye to his sister, Ophelia, and tells her not to trust Hamlet's promises of love. Polonius joins them, sends Laertes off, then echoes Laertes's warnings to Ophelia, finally ordering her not to see Hamlet again.
- Act 1, Scene 4: Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus are visited by the Ghost, who beckons for Hamlet to follow and the Prince will not be held back.
I'm excited to finally share the amazing work this groups of artists has been doing. And we're still producing new sessions!
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ Reframing Ophelia as a strong, self-aware woman rather than a passive character
➤ The dynamic of Polonius' family, exploring familial duty and societal expectations
➤ How the characters' relationships influence the unfolding tragedy of the play
We continue with The HAMLET Project, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time. To our knowledge, this is the first long-form, open rehearsal of this play available online! So yes, something new with Shakespeare. 😁
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality. (See below for options)
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Lee Ernst, Benjamin Reigel, Nick Bettens, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Charles Stransky and Jim Stubbs
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Steven Helmeke, Frank Tobin, Cindy Griffith, Sharon McCune, Mikaela Kafka, Osborn Focht, Rebecca Oettinger, Alexandra Mitchell, Terry Kerr, Gary Lowery and Steve Robinson
A big welcome to the many new participants with this project!
We explore...
- Act 1, Scene 3: Laertes says good-bye to his sister, Ophelia, and tells her not to trust Hamlet's promises of love. Polonius joins them, sends Laertes off, then echoes Laertes's warnings to Ophelia, finally ordering her not to see Hamlet again.
- Act 1, Scene 4: Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus are visited by the Ghost, who beckons for Hamlet to follow and the Prince will not be held back.
I'm excited to finally share the amazing work this groups of artists has been doing. And we're still producing new sessions!
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ A deep dive into the relationships between Laertes, Ophelia, and Polonius
➤ An examination of Ophelia's agency and her struggle within her family and society
➤ Insights into familial duty and how it influences the characters' decisions
We continue with The HAMLET Project, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time. To our knowledge, this is the first long-form, open rehearsal of this play available online! So yes, something new with Shakespeare. 😁
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality. (See below for options)
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Lee Ernst, Benjamin Reigel, Nick Bettens, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Charles Stransky and Jim Stubbs
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Steven Helmeke, Frank Tobin, Cindy Griffith, Sharon McCune, Mikaela Kafka, Osborn Focht, Rebecca Oettinger, Alexandra Mitchell, Terry Kerr, Gary Lowery and Steve Robinson
A big welcome to the many new participants with this project!
We explore...
- Act 1, Scene 3: Laertes says good-bye to his sister, Ophelia, and tells her not to trust Hamlet's promises of love. Polonius joins them, sends Laertes off, then echoes Laertes's warnings to Ophelia, finally ordering her not to see Hamlet again.
- Act 1, Scene 4: Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus are visited by the Ghost, who beckons for Hamlet to follow and the Prince will not be held back.
I'm excited to finally share the amazing work this groups of artists has been doing. And we're still producing new sessions!
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ A thorough examination of Claudius' character, that he's more than just a villain
➤ The significance of word choice and delivery to convey deeper meanings in the lines
➤ A focus on physicality in performance and how it enhances the emotional stakes
We continue with The HAMLET Project, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time. To our knowledge, this is the first long-form, open rehearsal of this play available online! So yes, something new with Shakespeare. 😁
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality. (See below for options)
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Lee Ernst, Benjamin Reigel, Larry Petersen, Nick Bettens, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Chuck Stransky, Jim Stubbs, Terry Kerr, Steven Helmeke, Mikaela Kafka, Osborn Focht, Ezra Barnes, Sharon McCune, Rebecca Oettinger, Baron Kelly, James Nester, Roseann Sheridan
We explore Act 1, Scene 2: Claudius, the new king of Denmark, thanks his courtiers for their recent support and dispatches ambassadors to Norway to halt a threatened attack from Fortinbras. He gives Laertes permission to return to France but denies Hamlet's request to return to the university in Wittenberg. Hamlet, mourning for his father's death, is left alone to vent his despair at what he regards as his mother's all too hasty marriage to his uncle, Claudius. Horatio, Barnardo, and Marcellus arrive and tell Hamlet about the Ghost. Hamlet makes plans to join them that night.
I'm excited to finally share the amazing work this groups of artists has been doing. And we're still producing new sessions!
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
We continue with The HAMLET Project, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time. To our knowledge, this is the first long-form, open rehearsal of this play available online! So yes, something new with Shakespeare. 😁
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ A detailed analysis of Hamlet's emotional state following his father's death
➤ Insights into Horatio's loyalty and the significance of friendship in the face of tragedy
➤ The importance of pauses with regard to the tension and urgency of the scene
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality. (See below for options)
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Lee Ernst, Benjamin Reigel, Larry Petersen, Nick Bettens, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Chuck Stransky, Jim Stubbs, Terry Kerr, Steven Helmeke, Mikaela Kafka, Osborn Focht, Ezra Barnes, Sharon McCune, Rebecca Oettinger, Baron Kelly, James Nester, Roseann Sheridan
We explore Act 1, Scene 2: Claudius, the new king of Denmark, thanks his courtiers for their recent support and dispatches ambassadors to Norway to halt a threatened attack from Fortinbras. He gives Laertes permission to return to France but denies Hamlet's request to return to the university in Wittenberg. Hamlet, mourning for his father's death, is left alone to vent his despair at what he regards as his mother's all too hasty marriage to his uncle, Claudius. Horatio, Barnardo, and Marcellus arrive and tell Hamlet about the Ghost. Hamlet makes plans to join them that night.
I'm excited to finally share the amazing work this groups of artists has been doing. And we're still producing new sessions!
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
We continue with The HAMLET Project, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time. To our knowledge, this is the first long-form, open rehearsal of this play available online! So yes, something new with Shakespeare. 😁
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ An exploration of Hamlet's struggle with his mother's hasty remarriage
➤ Insights into Hamlet's responsibilities as a prince and his personal anguish
➤ The importance of staging and audience engagement in conveying Hamlet's emotions
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality. (See below for options)
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Lee Ernst, Benjamin Reigel, Larry Petersen, Nick Bettens, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Chuck Stransky, Jim Stubbs, Terry Kerr, Steven Helmeke, Mikaela Kafka, Osborn Focht, Ezra Barnes, Sharon McCune, Rebecca Oettinger, Baron Kelly, James Nester, Roseann Sheridan
We explore Act 1, Scene 2: Claudius, the new king of Denmark, thanks his courtiers for their recent support and dispatches ambassadors to Norway to halt a threatened attack from Fortinbras. He gives Laertes permission to return to France but denies Hamlet's request to return to the university in Wittenberg. Hamlet, mourning for his father's death, is left alone to vent his despair at what he regards as his mother's all too hasty marriage to his uncle, Claudius. Horatio, Barnardo, and Marcellus arrive and tell Hamlet about the Ghost. Hamlet makes plans to join them that night.
I'm excited to finally share the amazing work this groups of artists has been doing. And we're still producing new sessions!
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
We continue with The HAMLET Project, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time. To our knowledge, this is the first long-form, open rehearsal of this play available online! So yes, something new with Shakespeare. 😁
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ Insights into Hamlet's struggle with grief and the challenges of expressing deep emotions
➤ Exploration of Claudius' motivations and the implications of his actions
➤ A discussion on how the Folio serves as an interpretive tool for actors and its impact on performance
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality. (See below for options)
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Lee Ernst, Benjamin Reigel, Larry Petersen, Nick Bettens, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Chuck Stransky, Jim Stubbs, Terry Kerr, Steven Helmeke, Mikaela Kafka, Osborn Focht, Ezra Barnes, Sharon McCune, Rebecca Oettinger, Baron Kelly, James Nester, Roseann Sheridan
We explore Act 1, Scene 2: Claudius, the new king of Denmark, thanks his courtiers for their recent support and dispatches ambassadors to Norway to halt a threatened attack from Fortinbras. He gives Laertes permission to return to France but denies Hamlet's request to return to the university in Wittenberg. Hamlet, mourning for his father's death, is left alone to vent his despair at what he regards as his mother's all too hasty marriage to his uncle, Claudius. Horatio, Barnardo, and Marcellus arrive and tell Hamlet about the Ghost. Hamlet makes plans to join them that night.
I'm excited to finally share the amazing work this groups of artists has been doing. And we're still producing new sessions!
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
We continue with The HAMLET Project, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time. To our knowledge, this is the first long-form, open rehearsal of this play available online! So yes, something new with Shakespeare. 😁
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ An analysis of Claudius's maneuvering and the implications of his marriage to Gertrude
➤ Insights into Hamlet's emotional turmoil as he grapples with his mother's actions
➤ Discussion on how Gertrude's agency challenges traditional perceptions of her character
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality. (See below for options)
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Lee Ernst, Benjamin Reigel, Larry Petersen, Nick Bettens, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Chuck Stransky, Jim Stubbs, Terry Kerr, Steven Helmeke, Mikaela Kafka, Osborn Focht, Ezra Barnes, Sharon McCune, Rebecca Oettinger, Baron Kelly, James Nester, Roseann Sheridan
We explore Act 1, Scene 2: Claudius, the new king of Denmark, thanks his courtiers for their recent support and dispatches ambassadors to Norway to halt a threatened attack from Fortinbras. He gives Laertes permission to return to France but denies Hamlet's request to return to the university in Wittenberg. Hamlet, mourning for his father's death, is left alone to vent his despair at what he regards as his mother's all too hasty marriage to his uncle, Claudius. Horatio, Barnardo, and Marcellus arrive and tell Hamlet about the Ghost. Hamlet makes plans to join them that night.
I'm excited to finally share the amazing work this groups of artists has been doing. And we're still producing new sessions!
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
We continue with The HAMLET Project, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time. To our knowledge, this is the first long-form, open rehearsal of this play available online! So yes, something new with Shakespeare. 😁
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ Insights into the relationships between the guards
➤ How Shakespeare's punctuation impacts the delivery and emotional weight of the text
➤ Reflections on how a supportive company can elevate the performance
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality. (See below for options)
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Lee Ernst, Benjamin Reigel, Larry Petersen, Nick Bettens
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Elizabeth Dennehy, Paul Nicholas, Lizzie King-Hall
We explore Act 1, Scene 1: On the guards' platform at Elsinore, Horatio waits with Barnardo and Marcellus to question a ghost that has twice before appeared. The Ghost, in the form of the late King Hamlet of Denmark, appears but will not speak. Horatio decides to tell his fellow student, Prince Hamlet, about the Ghost's appearance.
I'm excited to finally share the amazing work this groups of artists has been doing. And we're still producing new sessions!
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
We continue with The HAMLET Project, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time. To our knowledge, this is the first long-form, open rehearsal of this play available online! So yes, something new with Shakespeare. 😁
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ A detailed examination of the Ghost's appearance and its implications for the characters' perceptions of reality
➤ Insights into Horatio's skepticism and the tension it creates among the watchmen
➤ How the Ghost's presence symbolizes unresolved issues within Denmark and foreshadows the chaos to come
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality. (See below for options)
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Lee Ernst, Benjamin Reigel, Larry Petersen, Nick Bettens
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Elizabeth Dennehy, Paul Nicholas, Lizzie King-Hall
We explore Act 1, Scene 1: On the guards' platform at Elsinore, Horatio waits with Barnardo and Marcellus to question a ghost that has twice before appeared. The Ghost, in the form of the late King Hamlet of Denmark, appears but will not speak. Horatio decides to tell his fellow student, Prince Hamlet, about the Ghost's appearance.
I'm excited to finally share the amazing work this groups of artists has been doing. And we're still producing new sessions!
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
We continue with The HAMLET Project, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time. To our knowledge, this is the first long-form, open rehearsal of this play available online! So yes, something new with Shakespeare. 😁
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ An examination of the ghost's appearance and its impact for the characters and Denmark
➤ A discussion on Horatio's speech and how it sets the tone for the unfolding drama
➤ Insights into the roles of Bernardo, Marcellus, and Horatio, and how their interactions reveal deeper truths about fear, loyalty, and uncertainty
We unpack the tension of the night watch, the mystery of the ghost, and the stakes involved as our characters grapple with their reality!
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality. (See below for options)
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Lee Ernst, Benjamin Reigel, Larry Petersen, Nick Bettens
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Elizabeth Dennehy, Paul Nicholas, Lizzie King-Hall
We explore Act 1, Scene 1: On the guards' platform at Elsinore, Horatio waits with Barnardo and Marcellus to question a ghost that has twice before appeared. The Ghost, in the form of the late King Hamlet of Denmark, appears but will not speak. Horatio decides to tell his fellow student, Prince Hamlet, about the Ghost's appearance.
I'm excited to finally share the amazing work this groups of artists has been doing. And we're still producing new sessions!
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
As we begin Season 9, we embark on our BIGGEST venture to date: The HAMLET Project, where we explore one scene (or section) of Shakespeare's Hamlet - one month at a time. To our knowledge, this is the first long-form, open rehearsal of this play available online! So yes, something new with Shakespeare. 😁
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ An in-depth analysis of the opening lines and their implications for character relationships
➤ The exploration of fear and wonder as characters encounter the ghost
➤ A discussion on the use of the First Folio and its impact on performance
These sessions are free for all to enjoy; your support helps us keep this space creative, accessible, and high-quality. (See below for options)
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
- 💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81
- 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin
- 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM for this month:
DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso
ACTORS: Randall Duk Kim, Lee Ernst, Benjamin Reigel, Larry Petersen, Nick Bettens
AUDIENCE: Sandy Robbins, Michele Schultz, Liz Swain, Sarah Mabes, Sandy Ernst, Laurie Strother, Doug Strother, Elizabeth Dennehy, Paul Nicholas, Lizzie King-Hall
We explore Act 1, Scene 1: On the guards' platform at Elsinore, Horatio waits with Barnardo and Marcellus to question a ghost that has twice before appeared. The Ghost, in the form of the late King Hamlet of Denmark, appears but will not speak. Horatio decides to tell his fellow student, Prince Hamlet, about the Ghost's appearance.
I'm excited to finally share the amazing work this groups of artists has been doing. And we're still producing new sessions!
#hamlet #workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #acting #actor #director
From 2018, here's our interview with the wonderful actress Dawn Didawick, who took her final curtain call on December 21, 2025 at age 84. We discuss dealing with fear, having mentors, how to keep working, passing it on and being respectful - and lots more. With a career spanning 50+ years, she accomplished so much and will be missed by all who knew her! I'm grateful to have worked with and learned from her as a young actor - she was always so generous and helpful. Our love goes out to Harry, her husband of 47 years.
Click here for full show notes and links.
Join us as we dive into two scenes featuring Olivia and Viola in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. In our FINAL session (just 3 weeks this round), we conclude this great series from 2025 focused on the two Olivia/Viola scenes Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. This will also wrap up SEASON 8 of The Working Actor's Journey! New episodes will start again in January...
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ The transformative exercise of "Dropping In" to deepen connection
➤ Insights into the grief, identity, and power dynamics present in these interactions
➤ An exploration of the First Folio and its clues to Shakespeare's language and intent
➤ A Q&A with the team, including the value of different interpretations
Act 1, Scene 5: Olivia allows Viola (in her disguise as Cesario) to speak with her privately about Orsino's love, though Olivia ends up falling in love with Cesario.
Act 3, Scene 1: Olivia declares her love to Cesario.
Featuring DIRECTOR Edgar Landa, DRAMATURG Miranda Johnson-Haddad, and ACTORS Anne Gee Byrd (Viola) and Shelby Lewis (Olivia). With your host, Nathan Agin.
Join us as we dive into two scenes featuring Olivia and Viola in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ The nuances of gender identity and disguise in the pursuit of love
➤ Exploring the themes of desire, power dynamics, and emotional vulnerability
➤ The importance of breath control and pacing in delivering lines
Act 1, Scene 5: Olivia allows Viola (in her disguise as Cesario) to speak with her privately about Orsino's love, though Olivia ends up falling in love with Cesario.
Act 3, Scene 1: Olivia declares her love to Cesario.
Featuring DIRECTOR Edgar Landa, DRAMATURG Miranda Johnson-Haddad, and ACTORS Anne Gee Byrd (Viola) and Shelby Lewis (Olivia). With your host, Nathan Agin.
Join us as we dive into two scenes featuring Olivia and Viola in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
🏁 In this session, highlights include: ➤ The significance of gender fluidity and self-expression
➤ Diving into the themes of love, identity, and societal roles
➤ The role of the fool in Shakespeare's works
Act 1, Scene 5: Olivia allows Viola (in her disguise as Cesario) to speak with her privately about Orsino's love, though Olivia ends up falling in love with Cesario.
Act 3, Scene 1: Olivia declares her love to Cesario.
Featuring DIRECTOR Edgar Landa, DRAMATURG Miranda Johnson-Haddad, and ACTORS Anne Gee Byrd (Viola) and Shelby Lewis (Olivia). With your host, Nathan Agin.
Join us as we dive into the lovers fight: Helena is pursued by both Lysander and Demetrius, Hermia threatens Helena, and Lysander and Demetrius prepare to duel - from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ The intricate dynamics of friendship and betrayal between Helena and Hermia
➤ Insights into the rhetorical richness of Shakespeare's language
➤ The challenge of balancing physicality and text in performance
➤ Plus a Q&A with the team!
Featuring DIRECTOR James Newcomb, DRAMATURG Gideon Rappaport, VOICE Ursula Meyer, HELENA Anne Gee Byrd, HERMIA Maggi Veltre, DEMETRIUS Michael Kirby, LYSANDER Garret Botts. With your host, Nathan Agin.
Join us as we dive into the lovers fight: Helena is pursued by both Lysander and Demetrius, Hermia threatens Helena, and Lysander and Demetrius prepare to duel - from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ How to convey action through language
➤ Utilizing plosives and elongated vowels to enhance emotional impact
➤ Vocal dynamics and the use of sound to express conflict
Featuring DIRECTOR James Newcomb, DRAMATURG Gideon Rappaport, VOICE Ursula Meyer, HELENA Anne Gee Byrd, HERMIA Maggi Veltre, DEMETRIUS Michael Kirby, LYSANDER Garret Botts. With your host, Nathan Agin.
Join us as we dive into the lovers fight: Helena is pursued by both Lysander and Demetrius, Hermia threatens Helena, and Lysander and Demetrius prepare to duel - from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ The complexity of character relationships and their evolution
➤ Insights into the juxtaposition of love and rivalry
➤ A deep dive into the physicality and emotionality inherent in Shakespeare's text
Featuring DIRECTOR James Newcomb, DRAMATURG Gideon Rappaport, VOICE Ursula Meyer, HELENA Anne Gee Byrd, HERMIA Maggi Veltre, DEMETRIUS Michael Kirby, LYSANDER Garret Botts. With your host, Nathan Agin.
Join us as we dive into the scene where Hamlet confronts his mother, kills Polonius and is visited by the Ghost in Shakespeare's Hamlet
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ The physicality of emotion
➤ Insights into the shifting dynamics of love
➤ The rhetorical devices used to express passion and conflict
Featuring DIRECTOR James Newcomb, DRAMATURG Gideon Rappaport, VOICE Ursula Meyer, HELENA Anne Gee Byrd, HERMIA Maggi Veltre, DEMETRIUS Michael Kirby, LYSANDER Garret Botts, and host Nathan Agin.
Join us as we dive into the scene where Hamlet confronts his mother, kills Polonius and is visited by the Ghost in Shakespeare's Hamlet
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ How two Hamlets navigate the internal conflict
➤ Insights into Gertrude's role as a responder
➤ An exploration of madness and familial bonds
➤ Plus a Q&A with the team!
Featuring J. Paul Nicholas (DIRECTOR), Cassandra Alexander (DRAMATURG), Kathleen Turco-Lyon (GERTRUDE), and Charlotte Northeast and Max Herzfeld as the two sides of HAMLET, and host, Nathan Agin.
Join us as we dive into the scene where Hamlet confronts his mother, kills Polonius and is visited by the Ghost in Shakespeare's Hamlet
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ Gertrude's role as a mother versus a manipulative figure
➤ The implications of madness and how it affects familial bonds
➤ Insights into the duality of Hamlet's character and his femininity
Featuring J. Paul Nicholas (DIRECTOR), Cassandra Alexander (DRAMATURG), Kathleen Turco-Lyon (GERTRUDE), and Charlotte Northeast and Max Herzfeld as the two sides of HAMLET.
Join us as we dive into the scene where Hamlet confronts his mother, kills Polonius and is visited by the Ghost in Shakespeare's Hamlet
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ Hamlet balancing rage and compassion towards his mother
➤ The impact of societal expectations on personal relationships
➤ A discussion on the use of sarcasm and its implications in the dialogue
Featuring J. Paul Nicholas (DIRECTOR), Cassandra Alexander (DRAMATURG), Kathleen Turco-Lyon (GERTRUDE), and Charlotte Northeast and Max Herzfeld as the two sides of HAMLET.
Join us as we dive into the scene where Hamlet confronts his mother, kills Polonius and is visited by the Ghost in Shakespeare's Hamlet
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ The concept of dual Hamlets and their contrasting approaches to conflict
➤ Insights into character dynamics and the emotional stakes of the play
➤ The exploration of language in Shakespeare's text, including key phrases
Featuring J. Paul Nicholas (DIRECTOR), Cassandra Alexander (DRAMATURG), Kathleen Turco-Lyon (GERTRUDE), and Charlotte Northeast and Max Herzfeld as the two sides of HAMLET.
Join us as we dive into Clarence's dream and murder in Shakespeare's Richard III.
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ A deep dive into character motivations as Clarence faces his fate
➤ The importance of collaboration and feedback in the rehearsal process
➤ Insights into the unique challenges and discoveries of performing remotely
➤ Plus a Q&A with the artists!
Featuring Geoffrey Wade (DIRECTOR), Gideon Rappaport (DRAMATURG), Peter Van Norden (CLARENCE), Aubrey Saverino (FIRST MURDERER) and Dan Cordova (SECOND MURDERER).
Join us as we dive into Clarence's dream and murder in Shakespeare's Richard III.
🏁 In this session, highlights include: ➤ The challenge of conveying moral conflict through performance
➤ Techniques for engaging with Shakespeare's language in a modern context
➤ The importance of pacing and timing in dramatic scenes
Featuring Geoffrey Wade (DIRECTOR), Gideon Rappaport (DRAMATURG), Peter Van Norden (CLARENCE), Aubrey Saverino (FIRST MURDERER) and Dan Cordova (SECOND MURDERER).
Join us as we dive into Clarence's dream and murder in Shakespeare's Richard III.
Featuring Geoffrey Wade (DIRECTOR), Gideon Rappaport (DRAMATURG), Peter Van Norden (CLARENCE), Aubrey Saverino (FIRST MURDERER) and Dan Cordova (SECOND MURDERER).
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ The play's poetic richness, despite its often grim subject matter ➤ The profound themes of maternal love and the impact of violence on humanity ➤ The impact of Lavinia's silence and her role in the narrative ➤ Plus a Q&A with the artists!
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will work on the following scene:
- Act 5, Scene 2: Tamora tells Titus she has come to his aid and will help him seek revenge. Titus has other plans.
Follow along with the play here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM -
Titus Team - with artists in California, Hawaii and Pennsylvania!
- DIRECTOR: Nick Cagle
- DRAMATURG: Miranda Johnson-Haddad
- PLAYERS:
- Anne Gee Byrd
- Tony Amendola
- Charlotte Northeast
- Jamal Douglas
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #acting #actor #director #shaw #georgebernardshaw #misalliance #england #business #capitalism #class #conflict
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ Handling the emotional toll of performing intense material ➤ Discussing self-care for actors as they navigate the dark themes of the play ➤ Insight on the cyclical nature of violence in both the play and modern society
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will work on the following scene:
- Act 5, Scene 2: Tamora tells Titus she has come to his aid and will help him seek revenge. Titus has other plans.
Follow along with the play here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM -
Titus Team - with artists in California, Hawaii and Pennsylvania!
- DIRECTOR: Nick Cagle
- DRAMATURG: Miranda Johnson-Haddad
- PLAYERS:
- Anne Gee Byrd
- Tony Amendola
- Charlotte Northeast
- Jamal Douglas
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #acting #actor #director #shaw #georgebernardshaw #misalliance #england #business #capitalism #class #conflict
🏁 In this session, highlights include: ➤ The historical significance of cannibalism➤ The complex relationships between Titus, Tamara, and the dark forces at play ➤ A detailed analysis of the verse, including scansion and emotional shifts within the text
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🙌 Many thanks to our recent supporters! Help us continue our work in the Rehearsal Room through a ONE-TIME DONATION:
💰 PayPal: https://paypal.me/nathanagin81 🤑 Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/nathanagin 💳 Credit card: http://workingactorsjourney.com/donation-checkout
🤗 Or become a MONTHLY PATRON with additional benefits (starting at $5/month) with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will work on the following scene:
- Act 5, Scene 2: Tamora tells Titus she has come to his aid and will help him seek revenge. Titus has other plans.
Follow along with the play here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM -
Titus Team - with artists in California, Hawaii and Pennsylvania!
- DIRECTOR: Nick Cagle
- DRAMATURG: Miranda Johnson-Haddad
- PLAYERS:
- Anne Gee Byrd
- Tony Amendola
- Charlotte Northeast
- Jamal Douglas
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #acting #actor #director #shaw #georgebernardshaw #misalliance #england #business #capitalism #class #conflict
Welcome back to The Rehearsal Room: we share a recently recorded series that was our first dive into Shakespeare's Titus!
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ Exploring the themes of vengeance and identity➤ The role of humor and its delicate balance in a dark narrative ➤ The transformative power of revenge and its consequences
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will work on the following scene:
- Act 5, Scene 2: Tamora tells Titus she has come to his aid and will help him seek revenge. Titus has other plans.
Follow along with the play here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM -
Titus Team - with artists in California, Hawaii and Pennsylvania!
- DIRECTOR: Nick Cagle
- DRAMATURG: Miranda Johnson-Haddad
- PLAYERS:
- Anne Gee Byrd
- Tony Amendola
- Charlotte Northeast
- Jamal Douglas
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #acting #actor #director #shaw #georgebernardshaw #misalliance #england #business #capitalism #class #conflict
Director Brendon Fox kicks off the question of "what happens when you take your time?" and the entire group shares their experience and ideas.
This was such a wonderful and spontaneous discussion to highlight. It was taken from our Week 3 session of 2 scenes from ARCADIA: https://youtu.be/aUa7sRheup8
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session: https://www.youtube.com/@wajpodcast
And click that BELL notification to never miss an update!
🔔 🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM – with artists across the US in CA, NY, and MA!
- DIRECTOR: Brendon Fox
- DRAMATURG: Kathryn Moncrief
- SEPTIMUS (1.1): Geoffrey Wade
- THOMASINA (1.1): Téa Guarino
- SEPTIMUS (2.6): Christopher Guilmet
- LADY CROOM (2.6): Jennifer Le Blanc
- JELLABY (1.1 and 2.6): James Newcomb
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/january-2025-arcadia-two-scenes
😮 THE SCENE Our group will be working on the following scenes:
- Act 1, Scene 1 – with Septimus and Thomasina
- Act 2, Scene 6 – with Septimus, Jellaby and Lady Croom
Follow along with the play here: https://www.scribd.com/doc/240488205/ARCADIA-by-Tom-Stoppard-PDF
#workingactor #rehearsal #stoppard #arcadia #tomstoppard #septimus #lordbyron #textwork
🏁 In this session, highlights include: ➤ Diving deep into character motivations and their historical context
➤ The collaborative effort of the director, dramaturg, and vocal coach
➤ Q&A about the rehearsal process and discoveries made
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ The complex relationships between characters ➤ The historical context and its impact on character motivations ➤ A discussion on power and legitimacy
We dive into two scenes from the play: the opening between Johnny and Bentley, and then a later scene with Hypatia and Percival.
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will work on the following scene:
- Act 1, Scene 1: John is threatened with war, then judges a quarrel between two brothers.
Follow along with the play here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM -
King John Team - with artists in California, Chicago and Europe! * DIRECTOR: Gigi Bermingham * DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport * KING JOHN: Marcelo Tubert * CHATILLON/ROBERT: Corinna Christman * BASTARD: Ross Hellwig * QUEEN ELINOR: Madeleine Person
More about this group and artist bios: TBA
**Originally recorded in January 2021, now released from the archive!
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #acting #actor #director #shaw #georgebernardshaw #misalliance #england #business #capitalism #class #conflict
Welcome back to The Rehearsal Room! We begin another exceptional series from the archive. Originally recorded in January/February 2021, this has been our only (to date!) dive into Shakespeare's King John!
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
➤ The complex relationships between characters ➤ The historical context and its impact on character motivations ➤ A discussion on power and legitimacy
We dive into two scenes from the play: the opening between Johnny and Bentley, and then a later scene with Hypatia and Percival.
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will work on the following scene:
- Act 1, Scene 1: John is threatened with war, then judges a quarrel between two brothers.
Follow along with the play here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM -
King John Team - with artists in California, Chicago and Europe! * DIRECTOR: Gigi Bermingham * DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport * KING JOHN: Marcelo Tubert * CHATILLON/ROBERT: Corinna Christman * BASTARD: Ross Hellwig * QUEEN ELINOR: Madeleine Person
More about this group and artist bios: TBA
**Originally recorded in January 2021, now released from the archive!
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #acting #actor #director #shaw #georgebernardshaw #misalliance #england #business #capitalism #class #conflict
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
- Going to the extreme with a character or acting choice to see how it works
- Discussing the importance of pacing and its impact on performance
- Q&A with the artists
We dive into two scenes from the play: the opening between Johnny and Bentley, and then a later scene with Hypatia and Percival.
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will work on the following scenes:
- The opening between Johnny and Bentley
- A later exchange with Hypatia and Percival
Follow along with the play here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM -
Misalliance Team - with artists in California, Pennsylvania and New York! * DIRECTOR: Erika Rolfsrud * JOHNNY: J. Paul Nicholas * BENTLEY: Nathan Agin * HYPATIA: Michele Schultz * PERCIVAL: Dylan La Rocque
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/april-2025-misalliance-two-scenes
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #acting #actor #director #shaw #georgebernardshaw #misalliance #england #business #capitalism #class #conflict
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
- Discussing the historical context of the Haypenny newspapers and their impact
- Examining the rich character dynamics in Shaw's work
- Taking a deep dive into these characters' motivations and inter-personal relationships
We dive into two scenes from the play: the opening between Johnny and Bentley, and then a later scene with Hypatia and Percival.
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will work on the following scenes:
- The opening between Johnny and Bentley
- A later exchange with Hypatia and Percival
Follow along with the play here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM -
Misalliance Team - with artists in California, Pennsylvania and New York! * DIRECTOR: Erika Rolfsrud * JOHNNY: J. Paul Nicholas * BENTLEY: Nathan Agin * HYPATIA: Michele Schultz * PERCIVAL: Dylan La Rocque
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/april-2025-misalliance-two-scenes
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #acting #actor #director #shaw #georgebernardshaw #misalliance #england #business #capitalism #class #conflict
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
- Exploring the tension between characters
- Delving into the complexities of societal expectations
- Portraying these characters authentically
We dive into two scenes from the play: the opening between Johnny and Bentley, and then a later scene with Hypatia and Percival.
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will work on the following scenes:
- The opening between Johnny and Bentley
- A later exchange with Hypatia and Percival
Follow along with the play here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM -
Misalliance Team - with artists in California, Pennsylvania and New York! * DIRECTOR: Erika Rolfsrud * JOHNNY: J. Paul Nicholas * BENTLEY: Nathan Agin * HYPATIA: Michele Schultz * PERCIVAL: Dylan La Rocque
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/april-2025-misalliance-two-scenes
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #acting #actor #director #shaw #georgebernardshaw #misalliance #england #business #capitalism #class #conflict
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
- Exploring the process of working on Shaw's material for the first time
- Insights into character dynamics in the play
- Discussion about class distinctions present between characters
We dive into two scenes from the play: the opening between Johnny and Bentley, and then a later scene with Hypatia and Percival.
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will work on the following scenes:
- The opening between Johnny and Bentley
- A later exchange with Hypatia and Percival
Follow along with the play here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM -
Misalliance Team - with artists in California, Pennsylvania and New York! * DIRECTOR: Erika Rolfsrud * JOHNNY: J. Paul Nicholas * BENTLEY: Nathan Agin * HYPATIA: Michele Schultz * PERCIVAL: Dylan La Rocque
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/april-2025-misalliance-two-scenes
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #acting #actor #director #shaw #georgebernardshaw #misalliance #england #business #capitalism #class #conflict
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
- Exploring the controversial reception of Chekhov's work and its impact on his legacy
- Delving into the complex relationships between characters in Uncle Vanya
- Q&A with the group about the process and what they learned
We dive into the first half of Act 2, from a translation by our director and dramaturg: https://www.chekhovplays.com/home
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on the first half of Act 2.
Follow along with the play here. Order a copy of Libby and Allison's translation here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - with artists in CA, Chicago, and New Zealand!
- DIRECTOR: Libby Appel
- VOICE COACH: Ursula Meyer
- DRAMATURG: Allison Horsley
- PROFESSOR: Alberto Isaac
- SONYA: Deidrie Henry
- MARINA: Jully Lee
- VANYA: Howard Leder
- YELENA: Sara Mountjoy-Pepka
- ASTROV: Corey Hedy
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/cast-and-creative-team-announced-for-chekhov-in-the-rehearsal-room-fall-2021
**Originally recorded in October 2021, now released from the archive!
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #acting #actor #director #dramaturg #russia #russiantheatre #chekhov #unclevanya #vanya #libbyappel
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
- The psychological tension with the characters during a stormy night
- The motivations and frustrations expressed throughout the scene
- Vanya's emotional turmoil and existential reflections
We dive into the first half of Act 2, from a translation by our director and dramaturg: https://www.chekhovplays.com/home
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on the first half of Act 2.
Follow along with the play here. Order a copy of Libby and Allison's translation here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - with artists in CA, Chicago, and New Zealand!
- DIRECTOR: Libby Appel
- VOICE COACH: Ursula Meyer
- DRAMATURG: Allison Horsley
- PROFESSOR: Alberto Isaac
- SONYA: Deidrie Henry
- MARINA: Jully Lee
- VANYA: Howard Leder
- YELENA: Sara Mountjoy-Pepka
- ASTROV: Corey Hedy
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/cast-and-creative-team-announced-for-chekhov-in-the-rehearsal-room-fall-2021
**Originally recorded in October 2021, now released from the archive!
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #acting #actor #director #dramaturg #russia #russiantheatre #chekhov #unclevanya #vanya #libbyappel
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
- Delving into themes of aging, longing, and existential despair
- Uncovering the subtext and motivations behind the characters' words
- Examining the frustrations and desires on this stormy night
We dive into the first half of Act 2, from a translation by our director and dramaturg: https://www.chekhovplays.com/home
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on the first half of Act 2.
Follow along with the play here. Order a copy of Libby and Allison's translation here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - with artists in CA, Chicago, and New Zealand!
- DIRECTOR: Libby Appel
- VOICE COACH: Ursula Meyer
- DRAMATURG: Allison Horsley
- PROFESSOR: Alberto Isaac
- SONYA: Deidrie Henry
- MARINA: Jully Lee
- VANYA: Howard Leder
- YELENA: Sara Mountjoy-Pepka
- ASTROV: Corey Hedy
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/cast-and-creative-team-announced-for-chekhov-in-the-rehearsal-room-fall-2021
**Originally recorded in October 2021, now released from the archive!
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #acting #actor #director #dramaturg #russia #russiantheatre #chekhov #unclevanya #vanya #libbyappel
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
▶ Exploring Chekhov's characters and their complex relationships
▶ Discussing the impact of beauty and its ephemeral nature in the play
▶ Examining the themes of longing and self-worth
We dive into the first half of Act 2, from a translation by our director and dramaturg: https://www.chekhovplays.com/home
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on the first half of Act 2.
Follow along with the play here. Order a copy of Libby and Allison's translation here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - with artists in CA, Chicago, and New Zealand!
- DIRECTOR: Libby Appel
- VOICE COACH: Ursula Meyer
- DRAMATURG: Allison Horsley
- PROFESSOR: Alberto Isaac
- SONYA: Deidrie Henry
- MARINA: Jully Lee
- VANYA: Howard Leder
- YELENA: Sara Mountjoy-Pepka
- ASTROV: Corey Hedy
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/cast-and-creative-team-announced-for-chekhov-in-the-rehearsal-room-fall-2021
**Originally recorded in October 2021, now released from the archive!
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #acting #actor #director #dramaturg #russia #russiantheatre #chekhov #unclevanya #vanya #libbyappel
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
- Delving into the dynamics of power and how it shapes the characters' choices throughout the play
- Exploring the nuances of familial loyalty
- Q&A with the artists!
We dive into the scene where Lear and his two daughters quarrel over what how much of an entourage he needs - Act 2, Scene 4.
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on the following scene:
- Act 2, Scene 4 - Lear quarrels bitterly with her and with Regan
Follow along with the play here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - with artists in NJ, NY and CA!
- DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso (listen to our podcast conversation with Annie and Randall)
- LEAR: Randall Duk Kim
- GONERIL: Jeanne Sakata (podcast episode)
- REGAN: Lizzie King-Hall
- CORNWALL: Thomas Farber
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/king-lear-in-the-rehearsal-room-june-2023
**Originally recorded in June 2023, now released from the archive!
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #kinglear #king #englishhistory #englishplaywright #britishhistory #acting #actor #director #firstfolio
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
- Discussing the importance of props in Shakespearean plays and their role in storytelling
- Examining the arcs of Lear, Goneril, and Regan as they navigate power struggles
- Tracing the characters from the beginning of the play, looking at how their relationships evolve and the consequences of their choices
We dive into the scene where Lear and his two daughters quarrel over what how much of an entourage he needs - Act 2, Scene 4.
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on the following scene:
- Act 2, Scene 4 - Lear quarrels bitterly with her and with Regan
Follow along with the play here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - with artists in NJ, NY and CA!
- DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso (listen to our podcast conversation with Annie and Randall)
- LEAR: Randall Duk Kim
- GONERIL: Jeanne Sakata (podcast episode)
- REGAN: Lizzie King-Hall
- CORNWALL: Thomas Farber
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/king-lear-in-the-rehearsal-room-june-2023
**Originally recorded in June 2023, now released from the archive!
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #kinglear #king #englishhistory #englishplaywright #britishhistory #acting #actor #director #firstfolio
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
- Exploring the emotional relationship of Lear and his daughters
- How punctuation in Shakespeare's text informs performance
- Discussing the importance of spontaneity in portraying characters
We dive into the scene where Lear and his two daughters quarrel over what how much of an entourage he needs - Act 2, Scene 4.
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on the following scene:
- Act 2, Scene 4 - Lear quarrels bitterly with her and with Regan
Follow along with the play here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - with artists in NJ, NY and CA!
- DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso (listen to our podcast conversation with Annie and Randall)
- LEAR: Randall Duk Kim
- GONERIL: Jeanne Sakata (podcast episode)
- REGAN: Lizzie King-Hall
- CORNWALL: Thomas Farber
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/king-lear-in-the-rehearsal-room-june-2023
**Originally recorded in June 2023, now released from the archive!
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #kinglear #king #englishhistory #englishplaywright #britishhistory #acting #actor #director #firstfolio
We dive into the scene where Lear and his two daughters quarrel over what how much of an entourage he needs.
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
- The intricate dynamics between Lear and his daughters, revealing the complexities of love and power
- Delving into the emotional weight of familial relationships and the impact of aging on identity
- Discussions on the nature of theater and its role in reflecting humanity
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on the following scene:
- Act 2, Scene 4 - Lear quarrels bitterly with her and with Regan
Follow along with the play here.
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - with artists in NJ, NY and CA!
- DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso (listen to our podcast conversation with Annie and Randall)
- LEAR: Randall Duk Kim
- GONERIL: Jeanne Sakata (podcast episode)
- REGAN: Lizzie King-Hall
- CORNWALL: Thomas Farber
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/king-lear-in-the-rehearsal-room-june-2023
**Originally recorded in June 2023, now released from the archive!
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
#workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #textwork #kinglear #king #englishhistory #englishplaywright #britishhistory #acting #actor #director #firstfolio
It's our final session of 2 scenes with Septimus!
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
- The complexities of Septimus and Thomasina's relationship
- Exploring the nuances and humor within Stoppard's text
- Discussing the importance of collaboration and encouragement in the rehearsal process
- Q&A with the cast about their discoveries throughout the month
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - with artists across the US in CA, NY, and MA!
- DIRECTOR: Brendon Fox
- DRAMATURG: Kathryn Moncrief
- SEPTIMUS (1.1): Geoffrey Wade
- THOMASINA (1.1): Téa Guarino
- SEPTIMUS (2.6): Christopher Guilmet
- LADY CROOM (2.6): Jennifer Le Blanc
- JELLABY (1.1 and 2.6): James Newcomb
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/january-2025-arcadia-two-scenes
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on the following scenes:
- Act 1, Scene 1 – with Septimus, Thomasina and Jellaby
- Act 2, Scene 6 – with Septimus, Jellaby and Lady Croom
Follow along with the play here.
#workingactor #rehearsal #stoppard #arcadia #tomstoppard #septimus #lordbyron #textwork
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
Welcome back to 2 scenes with Septimus!
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
- The complex relationship between Septimus and Lady Croom
- Delving into the intimacy and tension of their exchanges
- Unpacking the themes of knowledge and deception as secrets unravel
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - with artists across the US in CA, NY, and MA!
- DIRECTOR: Brendon Fox
- DRAMATURG: Kathryn Moncrief
- SEPTIMUS (1.1): Geoffrey Wade
- THOMASINA (1.1): Téa Guarino
- SEPTIMUS (2.6): Christopher Guilmet
- LADY CROOM (2.6): Jennifer Le Blanc
- JELLABY (1.1 and 2.6): James Newcomb
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/january-2025-arcadia-two-scenes
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on the following scenes:
- Act 1, Scene 1 – with Septimus, Thomasina and Jellaby
- Act 2, Scene 6 – with Septimus, Jellaby and Lady Croom
Follow along with the play here.
#workingactor #rehearsal #stoppard #arcadia #tomstoppard #septimus #lordbyron #textwork
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
Welcome back to 2 scenes with Septimus!
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
- Exploring the dynamics between Septimus and Jellaby
- Delving into the philosophical debates on free will and determinism
- Witnessing the intensity of Lady Croom's confrontation with Septimus
- Unpacking the symbolism of rice pudding and its deeper implications
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - with artists across the US in CA, NY, and MA!
- DIRECTOR: Brendon Fox
- DRAMATURG: Kathryn Moncrief
- SEPTIMUS (1.1): Geoffrey Wade
- THOMASINA (1.1): Téa Guarino
- SEPTIMUS (2.6): Christopher Guilmet
- LADY CROOM (2.6): Jennifer Le Blanc
- JELLABY (1.1 and 2.6): James Newcomb
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/january-2025-arcadia-two-scenes
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on the following scenes:
- Act 1, Scene 1 – with Septimus, Thomasina and Jellaby
- Act 2, Scene 6 – with Septimus, Jellaby and Lady Croom
Follow along with the play here.
#workingactor #rehearsal #stoppard #arcadia #tomstoppard #septimus #lordbyron #textwork
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
Welcome to 2 scenes with Septimus! It's our first time diving into this brilliant and hilarious play, so let's get right to it...
🏁 In our first session, highlights include:
- Exploring the intellectual curiosity and wonder this play
- The complex dynamics between Septimus and the other characters
- Understanding the nuances of the relationships and their implications
- Insights into the historical context and its influence on character development
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - with artists across the US in CA, NY, and MA!
- DIRECTOR: Brendon Fox
- DRAMATURG: Kathryn Moncrief
- SEPTIMUS (1.1): Geoffrey Wade
- THOMASINA (1.1): Téa Guarino
- SEPTIMUS (2.6): Christopher Guilmet
- LADY CROOM (2.6): Jennifer Le Blanc
- JELLABY (1.1 and 2.6): James Newcomb
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/january-2025-arcadia-two-scenes
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on the following scenes:
- Act 1, Scene 1 – with Septimus, Thomasina and Jellaby
- Act 2, Scene 6 – with Septimus, Jellaby and Lady Croom
Follow along with the play here.
#workingactor #rehearsal #stoppard #arcadia #tomstoppard #septimus #lordbyron #textwork
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
🏁 In our second session, highlights include:
- Exploring the duality and transformation of Richard and Bolingbroke
- Delving into the emotional weight of kingship and its consequences
- Insights into the intimate versus public nature of Richard's deposition
- Plus, Q&A with the artists!
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - we have artists in LA, San Diego, Philly, and New York!
- DIRECTOR: Will Block
- DRAMATURG: Miranda Johnson-Haddad
- Sharing the roles of RICHARD and BOLINGBROKE: Jamal Douglas and Nick Cagle
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/december-2024-richard-ii-deposition
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on the following scene:
- Act 4, Scene 1 - Richard formally deposes himself (from Richard's entrance until his exit)
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here.
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Check out David and Ben Crystal's work on original pronunciation for a deeper understanding of Shakespeare’s language: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlpphT7n9s
One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #richardii #shakespeare #textwork #deposed #king
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
🏁 In our second session, highlights include:
- Richard's journey from power to vulnerability
- Bolingbroke's internal conflict and familial ties
- Exploring Richard's private moments with Bolingbroke
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - we have artists in LA, San Diego, Philly, and New York!
- DIRECTOR: Will Block
- DRAMATURG: Miranda Johnson-Haddad
- Sharing the roles of RICHARD and BOLINGBROKE: Jamal Douglas and Nick Cagle
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/december-2024-richard-ii-deposition
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on the following scene:
- Act 4, Scene 1 - Richard formally deposes himself (from Richard's entrance until his exit)
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here.
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Check out David and Ben Crystal's work on original pronunciation for a deeper understanding of Shakespeare’s language: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlpphT7n9s
One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #richardii #shakespeare #textwork #deposed #king
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
🏁 In our first session, highlights include:
- Exploring the intimacy and public display in Richard II's deposition scene
- The power of language and its ability to shift the room's energy
- Understanding the relationship dynamics between Richard and Bolingbroke
- Insights into historical context and its influence on performance
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - we have artists in LA, San Diego, Philly, and New York!
- DIRECTOR: Will Block
- DRAMATURG: Miranda Johnson-Haddad
- Sharing the roles of RICHARD and BOLINGBROKE: Jamal Douglas and Nick Cagle
More about this group and artist bios: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/december-2024-richard-ii-deposition
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on the following scene:
- Act 4, Scene 1 - Richard formally deposes himself (from Richard's entrance until his exit)
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here.
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Check out David and Ben Crystal's work on original pronunciation for a deeper understanding of Shakespeare’s language: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlpphT7n9s
One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #richardii #shakespeare #textwork #deposed #king
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
🏁 In our final session, highlights include:
- The power of acting to explore forbidden emotions and thoughts
- Using a word's actual meaning vs. personal interpretations
- Italian run-through rehearsals - the purpose and expectations
- A Q&A with the artists!
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - we have artists in LA, San Diego, Philly, and New York!
- DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- LEONTES: Christopher Guilmet
- HERMIONE: Shannone Lee Clair
- ANTIGONUS: J. Paul Nicholas
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/november-2024-winters-tale-hermione-arrest-defense
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on Act 2, Scene 1 and Act 3, Scene 2 from Shakespeare’s The Winter's Tale:
- Leontes has Hermione arrested for adultery and treason
- Hermione tries to defend herself in open court
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #measureformeasure #shakespeare #shakespeare #textwork
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
🏁 In our third week, highlights include:
- Geoffrey's exercise to help actors connect
- Exploring the psychological aspects of jealousy
- Transitions from personal to royal plural pronouns
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - we have artists in LA, San Diego, Philly, and New York!
- DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- LEONTES: Christopher Guilmet
- HERMIONE: Shannone Lee Clair
- ANTIGONUS: J. Paul Nicholas
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/november-2024-winters-tale-hermione-arrest-defense
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on Act 2, Scene 1 and Act 3, Scene 2 from Shakespeare’s The Winter's Tale:
- Leontes has Hermione arrested for adultery and treason
- Hermione tries to defend herself in open court
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #measureformeasure #shakespeare #shakespeare #textwork
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
🏁 In our second week, highlights include:
- Deciding on the beats of the scene - what each is "called"
- Bringing Leontes back to sanity vs. punishing him
- Exploring the meaning of "I'll keep her in the stables"
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - we have artists in LA, San Diego, Philly, and New York!
- DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- LEONTES: Christopher Guilmet
- HERMIONE: Shannone Lee Clair
- ANTIGONUS: J. Paul Nicholas
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/november-2024-winters-tale-hermione-arrest-defense
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on Act 2, Scene 1 and Act 3, Scene 2 from Shakespeare’s The Winter's Tale:
- Leontes has Hermione arrested for adultery and treason
- Hermione tries to defend herself in open court
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #measureformeasure #shakespeare #shakespeare #textwork
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
What happened in Week 1?🏁 In our first week, highlights include:
- the play as a tragic comedy and its significance in Shakespeare’s career
- Leontes sudden and irrational jealousy towards his wife, Hermione.
- the importance of pacing and punctuation in the text.
Watch the Week 1 Session!Full transcript included at the bottom of this post.
Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
And there’s the audio version too – you still get everything from listening!Total Running Time: 2:00:38
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as/save link as”.
Get the show delivered right to you!Short on time?Check out this clip! (Coming soon.)
Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon – get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level or higher: Ivar, Jaelyn, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
THE SCENEOur group will be working on Act 2, Scene 1 and Act 3, Scene 2 from Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale:
- Leontes has Hermione arrested for adultery and treason
- Hermione tries to defend herself in open court
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.
The Winter’s Tale Team – we have artists in LA, San Diego, Philly, and New York!* DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade * DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport * LEONTES: Christopher Guilmet * HERMIONE: Shannone Lee Clair * ANTIGONUS: J. Paul Nicholas
Read more about the artists here.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCESOne of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline
And there’s more!Catch up on our other workshops featuring lots of Shakespeare scenes, from Hamlet, King Lear, Troilus and Cressida, Midsummer, As You Like It, and our Twelfth Night repertory extravaganza – all on the podcast and YouTube. If you’ve missed any presentations thus far, click here to find them all.
Click here for the transcript!Coming Soon!
The post Week 1 – Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” – Hermione’s arrest and defense at trial – The Rehearsal Room [Video, Audio, and Transcript versions] appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
🏁 In our first week, highlights include:
- the play as a tragic comedy and its significance in Shakespeare's career
- Leontes sudden and irrational jealousy towards his wife, Hermione.
- the importance of pacing and punctuation in the text.
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - we have artists in LA, San Diego, Philly, and New York!
- DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- LEONTES: Christopher Guilmet
- HERMIONE: Shannone Lee Clair
- ANTIGONUS: J. Paul Nicholas
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/winterstale-hermione-arrest-defense-week-1
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on Act 2, Scene 1 and Act 3, Scene 2 from Shakespeare’s The Winter's Tale:
- Leontes has Hermione arrested for adultery and treason
- Hermione tries to defend herself in open court
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #measureformeasure #shakespeare #shakespeare #textwork
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
🏁 In our fourth and final week, highlights include:
- The warrior character of Macbeth and comedic moments with Lady Macbeth
- Diving into the imagery of "spongy officers"
- Analyzing the power dynamics in relationships
- A Q&A with the artists!
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Jaelyn, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: Nick Cagle
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- MACBETH: Mark Lawson
- LADY MACBETH: Meaghan Boeing
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/october-2024-macbeth-2-scenes/
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on Act 1, Scene 7 and Act 2, Scene 2 from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
We’ll explore the relationship of MACBETH and LADY MACBETH:
- Macbeth questioning Duncan’s murder and Lady Macbeth creating a plan
- Macbeth returning from Duncan’s murder, horrified by what he’s done
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #measureformeasure #shakespeare #shakespeare #textwork
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
🏁 In our third week, highlights include:
- The use of hypotheticals and future tenses
- What "the poor cat in the adage" really means
- The staccato delivery in Lady Macbeth's lines
Plus - could "Macbeth" become a Christmas play?? 🎄🤶
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Jaelyn, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: Nick Cagle
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- MACBETH: Mark Lawson
- LADY MACBETH: Meaghan Boeing
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/october-2024-macbeth-2-scenes/
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on Act 1, Scene 7 and Act 2, Scene 2 from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
We’ll explore the relationship of MACBETH and LADY MACBETH:
- Macbeth questioning Duncan’s murder and Lady Macbeth creating a plan
- Macbeth returning from Duncan’s murder, horrified by what he’s done
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #measureformeasure #shakespeare #shakespeare #textwork
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
From 2019, our interview with prolific director Robert Goldsby, on the aliveness of Molière, making clear transitions, and being blissfully happy. Bob took his final curtain call on October 27, 2024 at age 97. With a career spanning 60+ years, he accomplished so much and he'll be missed by all who knew him!
Click here for full show notes and links.
🏁 In our second week, highlights include:
- Macbeth's soliloquy and chaotic dialogue
- Lady Macbeth's role in the scenes
- Macbeth's influence on Halloween and Harry Potter
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Jaelyn, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: Nick Cagle
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- MACBETH: Mark Lawson
- LADY MACBETH: Meaghan Boeing
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/october-2024-macbeth-2-scenes/
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on Act 1, Scene 7 and Act 2, Scene 2 from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
We’ll explore the relationship of MACBETH and LADY MACBETH:
- Macbeth questioning Duncan’s murder and Lady Macbeth creating a plan
- Macbeth returning from Duncan’s murder, horrified by what he’s done
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #measureformeasure #shakespeare #shakespeare #textwork
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
🏁 In our first week, highlights include:
- speech transitions and symbolism
- exploring power, ambition, and moral sacrifice
- Shakespearean nuances
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 THANK YOU to our patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
Special welcome to Jaelyn as a new GUEST STAR member!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: Nick Cagle
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- MACBETH: Mark Lawson
- LADY MACBETH: Meaghan Boeing
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/october-2024-macbeth-2-scenes/
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on Act 1, Scene 7 and Act 2, Scene 2 from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
We’ll explore the relationship of MACBETH and LADY MACBETH:
- Macbeth questioning Duncan’s murder and Lady Macbeth creating a plan
- Macbeth returning from Duncan’s murder, horrified by what he’s done
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #measureformeasure #shakespeare #shakespeare #textwork
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
🏁 In our fourth and final week, highlights include:
- The Great Vowel Shift and Shakespeare's pronunciation
- Exploring Mistress Ford's emotions and actions
- Q&A with the creative team
⭐️ And a special thank you to Juls Hoover for hosting this month! ⭐️
🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔
🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
🙏 Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: J. Paul Nicholas
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- FALSTAFF: Todd Scofield
- MRS. PAGE: Michele Schultz
- MRS. FORD: Corinna Christman
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/work...
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on two scenes where the wives plan revenge on Falstaff!
- Act 3, Scene 3 (Falstaff's first visit to Mrs. Ford), ending before Mr. Ford arrives
- Act 4, Scene 2 (Falstaff's second visit to Mrs. Ford), again ending before Mr. Ford arrives
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #measureformeasure #shakespeare #shakespeare #textwork
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
What happened in Week 3?🏁 In our third week, highlights include:
- Focusing on the nuances of language, meaning, and dynamics
- How different approaches to lines could affect the overall humor and relationships
- Adjustments made to clarify character interactions
⭐️ And a special thank you to Juls Hoover for hosting this month! ⭐️
Watch the Week 3 Session!Full transcript included at the bottom of this post.
Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
And there’s the audio version too – you still get everything from listening!Total Running Time: 1:57:40
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as/save link as”.
Get the show delivered right to you!Short on time?Check out this 50-second clip as director Paul Nicholas, actor Corinna Christman and dramaturg Gideon Rappaport discuss all the fear and FUN those wives are having!
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THE SCENEOur group will be working on two scenes where the wives plan revenge on Falstaff!
- Act 3, Scene 3 (Falstaff’s first visit to Mrs. Ford), ending before Mr. Ford arrives
- Act 4, Scene 2 (Falstaff’s second visit to Mrs. Ford), again ending before Mr. Ford arrives
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.
MERRY WIVES TEAM* DIRECTOR: J. Paul Nicholas * DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport * FALSTAFF: Todd Scofield * MRS. PAGE: Michele Schultz * MRS. FORD: Corinna Christman
Read more about the artists here.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCESOne of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline
And there’s more!Catch up on our other workshops featuring lots of Shakespeare scenes, from Hamlet, King Lear, Troilus and Cressida, Midsummer, As You Like It, and our Twelfth Night repertory extravaganza – all on the podcast and YouTube. If you’ve missed any presentations thus far, click here to find them all.
Click here for the transcript!Juls Hoover
Welcome back to the Working Actors Journey Rehearsal room where we have the time to deeply explore just one scene over a month. Again, I’m Juls Hoover, and I’ve stepped in this month as guest host. As a reminder, we have been deep diving, spelunking and minding two scenes from Shakespeare’s Me Wives of Windsor.
We will continue posting the weekly sessions on YouTube for free for all to enjoy. So be sure to subscribe to our channel and click for notifications. You can still support the project via Patreon and get early access to all the sessions, plus a podcast version starting at just $5 a month.
Thank you again to our patrons at the CoStar level for and for supporting the project. Joan, Michelle, Christian, Jim Magdalene, evar, Claudia Cliff, and Jeff, if you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback, please leave a comment below and be sure to hit that like button so the algorithm can do its thing. If you all need anything, please reach out.
You can text me too if you have my number, but I will hand the rehearsal room over to Paul. Thank you
Paul Nicholas
so much, Jules. We really appreciate you doing this, by the way.
Juls Hoover
My pleasure. My pleasure. I
Paul Nicholas
know We always kid around about taking over for Nathan, but we really appreciate you filling in. Yeah,
Juls Hoover
I love doing this. I love being a part of it in any way I can truly have fun, guys.
Paul Nicholas
Thank you.
Gideon Rappaport
Thank you.
Paul Nicholas
Hello, friends. Any thoughts from last week before we jump in? Or any thoughts about this week or any thoughts in general?
Gideon Rappaport
Michelle can’t hear you. Oh, I wasn’t, I was, I was trying to talk to my husband. Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry to interrupt.
Paul Nicholas
Gideon, do you have any thoughts? I know that it suggests that we pick up from where we stopped last week, but did you have any thoughts res residual thoughts from last week?
Gideon Rappaport
No. My only thought is the, the more we do it, the better it gets. And I’m highly impressed by the quality, so keep it up.
Paul Nicholas
Well,
Michele Schultz
Actually, I think we, we had had some technological difficulties last week, which is, goes with the Zoom territory, I’m afraid. But apart from that, I’m enjoying hearing the voices do these characters, and it’s a lot of fun. Actually. I did have a thought, which is the, the language was, and this is, it was for me, a little more different, difficult than in some of the other Shakespeare plays. It’s sort of like, I guess the Elizabethan equivalent of slang a lot of the times. That’s true. And and it’s also in prose mostly. Yes. Yes. And so it, it, the, the rules about prose versus verse in Shakespeare are not really rules, but whenever he shifts from verse to prose, he’s coming down the scale of creation in a way from the more serious and more higher rank and more public and more seriously dramatic or tragic to, in the direction of more personal, more intimate, more comical, lower rank and so on.
That’s not a hard and fast rule, but when, when the verse, when the poetry shifts from prose to verse or verse to prose, that’s sort of the direction you’re going in. And in this kind of comedy, it’s mostly in prose because it’s a comedy, it’s about middle class people in a local environment. And, and so Shakespeare’s reaching in a sense that that particular section of the audience with their own kind of talk in a way. So that’s why you’re seeing these, these saws or sayings or cliches that appear from time to time that we are, no, many of them in Shakespeare we’re still familiar with and some invents, and we use ’em all the time, and others we’ve never heard, we don’t understand, and we have to look them up.
And so it, it is kind of challenging in that sense.
Paul Nicholas
What’s another comedy that’s mostly in prose is the comedy of error is mostly in prose.
Michele Schultz
Oh, Yeah. There’s a lot of prose in as you like it. Yes. You like, Yeah. And,
Paul Nicholas
And does he employ as many of the colloquialisms real or invented as in this one?
Gideon Rappaport
Yeah, I would say so from time to time. Sure. It’s hard to count them because some of them have become so familiar that we don’t think of ’em in that way anymore. We just think of them as normal speech and others, the the ones we have to look up make us pay attention. But there, there, and of course sometimes he’s just purely inventing. But it’s, it’s really hard to generalize because each play is so uniquely itself, you know, aimed at the themes and the ideas and the, and the emotional qualities that it’s producing.
And it’s really hard to generalize even when we say the four last plays, like the Romances, Parlee, Simline, Tempest, and Wi Tale. They have a lot in common, but they’re, but each one is also unique. And so, and me wives in my opinion, is unique. There’s, there’s not another, there are passages in Henry the fourth part one that are sort of like some of the things in Mery Wives and ’cause of the same characters, but it’s, there’s really no other whole play that’s like Mery wives. So I think you have to enjoy its uniqueness.
Todd Scofield
I have a chart here, Paul, from our Tried and Trustee Pelican.
Paul Nicholas
Yes.
Gideon Rappaport
That’s a wonderful addition, by the way.
Todd Scofield
Yeah. Merry Wives has the most prose by a good bit of any play. And the next top one is the next several top ones are also comedies. And the next top one is much adu, 71.7% Pros.
Gideon Rappaport
Right.
Todd Scofield
And then 12th Night, 61.3% pros. And then as you like it, 54.4. And interestingly, the, the other, the other two plays with Fall staff, the Histories Henry four, one and two.
Gideon Rappaport
Yes.
Todd Scofield
They have the bet, they have the most pros of any of the histories. I would Over 40, over 40%.
Gideon Rappaport
That’s why, because this, the, the, we’ve got these whole scenes
Todd Scofield
Yep. Of
Gideon Rappaport
The,
Todd Scofield
The comic
Gideon Rappaport
under class talking to each other.
Todd Scofield
Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
Never would’ve thought that 12th Night would’ve been that far up there, because even
Todd Scofield
Yeah,
Paul Nicholas
in 12th Night Fest, that’s Festi, right. FEI uses a lot of, of, of verse, doesn’t he?
Yeah.
Gideon Rappaport
But all of the, so Tobi or most of the Sir Tobi, Mariah Che stuff, and a lot of the, a lot of the Malvolio stuff was in prose.
Paul Nicholas
I thought Che and Sir Tobi spoke in verse because they were higher class than Mariah, for example.
Gideon Rappaport
Well, sometimes they do, but often they’re not. They’re Slumpy.
Todd Scofield
Not always. Yeah. It’s not always that.
Gideon Rappaport
Anyway, don’t take what I said as a hard and fast rule, or I’ll hear it from Dac and Matthews. It’s just a general quality and the most important thing to know is when it shifts from one to the other, you are getting a shift in focus and tone and so on.
Paul Nicholas
Fascinating stuff.
Gideon Rappaport
Fascinating as when in Our scene. Yeah, go ahead, Carina. In our scenes, is it just these four lines that mistress page addresses that are inverse? Is there, Those are the only ones that I think those are the only ones I remember. There may be one or two other lines that aren’t, but as I’m glancing through, no, there, it’s all, almost all probes. Let me look at the second scene in a second.
Yeah. If you have your pelican or another addition like that, all you have to do is scan down the column and you can see where the lines are, are versed and where they’re pros. It’s almost all pros are scenes. Yeah. And
Todd Scofield
86.6 merry wives. Yeah,
Michele Schultz
That’s a lot.
Todd Scofield
And those signs are also rhymed, which is sort of like a
Michele Schultz
more intense version of the verse. Correct. More intense, more, more formula, more formulaic, more orderly. And that’s why Shakespeare uses rhymes very often to end a scene. Even a scene in prose will sometimes end with a couplet in verse because the rhyme kind of punctuates the end of the scene.
Just
Todd Scofield
another nerd out Shakespeare thing, because I I totally agree that I figured if comedy of errors would be high up in prose among the comedies, it’s the least, it’s the least amount of prose percentage wise
Gideon Rappaport
Yeah.
Todd Scofield
In any of the comedies.
Gideon Rappaport
And it’s Got a lot of rhymed couplets,
Todd Scofield
21.5% rhyme. Yeah.
Gideon Rappaport
In comedy.
Todd Scofield
Yeah. But only 12.7% pros.
Paul Nicholas
Wow.
Todd Scofield
Excuse me.
Paul Nicholas
Fascinating stuff.
Gideon Rappaport
Now have that all being said. I want you to banish from your minds numbers and percentages, because that just obscures what’s happening right now in the moment.
Paul Nicholas
Yes, sir.
Gideon Rappaport
So Shakespeare, Shakespeare is adjusting constantly to the particulars of the moment. And so you have to give him his head that way. You have to let him lead you instead of trying to fit him into these numbers and categories. That goes for the kind of play too. We distinguish between tragedies, comedies, histories, sometimes polonious is right. They’re tragical comedies and comical historical pastorals and so on, because Shakespeare is, is breaking out of molds constantly.
Not to destroy them because he depends on our knowing them, but to, to enhance them and make the particular play dramatic in the way he wants it to be.
Paul Nicholas
Be fascinating. I love it. Let’s read it. Are we gonna go from Mr. Ford just walked in?
Todd Scofield
Oh, which, which Scene?
Michele Schultz
Which line?
Paul Nicholas
4, 2, 1 15 set down the basket villain. Now this, I’m saying suggesting that because that was a recommendation from Gideon, but if you all want to start from the top and just drive through there, that’s up to you.
Gideon Rappaport
I don’t remember that I was instructing us about this week. I thought I was instructing us about last week, but you might be right. There’s a tape, so I can’t deny. I have no deny ability.
Paul Nicholas
So let me ask the room, lemme ask the three of you. Would you like to start from where we left off or would you like to go to the top of four? Two, not to the top of all the scenes. Top of four, two and run.
Michele Schultz
I would say top of four, two. Yeah, me too. And
Paul Nicholas
run through this.
Michele Schultz
Yes. And
Paul Nicholas
I won’t stop you when we get to sit down the basket villain. We’ll, that, that’s when I’ll start thinking about stopping you.
Corinna Christman
Okay. Because we have, we have not yet gone specifically into particular phrases in this the second half of the scene. So that’s why, that’s why Paul wants to do that, I’m guessing.
Paul Nicholas
Yeah. So, so start from top of four, two and just plow on through. Unless, unless you need to stop. If you need to stop, then stop. But I won’t stop you.
Corinna Christman
Okay.
Todd Scofield
Mr. Ford, your sorrow has eaten up. My sufferance. I see that you are, I see you are obsequious in your love. And I profess for aquile to a hair’s breath. Not only Mrts Ford in the simple office of love, but in all the acc compliment and ceremony of it. But are you sure of your husband now?
Corinna Christman
He’s a birding. Sweet Sir. John, What? Who Step into the chamber, sir. John.
And now, and now. Sweetheart, who’s at home besides yourself?
Why None. But my own people Indeed. No, certainly speak louder.
Truly. I am so glad you have nobody here.
Why? Why woman? Your husband. It is in his old loons again. He so takes on yonder with my husband. So rails against all married mankind. So curses all eve’s daughters of whatever complexion. So and so buffets himself on the forehead, crying out out that any madness I ever yet beheld seemed but timeless civility and patience to this distemper he is in now. I am glad the fact knight is not here.
Why does he talk of him? Of none but him and swears he was carried out the last time he searched for him in a basket protest to my husband. He is now here and have drawn him in the rest of their company from their sport to make another experiment of his suspicion. But I am glad the night is not here. Now he shall see his own foolery. How near is he mistress Paige? Hard bye. It’s street end. He will be here and on.
Hi, am I’m undone. The night you’s here.
Why? You’re utterly ashamed and he’s but a dead man. Oh, what a woman. Are you away with him? Away with him? That shame than murder?
Which way should he go? How should I bestow him? Shall I put him into the basket again?
Todd Scofield
No. I’ll come no more in the basket. May not, may I not go out Air he come.
Michele Schultz
I last three of Master Ford’s brothers watched the door with pistols that nuns shall issue out, otherwise you might slip away air he came. But what make you hear?
Todd Scofield
What shall I do? I’ll creep up into the chimney.
Corinna Christman
They’re, they, they always used to discharge their birding pieces Creep into the king hole.
Todd Scofield
Where is it?
Corinna Christman
He will seek there on my word neither press cougher. Chest trunk. Well vaults. But he has an abstract for the remembrance of such places and goes to them by his note. There is no hiding. You in the house.
Todd Scofield
I’ll go out then
Michele Schultz
If you go out in your own own semblance, you die. Sir John of this, you go out disguised.
How might we disguise him? I last the day. I know not there is no woman’s gown big enough for him. Otherwise he might put on a hat, a muffler and a kerchief. And so escape
Todd Scofield
Good hearts. Devise something, any extremity rather than a mischief.
Corinna Christman
My mate’s aunt, the fat woman of Brentford, has a gown above Oh my word. It will serve him. She’s as big as he is.
And there’s her thumbed hat and her muffler too. Oh, run up Sir John, Go. Go. Sweet, sir. John mistress Paige and I will look some linen for your head.
Quick, quick. We’ll come dress you, we’ll come dress you straight. Put on the gown, the wild. I would, my husband would meet him in this shape. He cannot abide the old woman of Bradford. He swears she’s a witch. Forbade her my house and have threatened to beat her Heaven. Guide him to thy husband’s cudgel and the devil guide his cudgel afterwards. But is my husband coming?
I in good sadness is he. And talks of the basket too, however, howsoever, he has had intelligence. We’ll try for that. For, I’ll appoint my men to carry the basket again to meet him at the door with it as they did last time. Hey. But he’ll be here presently. Let’s go dress him like the witch Brent.
I’ll first direct my men that they should go with do with the basket. Go up. I’ll bring linen for him. Straight.
Hang him. Dishonest Violet. We cannot misuse him enough.
We’ll leave a proof by that, which we will do. Wives maybe marry. And yet honest too, we do not act that often. Jest and laugh is old, but true still. Swine eats all the draw Goers. Take the basket again.
Sorry. Ghosters, take the basket again on your shoulders. Your master is hard at door. If he bid, you set it down. Obey him quickly. Dispatch,
Paul Nicholas
Pray. Heaven it be not full of night again.
They pick up the basket, enter Ford and his friends
Todd Scofield
Set down the basket villain. Come Heather Mistress Ford. Mistress Ford. The honest woman, the modest wife, the virtuous creature that half the jealous fool to her husband, I suspect without cause. Mistress. Do I
Corinna Christman
Evan, be my witness. You do. If you suspect me any dishonesty,
Todd Scofield
Well said brazen face. Hold it out. Come forth. Should I say since we’re not on stage and they they’re not there to do what I’m saying. Should I say hold it, hold the basket out or come or hold, hold, hold, hold the basket out. Come forth, sir.
Paul Nicholas
Well, I’m going to say he pulls clothes out of the basket, so it might be understandable.
Todd Scofield
Okay.
Gideon Rappaport
I I think it just means keep it from where it’s going. Keep hold it back from it. You might wanna say hold it back ke keep it from fulfilling its function till I check it. Basically
Todd Scofield
Hold it up, I think, yeah, it’s kind of, he’s kind like saying hold up.
Gideon Rappaport
Yeah, that’s more
Todd Scofield
Hold up and come forth. Surah is Yeah. Thinking that I’m gonna find him in the clothes.
Gideon Rappaport
Right?
Paul Nicholas
Exactly. Yeah, Exactly.
Todd Scofield
Okay. Well said. Brazen face. Hold it out. Come forth, sir. He
Paul Nicholas
pulls clothes out of the basket.
Corinna Christman
Are you not ashamed? Let the clothes alone.
Todd Scofield
I shall find you alone. Empty the basket. I say,
Corinna Christman
Why man? Why?
Todd Scofield
As I am a man. There was one conveyed out of my house yesterday in this basket. Why may not he be there in my house? I am sure he is. My intelligence is true. My jealousy is reasonable. Fuck me outta all the linen.
Corinna Christman
If you find a man there, he shall die. A fleas death.
Todd Scofield
Paul, what do you think? Do you wanna say they empty the basket?
Paul Nicholas
Yeah, I was just thinking about that, by the way, since we stopped. I’m not gonna say he pulls clothes outta the basket.
Todd Scofield
You’re not,
Paul Nicholas
You say Come forth, sir. And she says, are you not ashamed? Let the clothes alone. So, and plus you’re doing this, you’re doing this. So I don’t even say, okay.
Todd Scofield
Okay, cool. But
Paul Nicholas
I am on stage because I’m playing John, who’s about to leave.
Maybe I, maybe I need, maybe I need not be on stage. Maybe I need to turn my camera off so I can say Robert and John carry the basket off.
Todd Scofield
Well, I, Robert and John empty the basket. That’s what I was thinking of. No, he,
Gideon Rappaport
He is looking at the next line. I looking
Paul Nicholas
At the next
Gideon Rappaport
line They speak, Robert and John refill the basket and carry it.
Paul Nicholas
Right. If I’m not on stage, then I can easily say Robert and John empty the basket.
Todd Scofield
Okay.
Gideon Rappaport
I think you can just do it with your voice. I don’t think you have to appear. Yeah, yeah.
Paul Nicholas
I can do the whole thing with my voice. Even the line about pray. Pray it not be full of night again.
Gideon Rappaport
Yeah, I think so.
Paul Nicholas
Yeah.
Gideon Rappaport
I mean, try it and see if it works.
Paul Nicholas
Corina, I’m gonna try this.
Corinna Christman
Yes.
Paul Nicholas
When he says, pluck me out all the linen on 1 49, then I’m going to say Robert and John empty the basket. Okay. Before your line.
Corinna Christman
Okay.
Paul Nicholas
You got that Todd?
Corinna Christman
Yes.
Todd Scofield
Yeah. Okay. Let me, let me edit my document here. So I Well, It
Paul Nicholas
won’t affect you. It’ll affect Karina.
Todd Scofield
I know, but still I wanna know
Gideon Rappaport
Carina while we’re stopped. Yeah. What does he, what does she mean he shall die of fleas? Death.
Paul Nicholas
Yeah.
Corinna Christman
There’s no one in the basket. He’s basically emptied it. So if there is someone there, it’s like a tiny Yeah. It’s like a sarcastic comment about, you might find like a crumb, but there’s not like, clearly there’s no human hanging out there. Yeah. Right. He’s, he’s so small. He is gonna die the death of something that small. Right. Which is doubly funny one because he is not there and he was last time and two, because he is so big, right? Yes. Yeah. So you are having fun. Okay,
Paul Nicholas
Shall we? Where do you wanna go from Todd? As I’m a man?
Todd Scofield
Yeah. As I’m a man. Wait,
Paul Nicholas
let me get myself off stage.
Corinna Christman
Ah, okay. As
Todd Scofield
I am a man, there was one conveyed outta my house yesterday in this basket. Why may not he be there again? Hmm. In my house. I am sure he is. My intelligence is true. My jealousy is reasonable. Walk me out. Oh, the linen.
Paul Nicholas
Robert and John empty the basket.
Corinna Christman
You find a man there he shall die. A fleas death.
Todd Scofield
Well, he’s not here. I seek for
Paul Nicholas
Robert and John refill the basket and carry it off.
Corinna Christman
What hoe mistress page come you and the old woman down? My husband will come into the chamber.
Todd Scofield
Old woman. What old woman’s that?
Corinna Christman
Why it is my aunt, my maid’s aunt of Brentford,
Todd Scofield
A witch, a queen, an old ping queen. Have I not forbid her my house? She comes of errands. Does she? We are simple. When we are simple men, we do not know what’s brought to pass under the profession of fortune telling. She works by charms, by spells, by the figure and such dobby as this beyond our element. We know nothing. Come down your witch. Ya hag, you come down. I say
Corinna Christman
Nay. Good, sweet husband. Good gentleman. Let him not strike the old woman. Miss do
Paul Nicholas
I? You want me to say Mr. Page enters with fall staff?
Todd Scofield
Yes, I like that.
Paul Nicholas
I’ll, I’ll say the whole thing disguised as order. Mrs. Page. And sir Mrs. Page enters with fallstaff disguised as an old woman. There we go.
Michele Schultz
Grand mother Pratt, give your hand.
Todd Scofield
Ow at her out my door. Your witch, your rag, your baggage, your pole cat, you runion out, out conjure you out.
Paul Nicholas
All staff and Ford exit. Well, I don’t need to say that.
Michele Schultz
Oh, you not ashamed. I think you’ve killed the poor woman. Nay. He will do it is a goodly credit for you.
Trust Me.
Todd Scofield
Well, should I, I’m sorry. Hang on, Paul. Should I still, even though the exit is there, should I, should I still be on? Because Mistress page is directing that to me.
Paul Nicholas
Well, that’s why I’m saying hold.
Gideon Rappaport
I think they’re saying it as you go Out.
Paul Nicholas
Yes.
Corinna Christman
Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
Yes. I I would love to do it. Yeah, I would love for her to say it to you as you Oh, I’m not here. Here I am. Hello. I would love for you her to say it to you as you have left.
Hey, hey, hey, be careful. Don’t hurt her.
Todd Scofield
Okay.
Paul Nicholas
And Mrs. Ford goes, oh, I think he’s gonna hurt her. And then there they have a private moment when all your friends leave. So I think what I’ll say is Faff and Ford exit and after Mrs. Ford says, has a goodly credit for you. I’ll say all of Ford’s friends exit.
Now we know
Gideon Rappaport
there’s A goodly credit for you is Yeah. Sarcastic and ironic directed to him.
Paul Nicholas
Yeah. I think that’s a better way to play it, especially in this environment when we have the same actor plane, full staff and Ford,
Todd Scofield
I mean that full staff and Ford exit. Right? That’s right. After 180 5. That’s clearly, that’s put in for this adaptation for the, just this scene because Ford has some cut lines just, just a little bit later.
Paul Nicholas
Yes. I I did that. I moved that.
Todd Scofield
Okay. Okay.
Paul Nicholas
I think what it said was false staff exits.
Todd Scofield
Gotcha, gotcha.
Paul Nicholas
Because you see down below it says Ford page chias and Sir Hu exit everybody. Right?
Todd Scofield
Right. Yeah. And he says,
Paul Nicholas
Ford says, follow me gentlemen, he’s gonna go beat her some more.
Todd Scofield
Ah,
Gideon Rappaport
Why don’t you have ball staff exit there at after 180 6 or 180 6 and then forward exit after one 90.
Paul Nicholas
Well, to answer that question, I would like to get an answer starting with Corina.
Todd Scofield
What do you mean by
Paul Nicholas
tisa Goodley credit for you?
Corinna Christman
I was wondering that, and then Gideon sort of said, it’s a sarcastic comment towards Ford, I believe. Like Right, because you’re like You. Wow. Look at you big man type. Yeah. So, so honorable beating a woman. Yeah, yeah, Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
Okay. Then I will agree that false staff should exit there and Ford can exit later.
Todd Scofield
Cool.
Paul Nicholas
I’m cutting that in my scripts.
Todd Scofield
And
Paul Nicholas
I will say false staff exits And then forward exits And then ti a goodly credit for you. Todd, would you like to say, will you follow a gentleman or would you like to just not the whole thing, just will you follow gentleman? Wait a minute. Lemme look at the whole thing.
Todd Scofield
I’d love to say hang her witch and then exit TA goodly credit for you hang or witch
Paul Nicholas
And, and not to worry about what you say to your friends.
Todd Scofield
Yeah. Because I mean, we really haven’t been acknowledging We have
Paul Nicholas
Not
Todd Scofield
that there’s more than just Ford.
Paul Nicholas
Well, Mrs. Ford did say, gentlemen, please don’t let him hit her.
Todd Scofield
Yeah. We’re not trying to embody them though.
Paul Nicholas
No,
Gideon Rappaport
I think Todd’s right. I think you’re gonna complicate things if
Todd Scofield
Yeah,
Gideon Rappaport
He can exit after hang her. Which that’s what I would suggest. We restore that line and then exit. We don’t, we don’t, we’re not really looking at his relationships to the other man.
Paul Nicholas
Well then we, you’re not wrong. But then we, the question is, what do we do with Ford’s line? We are simple men. We do not know of this profession of fortune talent. He is talking to his friends. He’s trying to tell her what to tell them what to expect. That here comes a woman who works by charms and spells and, and and numbers and blah, blah, blah. Right? He is talking to them. Right?
Gideon Rappaport
Yeah. But it can as easily be we people of this town or this neighborhood or this level of society or whatever. You know, I, you have to remember that all that list of things he’s accusing her of are punishable by often by death.
So he can’t, he’s gotta be meaning it, but not too literally because she would be arrested and tried as a witch. And that was not okay in the period of Elizabeth, and particularly in the period of James. So he can, he can be talking to his gentleman because earlier they mistress page said, he’s coming with this whole crowd. Right. My husband and a bunch of other people. Right.
Paul Nicholas
So
Gideon Rappaport
that’s in our minds. And he can be meaning that when he speaks to them, or he can be meaning it more generally. But I think Todd’s right. I don’t think we have to try to embody them too much because the, the, the interplay with him and these gentlemen is not going anywhere dramatic. The, the drama of what we are doing is all in the, in the ladies.
Paul Nicholas
I brought that up because I believe I brought, I brought, I’m getting all confused now, but I believe I brought that up because we were talking about should he say follow me gentlemen as he exits do, are we aware as a listening audience that they are there? I think we are because the stage directions, I’m gonna say Ford and his entourage enter fine and she says, gentlemen, don’t let him strike her. And he says, we are simple men, even though, Todd, you’re gonna have to work to make that clear that you’re talking to them and not her. We are a simple man, blah, blah, blah, numbers Dobby, blah, blah, blah. So then when he’s leaving to go beat her some more, should he not say, follow me gentlemen, and then I’ll just say forward in his entourage exits. I, that’s a real question. I don’t know the answer.
I
Gideon Rappaport
think that’ll work fine.
Todd Scofield
Hanger witch, follow me gentlemen.
Paul Nicholas
Will, will you follow gentlemen? I beseech You follow?
Todd Scofield
Will you follow gentlemen?
Paul Nicholas
Yeah. You don’t need to say the rest of it. What do you think, Todd? You don’t want, or, and Gideon and everybody, he doesn’t need to say the rest of that line. Right? All you need to say
Gideon Rappaport
Is, no,
Paul Nicholas
You follow.
Todd Scofield
Or I could just go keeping all the words in the same order. I could just go, gentlemen, I beit you follow?
Paul Nicholas
Yeah, I’m fine with that too.
Michele Schultz
That’s Good. I think it depends whether you want it to be civil or are you still angry at hangar Witch. So Hangar witch, will you follow gentlemen? Come and come with me and let’s go get her.
Todd Scofield
Yeah.
Gideon Rappaport
Or, or will you follow gentlemen? They don’t immediately do it. Now you have to beg them. And I think that complicates things in a way that, that will distract us. That’s my view. But you can,
Todd Scofield
Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
Are you saying you like Todd’s idea of taking out the three words? Will you follow?
Gideon Rappaport
No, I’m saying keep those in and get rid of Bessie.
Todd Scofield
Yeah. Just hanger witch. Will you follow gentlemen?
Gideon Rappaport
That’s it. Okay. Yeah. I like it.
Todd Scofield
Ford exits.
Gideon Rappaport
I think that’s cleaner.
Paul Nicholas
I like it. I’m with it. I dig it. Hang her witch where you follow gentlemen. And I’ll say Ford and his entourage. Exit. Exit. Okay. Merry wives. Instead of going back and and picking, let’s just finish. Do you wanna have your private moment and just finish? Let’s just finish the scene and then we can go back and nitpick. What do you think? Cool.
Corinna Christman
Yes, that works.
Paul Nicholas
So they just left and Faff got a whooping and Ford is in his loons again and they’re all gone.
Michele Schultz
Trust me, he beat him most pitifully Nay by the mass that he did not, he beat him most un pitifully. He thought I’ll have the cudgel hallowed and hung all the altar. It had done meritorious service.
What? Thank you. May we with the warrant of womanhood and the witness of a good conscience, pursue him with any further revenge.
The spirit of Wantonness is sure scared out of him.
If the devil have him not in fee simple with fine and recovery, he will never, I think in the way of waste attempt us again.
Shall we tell our husbands how we have served him?
Yes, by all means. If it but to, if it be but to scrape the figures out of your husband’s brains. If they can find in their hearts the poor on virtuous fat Knight shall be any further afflicted. We too shall still be the ministers. Our warrant though, have him publicly shamed and he thinks there would be no period to the jest. Should he not be publicly sha shamed, Come to the forge with it, then shape it. I would not have things. Cool.
Paul Nicholas
Lovely, lovely. Would you like to go first, Dr. Rappaport?
Gideon Rappaport
Sure.
Paul Nicholas
Starting from starting from set down the basket villain
Gideon Rappaport
From Line 60. I wanna say something. Oh,
Paul Nicholas
all the way back there. Okay.
Gideon Rappaport
Not a lot. I don’t have a lot. But Mistress Ford. Yes. I’m not getting that. Each of these words is a different thing.
You know, it’s a list, but we wanna see each thing. It’s ’cause you’re being really thorough about how Ford will search.
So you have to see in your mind, what is a press, what is a coffer, what is a chest, what is a trunk, what is a, well, what is a vault?
Okay. And if you want my help with any of those, let me know.
And I would,
Paul Nicholas
I would like to add to that, that I don’t know Karina, if she had the whole list in her mind when she started the sentence.
Corinna Christman
Okay.
Paul Nicholas
So she’s thinking, oh, he’s gonna ask to hide in all these places. What can
Corinna Christman
I come up? Am I ready for this, this
Paul Nicholas
or that or that or that or that or that or that. Yeah. None of it don’t,
Gideon Rappaport
and It, it, it go, it gets, it gets more grandiose. So press off for chest and trunk. Trunk is bigger than a chest. Yeah. But also then a well is completely different category. And a vault is a whole separate category.
You’re going as far as you can. Okay. Okay. Line 85. What did I mean, I would, my husband would meet him in this shape. Oh, you said this shape, you hit this.
Okay. And I think you need to go for meat and shape it. It’s not this shape as opposed to meeting him in some other shape. It’s meeting him like this.
Paul Nicholas
Yeah.
Corinna Christman
Yeah. That’s, that’s how I would expect to hear it, I think. Okay. Line 91 mistress page. Just you, you said it fine, Michelle. You’re, you’re just wonderful. You’re making these lines come alive. I really love it. Everybody is, but the, the word sadness, just to be sure means seriousness and sobriety, not unhappiness. Right, right. Yeah. No, no, it’s true. I I, I I wasn’t joking. He is coming. Yeah, yeah. Exactly right.
Paul Nicholas
I have something on 94.
Gideon Rappaport
What?
Paul Nicholas
I have something on 94.
Gideon Rappaport
Okay, go ahead
Paul Nicholas
Karina. You said we’ll try for that. Is that something that, was that just a slip or did we did last week? We say we, we would say that
Corinna Christman
No, no, that was definitely a slip.
Paul Nicholas
Okay, gotcha.
Corinna Christman
Going between paper and Yeah, Todd.
Todd Scofield
Yeah,
Gideon Rappaport
First time you did the Ford character, your voice was a bit higher.
Todd Scofield
Okay.
Gideon Rappaport
And I think that’s important on this zoom, since you’re playing both parts. Okay.
Todd Scofield
So
Gideon Rappaport
fall staff is big and rotunda, and he’s got this lower, richer voice, which is your great voice. So I think you have to go a little, I don’t mean squeaky, but you know, just make a distinction in the register for us.
Todd Scofield
Yeah, yeah.
Paul Nicholas
It, it doesn’t have to be Barry White and Barry Gibb, but,
Gideon Rappaport
And then the last one Is, that’s,
Todd Scofield
that’s, that’s quick Paul. Good, good.
Paul Nicholas
I was trying to get you to spit up whatever you were drinking,
Gideon Rappaport
Todd. 1 36 4. Sarah, how did you say it? Say it again. Come forth.
Todd Scofield
Well said brazen face. Hold it out. Come forth, sir.
Gideon Rappaport
Okay, so you’re saying, sir, the way we say, sir.
Todd Scofield
Yes,
Gideon Rappaport
But I want them more of an I there, sir.
Todd Scofield
Okay. I mean, I’ve always been taught it’s, sir, have you sir and sir.
Gideon Rappaport
Okay. Then do it that way.
Todd Scofield
Okay.
Gideon Rappaport
While we’re doing, so
Todd Scofield
I talked to somebody who was alive then and heard them say it out loud. So
Paul Nicholas
You please do not disparage Michael Kahn in that way. Todd.
Gideon Rappaport
Okay. That’s it, Paul.
Paul Nicholas
Okay. Oakley, Doley Oakley Doley brazen face is a horrible thing to say to your wife. Is it not? Yeah.
Gideon Rappaport
Brazen means brass made of brass meaning shameless.
Paul Nicholas
That’s, but to say that to your wife in front of other people is horrific. And that should shock.
Todd Scofield
Well, because she’s lying right to my face.
Paul Nicholas
Right. So that should, should shock you Mrs. Ford, that he went that far. I mean, I think you’re sorry. I think you’re enjoying the fact that, that he is fooled by this. But to call you brazen face in front of his colleagues, that’s, that’s a horrible thing to do.
Corinna Christman
Okay. Yeah.
Todd Scofield
MIT has it as imp imp impudent person.
Gideon Rappaport
Yeah. And you know what prudent means? Pdo comes From
Todd Scofield
I do not,
Gideon Rappaport
PDO is modesty, sexual modesty.
Todd Scofield
Oh,
Gideon Rappaport
The Venus holding her hands before her genitals is Venus pdo.
Todd Scofield
Oh, I don’t
Gideon Rappaport
know what the phrase is in Latin, but that, but so impudent means without,
Todd Scofield
Is that where we get pudenda?
Gideon Rappaport
Yes. Okay. And also when he says brazen face, he’s using it as a nickname. So it’s not exactly called, I would say it’s not exactly like saying in public. I am calling out my wife as a brazen faced hussy.
She is, he is calling her by this nickname because he’s afraid she has earned it. Yeah.
Todd Scofield
And it is, it is
Gideon Rappaport
awful. But there’s also, it’s not like I want a divorce. You braise and face hussy.
Todd Scofield
Yeah.
Gideon Rappaport
Yeah. Because I haven’t proven this yet, but I’m really suspicious. And he’s seeing what she’ll do and say when he says that.
Paul Nicholas
Okay. So it’s not as bad as if it were today. And he called her a slut. I thought it was that bad. Is it not that bad?
Gideon Rappaport
Well, it depends on how you call someone a slut. If you say before a bunch of people, my wife is guilty of betraying me, she’s a slut. That’s bad. But if you say, oh, good point, slut, it’s more personal. It’s still nasty. It’s very nasty.
But it’s just got a different quality to it. Anyway, I might be asking for too much from Zoom, but
Paul Nicholas
No, and and Todd can play that. Todd can play that. Todd. Yeah. I, I said, I moved the line, Robert and John empty the basket and I realized that it might have messed up your rhythm.
’cause when she said he should die a fleas death, would you prefer the line there? So you have a moment to go? Well, he is not here. I seek for Is it weird to jump to to,
Todd Scofield
I’m sorry, what line are you at?
Paul Nicholas
Well, he’s not here. I seek for, is it, do you prefer to pick up the cue there? I mean, to take a beat before you say that. Would you prefer the, the stage direction right before that line?
Todd Scofield
Yeah, I do. I think that would be better.
Paul Nicholas
Okay. I’ll put it back where it was.
Todd Scofield
They empty the basket. Well, he’s not, yeah. Yeah. That’s good. I like that.
Paul Nicholas
Okay.
Todd Scofield
My husband will come into the chamber.
Paul Nicholas
Okay, let’s deal with this passage here. Mr. Schofield. She comes of errands. Does she, what do you mean by errands?
The Oxford says he means on a Go-Betweens business.
Is it really that simple?
Todd Scofield
I think, I think he say she comes of errands. Oh, she’s just visiting, huh? She’s, she’s not here telling fortunes.
You’re trying, you know, she’s telling fortunes and she’s doing all that devilry and witchcraft in my house under my roof.
She comes of errands. Does she? Sure.
That’s what I thought it was.
Paul Nicholas
Good. Now you turn to your boys and you say, we are a simple man. We do not know what’s brought to pass under the profession of fortune towing. Meaning what? We
Todd Scofield
don’t know all the stuff that goes on with that terrible practice, meaning we just know it’s not any good.
Paul Nicholas
Right. It it could be something like we don’t know the half of it.
Gideon Rappaport
We don’t know how bad it can be.
Paul Nicholas
Yeah. And, and, and there may be, there may be a a, a fairly large dose of fear in his voice. I don’t wanna say that. Yeah. I do wanna say fear. Yeah. Fear.
He beats her with whatever, a cudgel, a broom, whatever he is got his hands on.
Todd Scofield
Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
Because He is afraid of her.
Todd Scofield
Right?
Paul Nicholas
Or am I wrong?
Gideon Rappaport
I think you’re half right. I mean, you’re right. But it’s, it can also be, we don’t understand what goes on with this magic. And we know it’s bad and wrong. And also we don’t know what’s going on in our house behind our backs. And this just adds to it. Like, I don’t know what my wife is doing. I’m suspicious, I’m jealous. And that the, that this spell worker is here. What’s she up to? Yeah. It’s all, it’s all of that composite.
Todd Scofield
Yep.
Gideon Rappaport
So it’s my, it’s fear, but also anger that she’s put you in this position.
Paul Nicholas
She works by charm, spells by the figure. Well, instead of give me, giving you what I think this line means, you tell me what you think. He’s saying the whole thing, all the way to element.
Todd Scofield
She works by charms, by spells, by the figure, by such dobby as this is beyond our element.
Paul Nicholas
So Dobby, I looked up Dobby and it says it means pretense, which seems,
Gideon Rappaport
It means very simple recently means to cover with clay. But it comes to mean giving a false show, putting on a false show. Right.
Paul Nicholas
And what I think he’s saying is this whole thing that my wife is doing is a show. And we don’t know under all this show behind the curtain of this show, what the heck this witch is doing here.
Gideon Rappaport
Right.
Paul Nicholas
It is beyond our element, beyond our understanding. Gideon.
Gideon Rappaport
Yeah. Beyond the world we live in. We don’t live in that wor world. Yeah. Witchcraft. It’s a legitimate sphere of activity and knowledge or beyond our feeble understanding meant ironically as in out of one’s element.
Paul Nicholas
Yeah. And I think Todd, that I, I don’t know that I’m right here, but I think the Anne such dore as this is, is parenthetical. She works by this, by this, by this and way beyond our understanding. And then parenthetically, he sticks in there under the guise of this performance that my wife is putting on. This is way beyond what we understand. That’s what I think. But I don’t know. But it’s almost like the word with is missing and with such dobby as this is, But I I could be completely wrong.
Or maybe’s, it’s, he’s talking about the costume. Maybe he’s talking about what she’s wearing, but he doesn’t know it’s a costume. So I don’t think that’s what he’s talking about. The dobby,
Gideon Rappaport
I think, I think the word buy is understood here. It’s still by, she works by means of pretense.
But the, this is the question. Do you mean this as all of these previous things? Or do you mean this as this situation that my wife is as and I that she’s showing me, my wife is in.
Paul Nicholas
And when you say all these previous things, you mean the things that he has listed?
Gideon Rappaport
Yeah, the charms. The spells the figure.
By the way, figure is diagram. So, you know, in the black magicians would make diagrams, you’ve seen them of stars and other images. They draw it on the ground in chalk and make a circle around it and so on.
Todd Scofield
He’s, I think he’s like painting the picture for his, for everybody else that’s here to let them know, to understand why I feel so strongly about this woman who I think is a witch.
Gideon Rappaport
And it’s very funny that you’re so worked up about that.
Todd Scofield
Yeah. I mean,
Gideon Rappaport
because We know it’s false now.
Todd Scofield
Yeah.
Gideon Rappaport
And you’re not thinking about the infidelity anymore. You’re thinking about how you don’t want this woman anywhere in your house.
Todd Scofield
House. You, you wouldn’t believe what this woman does.
Gideon Rappaport
Right.
Todd Scofield
She steals the neighbor’s pets and eats them. Right. So, So
Paul Nicholas
then Todd, so then is is do you agree with me that beyond our element is the sort of summation of that list? Or is
Todd Scofield
It beyond our element? Me It is it, I don’t, Hmm. I don’t think it’s quite a summation. I think it’s, Or are you re We don’t even know what she’s up
Paul Nicholas
Toing what you said before that
Todd Scofield
It’s reinforcing it. We don’t even know what she’s up to. We can’t understand it and therefore it’s dangerous.
Paul Nicholas
Okay.
Gideon Rappaport
And we know nothing is then got a tinge of sarcasm about it. It’s not that we know nothing, but we don’t know what she’s really up to and therefore we don’t trust her.
Todd Scofield
Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
What I’m trying to identify, just grammatically is what the phrase beyond our element connects to what
Gideon Rappaport
Charms, spells figure dobby or all beyond our element. Our element. So You don’t, we
Todd Scofield
we work, we work with we’re simple men. We work with things with wool and wood and metal. And
Paul Nicholas
So, so you don’t think that and such dory as this is, is parenthetical. ’cause if, if beyond our element is referring to the things in the list before, then the way it makes sense in my head is if and such dory as this is, is sort, is sort of like to highlight what I’m about to say about that list I just said,
Gideon Rappaport
I, I don’t hear it that way. I think the, and shows that it’s a, it’s the fourth element in the series. It’s the fourth item in the series.
Charms spells the figure and such dobby as this is
Paul Nicholas
As whatever. This is
Gideon Rappaport
All of those being beyond our element. We don’t know anything about those. And then he starts to, then he speaks to her calm com, come down you, which you ha you now that he’s got justification for what he’s gonna call her. Okay.
Todd Scofield
That’s
Gideon Rappaport
how I see it. I’m not, I’m not saying you have to do it that way. That’s how I hear it.
Todd Scofield
I do think that last comma is is misplaced. The one after I think compositor B or whatever may have gotten that one wrong. She works by charms, by spells, by the figure. And such. Dobby is, this is beyond our element and such strawberry as this is beyond our element.
Paul Nicholas
Huh. That’s a third way to think of it. Okay. As long as it sounds like it makes sense to you, I’m happy.
Cool.
Todd Scofield
I think there was a smudge of ale or grease on the copy he had. And we just got the comma mixed up.
Gideon Rappaport
You’re imitating all of the, all of the brazen faced editors of Shakespeare.
Paul Nicholas
Compositor B gets the blame for everything.
Gideon Rappaport
Poor guy. He was much better than C and D.
Paul Nicholas
Okay, let’s move on. Come down, you witch, come down. You hag Mrs. Ford. I think this is a, a great performance by you, a great piece of acting. This next line, because I believe you want nothing more. But to have him strike her, him have him strike false death.
Gideon Rappaport
In fact, giving him the idea to do it.
Paul Nicholas
Yes.
Gideon Rappaport
Corina, you’re carina, you’re ma you’re muted.
Hello? Yes. Am I planting the seed for him? Thank you. Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
Michelle, make sure we hear Pratt that her name is Mother Pratt. And give me your hand. What’s a runion Gideon? Oh,
Gideon Rappaport
That’s a good question.
Todd Scofield
Can I tell you something that I found fascinating? It’s not in the Schmidt, it’s not in the lexicon.
Paul Nicholas
The Word runion.
Todd Scofield
Runion.
Paul Nicholas
Wow.
Todd Scofield
There’s a word not in it
Paul Nicholas
I find.
Todd Scofield
Unless it’s like, unless there’s a, oh maybe it’s in the supplement. They, he does have supplements.
Gideon Rappaport
It might, might have, might have been spelled differently too. R-O-N-Y-O-N. Yeah.
Todd Scofield
It might have been,
Gideon Rappaport
It’s probably from Nia in French, meaning mange or kerf. And give us, kerf gives us the word scurvy, but it’s the OED isn’t certain.
What about that? So it’s, it, it’s, they say an abusive term applied to a woman.
Paul Nicholas
And the ox, the Oxford Shakespeare says it’s a term of contempt of an obscure origin. Yeah. Yeah.
Gideon Rappaport
So do you remember the Rumped runion in, where is it the Rumped Runion cries? Is it Romeo and Juliet? I can’t remember.
I think it’s, anyway, it’s, it’s just one more in this list of words he’s trying to come up with to, to insult him.
Todd Scofield
Yeah. Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
All right. Blah blah blah blah blah, blah, blah.
Okay. Michelle, how do you feel about, I think you have killed the poor woman. I think it’s fine. I think it’s fine. Nevermind. I withdraw the question. And we already talked about is a goodly credit for you. Todd’s gonna say, hang her witch. Will you follow a gentleman? I’m gonna say they exit and now you ladies, the wives can have a very good laugh, an even bigger laugh than after the first time.
Corinna Christman
Okay.
Paul Nicholas
Corina, you get the joke with your line. Right.
Corinna Christman
That it was un pitiful. Yeah. Not, yeah,
Paul Nicholas
I
Corinna Christman
guess I had a question. I feel like Master Ford can be abusive and so like, I was try trying to think how much she’s like cracking up and how much Yeah. Should I just play it? Like, it’s really funny to see him beat up someone else. I feel like sometimes there’s references in, not in our scenes, but in other scenes where it sounds like they have a past relationship that’s, that can be physically abusive. And so I was trying to figure out what the tone would be. Am I playing to that or am I just saying this is hilarious? He beat up that old woman. So funny.
And it was false staff. Yeah. I, I guess that was my question there.
Paul Nicholas
Yeah. Sadly, that’s not an inappropriate question to ask. I wonder how that played back then. Gideon, I wonder,
Gideon Rappaport
I think, I Think
Paul Nicholas
men hitting their wives was commonplace back then,
Corinna Christman
Right? I think, yeah. And I think it gives the wrong note to the comedy of the scene. Okay. So it’s just hilarious to see him beat on someone else. Yeah. And I don’t think he actually physically beats you. At least not in anything we’re looking at. So, right. Not in our scenes. No. Yeah. I think it would, I think it would complicate things. And also I wanted to say about, trust me, you’re not trying to convince her to believe you. You’ve both seen this. So it’s like an automatic phrase. It’s like, boy oh boy. Did he Right? Yes. And the and the thing you pick up, the thing that Mistress Ford picks up is Pitifully Pitifully.
Yeah. So Mistress Page is not saying, believe you me, like you have to believe me ’cause you didn’t see it. No. She’s saying, oh boy did he beat him Pitifully. And then you go ha un pitifully. And then she goes further with his, this hallowed cudgel. You
Paul Nicholas
can have a lot of fun with that Karina. It could be, yeah, it could seem like you are, you are trying to literally disagree with her for real.
Corinna Christman
Right?
Paul Nicholas
Oh, no, no, no. You’re very wrong. And then land the joke yourself.
Gideon Rappaport
Right.
Paul Nicholas
And then Mrs. Page picks it up as
Michele Schultz
Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
As Gideon says and takes it further. Yeah.
Corinna Christman
And, and Mrs. Page knows what she’s doing. It’s not like she’s taken in by that first part of the line. They’re, they’re in cahoots. They’re thoroughly in cahoots.
Yes. Okay.
Paul Nicholas
And then Karina, you can take, you can alter the rhythm a little with what do you think? Should we do it again? Yeah.
Corinna Christman
Yeah. Okay. So we’re kind of laughing basking in the glory of this last endeavor. And then let, what should we do now? Yeah, okay. And I think here’s where they slightly divide for a moment.
Should we go to a third version of this?
And Mistress Ford says, I mean Mistress page says, no, we don’t really need to unless the unless he’s really of the devil’s party, I think this has done it. Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
And I think, tell me if I’m wrong, Gideon, I think what, what Mrs. Ford is saying under the, under the banners of womanhood and good conscience, should we do this again? Right? Is it, would it be too much? Would it be violating good conscience and
Corinna Christman
Yeah. A
Paul Nicholas
woman’s honor to do it again? Is that what she’s saying?
Gideon Rappaport
Yes. And particularly because she uses the word revenge. And that edge is, again, that edge is away from justice and toward revenge, which in Shakespeare is always wrong. And that’s why Mrs. Page is saying, no, we’re not gonna go as far as, you know, lit, literal revenge. We’re just trying to correct him so he doesn’t come after us again. But I also say that if once we tell our husbands, if our husbands wanna go forward through it, we’re in. Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
Yes.
Gideon Rappaport
Yeah. Right. And this is, this is what that word, that false death says. Obsequious is implying if the husbands knowing everything that’s happened, if the husbands wanna go further and and use the wives to, to trap him more, they will. So that’s obedience to the husbands.
And she thinks we don’t, we’re probably not gonna need to do that. But if they say so, it’ll be fun. And is
Paul Nicholas
Mrs. Ford saying, she’s not saying, when she says, shall, shall we tell our husbands, she’s not saying, what do you think? Should we tell them? She’s saying, why don’t we go tell them? Right. Yeah.
Gideon Rappaport
Because deaths telling them is not a suggestion. It’s like
Paul Nicholas
telling them is not up for debate. We’re gonna tell them, yeah,
Corinna Christman
Yeah. Let’s do Well that’s part of the cream of the joke. Right, right. To get the husbands to realize what they’ve done and that also reinforces their virtue. So, but they’re on the same page, shall we tell them? Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
Good. I want to go back a little bit.
The spirit of Wantonness is short, scared out of him if the devil have him not in fee simple with fine and recovery. So if the devil, if he doesn’t, does that mean if the devil doesn’t own him? If he doesn’t, if, if he is not beholden to the devil.
Gideon Rappaport
Yes. Correct. Fee simple. If the devil
Paul Nicholas
does not have him in fee. Simple.
Michele Schultz
Oh, Fee simple means complete absolute possession
Paul Nicholas
That, you know, I saw that phrase in another Shakespeare play not that long ago. What the hell? I don’t remember what play it was fee simple.
Gideon Rappaport
There’s a lot of lot of that kind of stuff in Hamlet about the lawyers. But I don’t think fees, I don’t think fee’s simple. I can’t, I don’t remember. We can look it up.
Paul Nicholas
I think it was Hamlet. But with fine and recovery. What does that mean? Like, fine, like, like, like a legal fine.
Michele Schultz
I think that, I think that means without recourse was the way I read it. Like So
Paul Nicholas
he has no recourse against the devil. Right. If the devil has him without recourse,
Michele Schultz
Yes.
Paul Nicholas
If that’s not the case, he won’t ever attempt this again. Right. What does in the way of waste mean?
Michele Schultz
Ah, It’s another legal term and it’s un unauthorized act of damage or destruction by a tenant who does not have full legal ownership and so correctly applied to false staff’s relations with the mery wives.
In other words, he is,
Paul Nicholas
And it’s not about his relationship with the devil.
Gideon Rappaport
No. This is now about his relationship to them. He will never in the way of waste, meaning in the way of harming us without authorization trying to sleep with us and as we know, get our money without the right to do so. ’cause he is not, we’re not married to him, so he’s not gonna try to seduce us Again.
Paul Nicholas
The o the only way he would do that is if the devil had him in his clutches completely. Which we know he does not.
Gideon Rappaport
Right. Okay.
Paul Nicholas
It’s a very complicated sentence, but it’s beautiful.
Gideon Rappaport
It’s a, it’s a, it’s basically disjunctive proposition. If this, if not this, then this. Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
If
Gideon Rappaport
the devil doesn’t own him, he won’t do it again.
Paul Nicholas
So Mr. Page says, if our husbands want to have him be further afflicted, we too will still be the ministers. Like we will come up with a plan I warrant. They’ll have him publicly shamed. Ah. And there would be this joke. He needs to be publicly shamed for this to have a period for this joke
Corinna Christman
to come to an end. So Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
And Michelle, you get the, the last line to the forge with it then shape it. Right.
Michele Schultz
Right. Yeah. In other words, we’ve gotta go, we’ve gotta basically strike while the iron is hot. Is the Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
You gotta make the sword.
Michele Schultz
Yeah. Let’s shape the plan. Now I don’t wanna have things cool off when you can’t shape it.
Paul Nicholas
And also this, the sword has to be carved and shaped and sharpened before the metal gets cooled.
Michele Schultz
Right.
Paul Nicholas
Else you won’t be able to do it.
Gideon Rappaport
And the plan is to, is what the husbands are going to do. They’ve already done what they’ve going to what they’ve done.
So come to the forge with it means let’s go tell our husbands and then shape what’s gonna happen. And I’ll warrant Mistress Ford at line two 20. I’ll warrant means, I assure you, I’m sure.
Paul Nicholas
Which ties back into Karina. It ties back into you asked her, should we do it to him again? And she said, no, he is had enough. He is, he’s learned his lesson. It still ties back. And then Michelle said, but if our husbands wants to do it again Sure. And then Yeah, you, so this ties into, and I’m, I I guarantee you they will wanna do it again. They’ll wanna put it, they’ll wanna shame it in public next time
Gideon Rappaport
And, and then plus we will not feel that our whole endeavor has been completed unless he’s publicly shamed.
Paul Nicholas
Right.
Michele Schultz
Right. Our goal is not just to have got where we are, he’s gotta be publicly shamed. And of course then he is later on.
Paul Nicholas
Let’s just do that last bit again. From, from, are you not ashamed? Everybody with me.
Gideon Rappaport
Give us a line. Oh, there it is. Line 180 7. Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
So you got a couple of lines, Todd.
Todd Scofield
Okay.
Michele Schultz
Are you not ashamed? I think you’ve killed the poor woman. Nay. He will do it to his goodly credit for you
Todd Scofield
Hanger. Which will you follow? Gentlemen?
Michele Schultz
Trust me. He beat him most pitiably Nay by the mess that he did not, he beat him most un pitiably. He thought I’ll have the cuddle hallowed and hung all the altar. It has done meritorious service.
What? Thank you. May we, with the warrant of womanhood and the witness of good conscience, pursue him with any further revenge.
The spirit of Wantonness is sure, scared out of him.
If the devil had him not in be simple with fine and recovery, he will never, I think, in the way of waste, attempt us again.
Shall we tell our husbands how we have served him?
Yes, by all means. If it be but to scrape the figures out of your husband’s brains, if they can find in their hearts the poor and virtuous fat knight shall be any further afflicted, we too will still be the ministers.
I warn, though, have him publicly shamed and me thinks there would be no period to the jest. Should he not be publicly shamed, Come to the forge with it, then shape it. I would not have things cool.
Paul Nicholas
Nice. Lovely. Oh my gosh, that was so good. So good. As my friend Gideon always says, it’s so good when you know exactly what you’re saying.
Gideon Rappaport
I got a couple things to say. Yes
Paul Nicholas
Sir.
Gideon Rappaport
One 90 Mistress Ford. Don’t hit the pronoun you give. Give us the full sarcasm on Oh, good. Show that. Okay. This shows you in a great light. Yeah. Okay. Something like that. Line two 13 similarly, mistress page Don’t hit the attempt us again. It’s not, we, we know he’s attempting you to.
I I would go for attempt. Yes. Okay. That the rest of that line was great by the way. Perfect.
Paul Nicholas
Yes.
Gideon Rappaport
But then you just landed on the pronoun in a way that distracted us.
Line two 16, just to point out if, but if it’d be but to scrape the figures out of your husband’s brain. That’s the same word that her husband has or Mr. Ford used about the witch. So false diagrams, false images of your betrayal, which isn’t true. And then the last thing was still two 19 mistress page. We too will still be the ministers still has the sense of not continuing to be, but always like, whatever gets done to him, we will be the ones ministering it. So it just, in Shakespeare still almost always means, always. Ah. Got it. That’s it. Good work. I agree.
Paul Nicholas
Mrs. Page, when she says, shall we tell our husbands your yes. I don’t think means. Oh, that’s a good idea. There was always the plan. What she’s saying is, is now the time to go tell ’em. So I think you’re saying Yes, I agree with you. Let’s go, let’s go tell ’em. Okay. I wanna try something. If we have time, it’s nine 20. This is primarily for the wives.
We can just try it or we can, we can talk through it first. I would like to go from when, sorry, lemme just find my spot.
It’s when Mrs. Page first comes in in four two, I would love to try to see if it can work. That mistress page actually saw Ford out on the road humming with his friends and talking about a basket. And mistress page has come in and said, oh my gosh, it please don’t tell me he’s here because your husband is actually coming. And Mistress Ford thinks, wow, your acting skills have really picked up.
Corinna Christman
This
Paul Nicholas
is wonderful. Good job. And so you’re saying, and you’re saying, oh my God, is he here? And she’s saying, no, he is not. I don’t know what your line is. And she goes, speak louder. I love your acting, but you know, let’s hear it. And Mrs. Page the whole time is going, no, no, no, no, this is for real. Your husband’s coming. And Mrs. Ford is thinking, man, you’re a great actor. And, and Mrs. Ford is acting and Mrs. Page is not acting.
Michele Schultz
Okay.
Paul Nicholas
There Are, there are certain lines that will, that will destroy this convention. But I’d love to try it and see where we come in. We, we slam into walls. Wow. There are certain lines that support this idea. And there are certain lines that deflate it.
Gideon Rappaport
You, you just have to decide when she shifts, it’s a shift. So you have to decide when she doesn’t, when she is surprised at what mistress page is saying and when she now wants to say things louder. So fall staff will hear it as a plot. So there, there you can’t have it both ways. So you’re gonna have
Paul Nicholas
No, what I’m gonna,
Gideon Rappaport
You’re gonna have a place where you have to decide where the shift comes. Well,
Paul Nicholas
I was wondering if the whole time Mrts page is saying she’s not, she’s not saying it unfortunately. But Mrs. Page is really reporting what she saw.
Michele Schultz
No, I understand what you’re saying. Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
Yeah.
Michele Schultz
So that, that, so that would change the line. Truly. I am so glad you have nobody here. I’m not doing that for Shakespeare’s benefit. I mean for, for full false stops benefit. I’m doing it for, oh gosh, thank God you didn’t get it here because,
Paul Nicholas
So thank God he didn’t come for the second trick because your husband is coming.
Michele Schultz
Right.
Paul Nicholas
And then when false staff disappears to go put on the gown and she says to you, but is my husband coming? You go, yes. For real. He is coming. Okay. But there were, like I said, we’re gonna come across certain lines that make you go, wait a minute, that can’t work. Yeah. I don’t know, but I’d just love to try it. Sure.
Corinna Christman
Okay. So most of this, I just think she’s acting and I’m
Paul Nicholas
Really, well, her acting has Picked up.
Corinna Christman
She’s doing Really? Yeah. And I’m just playing along. Okay.
Paul Nicholas
So
Corinna Christman
I Think she’s been really
Paul Nicholas
Go from how now, sweetheart, so you’re already gone, sir John. Okay.
Michele Schultz
How now, sweetheart, who’s at home besides yourself? Why none but my own people? Oh, Indeed.
Sorry, I think I froze for a second. Yeah,
Paul Nicholas
you did go again. How now sweetheart. How
Michele Schultz
now sweetheart. Who’s at home beside yourself? Why none but my own people Indeed. No, certainly speak louder.
Truly. I am glad you have nobody here.
Why? What my Woman, your husband is in his old loons again. He so takes on yonder with my husband. So rails against all married mankind. So curses, all eve’s daughters of whatever complexion. So air. And so buffets himself on the forehead crying, peer out, peer out that any madness I ever yet beheld seem, but tameness civility and patience to this distemper he is in now, I’m glad that that night is not here.
Why does he talk of him? I’ve not but him and swears he was carried out the last time we searched, he searched for him in a basket protest to my husband. He is now here and have drawn him and the rest of their company from their sport to make another experiment of his suspicion.
But I am glad the night is not here. Now she shall see his own foolery. How near is he mistress Paige?
Hard by at street end he’ll be here an on I’m undone. The night is here. Why? Then you’re utterly ashamed and he’s but a dead man. What a woman. Are you away with him? Away with him? Better shame than murder.
Which way should he go? How should I bestow him? Shall I put him into the basket again?
Todd Scofield
No. How come no more in the basket? May I not go out? There he come.
Michele Schultz
Last three of Master Ford’s brothers, watch the door with pistols. That nun shall you out. Otherwise you might slip away as he came.
But what make you here?
Todd Scofield
What shall I do? I’ll creep up into the chimney.
Corinna Christman
They, they always use to discharge their birding pieces Creep into the kill. Ho,
Todd Scofield
Where is it? He will seek their just and
Corinna Christman
goes to them by his note. There is no hiding. You in the house.
Todd Scofield
I’ll go out then
Michele Schultz
If you go out in your own semblance, you die. Sir John, unless you go out disguised.
How might we disguise him? I last the day. I know not there’s no woman’s gown big enough for him. Otherwise he might put on a hat, a muffler and a kers hip and ship. And so escape
Todd Scofield
The parts devise something any extremity rather than a mischief.
Corinna Christman
My maid’s aunt, the fat woman of B Brentford has a gown above On my word. It will serve him. She’s as big as he’s, and there’s her thrummed hat and her muffler too. Run up Sir John, Go. Go. Sweet, sir. John mistress Paige and I will look some linen for your head. We’ll come dress you straight. Put on the gown, the gu. I would, my husband would meet him in this shape. He cannot abide the old woman of brentford. He swears she’s a witch. Forbade her my house and half threatened to beat her Heaven. Guide him to thy husband’s cudgel and the devil guide his cudgel afterwards. But is my husband coming?
I in good sadness is he And talks at the basket too. Howsoever. He has had intelligence. We’ll try that for, I’ll appoint my men to carry the basket again to meet him at the door with it as they did last time. Me. But he’ll be here presently. Let’s go dress him like the witch of brentford.
I’ll first go direct. I’ll first direct my men what they shall do with a basket. Go up. I’ll bring linen for him. Straight. Hang him. Dishonest Violet. We cannot misuse him enough. We’ll leave a proof by that, which we will do. Wives may be married and yet honest too.
We do not act that often. Just in laugh his own. But true still. Swine eats all the draft.
Paul Nicholas
Okay, that was very well. What a very thorough and quick adjustment. Thank you Michelle. Thank you Carina.
Your thoughts, Gideon watching that, could that work?
Gideon Rappaport
I think they,
Paul Nicholas
I wrote down some lines that get in the way, but what do you Think?
Gideon Rappaport
I think they acted it beautifully and I think it doesn’t work. And the reason, tell me why.
Paul Nicholas
The reason
Gideon Rappaport
is ’cause they’ve plotted this second trick and, and it takes away the humor of the double entendres that Mistress Ford is saying because she’s, she, she’s reinforcing everything she says is to make false staff in the other room petrified. And if it’s about Paige, knowing what Ford doesn’t yet know, it changes the drama from that, from, from disjunction between the wives, from fall, from the disjunction with false staff to disjunction between the wife. I think they did it beautifully. And I think it could, it would read. But I think the, I think it’s a shallower kind of humor.
That’s my impression. I kind of agree with, with with, with Gideon. It was really fun to play it that way. But I think there’s so much more where, where things are just designed to, to scare full stuff out out of his wits. You know? And I, I think it’s kind of funny, you know, it, it is a, there’s a, it it is a bit funny when all of a sudden she kind of said, oh, you know, is he really coming? Oh, that’s, yes he is. You know, and but, but because we’ve been playing this scene, so, so well Oh my God, yes. There really is real danger. But we’ve been having so much fun scaring the bejesus out of full stop.
Yeah. In other words, it comes on top of, of the intentional fooling false staff rather than Right. As a complete revelation. Right.
Paul Nicholas
Do you have thoughts, Todd?
Todd Scofield
No, I mean I really, it it doesn’t really affect what I’m doing. It didn’t, didn’t seem, didn’t really feel like, so whatever you guys think. I don’t Yeah. What
Paul Nicholas
I meant as an audience member. Do you have thoughts?
Todd Scofield
Oh no, I mean I wasn’t even thinking about it as an audience member. Sorry. I was just, I mean, I think it could work either way. So, but
Paul Nicholas
See, I think logically we would have to make too many changes to make it work. But I think it’s funnier when she is being real.
And we still achieve the goal. The wives still achieve the goal of scaring the bejesus out of fall staff. ’cause he’s hearing her right saying for real. Oh my gosh, here he comes.
Gideon Rappaport
So you’re locating the drama in Mistress Ford’s discovery rather than in the audience’s pleasure at the, the two levels of hearing what she’s saying hers and fall steps.
Paul Nicholas
Yes. If if we, if I were to direct it and do it that way, yes. Because we’ve already seen them go, oh, my husband’s coming. Oh no, what are we gonna do? We’ve already seen that one. And if, if this one is, oh my God, your husband’s coming. Your husband’s coming. Oh yeah. What are we gonna do? No, no, no, no. He’s really coming. Oh, it’s so terrible. That I think is a different version of the, of the foolery.
And I think it adds a layer of comedy. But you know what, we would never know until we actually saw it. We would never know. And then we’d have to make so many adjustments because aren’t, aren’t I right Gideon? Don’t they actually say to the audience, well, not to the audience, but didn’t the audience heard them plot this whole thing about the the maid’s gown
Gideon Rappaport
Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
Before he got there.
Gideon Rappaport
Oh, I don’t remember that. Is that true? Like,
Paul Nicholas
I was looking for it. I don’t, I can’t find it, but I have a feeling that they
Gideon Rappaport
said It. I don’t think so. I don’t think So. I don’t think it’s on stage that they say that. Yeah, I thinks, I think it’s news. I think it’s news in this scene.
Paul Nicholas
Okay. So we wouldn’t have to change that. No.
Gideon Rappaport
If
Paul Nicholas
we were gonna do it. I’m not saying we’re gonna do it, by the way, I’m saying like, if we were doing a staged production and we were gonna do it that way, we wouldn’t have to worry about, well, wait a minute, how would Mrs. Page know about that plot? Because the audience never heard that plot.
Gideon Rappaport
But then you have to think about what is false staff hearing when that happens.
So if, if one of them is bringing news to the other one that’s real, what is false staff here and how much, you know, why isn’t he that? I think it just alters the, the joke of what they’re doing for his sake. And the first scene that we did, the three three, at the end of that, we, we both agree, oh, we’re gonna do this again. We’re gonna, we’re gonna, we’re gonna get him to, to to come back again. And, and, and we’ll, we’re gonna up the ante. And, and this is, I think the what, how that works out. So I think, so it is something that we plan to do. I mean, not necessarily with, with the dress and stuff like that, possibly, but definitely the idea of having him come back again and, and, and, and, and, you know, gulling him again was, was part of the, and humiliating him was part of the, of the plan. And part of the fun of that is that these two women are in cahoots. Like yes, they understand each other.
Yes, that’s right. We, we, we were definitely, we definitely came up with this plan together. Yeah. One thing I did like about just the, the dynamic was, you know, mistress Page seems so sincere and so real and so Mistress Ford is just like, ’cause they’re, they’re performing for full staff, but they’re also performing for each other ’cause they’re, you know, so she’s like, oh, let’s do, you know, so I liked that dynamic in it. But you could still, You could do that anyway in the sense That yeah, you could still play that anyway. Yeah, You could play it anyway. ’cause Mistress Ford’s an even better actress than, I mean, mistress Page is an even better actress than Mistress Ford.
Right. So you could be inspired by how, And I, I think it’s possible that you could, there could be a note of uncertainty in the audience while they are fooling false staff. We might be saying, wait, is he really coming or not? And then we are confirmed when she says, no, truly he’s coming. So that may be for the audience’s sake rather than for mistress Ford’s sake, sake.
Paul Nicholas
And please understand by the way, that all this pushback
Todd Scofield
I’m,
Paul Nicholas
I’m doing, I’m not advocating that we do it that way. I just really want to like
Gideon Rappaport
Explore, discuss. Yeah, Absolutely.
Paul Nicholas
I think, I think, I think that that what Gideon just said is funnier when the audience is thinking, oh shoot, he’s really coming. And Mrs. Ford thinks that she’s acting, but he is really coming. ’cause by the way, as an audience member, we just saw Ford say, come with me. I’m gonna go to my house and catch him. So we know he is coming as the audience member. And here’s Mrs. Page saying, oh my God, he is coming. And Mrs. Ford thinks that she’s acting and we know that false staff is actually there hiding. I think that whole thing is funnier. But again, it would be, so we’d have to make so many ad adjustments to make it work. There’s certain lines like, let me find my notes there.
The line, why, what a woman are you?
That doesn’t make sense. If Mrs. Page is not acting to me, that doesn’t make sense. Yeah.
Gideon Rappaport
Right. Right.
Paul Nicholas
Michelle, what would that mean?
Michele Schultz
Right, right, right. I wouldn’t not acting.
Paul Nicholas
Yeah.
Michele Schultz
That that it, it, yeah. I agree. I agree. That has to be, I I wouldn’t be, you know, shaming her for something that we set up. Right,
Paul Nicholas
Right, right. If you, if you were not acting and she goes, he is here and you go, oh my God, he is here, you, I don’t see that. You would say, why? What a woman are you?
Michele Schultz
Yeah. And anyway, she wouldn’t say, oh my God, he is your in that way because she wants fall staff to be caught.
Paul Nicholas
That’s another good point. She does want him to be caught. That’s the other, that’s the other part of it that makes it not work is that she wouldn’t be going, she wouldn’t walk in and go, oh my God, I hope he’s not here because your husband’s coming to kill him. She would be going, I hope he’s here. ’cause your husband’s coming to kill him
Gideon Rappaport
Because that scares him more. And that’ll keep And That’s exactly what we
Paul Nicholas
Want.
Gideon Rappaport
Yeah. Can I give three notes on what I heard this time? Yes. Mistress page line 23. You keep saying of what? Of Eve’s daughters of whatsoever complexion. So, or whatever complexion. So it’s of what complexion. So, So curses all Eve’s daughters of what? Complexion. So That’s it. Line 99 is Mr. Ford.
Can you give me the longer vow on aisle instead of all Aisle? Okay. I aisle first direct nine minutes. It’s just that it, it’ll read better for the audience. Okay. And then 1 0 7, oh, it’s, it’s 1 0 6. Actually we do not act mistress page. We do not act that often. Justin laughed. I didn’t, I didn’t get the meaning of that from the way you said it this time. Okay. What, what does it mean?
It means that we may joke about, you know, ha having fun and, and, and you know, maybe cheating. But we, we, we really wouldn’t do anything that, that would impute our honesty. Yeah. And I don’t think it’s just, and laugh about cheating either. It’s about anything. Okay. But just In general, Just the fact that just the fact that we’re lighthearted as opposed to serious and modest Doesn’t mean that we are light morally. Yeah. So we do not act immorally even though we tell jokes and have fun. Yes. Yes. Okay. So, got it. I think you have to bring out the contrast, the, the antithesis between act and just and laugh.
Yeah. Those people who just laugh don’t necessarily act badly. Understood. Badly. Yes. Good. That’s it.
Paul Nicholas
Cool. By the way, just to finish up this thing, the other two lines that would be troublesome if we were gonna do it that way. The other one is three of Mr. Ford’s brothers watch the door with pistols. We in the audience know that that’s not true. And she wouldn’t say it if she wasn’t acting.
And the other one is when fall staff comes out, she says that what make you here? Right.
Gideon Rappaport
She wouldn’t say that if she was not.
Paul Nicholas
Yes.
Corinna Christman
Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
Okay. I think, I think we can go early tonight, but just to shake that, that one out of our brains, let’s just do it again. The the old way. Do we want to do the all of four two or do we just wanna do from Yeah, why don’t we just do all of four two. It’s not that long. What do you think?
Michele Schultz
Sounds good.
Paul Nicholas
And, and I won’t stop you. Oh, and I’m gonna blah blah blah. I am going to say Mrs. Ford, just so you know, after ti old, but true still, swine eats all the draft. I’m going to say that stage direction. Mrs. Ford enters with Robert and John who bring the basket.
Corinna Christman
Okay. And
Paul Nicholas
Mr. Ford, I’m going to say you that you enter with your entourage or your friends. I find I’ll find a nice way to say it.
Cool. Here we go. And then we go home.
We are home.
Todd Scofield
Mistress Ford, your sorrow has eaten up. My sufferance. I see you are obsequious in your love. And I profess for a quietal to a heirs breath. Not only Mrts Ford in the simple office of love, but in all the accoutrement compliment and ceremony of it. But are you sure of your husband now?
Corinna Christman
He’s a birding. Sweet sir John. What? Hell Step into the chamber, sir John, Very sweetheart. Who’s at home beside yourself? Why none But my own people Indeed.
No. Certainly speak louder. Truly. I am so glad you have nobody here.
Why? Why woman. Your husband is in his old loons again. He so takes on yonder with my husband. So rails against all married mankind. So curses all eve’s daughters of what? Complexion so and so buffets himself on the forehead crying. Peer out, peer out. That any madness I ever yet beheld him but his and patience to this, this his he is in now I am glad the is here.
Why does he talk of him? Of none but him and swears he was carried out the last time he searched for him in a basket protests to my husband. He is now here and has drawn him in the rest of their company from their sport to make another experiment of his suspicion.
But I am glad the night is not here. Now he shall see his own foolery. How near is he mistress Paige? Oh, by at street end he’ll be hearing on, Hi, I’m done. Knight here. Why is it you’re utterly shame? And he’s but a dead man. Oh, what a woman. Are you away with him? Away with him? Better shame than murder. Which way should he go? How should I bestow him? Shall I put him into the basket again?
Todd Scofield
No. I’ll come no more in the basket. May not. I go out air. He come
Michele Schultz
Ala three of Master Ford’s brothers, watch the door with pistols That nun shall issue out. Otherwise you might slip out away air he came.
But what make you here?
Todd Scofield
What shall I do? I’ll creep up into the chimney.
Corinna Christman
They’re they always used to discharge their birding pieces Creep into the kill hole.
Todd Scofield
Where is it?
Corinna Christman
He will seek there on my word neither PEs coffer. Chest trunk. Well vaults. But he has an abstract for the remembrance of such places and goes to them by his notes. There is no hiding. You in the house.
Todd Scofield
I’ll go out then
Michele Schultz
If you go out in your own semblance, you die. Sir John, unless you go out disguised.
How might we disguise him A last the day? I know not there is no woman’s gown big enough for him. Otherwise he might put on a hat, a muffler and aker chip. And so escape
Todd Scofield
Good hearts. Devise something. Any extremity rather than a mischief.
Corinna Christman
My maid’s aunt, the fat woman of brentford has a gown above, Oh my word. It will serve him Jesus big as he is. And there’s her th thumb hat. And a month or two run up a John.
Go. Go. Sweet, sir John mistress Paige and I will look some linen for your head. Quick, quick. We’ll come dress you straight. Put on the gown the wild. I would, my husband would meet him in the shape.
I cannot abide the old woman of red foot.
Sorry. I would, my husband would meet him in this, this shape.
He cannot abide the old woman of Branford. He swears she’s a witch. Forbade her my house. And I threatened to beat her, Have him guide him to thy husband’s kle and the devil guide his cu afterwards. But is my husband coming?
Oh good. Sadness is he and talks at the basket too. Howsoever. He had had intelligence. We’ll try that. But I’ll appoint my men to carry the basket again to meet him at the door with it as they did last time. Yeah. But he’ll be here presently. Let’s go dress him like the witch of brentford.
I’ll first direct my men what they shall do with the basket. Go up. I’ll bring linen for him. Straight.
Hang him. Dishonest Violet. We cannot misuse him enough.
We’ll leave a proof by that. Which we will do.
Wives may be married and yet honest too.
We do not act that often. Est in law.
Ti old but true still. Swine eats all the draft.
Paul Nicholas
Mrs. Ford enters with Robert and John and the buck basket
Corinna Christman
Goers. Take the basket again on your shoulders. Your master is hard. A door. If he bid, you set it down. Obey him quickly. Dispatch,
Paul Nicholas
Pray. Heaven it be not full of night again. Enter forward and his entourage
Todd Scofield
Set. Sit down the basket villain come hither. Mistress Ford. Mistress Ford. The honest woman, the modest wife. The virtuous creature that have the jealous fool to her husband. I suspect without pause, mistress do I
Corinna Christman
Heaven be my witness. You do. If you suspect me in any
Todd Scofield
Well said brazen face, hold it out. Come forth sir.
Corinna Christman
Are you not ashamed? Let the clothes alone.
Todd Scofield
I shall find you a nun. Gotta empty the basket. I say
Corinna Christman
Why ma’am? Why?
Todd Scofield
As I am a man. There was one conveyed out of my house yesterday in this basket. Why may not he be there again in my house? I am sure he is. My intelligence is true. My jealousy is reasonable. Fuck me out all the linen.
Corinna Christman
If you find a man there he shall die. A fleas death.
Paul Nicholas
Robert and John empty the the basket.
Todd Scofield
Well he’s not here. I seek four.
Paul Nicholas
Robert and John refill the basket and carry it off.
Corinna Christman
What hoe mistress page come you and the old woman down. My husband will come into the chamber.
Todd Scofield
Old woman. What old woman’s that?
Corinna Christman
Why it is my maid’s aunt of Brentford,
Todd Scofield
A witch, a queen, an old cousin named Queen. Have I not forbid her my house? She comes of errands. Does she? We are simple men. We do not know what’s brought to pass under the profession. Fortune telling. She works by charms, by spells, by the figure. And such. Dobby as this is beyond our element. We know nothing. Come down your witch Yag you come down. I say
Corinna Christman
Good, sweet husband, good gentleman. Let him not strike the old woman. Come Mother Pratt. Come give me your hand
Todd Scofield
Out. Pratt her out my door. You witch. You rag you baggage. You poke. Have you run out, out, out. I’ll conjure you out. Fortune tell you. Ah,
Paul Nicholas
Full staff exit.
Michele Schultz
Are you not ashamed? I think you’d kill the old woman. Nay. He will do it. His goodly credit for you.
Todd Scofield
Hanger witch. Will you follow? Gentlemen?
Paul Nicholas
Ford and his entourage exits
Michele Schultz
Beat him most Yay by the mask that he did not beat him. Most un me. Thoughts? I’ll have the cudgel hallowed and hung all the altar. It has done meritorious service. What? Thank you. May we with foreign to womanhood and the witness of good conscience pursue him with any further revenge.
The spirit of wantonness is sure scared out of him. If the devil had him not. And be simple with fine and recovery. He’ll never. I think in the way of waste, attempt us again.
Shall we tell our husbands how we have served him?
Yes, by all means. If it be but to scrape the figures out of your husband’s brains. If they can find in their hearts the poor on virtuous fact, knight shall be any further afflicted. We too will still be the ministers.
I warn thou have him publicly shamed and me thinks there would be no period to the Jess. Should he not be publicly shamed, Come to the forge with it, then shape it. I would not have things. Cool.
Paul Nicholas
Fabulous. Fabulous.
Gideon Rappaport
Wonderful.
Paul Nicholas
You got anything Gideon?
Gideon Rappaport
Yes. I have five notes. Line 32 mistress page. I think it’s protests rather than protests.
Line 32. Hold on, let me find it. Protests to my husband, he is now here.
Ah, protest. Okay. Protests to my husband. D is now here. Yeah, I think it Sounds better. It works better. Yes. To the,
Todd Scofield
it’s that old verb noun.
Michele Schultz
Rule.
Todd Scofield
Noun.
Michele Schultz
Pro protest is a noun. Protest is a verb. Yes. Got it. Line 80. Mistress Ford.
I don’t know if it was the freezing of your image or something else, but several times you pause after she says Run up Sir John, it takes forever for us to hear you say Go. Go. Sweet Sir John. And I don’t know why I did today, so I’m just calling your attention to that. Okay. It
Paul Nicholas
was freezing occasionally. So that might have been it.
Gideon Rappaport
I think it was partly freezing, but it’s happened a couple times when it didn’t freeze. So, okay, line 1 0 5.
That was beautiful. Wives may be married and yet honest too. We do not act that often. Oh, you’ve got it. You nailed it. Line 1 34, mistress Ford. I wouldn’t hit the me, I would hit suspect. Okay. And dishonesty. Got It. Yep. More in, more interesting.
’cause all along we’ve been talking about you. So that’s not, it’s not okay for him to suspect other people. That’s not an issue. Right. Right. And then the last 1, 180 5 Ford. So you are not literally saying, I’m gonna engage in magic.
Todd Scofield
Right.
Gideon Rappaport
It’s, oh, you’re a conjurer. I’m gonna conjure you. Oh, you’re a fortune teller. I’ll fortune tell you. Right. It’s that tone. So I heard it in the second one, but I didn’t hear it in the first one.
Todd Scofield
Okay.
Paul Nicholas
That that was gonna be one of mine. That was gonna be one of mine. That you can violate the pronoun rule for those lines.
Gideon Rappaport
Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
And the other, the other quick, quickly, Todd, before you say we are simple men, do you mind if we just add the word gentleman so it’s clear you’re talking to your friends?
Todd Scofield
We are gentlemen, we are simple men.
Paul Nicholas
Yeah. How you feel. It’s not clear on Zoom. It’s really hard to make it clear that you’re not talking to her.
Todd Scofield
Okay. How about gentlemen? We are simple or we are simple folk. I’m just not, I just don’t like the gentleman. We are simple men. I
Paul Nicholas
Don’t like it either. Come up with a better word. My friends,
Todd Scofield
Gentlemen, my friends, we are simple. No, we do want it to be them and not the women. Gentlemen, we are simple folk.
Gideon Rappaport
You are not. Think of it for next week we’ll come up with, For middle class. We’re running out of time.
Paul Nicholas
So we’ll come.
Todd Scofield
Right. But I still say it. I mean,
Paul Nicholas
Yeah.
Gideon Rappaport
Yeah.
Paul Nicholas
I, I don’t want to cut the men. We are simple men. I like that. Okay.
Todd Scofield
But a way to, I’ll, I’ll, I mean I can put it in there.
Paul Nicholas
Figure some, we’ll figure something out. Finally, this is primarily for Michelle, but I want Gideon’s input and everybody’s input. Let us make a decision. If we’re saying kill hole or kill on hole, I have to tell you, I don’t have a preference. I think they both work.
Gideon Rappaport
I don’t have Preference. I’ve, I’ve been saying kill hole. Yeah, I, I’ve been trying to say kill hole without the n
Paul Nicholas
You. And that’s your preference. You prefer kill Hole.
Michele Schultz
That’s, yeah, that’s it. It, it’s fine for me.
Paul Nicholas
Gideon, you have a preference?
Gideon Rappaport
No, either way is fine.
Paul Nicholas
I think either one works. They mean different things, but it works
Gideon Rappaport
Well. Well one’s a single meaning. One’s a double meaning. Right.
Paul Nicholas
And the fact that he says where is it so quickly makes it funny. Yes.
Gideon Rappaport
Whichever one.
Paul Nicholas
Yeah, because he can’t fit into either one. He doesn’t even know what a keel hole is. And he is saying, where is it? That’s hilarious.
Gideon Rappaport
Good.
Paul Nicholas
You guys are awesome. I cannot believe
Gideon Rappaport
you Are. You’re really, really good. It’s such a pleasure. Thank you. This is so fun. I’m learning so much in the conversations.
Paul Nicholas
I could do this. If I could get paid to do this for 12 hours a day, I would just to talk about Shakespeare and what the hell we’re saying and what does it mean? I love it. Hmm. Jules, do we have to stop?
Juls Hoover
I know I kind of, I feel I have this like thing now when I appear I’m like, I feel guilty ’cause I feel like I’m infringing on this amazing experience.
Like I, I regret coming in here now, but it’s an amazing you no
Gideon Rappaport
I’ll absolve. It’s
Juls Hoover
amazing To hear you guys. It’s amazing to hear just the exploration of the text and thinking about these words that you know would go, would fall to the wayside otherwise, you know,
Paul Nicholas
And it’s so much better. As Gideon has said several times, it is so much easier to perform. Yes. When you know exactly the minute detail of every word and every punctuation mark and then know exactly what you’re saying.
Gideon Rappaport
Bravo.
Juls Hoover
Hmm. Beautifully said. With that, thank you everyone. And next week is our final week. Very exciting. It’s amazing how September has flown by.
Looking forward to it. Make sure to like and subscribe to the rehearsal room and we will see you all next week for the final performance. But again, just a reminder, this is always a work in progress. So this is the rehearsal room and we’re constantly exploring.
Thanks guys
Paul Nicholas
So much.
Gideon Rappaport
Thanks Jules. Thanks everybody. Thank you everybody.
Todd Scofield
Be next week.
Michele Schultz
Much fun.
Juls Hoover
Next week.
The post Week 3 Session – Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor – 2 scenes – The Rehearsal Room [Video, Audio, and Transcript versions] appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
What happened in Week 2?🏁 In our second week, highlights include:
- Discussing lines like “kiln-hole,” “loons,” and “still swine eats all the draft,” clarifying meanings and exploring delivery options
- Figuring out transitions, with characters entering and exiting, and experimented with different line delivery for comedic effect
Watch the Week 2 Session!Full transcript included at the bottom of this post.
Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
And there’s the audio version too – you still get everything from listening!Total Running Time: 1:51:50
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as/save link as”.
Get the show delivered right to you!Short on time?Check out this 50-second clip as director Paul Nicholas, actor Corinna Christman and dramaturg Gideon Rappaport discuss all the fear and FUN those wives are having!
Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon – get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level or higher: Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
THE SCENEOur group will be working on two scenes where the wives plan revenge on Falstaff!
- Act 3, Scene 3 (Falstaff’s first visit to Mrs. Ford), ending before Mr. Ford arrives
- Act 4, Scene 2 (Falstaff’s second visit to Mrs. Ford), again ending before Mr. Ford arrives
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.
MERRY WIVES TEAM* DIRECTOR: J. Paul Nicholas * DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport * FALSTAFF: Todd Scofield * MRS. PAGE: Michele Schultz * MRS. FORD: Corinna Christman
Read more about the artists here.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCESOne of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline
And there’s more!Catch up on our other workshops featuring lots of Shakespeare scenes, from Hamlet, King Lear, Troilus and Cressida, Midsummer, As You Like It, and our Twelfth Night repertory extravaganza – all on the podcast and YouTube. If you’ve missed any presentations thus far, click here to find them all.
Click here for the transcript!The post Week 2 Session – Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor – 2 scenes – The Rehearsal Room [Video, Audio, and Transcript versions] appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
🏁 In our second week, highlights include:
- Discussing lines like "kiln-hole," "loons," and "still swine eats all the draff," clarifying meanings and exploring delivery options
- Figuring out transitions, with characters entering and exiting, and experimented with different line delivery for comedic effect
🛑 Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔
🤗 Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
🙏 Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: J. Paul Nicholas
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- FALSTAFF: Todd Scofield
- MRS. PAGE: Michele Schultz
- MRS. FORD: Corinna Christman
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/work...
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on two scenes where the wives plan revenge on Falstaff!
- Act 3, Scene 3 (Falstaff's first visit to Mrs. Ford), ending before Mr. Ford arrives
- Act 4, Scene 2 (Falstaff's second visit to Mrs. Ford), again ending before Mr. Ford arrives
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #measureformeasure #shakespeare #shakespeare #textwork
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
🏁 In our first week, highlights include:
- Detailed analysis and debate of character motivations and intentions
- Several linguistic nuances and potential stage directions were clarified
- Discussion of whether certain actions were scripted or improvised
🛑 Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔
🤗 Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
🙏 Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: J. Paul Nicholas
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- FALSTAFF: Todd Scofield
- MRS. PAGE: Michele Schultz
- MRS. FORD: Corinna Christman
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/work...
😮 THE SCENE
Our group will be working on two scenes where the wives plan revenge on Falstaff!
- Act 3, Scene 3 (Falstaff's first visit to Mrs. Ford), ending before Mr. Ford arrives
- Act 4, Scene 2 (Falstaff's second visit to Mrs. Ford), again ending before Mr. Ford arrives
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #measureformeasure #shakespeare #shakespeare #textwork
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
🏁 In our fourth and final session, highlights include:
- conveying the characters' emotions effectively
- bringing out the depth and complexity of the characters
- finding the humanity in the text
- Q&A with the creative team
Session released from the Rehearsal Room ARCHIVE - August 2023.
🛑 Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔
🤗 Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
🙏 Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: Stefan Novinski
- DRAMATURG: Miranda Johnson-Haddad
- ANGELO: J. Paul Nicholas
- ISABELLA: Charlotte Northeast
- PROVOST / LUCIO: Rachel Dilliplane
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/shakespeares-measure-for-measure-august-2023
😮 THE SCENE Our group will be working on Act 2, Scene 2 – Angelo’s first meeting with Isabella, where she comes to plead for her brother’s life.
Measure for Measure scene from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/measure-for-measure/read/2/2
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #measureformeasure #shakespeare #shakespeare #textwork
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
What happened in Week 3?🏁 In our third week, highlights include:
- Looking at the Provost, his role as a guide and mediator, and his interactions with Angelo
- Comparing the Provost and Lucio, highlighting how they are foils for each other
- The actors question whether the Provost and Lucio could be played by women
Session released from the Rehearsal Room ARCHIVE – August 2023.
Watch the Week 3 session!Full transcript included at the bottom of this post.
Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
Short on time?Check out this 50-second clip on what Angelo is feeling when Isabella leaves!
And there’s the audio version too – you still get everything from listening!Total Running Time: 1:56:17
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as/save link as”.
Get the show delivered right to you!
Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon – get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level or higher: Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
THE SCENEOur group will be working on Act 2, Scene 2 – Angelo’s first meeting with Isabella, where she comes to plead for her brother’s life.
Measure for Measure scene from the Folger Shakespeare Library.
CREATIVE TEAM* DIRECTOR: Stefan Novinski * DRAMATURG: Miranda Johnson-Haddad * ANGELO: J. Paul Nicholas * ISABELLA: Charlotte Northeast * PROVOST / LUCIO: Rachel Dilliplane
Read more about the artists here.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCESOne of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline
And there’s more!Catch up on our other workshops featuring lots of Shakespeare scenes, from Hamlet, King Lear, Troilus and Cressida, Midsummer, As You Like It, and our Twelfth Night repertory extravaganza – all on the podcast and YouTube. If you’ve missed any presentations thus far, click here to find them all.
Click here for the transcript!Stefan
Well, speaking of working, we’re gonna have fun tonight. ’cause I actually love when actors aren’t available.
I know Stefan’s, excuse me. I love it when there’s a moment when you’re like, oh, so-and-so’s not available today. I’ve learned that it, what it does is it frees you up and you’re like, well then we’re only gonna work these parts. Right.
And so we get to like really go deep dive at the beginning of this scene a bit. Right. And now that we have our dramaturg, we you should have, if you, I don’t know if you watched our first session, but many of the questions were, well, if we had a dramaturg, I don’t know. So why don’t we, if you guys want, if it’s you wanna start, why don’t we begin at the beginning and then see what questions maybe Miranda can answer or ones that you guys have thought about is the last time we approached it. Cool.
Stefan
Okay. All right.
Stefan
Yeah, let’s just go from the top, nice and slow.
He’s hearing the cause. He will come straight. I’ll tell him of you.
Rachel
Pray you do. I’ll know his pleasure.
Stefan
The wedding is.
Stefan
It is happening.
Rachel
Welcome. Tona there. It’s just rampant. Ev Absolutely. Everybody’s coming through here anyway, as we were.
I’ll know his pleasure. Maybe he will relent, alas, he ha but as offended in a dream, all sex, all ages smack of this device, of this vice. And he to die for it.
Stefan
Now what’s.
Stefan
The matter, provost? Good. Let’s hold there. Provost questions or comments?
Rachel
Do you No, it’s pretty straightforward. And yeah, just that we talked some last time about, is this my first time trying to address this issue with Angelo? And we kind of landed on like, no, we’re gonna ask one more time.
Stefan
You know?
Stefan
Yeah. I think that tracked and I, I really heard this time about, I wondered why did Shakespeare have a last he hath that is offended in a dream all sex assault, ages smack of this vice and he to die for it.
Why do we need that?
Rachel
I, well, something that I was kind of struck by listening through the last session on Sunday is that there’s never any question of whether or not Claudia’s guilty. Like everybody knows that this actually happened, is a fiance is walking around proof of it. And we all know that it’s something that everybody does in this town. Even the Duke’s aware of it.
I think the biggest question that everybody has is that final line of like, but is the punishment really that he has to die?
Yeah. So appealing to Angelo that like, is this, like, I know you want to make an example, you have to prove yourself in your new role and you have to start somewhere and you are being tested by the Duke here. So, but is is that really, do we have to go to the extreme?
Miranda
I I have a question that I was going to hold because I thought it was not related, but listening to Rachel ask, say that point makes me wonder if my question’s related. And that is, is there significance to the fact that these lines are coming from the provost?
’cause these sound like Lucio. It sounds like Lucio talking, but it’s coming the provost and that cannot be accidental.
Stefan
I’m gonna, I’m gonna defer to Miranda.
Rachel
Yeah.
Stefan
It, well, I, a couple of, a couple of thoughts. You know, speaking to, to Stefan’s point, I I think I agree with you a hundred percent Shakespeare, you know, the people say there are no coincidences in August Wilson. There are no coincidences in Shakespeare either. So, so I, I think the fact that, but the provost is really a very, I I’ve always felt a very decent individual, you know, just a very, very decent individual and, and, and likable and, and human and has a humanity that, that certainly Angelou does not have. And that arguably, I think Lucio doesn’t either. So perhaps, you know, one, one possible way in would be that the fact that, that both Lucio on the one hand and, and the provost on the other are saying the same point, shows that it really is universal. You know, everybody can agree on this.
I also learned when I was doing some research for, for Jessica’s production marriage laws were, were really complicated and err radically enforced. And, and, and so it just in, in Jakobe in England, and, and I think that Shakespeare’s audience could certainly have, have this, would’ve have appealed to his audience on a very visceral level. All sex, all ages smack of this vice and Heath die for it. I think that would’ve really touched a chord in the, in the hearts and minds of the, of the viewers.
Rachel
I think the obvious question here, but for our listeners at home, what exactly is a provost, particularly in this context?
Stefan
It, it’s a great question. Go ahead Stefan. Sorry.
Miranda
No, I just said good question.
Stefan
Yeah, no, it’s a, it’s a great question be because I think, you know, he, he plays several roles. You know, he’s a jailer, but he’s more than a jailer. He’s a, he’s kind of a, he’s a mediator in a way. He certainly tries to mediate between Angelo and the, and the prisoners. I I also think perhaps there’s a, he’s, he’s his decency, paradoxically his decency really has a chance to shine in these situations. And I think it’s very significant that at the end of the play, the Duke says to him, we will employ the, in a better place. You know, the duke the, the Duke has really come to recognize his, his humanity, his decency, and that he doesn’t belong in this jail.
So I think there’s a sense in which the character is sort of above his office morally and in other ways. But, but essentially he’s, he’s sort of a combination of jailer, warden bailiff. But it’s, it’s an unusual noun. I wanna just double check in the den, but I, we, I don’t think we see a provost elsewhere in Shakespeare.
Probably Shakespeare.
Stefan
What’s that?
Rachel
I I was gonna say follow up. Oh, sorry. Lagging.
The question I have then is the, for the justice to be carried out. In what manner would Angelo be die not Angelo Claudio be killed for this crime? And how directly is the provost involved in that physical act of Claudio’s death?
Stefan
That’s a great question. Well, we find out that he is to be beheaded and the provost would not be doing the act. It’s abson, you know, he will discredit our mystery, which I always think is just such a hilarious line. You know, he doesn’t want copy the bo to, to assist him. But, but he’s, he’s, he would not physically be doing it, but, but he would be beheaded. That’s clearly the, the, the sentence.
Stefan
That’s helpful just for an image. And then I have the strangest question, and maybe I should know it. It’s, this is a shared line. I’ll tell him of I’ll tell him of you pray. You do. I’ll know his pleasure. Maybe he will relent.
I’ll know his opinion. Pleasure is opinion. Right. I’ll know his, his affection, like his.
Miranda
His preference, his desire.
Stefan
His preference. Right.
Stefan
It’s a curious word choice though, given the themes of this play. I agree. That one always strikes on my ear. The den, by the way, has, this is the third den, Rachel that I’m reading. It has a useful note on the provost, just how the original audience might have thought of this dramatically important figure. And his title is Uncertain. Originally a provost or Provost Marshall was a military policeman and judicial officer. But by the late 16th century, the title could designate a royally appointed individual who was responsible for controlling, arresting, and indeed hanging criminals. But yeah, no, nowhere, nowhere, nowhere else in Shakespeare.
Interesting. So unusual. I think so it’s a great question. Yeah. Who exactly is this person and what our, what is his office?
Stefan
Let’s keep going and let’s really examine this Provost Angela relationship. Enter Angela please.
Miranda
And the fact that this is also a shared line told me that he comes right in on the back of, of provost’s line right
now. What’s the matter? Provost?
Rachel
Is it your will? Claudio shall die tomorrow.
Miranda
Did I not tell you? Yay. Has th not ordered? Why does th ask again?
Rachel
Lest I might be too rash under your good correction. I have seen when after execution judgment hath repented or his doom.
Miranda
Go to let that be mine. Do you, your office or give up your place and you shall well be spared.
Rachel
I crave your honor’s. Pardon? What shall be done, sir? With the groaning Juliet, she’s very near her hour.
Miranda
Dispose of her to some fitter, dispose of her to some fitter place. And that with speed.
Stefan
Ander. Good. Hold. Good, good, good, good, good. I love the petulance and I the provost. If we think of provost, you guys did I talk about Impro last time? Keith Johnson’s inpro and status.
I didn’t do that. I use it for everything.
Miranda
Yes.
Stefan
You did. And so, so it’s what’s interesting is the provost has a higher status than Angelo, but the provost can’t play it. The provost has that dignity. It’s like the provost is the parent in the room who at this moment has to be just a, you know, just one under Angelo always. Right. Stefan? I might’ve misheard, but I think you said, did I not tell the yay.
Miranda
Did not. I tell the Yes I did. ’cause I was trying to look into the camera and be all dramatic.
Stefan
Okay. Sorry. Did not, I tell the yay
and so provost, I love this nagging that goes on here. Well, you know, sometimes when you really want that apple pie, ’cause sometimes when people have apple pie, you know, they regret it. Right?
It’s okay to lean into that. It’s okay for the provost to have a wee bit of fun. We’re not going to Lucio, but just a little scold, right? A little.
Miranda
I have a, I just thought.
Rachel
I just, I’m sorry, go ahead.
Miranda
No, you go.
Rachel
Well, I, I guess kind of in status too, the, there’s like the official status of somebody’s role and having earned or been appointed that role, but then there’s also the status of being in somebody’s favor, which it’s such an interesting thing with play with the Duke not being present, but being present throughout it. And I guess the sense that Provost has kind of always been in partnership with the Dukes reign. And so Angelo’s position is a very new thing. And kind of like how Isabelle points on the great men having their power and then walking around with their clown costume wielding power around.
I think there’s a way in which provost is like, alright, let him get used to the big boy bike, but let’s make sure he doesn’t ride the entire city straight into traffic type.
Stefan
If I had to do some.
Rachel
Is that right? Like the.
Stefan
If I had to do some Stanovsky super objective, which I never used, which just popped into my head, the provost is a guide provost is guiding, is trying to guide. Right? And so it’s, it’s why the provost doesn’t get offended when he says, well just though, ask again. You know, insert asshole.
And your response is, well it’s very patient, but always trying to guide, which will be, which will keep you away from Lucio who Right. Is just trying to add light and rry everywhere.
Can we do that again? What’s the matter? Provost And can Oh, so go ahead. Stefan.
Miranda
Angelo is new, right? How new, like, new, like, is this his first big decision, like the Claudio thing? His.
Rachel
Second day keeping.
Miranda
Say that again?
Rachel
I was just referencing your second day of teaching.
Miranda
Oh yes. Yeah.
Stefan
He is new and he is, he is also gung-ho at the newness. Meaning he, he didn’t take long. He, there was no warmup lap. He went from, alright, I’m in charge now and I change everything.
Miranda
Okay then when, what does the provost mean when he says under your good correction? I have seen when after something has been done, and he uses the word execution, which has a double meaning judgment, half repented or is doomed. So the, the, the, the, the, the judge, the judges have realized that they made a mistake. But under your good correction, I thought meant you, Angelo, I’ve seen where in the past you sentence someone to something and turns out it was not correct. But if he’s new, then he doesn’t mean Angela. What does he mean?
Stefan
Y you’re absolutely right. It, it’s, it’s, I think it’s helped if we just understand it as sort of a formula. Like, you know, saving your reverence or pardon me for, you know, seeming to criticize or, you know, under your correction. That is correct me if I’m wrong, but you know, I’ve seen this happen. Okay.
Stefan
Correct me if I’m wrong. That’s exactly.
Miranda
Okay.
Stefan
Yeah, that’s a great question though. ’cause it’s to our ears, it sounds temporal. You know, it sounds as though he has been doing this for a while, but in fact he hasn’t.
Stefan
Yeah. And then it’s able to allow the provost to be a little less personal and more like, you know, I’ve seen, you know, tell me if I’m wrong, if you’ve ever seen this, but sometimes judges make mistakes and.
Miranda
Regret it.
Stefan
And regret it and.
Rachel
It’s telling more of a terrible, rather than like, hey, remember that time you felt bad about that decision you made? It’s like no greater men than you have messed up before.
Okay.
Miranda
I have another question before we get back to it, Stefan. Sorry. Can somebody help me with, let that be mine.
Stefan
It it, it’s like the sin upon my head. You know, if, if I make that mistake, that’s my, that’s my problem. Not yours. It’s my bad and my Yeah, exactly. You shouldn’t worry about it. And if you can’t back me up here, then you know, I’m I’ll happily find someone else who can. So there’s that threat, you know, I’m gonna fire you as well.
Stefan
And you shall be well spared. Meaning.
Stefan
Give up your place.
Stefan
We won’t, we won’t miss you.
Stefan
Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. If, if you can’t do this, you’re outta here. I’ll find somebody else and I won’t miss you. You know, there’s plenty of other people applying for this job, basically. Oh, that’s.
Miranda
What that means. Okay.
Stefan
Yeah. Yeah.
Stefan
So I’m not like a scansion nerd nerd, but I do like it when there’s beats missing and help me out here.
Did not. I tell the yay has th not order. That’s 10.
Why does thou ask, why does thou ask again? Lest I might be too. Are these separate lines with beats missing?
Miranda
I think so.
Speaker 4
Correction.
Stefan
I have seen That’s fine. When after execution judgment half. That’s fine.
Miranda
Wait, Stefan, it could be a 12. It could be an Alexandria line. Just ask again less. I might be too rash.
It could be. I’m not saying it is.
Stefan
That be my it? There’re there’s certainly too long the Angelo makes ’em too long.
You’re you’re absolutely right.
Speaker 4
Do you your office give.
Stefan
Place? Do you your office or give up your place? That’s perfect. Okay. And you shall be well spared. That’s short. Yeah. His, his his his his scansion is very choppy.
Stefan
And then I crave your honors. Pardon?
So here’s what I would like to suggest, given how weird it is, is we able, we can push and pull against it. We’re allowed to, for example, working backwards and you shall be we and you shall be well spared gives the provost a beat.
’cause he was so, he’s such a jerk. Then quit. We won’t miss you.
Okay. My bad. I crave, I’m so sorry. You’re allowed to take that beat before. Yeah. And then why Justo ask again. Let’s, I might be too rash. I want to submit that. Maybe I could in the playing of it. You guys play with it. Those are almost overlap. Those are, those are crunched. Why do you asking again? I don’t wanna be too rash and then it gets normal.
Pardon? Under your does that kind of track?
Miranda
Yeah.
Speaker 4
Because.
Rachel
I, I’m less of a nerd. I haven’t had quite the, this level of training in like this many syllables means this. But, so I like the idea when we’re like, hold on, that doesn’t count out. Does that mean we have a space or that we should be jumping on it? So I love playing with that. Sounds great.
Stefan
You we might be able to pull it off on repented or his zoom GoTo that let that be. Mine is a place where there’s like a, a crunching, right?
And then there’s a.
Rachel
A also like.
Stefan
Interesting. Yeah. Yeah.
Stefan
It’s an identical sequence, isn’t it? There’s two of them.
Stefan
Hmm.
Stefan
This is where if I was really good, I’d have to fully ultimately.
Stefan
Sorry.
Stefan
Rachel, go ahead.
Rachel
No, I was just like, this tracks with almost any conversation I’ve ever had with somebody where I’ve just been like, I, I know you’ve made up your mind, but like the sentences almost never finished.
Like the voice of reason is never actually allowed to finish a sentence in those circumstances. So it it, it tracks to me that there would be interruption.
Stefan
Yeah. So can we read it once from now? What’s the matter of provost and just, you know, get on your, get on your, your game a little bit in terms of Angelo not wanting to be questioned and the provost trying to get a word in without upsetting the apple cart.
Miranda
Ready?
Stefan
Yep.
Miranda
Now what’s the matter? Provost?
Rachel
Is it your will? Claudio shall die tomorrow.
Miranda
Did not. I tell the yay. Has thou not order? Why does thou ask again?
Rachel
Last, I might be too rash under your good correction. I have seen when after execution judgment half repented or his due.
Miranda
Go to let that be mine. Do you your office or give up your place and you shall well be spared.
Rachel
I crave your honor’s. Pardon? What shall be done sir? With the groaning Juliette, she’s very near her hour.
Miranda
Dispose of her to some more fitter place and that with speed.
Stefan
Great. Hold. We have a, the little bit of the lag from Rachel because she’s in pars unknown. But I actually think that’s gonna work. I could see, I actually could see you do it before you, I heard you do it so I could see you really jump on Stefan. I thought that was really lovely. I just wanna offer one thing, which is you don’t, I realize I crave your honors. Pardon? Also you could have a beat after so that you could then have the idea, well, okay, what do we do with the girl when he’s like, do your damn job or I’m gonna get rid of you. Okay, my bad. You know, other question. Right?
But the logic of this, does it track y’all?
Great. It’s gonna play really well when we have really good wifi.
Let’s sorry, move on. No, you’re good, you’re good. We’re doing text work. We’re fine. Any questions before we move on? Enterer?
Stefan
I I had one thing. May I just say one thing that I just noticed and it was, it was when you were bringing up this, this I’ll know his pleasure, that word pleasure. And, and then the provost then goes on to say, is it your will Claudio shall die tomorrow. And of course both Will and Die had body double meanings in Shakespeare. And then even, even then when he says, what shall be done, sir, with the groaning Juliet. And there’s, there’s almost this, you know, he, he, he, he feels, he fills a role that we so often see women fulfilling it. You know, we think of the nurse, we think of Amelia, you know, the sort of earthier. I don’t, I don’t know how far we I wanna go with this, but it, it’s just striking upon my, my ear, those that the provost is using that type of language.
Is he needling Angelo a little bit? Is that, does he know that Angelo, you know, this is, he’s so straight laced and buttoned up. Is he trying to, I don’t know, but, but it, it certainly is remarkable how many double entendres he gets in the provost gets in, in a relatively few number of lines. Just food for thought.
Stefan
I I I would like to point out the awkwardness of what would be two grown men who are not the most, you know, I, I assume let’s just sit, let’s assume the provost doesn’t even marry, like talking about this very pregnant woman who might give birth at any moment in the lobby that you can at least bring in that that’s what it would have been, right? This, it just, she’s, what do we do about the really pregnant lady over there and neither knows, I don’t know. Take her out of here, right? Yes. So yeah, I would bring all, I would bring anytime you can find the body, both B o d Y and b a whatever, I would bring it in and somehow the lights went off in my, oh, now they’re back. Never good sign.
I put lights in the bookcase and sometimes they just don’t work. Okay, great. Yes. No, I love anytime we can, we can hit any of those. Enter a servant.
Here is the sister of the man condemned desires, access to you. You.
Miranda
Happy your sister?
Rachel
Aye my good lord. A very virtuous maid. And to be shortly of a sisterhood, if not already.
Miranda
Well let her be admitted. See you. The fornicate be removed. Let her have needful but not lavish. Means there shall be order for it.
Stefan
Okay, good. Hold. We were playing with some stuff Miranda, and we wish, I’m gonna check some logic with you.
Any reason why the provost goes on a little bit about sister and there’s two meetings there. Has he a sister? Yeah, it’s a sister who’s gonna be a sister. Ha ha ha. Right. There are days I think he wrote these lines for Lucio and then had to move him over to the provost. ’cause the provost has still has fun, right?
A a very virtuous mate. Is there is the provost? This is a question that’s not a question. ’cause I think I’m right. Is the provost kind of trying to point out that Angelo is, comes from a good family.
Stefan
That, that Claudio comes right from a good Claudio.
Stefan
Claudio, I apologize. Angela’s family at all. Yeah.
Stefan
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I, I think absolutely. Yeah. I I think you’re right too. And, and not only a good family, but has a, you know, maybe he’s thinking Isabella’s virtue may serve as a counter poised to claudio’s sin in Angelo guys. I, I think he just hope, he just hopes she can have a good effect. I also have to, that word fornicate, you know, always, always, always just drives me crazy. It’s such a, I mean it tells us so much about Angelo that it’s such a, it, I don’t know. It was so contemptuous and rigid and cold and unlikable.
Stefan
So does Angelo, we had an, I had an idea that maybe not be true ’cause earlier Angela, they said, well what do we do with the gro and Juliet dispose of her to some or fitter place? And that was speed done. But now he goes back to it.
Miranda
Without being asked. Is he.
Stefan
Without being asked, does he soften? Okay, let the hussy at least have a bed in a cell.
Do you get that at all? Or is he still just making sure he’s been he was hurt the first time.
Miranda
Or.
Stefan
Or.
Miranda
Actually, I’m just throwing this out there. I don’t know that this is it because I told you that Claudio shall die tomorrow before, and you asked me again before you come back here tomorrow and ask me again. I’m gonna say it again.
Make sure she is removed before she gives birth. Is that another option? That’s not how I, I think so, but I wonder if that’s an option.
Stefan
I think so. What do, do you think.
Rachel
Like he’s still, he knows he’s got his list.
Stefan
I’m gonna give you, this one’s gonna be on the day. Literally how you’re feeling. If you’re feeling so put upon, right? If Rachel‘s annoying you to the point of like, if it, because really it becomes, is it about Rachel, right? Is it about the provost? Like, look, dude and I I don’t wanna ever have to say this again ’cause you’re so annoying. Or does it, or are you feeling once you hear this virtuous maid, the brother had a virtuous maid. Okay, women can be virtuous and there’s such a thing as a women should be somewhat respected. Fine. At least give her a bed.
I don’t care. They both work and they both track.
Speaker 4
I.
Rachel
Agree. Something I was struck by rewatching Sunday’s rehearsal was the question that was brought up about Isabelle’s is, is Isabelle’s insistence on like, well what about you bringing it back to Angelo? If that’s the very first time this argument has been made by the provost, by Isabelle, by Lucio, by anybody in the community who cares about Juliet or Claudio who have come to the door of the, of even the provost to Angelo who just keep asking for pity or empathy. Please have a heart. Think about who these people are. They, he’s a brother, he’s a son, he’s a husband. Like stare him in that way. And Isabelle being the first person to be like, okay, but what if you were Claudio?
I think Provost keeps layering on the idea of, but he’s a brother and a brother to a very nice sister. He is a fiance to a groaning Juliet. Like the arguments are sound, but they’re just beside the point where Angela will maybe listen until Isabel introduced the idea of like, okay, but what if it was you?
Stefan
Hmm. I think to support that in, in the text to shared the line, she’s very near her hour dispose of her to some more fitter place. And that was speed. It is right. It’s not, it’s boom here, right, to Stefan‘s point, he brings it up. Well let her be admitted. Now he is full control, not a shared line.
See that the hussy and it, I just think there’s a softening in there. Let her have needful but not lavish.
And there shall be order for it as what is, I assume Miranda, there should be order for it means there shall be money for it. There shall be the, the state will pay for it. At the very least. I’ll write the order.
Miranda
Oh, I thought in this case order meant something like a, a warrant. Like I will get an official stamp or something. But you might be right. It might be.
Stefan
No, but I think to the point, it’s like, I’ll make this official right Earlier he goes, what should we do with her? He’s like, just get her out of here. He’s like, okay, fine. I’ll find a room for her in a well in a halfway house.
Kind of, I don’t know. He’s, he’s the state, you know, he’s being the state here. Whereas earlier he was like, just make her go away. Okay, I’m gonna give an order.
Stefan
I’m let that go. I think both are, you know, they aren’t exclusive. I think they both work actually. What, what you and Stefan are saying. Both, both of those things work and work together. I agree.
Stefan
Yeah. On the day, Stefan depends on how you’re feeling. You know what, let’s keep going and see. ’cause you’re, you gotta track this whole transformation and let’s just see where you want him to soften, if ever. And maybe you, you’re like, I he can’t do it that earlier. I leave that to you man. Okay, well then here comes the provost. Sorry, go ahead. Well.
Miranda
Then may I ask that we go back a couple of lines before the fornicate line so I can play it the other way and see how it feels.
Stefan
Love it. How about from the, the servants entrance?
Miranda
Okay.
Stefan
Yeah. How about actually go over the top of the page. What shall be done, sir? With the groaning Juliette, that’s where the beat starts. This is, we’re talking about Juliette now, what shall be done?
Rachel
What shall be done, sir, with the groaning Juliette, she’s very near her hour.
Miranda
Dispose of her to some fitter place. And that with speed.
Stefan
Dears, the sister of the man condemned desires access to you.
Miranda
Ha sister.
Stefan
I’m my good.
Rachel
I am my good lord, a very virtuous maid. And to be shortly of a sisterhood, if not already.
Miranda
Well let her be admitted. See you. The fornicate be removed. Let her have needful but not lavish. Means there shall be order for it.
Stefan
Save your honor.
Miranda
Say it one.
Stefan
I I wanna say first I fix your slate. I actually think Stefan there. I love the officious version. I don’t want you to soften. I go against everything I’ve, everything I’ve said, I don’t wanna do it too early. I don’t want that to be an event. I want it to sound like I’ve given an order. He uses technical terms, he uses legalistic terms. He fornicates right? Nefa but not lavish still. Should we order for it? He’s taking control of the room also earlier he gets dis dispose of her to some fitter place. And that was speed. He thinks he’s done and now he’s got a visitor. And look, has he assist her is a shared line. So he’s getting, getting like it’s coming from all sides.
So you have two shared lines, desires, access to you. Has he sister, her? If no, no, no. If not already, well let her be admitted. It’s just like whatever. And so I feel like these three lines are you taking back control of the room? Okay. Does that track? ’cause that’s what I got from you.
Miranda
Yep. And I have to tell you, playing it that way gives us, draws out so much more of the subtext for stay a little while. ’cause I told him to get rid of her with speed and now I’m telling him again, don’t make me tell you again. Don’t come back here and ask me questions. Get rid of her. She walks in, I go, oh. Oh. Don’t go.
Stefan
That’s hysterical. Sorry. I, we love it. It’s comedy, right? We love it when he, okay, I’m glad we hashed that out and came back to write to the more simple and honest reading. There shall be order for it.
So here’s provost save, your honor. Let’s pick up from there.
Rachel
Save your honor.
Miranda
Stay a little while. You’re welcome. What’s your will?
Stefan
I’m a woeful suitor to your honor. Please. But your honor, hear me.
Miranda
Well. What’s your suit?
Stefan
There is a vice that most I do abor and most desires should meet the blow of justice for which I would not plead, but that I must for which I must not plead, but that I am at war. Betws will and will not.
Miranda
Well the matter.
Stefan
I have a brother is condemned to die. I do beseech you let it be his fault and not my brother.
Rachel
Heaven give the moving graces.
Miranda
Condemn the fault and not the actor of it. Why? Every fault’s condemned. Dare it be done. Mine were the very cipher of a function to find the faults whose fine stands in record and let go by the actor.
Stefan
Oh, just but severe law. I had a brother then. Heaven keep your honor.
Rachel
Not worse. So to him, again in treat him kneel down before him, hang upon his gown. You are too cold. If you should need a pin, you could not with more tame a tongue, desire it to him. I say.
Stefan
Must. He needs die. Alright, let’s hold there. Okay. By the way, I dare you guys to try to read out loud. Isabella is there is a vice that most I do abhor and most desire should meet the blow of justice. It is the hardest monosyllabic, weirdly stressed. I tried to like do it regular and it’s just like, you can feel her. It’s, it’s amazing.
Rachel
Amazing. Yeah.
Stefan
Do we wanna unpack? Stay a little while. I love how you’re doing it, but are we, I just wanna make sure, Miranda, are we missing anything?
Stefan
Not that I could see from here. I I I like very much the way that is going today. Yeah, because I agree, Stefan, you’re absolutely right. You know, he’s sort of sending the provost off and then suddenly stay a little while. And I, I love the way you did that.
Miranda
I.
Rachel
Just, it’s so challenging with.
Miranda
Sorry, I I just wish it were you are welcome instead of you are welcome.
But he does have two contractions back to back. You are welcome. What’s your will?
Stefan
Hmm.
Rachel
But actually kind of the fun thing with that is the pressure that we’ve added to this scene now with the urgency of provost is here with list of questions. We get the sense that Angelo’s dealing with several other things. And what now he also has a sister, I already answered this question. I’ve got so much else to do. And now he’s reaching the point where he doesn’t even have enough time for full words. He has to start using contractions, which is kind of fun.
Miranda
I’m glad you brought that up because the next time we do it, what I was gonna play was, oh shit, he has a sister and the law says I’m supposed to hear next of kin. I’m supposed to hear out family members. I can’t like turn her away. Okay, fine. Let her come in. I’ll listen. It’s not gonna change my mind, but I’ll listen.
Rachel
Yeah.
Miranda
And I don’t know if that was the law. I’m just making that up because it makes my, makes my.
Stefan
Fixing the site.
Miranda
Justify.
Stefan
We.
Miranda
Love the disco.
Stefan
It’s just bugging, bugging my eye. We.
Miranda
Were, we were digging the disco man. What happened?
Stefan
Yeah, we were all about ready to break into Saturday Night Fever. Here.
Rachel
It goes. Wedding. It just means I.
Stefan
The wedding, I gotta find out where the short is. It’s gonna be such a pain. Well, what’s your suit also, you have three of them, right? You have three contractions. Oh, yeah. What do you want? What’s your will? What’s your suit? What I love it. What, what, what, what? And also she takes forever to say it. I am a willful suitor to your Honor. Please. Will you hear me? Yes. What? There is a vice. I’m not know what I’m tell you. You’re like, I know whose brother you are. Okay, let’s go.
Miranda
Yep.
Stefan
I’m a busy man.
Miranda
And I think, I think what I wanna play is I am required, required by law to hear your petition. Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. As soon as you’re done, I’m gonna say, no, he has to die. But you say this argument about forgiving the criminal but punishing the crime. And I’m, that’s just juicy. And I go, wait a minute. What? Let’s unpack that. Miss Isabella. Lemme show you how smart I am. I like that.
Stefan
Nice.
Miranda
If you like it.
Stefan
I love it.
I had this whole thing as a director, which is, it doesn’t matter what I like in a strange way. Because what I’ve learned is what whatever the whatever turns the actor on is juicy for them. Why go against it like far more brilliant than I am? Be so be Stefan. Because you’re owning it. Yeah, I love it. So, okay. O oh, just but severe law. I had a brother then. Heaven keep your honor.
Now Lucio enters the play. Should we play? Who do we wanna make Lucio? Do we wanna push Lucio and the Provost away from each other? Do you want a hat?
Like who is Lucio for you? Let’s, let’s examine, here’s one thing I do know. Ready, pretentious Lucio means light.
Rachel
Yes.
Stefan
So he’s bringing, he brings light everywhere he goes. And I think he enjoys this idea about himself.
Rachel
The it since Sunday I listened to the podcast suggestion that Nathan sent out to all of us with the doctor, the, the professor about the, the foils that are presented in this play. And I was so struck by the professor’s decision to talk about Claudio versus Angelo as being complete foils for one another and then also for the Duke to be his own foil as well, which gave me the joyful comparison of like, okay, well if I’m playing Lucio and Provost, like what way can they be foils for one another?
And it kind of brought me to the question though of, in our reading of this and with me reading these characters is are there any reasons why Provost and Lucio wouldn’t be women?
And what does that do other than the fact that Lucio is gonna get punished for also having impregnated somebody.
Stefan
It’s in a sense two questions, right? One is how can one be the foil for the other?
And then what happens now realizing they’re both women.
Let me me attack the first one first, which is I love that they’re foils for each other.
Do you ever get the I do you ever get the sense that Lucio is like the provost inner monologue in this scene? So wait, say that again. That the two Say that again. That the Lucio is the provost inner monologue. Oh, in terms of foils, like they’re opposites. They’re not even foils for each other. They are, they’re the two sides of one coin.
And so I think you could really push into, do you have any friends who have just whose inner monologue comes out and you’re like shocked when you’re just like, whoa, that’s what you were thinking. I think that, I think Lucio is an earthy body character is a bo right? It’s down here. It’s in the body. Streetwise lower status doesn’t care, has no status. In a strange way, Lucio just goes wherever he wants, right?
No social graces, but can manipulate every, so every social standing right. Can ingratiate himself to the king.
And then the women question,
I don’t know afraid to answer.
Rachel
That’s fair because it’s, I resonate so much with the provost and without speaking ill of previous employers, but having been the production manager or administrator to like c e o or artistic director and being there with my clipboard of like, I’m just gonna, I know you already answered this, but I have issues with what your answer was. I don’t quite have the power to change your decision. But I’m gonna ask again, just so you can hear yourself say kind of the shitty thing one more time. Like I really resonate with that.
And then kind of the opposite side of that coin of like, I am here to help you follow the rules versus the, I’m here to actually say that. That’s kind of a dumb thing to say and like, you’re so right that it is so in the body, I think of Provost with like white knuckled, clipboard or like hands behind the back, very deferential proper versus Lucio, I think we said before, like comes in and probably throws his feet up or her feet up on somebody’s desk is like, I’m just here to eat the popcorn and also have my opinions about this. And, but it’s weird too because from this point on, provost and Lucio just have a sides.
So they’re not necessarily getting their opportunity to let their voice spill into the conversation directly.
Stefan
Yes. To all of that. The provost is a rule follower is a believer in, in, in institutions. I worked, I was the art arts administrator for a, a large regional theater and with an artistic director that I had to sort of schedule and move around and right before I went to grad school, but I also believed in the institution. Right? So you didn’t wanna hurt the institution. Lucio doesn’t ma mind if all of Vienna burns down, right? As long as the body house is done. So that’s the two I would let Lucio be in your body. I would let Lucio and the, and it’s not a big deal that they have only asides later because they like to watch the show and they both know it’s not about them in any way.
I think Lucio is lower class is is less.
Miranda
Status.
Stefan
He’s a lower class dude or dude that.
Miranda
I, I always thought he was lower status but not lower class. Like I have a feeling I always thought he came from some kind of, if not money, some family that had a name once.
Stefan
Hmm.
Miranda
But he doesn’t have a position. But like his uncle, maybe a landowner or something.
Stefan
I think that’s so much better than what I said. I’m not kidding. And I ran into because.
Miranda
He’s educated, right?
Stefan
He’s educated. He’s a, he’s. So I ran into Ben, you know who Ben Schwartz is?
He’s John Rafi on Parks and Rec. Yeah.
He’s a brilliant, he’s a brilliant improv artist. And I ran into him on the street in London and I stared at him a little bit too long and he’s like, what? Like, I was like, you’re my wife’s favorite actor. I was like eating fish and chips and he was very sweet. And I tried to take his selfie and I didn’t know how it was pathetic, but I realized that’s who Lucio is that on Parks Lucci. He’s he’s educated. He just doesn’t, just doesn’t care.
Stefan
And.
Stefan
Free Right. And alive.
Stefan
Yeah. Free.
Stefan
Right. And that’s why I can walk in and not intimidated by walking into the palace. I grew up in the palace, whatever. I just don’t care. That’s really good, Stefan. That is, yeah. Yeah. Smarter. All right, let’s do this again. This is fun by the way. I wanna make sure we’re gonna work through this. But Stefan, you got a big old monologue at the end here that I wanna make sure we give you some time to play with. If you wanna look at it tonight. I just wanna make sure.
Okay. From where y’all,
how how about just condemn the fault. Yeah.
Rachel
Sorry, what lines there were.
Stefan
Sorry. 53.
Miranda
53 Ish.
Rachel
Yeah. Got it.
Miranda
Condemn the faults and not the actor of it. Why Every false condemned, dare be done. Mine were the very cipher of a function to find the faults whose fine stands in record and let go by the actor.
Stefan
Just put severe law. I had a brother then heaven, keep your honor.
Rachel
So to him again and treat him. Kneel down before him. Hang upon his gown. You are too cold. If you should need a pin, you could not with more tame a tongue. Desire it to him. I say.
Stefan
Must he needs to die.
Miranda
Maiden. No remedy.
Stefan
Yes, I do think that you might pardon him and neither heaven nor man grieve at the mercy.
Miranda
I will not do it.
Stefan
But can you, if you would, look.
Miranda
What I will, not that I cannot do.
Stefan
But might you do it and do the world No wrong. If so, your heart were touched in that remorse as mine is to him.
Miranda
He’s sentenced. It’s too late.
Rachel
You are too cold, old.
Stefan
Too late. Well I know I that do speak a word may call it back again. Well believed this no ceremony that to great ones longs not the king’s crown, nor the disputed soar. The marshal’s trenchant nor the judge’s robe become them with one half. So good a grace as mercy does.
If he had been as you and you as he, you would have slipped like him, but he like you would not have been so stern.
Miranda
Pray you be gone.
Stefan
I would haven’t. I had your potency and you were Isabelle. Should it then be thus? No, I would tell what toward to be a judge and what a prisoner.
Rachel
I touch him. There’s the vein.
Miranda
Your brother is a forfeit of the law and you would waste your words.
Stefan
Good. Hold now. It’s fun to play. Isabella, y’all okay just stopping so we don’t go too far in case there’s stuff you guys wanna unpack. There’s Lucio welcome to the play.
Rachel
Yeah.
Stefan
Right, because like comedians, like Ben Schwartz or the guys that are so free, they just pounce on every line in a slightly different way in this free, like they’ll get really serious and then they’ll pull way back, right? And I thought you were, you were already doing that.
You’re your own rhythm, your own world. And, but it was still driven. I loved it. Keep having that much fun.
Stefan, anything in here, in this? If you have any questions with this exchange, with her, I think it’s sounding great.
Miranda
I didn’t, I was not satisfied with the way I read a certain line, but I, I think I know what adjustments I’m gonna make And then, and that is the look what I will not look what I will not that I cannot do. It’s it’s ’cause I don’t want it to sound like contemporary look comma what I will, I don’t want it to sound like that.
Look what I will not that I cannot do.
Stefan
How does it scan? Look?
Miranda
Well, I’m playing it as a trophy. I am, look what I will, not that I cannot do. I’m playing the beginning as a trophy.
Stefan
But can you, if you would, look what I will not that I cannot do. Say it again Stefan.
Miranda
Look what I will not that I cannot do.
Stefan
Will you throw away that I I I think that look is getting away the what for the alliteration of the wood coming from the line before. So I will not do it. But can you do it if you would, look.
Miranda
What? I will not. That’s that sounds better.
Stefan
Yes. Look what I will not it that, that I cannot do. I, I think I could be wrong and let me know if this, if you can make this work, I can.
Miranda
Look.
Stefan
What I will not that I cannot do.
Miranda
That certainly makes sense. I, the only thing I was nervous about, is it sounding contemporary? Like look comma what I will not that I cannot do and.
Stefan
No, because of the line before cer Say again. Maybe.
Miranda
That is what it is. Maybe it is. Look, listen what I will not, maybe that is what it is.
Stefan
I think it is. Okay, let’s let’s let’s hear it for the poetry once. Okay, but can you, if you would.
Miranda
Look what I will not that I cannot do.
Stefan
That’s it. Okay. That’s it. It it feels, and it’s almost monos, right? Yeah. It’s these very simple, right? And it it, it’s thrilling for me.
Yeah, but might you do it? And they, that’s why see, look. But might you do it and do the world no wrong. Look at the beautiful rhymes between these three lines in a way, dos and woods do not. It’s, it’s gorgeous. So we, we, if we’re that rigid or that precise, I think we’ll get the, get the poetry of it.
Miranda
Okay. And I’m playing.
Stefan
Great, great question.
Miranda
I’m playing that he is getting increasingly more annoyed and therefore more aggressive.
And I want to see if that makes sense when she starts to crack his shell. ’cause I’m wondering if maybe he is not getting that angry. Like, I, I got really, I lifted the intensity really on and you, but waste your words.
And I wonder if there’s a payoff in doing it that way so that we can see her break him back down. Or does he not? Where’s an.
Stefan
You but waste your words.
Miranda
So like, where’s that line? Pray you be gone. It’s, it’s n on the near the top, it’s at the top of the next page.
So pray you be gone is one level of frustration. Sorry. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. He sentenced is too late is one level of frustration. And then pray Gone is a little bit more, bit more. And then, yep. Your brother is a forfeit. You waste your words at another level. That’s what I was going for. But I don’t know if it makes sense.
Stefan
It makes absolute sense. And, and I think where, I think where the real storytelling moment is, I mean, Lucio tells us he sentenced his too late. Okay? We think the scene’s over, and I love your lu chilo is you are too cold genius to pull back on it. I told you once, try it again. And then Isabella gets you, she gets her feet under her on the too late. Why? No, that why I think that the speaker word, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Mercy does, and remember we decided, I tried to act this, but I did it poorly on line 84, she has empty beats before she brings in the new topic.
If he had been as you and you as he, you would have slipped like him, but he like, you would not have been so stern.
I think we’re allowed to know that she gets to you there. He asks for a pause, a literally a storytelling elevation. So Stefan, you’re absolutely right that she raises the temperature in the room a little bit and you match that temperature. Get the hell outta here, pray you’ll be gone. So she matches it. I went to heaven
and then you, you have to go with two full lines. I told you you’re wasting your words. Get the hell out. So it tracks perfectly.
Miranda
Huh?
I just heard something new, which would definitely motivate. Pray You be gone. I always thought what she was saying was if, if he had been like you and you like him, and if you had slipped like him, he would not have been as stern as you, but it’s what she’s saying is if you had been tempted the way he was, you would’ve slipped too. Which is a different thing. That’s fair. That’s kind of offensive.
Get the hell out of my face if that’s what you’re saying.
Stefan
I I couldn’t agree more.
Miranda
Okay.
Stefan
Yeah, she goes, it goes, becomes an ad hominem attack, doesn’t it? She’s like, oh yeah. Well, if you were him, you would’ve freaking nailed the girl too. Dude.
Get the what?
Miranda
Yep.
Stefan
Pray you’d be gone. And then, hold on. I just wanna unpack what Isabel, how Isabella responds to this.
What haven’t I had your potency and you or Isabelle? Should it then be thus? No, I would tell, I no. I would tell what to her to be a judge and what a prisoner.
And you must, that must have worked. Like if we were directing this, I would give bad direction to Angelo to telegraph that, that that hit a little bit to motivate CIO’s line. I touch him. There’s the vein.
So we go from, if you had been him, you would’ve been tempted, you would’ve slept with her too. And he wouldn’t have been mean. And you say, okay, get outta here. And instead of her shutting up, she raises the stakes even more by saying, you know what? I wish I had your, your freaking power. Then I’ll show you what it really is to be a judge. ’cause you suck at it. She’d call into question your ability to even be a judge.
Okay, I touch him. There’s a rub. Let’s keep going. Your brother is a forfeit of the law. And you can stop and start whenever Stefan. Sorry.
Miranda
Okay. Your brother is a forfeit of the law. And you do what? And you, you, your brother is a forfeit of the law. And you would waste your words.
Stefan
A last, a last, all the souls that were forfeit once and he that might have had the vantage best have took, found out the remedy.
How would you be if he, which is the top of judgment, should ju, should but judge you as you are? Oh. Think on that. And mercy then will breathe within your lips. Like man, new maid.
Miranda
Be you content fair maid. It is the law not aye, condemn your brother. Were he my kinsman brother or my son? It should be thus with him. He must die tomorrow.
Stefan
Good hold. So let’s unpack that escalation just a little bit. The new information is tomorrow. So we work backwards, right? You finally get four lines as opposed to two or one and a half.
I think Isabella down shifts here a little bit. I think you win a beat here. Angelo, your brother. This is fourth of the law. And you, but waste your words. Alas, alas. She tries a new tactic is what I’m gonna give her.
It still is forward, but I I’m gonna give her a a, a color. Another color there be you content fair made. It is the law that I condemn your brother. He must die tomorrow. Great. And now we go to this next level tomorrow.
Oh that sudden. Spare him. Spare him. He’s not prepared for death. Even for our kitchens. We kill the foul of season. Shall we serve heaven with less respect than we do? Then we do minister to our gross ourselves. Could good. My Lord be. Thank you.
Who is it that have been died for this offense? There’s many have committed it.
Rachel
All. That’s well said.
Stefan
Okay. You are on fire. Sorry, I jumped you there. Is Lucia talking about himself as well, or herself? Oh.
Rachel
Absolutely.
Stefan
Lovely. I love it. I get it. And can we also.
Rachel
I I almost imagine, sorry.
Stefan
No.
Rachel
I almost imagine too that if Lucio and Provost were two separate people, they’d have kind of like a look at each other. Like we provost a stone who hasn’t?
Stefan
I think the provost would look at Lucio like you and Lucia’s. Like I And do you guys notice that
there’s a new argument here? There’s a new topic in the argument, which is when tomorrow comes in. Now the top first it was law. And you, you, you get rid of that argument. And Shakespeare’s is, is trying to use up the arguments. You say, look, the law says this. If you were my own brother, if you were my kinsman, he’d have to die. The law’s a law and now it’s tomorrow. Whoa. Tomorrow’s too soon. His soul is the new, the new information. His soul is not prepared.
Okay? Just know that’s in the room. And then she’s like, everybody does it there. Many have committed it. I will said, now Angelo, explain yourself.
Miranda
She’s making two arguments though. She’s saying, whoa, whoa, whoa. Tomorrow’s too soon. He is not prepared. And she also goes on to say, lots of people have premarital sex after they’ve been engaged. Be trove, but nobody’s been killed for it. So she’s making two arguments.
Stefan
Right? Agreed. Yeah. And she says, so it’s almost like she’s discombobulated and then she finds her feet again too soon. Oh crap. Crap, crap. Okay, wait. The.
Miranda
Two, the two arguments are in the same line. They, they share a line with less respect. And we do minister to our gross selves. Good, good. My Lord to thank you. Who, who is it that have died for this offense?
Stefan
So her brain’s working really fast and she’s right. And so now you get
and Lucio gets an aside and just from a Shakespeare directing our look for a second, she says there’s many have committed it Lucio. I well said. So that our focus comes back to you Angelo. And that’s why Angelo now gets 10 lines. It has been framed. Everyone is looking. So Angelo now defend your position.
Miranda
The law has not been dead, though it has slept. Those many had not dared to do that. Evil. If the first that did the edict infringe had answered for his deeded. Now to awake takes note of what is done. And like a prophet looks in a glass that shows what future evils, either now or by remiss, new conceived. And so in progress to be hatched, unborn are now to have no successive degrees but air they live to end.
Stefan
It shows some pity.
Miranda
I show it most of all when I show justice for then I pity those I do not know which a dismissed offense would after gall and do him. Right. That answering one foul wrong lives not to act another be satisfied. Your brother dies tomorrow. Be content.
Stefan
Good.
Miranda
Fuck off.
Stefan
My only thing in, yeah, fuck off. My only thing in there is make sure you hit awake.
Now is.
Miranda
Awake. Now is awake.
Stefan
Yeah. Now is kind of important. Awake is the most important. It’s just a beautiful image. ’cause then it starts doing things. It’s awake, it takes note and looks and blah, blah, blah, blah. Good.
Be satisfied. Your brother dies tomorrow. Be content. So you must be the first that gives this sentence and he that suffers. Oh, it is excellent to have a giant strength, but is Tyra us to use it like a giant.
Miranda
Do. Can I ask, do you want.
Stefan
Yeah, go.
Miranda
Ahead. I’m so sorry. Do you want any drop of sarcasm in Angelo at all? He doesn’t do sarcasm, does he?
Stefan
You know, here’s what I was thinking. I was trying to figure out how to name what I think is going on. ’cause I do feel like there’s a weird intimacy. Like they use use. So you must be the first that gives a sentence. And he, that’s there’s, it feels like they were arguing earlier. It’s like, it kind of, it’s like you are arguing with somebody and first you, you, you, you lay out the arguments and now you’re doubling down on the arguments. And so it’s getting more personal. It’s getting more intimate. And so yeah, there’s a sarcasm. I’m not saying he loses his officialness, but he is like, come on, he’s gotta die. Think about it.
They’re talking like equals how Miranda is that? Does that make sense? What’s another way phrase? This.
Stefan
I, I think it does make sense. I also, I also think there’s, there’s a, the, as we talked about last time, there’s also an element of joy and mutual arguments, you know, matching wits.
So there’s that, there’s, there’s a a, an element of joy I think for both, both of them. Certainly for Angelo,
for both of them.
Stefan
I completely agree that Does that help with sarcasm, Stefan?
Miranda
Yeah.
Yeah.
Stefan
May maybe it maybe if, if the sarcasm is, is in service of the matching width, if that makes sense. Yeah.
Miranda
Or maybe sarcasm is not the right word. I, I wonder if there’s any, any modicum of playfulness in these two long speeches about the law.
Stefan
I think there’s an excitement. I.
Miranda
Don’t, I don’t, I actually, I don’t think there is. But I’m just wondering.
Stefan
If there’s, there is an excitement in having a long run at an argument and let a noting while look at this argument I just put together in my head and that you’re talking to somebody really smart and you’re like, fine. Ready? Let’s go there. Right? Look, the law have been asleep and then, and there’s an excitement when you finally get a full freaking, do you remember there was a famous director named Robert Woodruff? Do you remember Robert Woodruff Miranda? He ran, he was the last great biker director of the American theater. And literally he dressed like a biker. He ran like three regional theaters and was fired after six months.
Everywhere he had this great line. We were talking about Shakespeare, about the Greeks.
Speaker 4
Hmm.
Stefan
He said, you gotta figure out why one person talks for 40 lines and the other person says two lines. And then the first person says another 30 lines.
And we were all like, huh? And he goes, that’s how an argument really goes. If you’re arguing with your lover, you go for 30 lines. And then you say, well what about the cat? And then they go the cat boom. Right? And, and he kind of, we were all being pretentious with the Greeks and he’s like, no, they’re human, y’all. You gotta figure out why Jason comes enters. It was great. It was. So I think here you gotta figure out, okay, why does he get 10 lines? Because he’s got 10 lines saved up. He’s figured out, okay, here comes 10 lines.
And it’s joy and it’s argument. Right? And it’s important.
I’m, I used to think we would have, I would have great debates like I used to have in graduate school about art or the importance of things. And now we’re not allowed to have great arguments anymore, are we? We kinda have to talk past each other. We have to be careful. Certainly in academia, you’re gonna find out great impassioned fights. And that’s what I think this is, that’s why this gets sexy.
Speaker 4
Hmm.
Miranda
I I love, let’s.
Stefan
Go from.
Miranda
I love that after my first argument, she goes from all of her heady, impassioned, well thought out arguments to, okay, but what about pity?
She has five words yet, show four words yet, show some pity.
Stefan
And you go, okay. Yeah, that’s exactly And the only people who can argue like that are people in tune with each other.
Miranda
Yeah.
Stefan
Right. I have a colleague, Dr. Scott Kreider, who wrote this amazing article about this. I dunno if I told you that. All these shared lines, kind of this intimacy between them, this connection that’s, that’s clear right there. That’s a shared line by do they live to no end? It shows some pity. I chose most of it when I do just show justice, blah, blah blah. Alright, where should we go from? How about from there?
It shows some pity, it shows some pity.
Miranda
I show it. Most of all when I show justice for then I pity those I do not know which a dismissed offense would after gall and do him. Right. That answering one foul wrong lives, not to act another be satisfied. Your brother dies tomorrow. Be content.
Stefan
So you must be the first that gives this sentence and he suffers it. Oh, is excellent to have a giant strength. But is Tyra to use it like a giant.
Rachel
That’s well said.
Stefan
The great men thunder as JoVE himself does job would never be quiet. Be quiet. For every pelting petty officer would use his heaven for thunder. Nothing but thunder. First of all, heaven thou rather with th sharp and silver as bolt splits the unedible and gnarly oak than the soft myrtle. But man, proud man dressed in a little brief authority, most ignorant of what he’s most assured, his glassy essence like an angry ape, plays such fantastic tricks before the high heaven. As makes the angels weep. Who with our spleens would all themselves laugh mortal.
Rachel
Oh, to him, to him wench. He will relent. He’s coming. I perceived pray heaven. She win him.
Stefan
We cannot wait. Our brother with ourself, great men made Jess with saints. Tis whitten them. But in the less foul, ProVation.
Rachel
Bowers in the right girl. More of that.
Stefan
That in the captains, but a coic word, which in the soldier is flat. Blasphemy.
Rachel
Moron.
Miranda
Why do you put these sayings up on me?
Stefan
Good. So, oh my God. Angelo. I’m sorry. Yeah. Angela doesn’t talk for a page. I noticed.
I just really felt it because I didn’t wanna shut up at all. When you get in her skin, you’re just like, goo goo goo.
So why? Which makes does it Well blue.
Rachel
Very, you’ve got ’em on the ropes. Keep going. Keep going.
Stefan
Yeah. And every aside you give me gives me a little bit of oomph. Right?
Rachel
Right.
Stefan
But those are rooms for Angela to step in and he does not. And look what she talks about. Right? She dies tomorrow.
The new idea is, it is excellent to have a giant strength. But tyranny, tyranny is a big old important word in Shakespeare, right? Tyranny is like, that’s the worst. It is tyranny to use it like a giant. A giant. And so now we have this beat about petty poultry, people dressed in authority, using authority sword are pathetic. And, and, and the angels laugh at them. And she must be right about this. This is my maybe conjecture. There’s gotta be a hint in here that Angelo hears as, oh crap, she’s right, I’m a charlatan.
’cause if he was fully secure in his act of being in charge, he says it earlier, right? The law is done, but she gets to him in his weakest spot, which is a fear that he is a, an imposter and that he’s gonna be laughed at that he’s proud. All of that has just gotta be true.
Look at this. Well what in the captain’s, but a colic word, which is a soldier is flat blasphemy. That logic, the idea that there are different rules for different levels of people, and you don’t even rate, you are not fit to untie her sandals. Right?
And then Lucio art advised of that moron. That’s a question. What does that mean? Art advised of that, what does Lucio pointing, pointing at.
Rachel
To me, the fact that there’s the break then, and then Angelo finds the opportunity to respond comes from, I think there’s almost a point being made here that Lucio is like, Ooh, is that your strongest argument? It feels a little like she took it a little too far and is maybe a little wrong there. Like it’s not quite the same flavor of like, yes, that’s it. Keep going. It’s, are you sure? Keep, keep pulling at that thread is that I read it.
Stefan
The.
Rachel
Flavor.
Stefan
Read it slightly differently. Miranda, I read it. Art thou advised that as a kind of like, wow, keep going. Wow. You know about soldiers keep going because his earlier line has the, that again, right? Dauer and the right girl do more of that. And so do more of the idea that great men can, Jess was Saints written then, but less is foul ProVation Lucia’s response is Yes. Do more of that. And then she repeats the argument, really? Right? But her, her use her adjective, her, what she describes is military meant.
Rachel
Oh, so like who told you that? Like, you’re right, but where did, who’s telling you these things? Okay. Nice. Yeah.
Stefan
Is that track Miranda?
Stefan
Absolutely. Absolutely. I, and I, I think he, I, I think also he’s just, if you’re, if you’re sure you’re on strong ground here, if you’re absolutely sure of that, keep going. You know, keep going If you know this to be true, you know, because he doesn’t stop by saying, are you sure? He says more on it. Yes. So.
Stefan
Yeah. Mad props, respect girl. Yeah.
Rachel
Go.
Stefan
I like that. Yeah. Is there.
Rachel
Any here for all the apostrophes, like the art, it, the right, like, it’s almost like, like almost a Scottish frog there. Like the art of the right girl wore a lot. Like.
Stefan
That’s a mouthful.
Rachel
Technical guide for how that’s said.
Stefan
I thought you said it correctly. I thought so. Yeah, it’s a mouth. It’s a mouthful. Okay.
Stefan
You’re allowed to push and pull with that line.
Stefan
Okay.
Stefan
Right. I think the mistake sometimes with Lucio is they try to not take up any room as opposed to here I want you to, whoa. Yeah girl.
I had a teenagers recently in a very frightening moment try to explain to me recent slang, two teenage 15 year old girls who are my friend’s daughter and her best friend. And they tried to teach me a word called per p e r, which is a slang term used by people who love Taylor Swift or Tay. And they spoke in this weird, truncated words, per boy, per means. Perfect. But you cannot say the word. You can’t say that’s perfect or that’s per, so if you say, look at this hat, you don’t, don’t say that’s perfect. If you say, look at this hat, you just go Per so I, my whole long way of saying yes, you’re allowed to truncate and push and pull because you are your otherness.
Just embrace your otherness and I dare you use per with your students. Stefan.
Miranda
I loved, I loved when I found out, I loved when I found out what fit meant.
Stefan
What? What meant.
Miranda
Fit. F i t It means your outfit.
Rachel
Yeah. Your fit of the day. Oh.
Miranda
Yeah, that’s a nice fit. Fit.
Stefan
My wife had one today. She was talking, she was teaching theater and she sits and she’s intro to design and one of the questions is, who is this play for? Who are you designing for? You know, and this is what she said. She said, is it intellectuals? Is it your friends? Is it the blue hairs? Is it the is know the evening wine crowd? And they were like, excuse me, blue hairs, what is that?
And she was like, the blue hair, like you, you get your hair dyed. And they said, we hear that as you blue haired liberal.
Miranda
Wow. The.
Stefan
Way, the way all the young, like a lot of people will like dye their hair blue right now. And it’s like, and that as I was my brain, yeah. Careful. Don’t say blue hairs, y’all.
Rachel
Yeah.
Stefan
Okay. Okay. I advise more on that. I love how our time flies. We got 35 minutes. Any anything else before we try to attack the last two pages?
Why do you put those sayings upon me? Take it from there.
Miranda
Why do you put those sayings upon me?
Stefan
Because authority though it air like others has yet a kind of medicine in itself that skins the vice over the top. Go to your bosom, knock there and ask your heart what it death know. That’s like my brother’s fault. If it confessed a natural guiltiness such as his, let it not sound a thought upon your tongue, against my brother’s life.
Miranda
She speaks and tis such sense that my sense breeds with it fare well.
Stefan
Gentle, my Lord, turn back.
Miranda
I will be Thank me. Come again tomorrow.
Stefan
Har, how I’ll bribe you. Good, my Lord, turn back.
Miranda
How bribe me.
Stefan
I with such gifts that heaven shall share with you.
Rachel
You had marred all else.
Stefan
Not with the fun sickles of the test of gold or stones whose rate are either rich or poor as fancy values them, but with true prayers that shall be up at heaven and enter there at sunrise, prayers from preserved souls from fasting maids whose minds are dedicated to nothing but temporal.
Miranda
Well come to me tomorrow.
Rachel
Oh, toot well away.
Stefan
Heaven, keep your honor safe.
Miranda
Amen. For I am that way, going to temptation where prayers cross.
Stefan
At what hour tomorrow shall I attend your lordship?
Miranda
Any at any time for noon.
Stefan
Save your honor.
Miranda
From thee, even from that virtue.
Stefan
Okay, good. Before we attack anything in here,
any sense that we’re missing.
Rachel
Missing on the line with the space? So Isabelle saying, I with such gifts that heaven Michelle, share with you the, the spacing in the script. There’s a side to Isabella, but the line is offset. Is that meant to indicate any kind of pause like she’s hesitating and staying in the room and I have to be like, fuck him move. He said he’ll talk to you tomorrow. Or is it, oh no, sorry, I’m thinking about that next part, the go-to to his well away. So we’ll come to me tomorrow again. There’s space GoTo t well away. Is there any space indication there of waiting for Lucio to speak?
Stefan
My gut is you fit it, you you fit it in that it’s not about you. Just from the rhythm of okay, I was this gifted heaven shall shall share with you. You have Marty all else not with fun sickle like you, we don’t, I don’t think you wanna lose the momentum there and then to nothing temporal will come to me tomorrow. Again, that shared line always with them really go to ts well away. That’s just get outta here.
Rachel
Okay. Yeah. Something that has struck me in this reading today is that Lu Lucio is not announced. Lucio is not greeted, Lucio is not dismissed. Lucio is not addressed in any way. Like Angelo is aware of CIO’s relationship to Claudio and doesn’t even try to talk to Lucio and or even try and get him out of the room. So there’s something fun there about just Lucio being a witness to this very hot intellectual interchange and never taking up space in interrupting the flow of that, but providing the commentary, which I hadn’t really noticed entirely before. So I, it, yeah, I, I agree that there’s no like pause Lucio has his say. It’s all in the rhythm of it.
Stefan
And I think that is supported by what Stefan said about Lucio. Lucio is a high born Lucio. Doesn’t, it’s not weird that Lucio is in the room. There’s not a homeless person in the room. There’s not, it’s, it’s Lucho is allowed to be in the halls where all their like high status people are. He’s of the court in a sense.
Rachel
Interesting. Yeah. The the thing that I maybe struggle with with that is that again, we’re in this new era of Vienna where Angelo’s in charge and if there’s any threat to Lucio really getting to do whatever they want, especially with the line of before talking about like, who hasn’t committed the crimes that Claudio has and Lucio existing in that space is like, yeah, he could have knocked on my tour, I could be in trouble right now. It’s just something to that I’ll chew on for next time.
Stefan
Yeah.
Stefan
I I’m not sure he’s seen, you know, I’ve seen productions where he is seen and productions where he isn’t. Yeah. And that’s why I really liked Stefan, what you were saying a while back about Lucio is, is what was it, is is almost a provost inner monologue. And, and if, if, if Lucio is, I mean, of course we see him, but if, if, and here him, but if, and Isabella does, but if he’s not seen by Angelo, I I I love that. I think that works with the, you know, he is, he he is the provost center monologue. You know, it can go either way. I think.
Miranda
I saw production ones where most of CIO’s aside were to the audience.
Stefan
I’ve seen that too. Yeah. Yeah. And, and of course, you know, asides are not in the folio.
So those are more interpretative I think of, of later editors, most of them.
Anyway.
Stefan
I would talk right to the audience. I love it.
Stefan
Yeah.
Stefan
It’s, it’s the quickest connection. Lucia’s job is to connect to the audience. Right? Lucio is the chorus in.
Stefan
A sense, right? Yes. Exactly. Exactly. Lucia.
Stefan
Lucia would be the person that the audience is constantly connecting with. And they would be looking at Lucio to see how to respond to what’s going on. Yeah. Yeah. It would be the greatest role in the world to play would be Lucio. Because you would just steal the show and all the other actors would freaking hate you. Right. Because you were, you would be allowed to do whatever you wanted it.
One little thing is these, these shared lines on her exit to nothing temporal will come to me in tomorrow. Get re lucio outta there. Heaven, keep your honor safe. Amen. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Where prayers cross at what hour tomorrow shall I attend you, Lord? Have any time before noon? Save your honor. Right? I just wanna make sure that at any time for noon, Stefan is, you were so surprised by her at what hour that you’re, it just blurted out, I don’t know, anytime before noon. Just like, ah, get the frick out. ’cause you were, you were starting to go into your monologue and she keeps interrupting.
She does it twice.
Miranda
So I’ve been looking at these lines over the last five minutes or whatever it is. This is some of the most unusual meter I’ve ever seen in Shakespeare to nothing temporal, welcome to me tomorrow, go to Tiz well away. They’re all three beat, three feet lines.
And then heaven, keep your honor safe. There’s a beat missing in the front.
It’s like heaven, the, the first syllable is stress. So it’s like there’s a missing syllable at the front of the line. Heaven, keep your honor safe. Amen.
And same thing later on with, shall I attend Your Lordship at any time for noon? That’s like 12 or 13 syllables. It’s very weird. This whole exchange is really weird.
Stefan
Yes. By the way, genius with heaven. That’s really cool. The and is super great. Yeah. I think you guys should it.
Miranda
Missing and, and heaven keep your honor safe. Amen.
Stefan
Which Isabella is basically like, well come to me tomorrow. And Lucho was like, let’s go get out. And she’s like, Hey, heavy computer safe. Right?
Amen. For that, I pray for that. Wow. Yeah. And he thinks the door is shut.
I would have the door.
I think Theater for New Audiences did a production where it was just doors, a bunch of rolling doors. They figured out that there’s, that there’s lots of door, door games. Sounds like a great production. But she would be leaving again. Right? That’s great. Amen. For that way. I’m, he thinks he’s alone. Amen. For I am that way, going to temptation where prayers crossed. That is weird. And then she comes back in and what hour? Anytime for noon.
Miranda
This is so weird. This scan is so weird. It’s.
Stefan
So weird. Hey, why don’t we do it once and embrace the weirdness.
Miranda
Okay. I was just.
Stefan
Why don’t we, you just take it from we’ll come to me tomorrow.
Miranda
Okay.
Stefan
How about, yeah, yeah.
Miranda
Do you wanna try these weird lines as not shared lines, but take beats. But after, before or after? I.
Stefan
Wanna do, I wanna try both.
Miranda
Okay.
Stefan
And see, and, and they, I think they’ll both probably pay dividends, but I think we, that would be a cool way to explore it. Let’s do one where we don’t take beats first. Okay. And then let’s take beats. So if we’re just gonna drive it. If I’m from fasting maids whose minds are dedicated to nothing temporal.
Miranda
Well come to me tomorrow.
Stefan
Go to Tzu away. Have him keep your honor safe.
Miranda
Amen. For I am that way, going to temptation where prayers cross.
Stefan
At what hour tomorrow shall I attend your Lordship.
Miranda
At any time for noon.
Stefan
Save your honor.
Miranda
From thee. Even from the virtue.
Stefan
Alright, now let’s let it breathe. Let from fasting maids whose minds are dedicated to nothing temporal.
Miranda
Well, come to me tomorrow.
Rachel
Oh toot well away.
Stefan
Having keep your honor safe.
Miranda
Amen. Where I’m that way going to temptation where prayers cross.
Stefan
And what hour tomorrow shall I attend your Lordship.
Miranda
At any time for noon?
Stefan
Save your honor.
Miranda
From thee. Even from that virtue.
Stefan
Here’s what I do know for sure is there is a big ass beat before. Well come to me tomorrow.
Miranda
You like that one?
Stefan
Yeah, I do. Because there’s the event, right? That she then she shuts up and we don’t wanna rush that. And Lucio says, there you got it. Don’t ask for more. I thought that was lovely.
I could take or leave the others. Like I can keep exploring, but I a manned to nothing temporal be beep. Be Well, let’s talk about it tomorrow.
Miranda
I also like the one at any before, at any time for noon. Maybe not as big a beat, but.
Stefan
I’ll buy that. I’ll buy that. I think you’re allowed to, you’re allowed to take the beat. She’s not, she won’t take it on. Save your honor. Or else it gets too intimate. She’s too clueless.
Miranda
If you give me leniency to take beats, this will be a two hour scene.
Stefan
I, I will only give you so far, I’ve only given you two,
but I’m not opposed to you having more. We’re, here’s what we’re gonna do. ’cause oh my god, we have 20 minutes. We’re gonna, I gonna give the run up. I wanna do that one more time. Taking those two, those two beats, keeping everything else tight and then let you dive into the monologue.
So one more time.
There are sunrise prayers from preserved souls from fasting maids whose minds are dedicated to nothing temporal.
Miranda
Well come to me tomorrow.
Rachel
Who do to well away.
Stefan
Heaven, keep your honor safe.
Miranda
Amen. For I am that way, going to temptation where prayers cross.
Stefan
At what hour tomorrow shall I attend your lordship.
Miranda
At any time for noon.
Stefan
Save your honor.
Miranda
From thee, even from the virtue. Oh, what’s this? What’s this? Is this her fault or mine? The tempter or the tempted who sins most. Huh?
Not she, nor does she tempt. But it is I that lying by the violet in the sun. Do as the carry does not as the flower corrupt with virtuous season, can it be that modesty may more betray our sense than woman’s lightness having waste ground enough. Shall we desire to raise the sanctuary and pitch our evils there? Oh fine. Fine.
What does thou Oh, what art thou Angelo does thou desire her foully for those things that make her good? Oh, let her brother live thieves for the robbery of authority when judges steal themselves. What do I love her? That I desire to hear her speak again and feast upon her eyes.
What is th dream on? Oh, cunning enemy. That to catch a saint with saints, dust bake thy hook.
Most dangerous is that temptation that does God us on sin and loving virtue Never could the trumpet with all her double vigor, art and nature once stir my temper. But this virtuous maid subdues me quite ever till now when men were fond, I smiled and wondered how.
Stefan
Good, good. I love the the discoveries as you go.
I love the, what the hell is this? I was trying to figure out what, what, what that’s like.
What is it like in our life when we go, wait, what do I like? That person is the only kind of cliche version I can think of.
What is it like to have this moment of, ugh, what is going on inside me? You know, he loves this right? Much ado, he does this right.
But here it’s sort of touching and creepy.
Rachel
To me it’s almost seen most in the moments where we find ourselves about to do something that we would never do. Like we can recognize kind of the different places we feel heat in ourselves when we’re interested or confused by somebody. But it’s the something I was struck by this time, Stefan, in the way you read it was the moment of oh sure, let her brother live. I’m just gonna completely go against what I’ve been saying all day to everybody like sure ha ha ha the world be will be completely run over by thieves and judges and circus animals. Like sure we’re gonna completely throw everything out the window was just such a nice approach. I saw in this go through.
Stefan
Me too.
Stefan
I have a little scan thing I’m gonna ask for and it’s ’cause it’s really hard. Yeah. Look at line two 10.
Miranda
What does that or what art thou Angelo.
Stefan
Maybe it’s not too Yeah, it’s too, yeah. What dust thou?
Miranda
Yep.
Stefan
Yeah, don’t hit that first. What?
Miranda
I got you.
Stefan
Because then you can hit the second thou.
Miranda
What dust, what dust thou or what? Art. Wait, what does.
Stefan
Yeah. Dust.
Miranda
Art or what? Art though.
Stefan
Angelo.
Angelo gets all Angelo, you get your whole word. Your he doesn’t truncate Angelo. Every syllable gets it’s due.
What? Dust thou or what Art thou Angelo.
And then do the second, the next line.
Miranda
And dust thou desire. I I I’m trying to avoid the pronoun on this one. So I’d like to go dust thou desire her foully for those things.
Stefan
No. Here I want that pronoun in a rare Does.
Miranda
Thou desire her foully for those things that make her good?
Stefan
Yes, because it, the, the, the poetry, the the just thou because you the line before you asked what you are and you didn’t hit the thou. So he kind of primes the pump. He primes the rhyme. What dust thou or what art thou Angelo does. Vow. Now you’re allowed to hit the vow. He’s avoided it twice.
Does thou desire her fally for those things? And then you got those ths in there. Ths in the Fs.
Look at that. Does thou desire her foully for those things?
I don’t know. All I know is he wants that line full of the ths and the Fs. Hence why I think you’re allowed to hit the vow. And normally I hate pronouns. I completely agree with you. Don’t hit the pronoun, but I want it there.
Miranda
Yeah. Okay. And.
Stefan
Then a little thing on line 2 21 with all her double vigor, art and nature. Don’t hit that and just crush it. Cross it out.
And I think that actually gives you permission to hit both art and nature even harder and live in them.
Miranda
Okay. I’m marking it on my script.
Stefan
Miranda, do you have anything before we get to make Stefan do it again? ’cause it’s so nice.
Stefan
Nope, I’m good. Sounds great.
Miranda
Stefan, what about the next line?
I’ve been going once stir my temper. Another trophy. Do you prefer once stir my temper?
Stefan
Let me back up a wee bit and see. Never could this trumpet with all vigor art and nature once stir my temper.
No, I want stir because stir is that dirty double entendre like that. If you can bring the sex in, you go for the sex and never could the strumpet who is both pretty and really good at makeup, double vigor, vigorous, dirty, vigorously love making right Uhuh stir my temper, which is both my temperament and my te everything. Right.
And that way, because that’s why that sets up the opposite on the other side of the butt. But this virtu is maid subdues me quite never could. All the porn and sex and everything stir and yeah, we need that stir. We it’s the big verb of the entire sentence.
Will you read that line for me from never? Sorry. Are you counting? Apologize.
Miranda
Yeah, I was, I was figuring out where to put the space in in the line after that one. Subdues me quite beat, beat ever till now.
Stefan
I agree. Here.
Miranda
We go to sin and loving virtue. Never, never could the trumpet with all her double vigor, art and nature one stir my temper. But this virtuous maid subdues me quite.
Stefan
Yeah, that’s it ever until now. Sorry. I always thought you were acting. I was like, you wait. You know what I mean? That was beautiful.
I really heard the stir and he’s dealing with what the hell’s going on. And the next line is just a summation of how every till now when men were fond or stirred every till now when men were stirred, I smiled and wonder how they were stirred. How,
okay, I’m gonna do this one more time.
And what I want you to do, Stefan, is just take your time as you go through it and just live in it.
Just live in the images and the realizations of, oh my God, I love peanut butter. Or oh my God, I love this girl. Or oh my god, I love boys. Or oh my god, I love girls. Like this kind of discovery. It’s, I’m just trying to figure the last time I had a discovery of holy shit, I love that. ’cause that’s what’s going on here.
Yeah. Off your pop.
Miranda
Okay, I’ll be using ice cream. Save.
Stefan
Your honor.
Miranda
I’ll be using ice cream as my motivation ice.
Stefan
Cream’s. Good. Save Your honor.
Miranda
From the, even from the virtue. What’s this? What’s this?
Is this her fault or mine? The tempter or the tempted who sins most. Huh?
Not she, nor does she tempt, but it is I that lying by the violet in the sun. Do as the carry does not as the flower corrupt with virtuous season, can it be that modesty may more betray our sense than women’s lightness having waste ground enough. Shall we desire to raise the sanctuary and pitch our evils there? Oh fine, fine, fine.
Does thou or what art thou Angelo does thou desire her foully for those things that make her good? Oh, let her brother live thieves for their robbery are have authority when judges steal themselves.
What do I love her that I desire to hear her speak again and feast upon her eyes. What is that dream on oh, cunning enemy. That to catch a saint with saints just bait. Thy hook.
Most dangerous is that temptation that does God us on to sin in loving virtue.
Never could this trumpet with all her double vigor, art and nature. One stir my temper. But this virtuous mate subdues me quite ever till now when men were fond, I smiled and wondered how.
Stefan
So beautiful. I love the poetry. When you guys do the poetry.
Stefan
Great.
Stefan
I mean, will you guys make it sing? Which requires all part, all aspects of your, your big brains and your big hearts and your big emotions.
I thought it was gorgeous. I have two questions in there. Can you, and by the way, Stefan, I got every logic. I got all the logic, I got all the pain, I got all the discoveries. I got all the, what the hell’s going on this?
I got the moments when you would sort of sit in it and then go, whoa, what is, no, it was gorgeous. The way the time you took is exactly great.
Not she nor do not do I attempt, but it is I that lying by the violet in the sun due as zarian does not as the flower corrupt with virtuous season do we throw away not as the flower. What’s the sense there.
Miranda
That lying by the violet in the sun do as the carion does not as the flower corrupt with virtuous. I don’t want it to. Mm. I’m nervous that it will sound like the flower, the flower is doing. The corrupting do as the car does not as the flower corrupt with virtuous season.
Stefan
There’s, I think that there’s a, I now understand the logic. Miranda, does that track?
Stefan
Yes it does. I’m I’m just reading what Samuel Johnson paraphrased, which isn’t very helpful Yes. That that tracks.
Miranda
But it is I that lying. You know what, I observe these commas too much sometimes. But it is I that lying by the violet in the sun, lying by the violet in the sun. Do as the ion does not as the flower corrupt with virtuous season.
Stefan
Good.
Stefan
I like that. Good. Yeah.
Stefan
Not as the flower. That was the comparison I needed. That’s gonna make me me understand it even better. And then.
Stefan
Yeah.
Stefan
Wait, did you have something Miranda?
Stefan
Oh no, I just said I like that. Okay.
Stefan
I had one another note,
but it’s No, no, I don’t have another note.
Oh yeah. Here it is most dangerous. Will you just take it from most dangerous and unpack it.
Miranda
Most s most, most dangerous is that temptation that duff got us on to sin in loving virtue.
Stefan
What does that mean?
Miranda
It means I know exactly what it means. I’m gonna tell you it means most dangerous is that temptation that D got us on to sin in loving virtue.
Stefan
It means.
Miranda
It means it’s worse when we are tempted to, to think that we’re doing something good. It’s actually cloaking a sin. Something like that.
Stefan
It, it’s dangerous because it is cloaked. It’s dangerous because we don’t realize that we’re sitting because we love, we think we’re loving virtue, but we’re not.
Miranda
Okay. How’s this Stefan? Most dangerous is that temptation that got us onto sin in loving virtue.
Stefan
Oh, there it is. Yes
to sin in loving virtue, which is in loving her.
Miranda
Yeah. I need to continue.
Stefan
‘Cause in loving her, it’s sin.
Miranda
And I think what helps is if I continue the thread from God, us to God, us on sin, that temptation that the God us onto sin.
Stefan
Which is in the exact same thought as to catch a saint. You bake the hook with a saint. Yeah.
There it is there. Thank you very much. I’m sorry for my coughing. I’m fighting a bronchitis.
Stefan
Oh, I was gonna say, are you okay? Yikes.
Miranda
By the way, that’s another comma that I think I’m observing too much. Oh, cunning enemy. That to catch a saint, I should just go into it. I’m going, oh, cunning enemy. That to catch a saint with saints does be tha hook. Am I overplaying that comma after that.
Stefan
You are. Try it once. There’s one thought.
Miranda
Oh, cunning enemy that to catch a saint with saints. Dust bait. Thy hook.
Stefan
Yeah. Yeah. I think the commas are there to point out that there are two saints with saints. Saints. And you do it naturally. You don’t need them.
You make sense of lines that lesser mortals would need commas to remind them of the structure. I’m not kidding. You hear it
again. Where did the time go?
Stefan
Hmm?
Stefan
How do we only have one more rehearsal?
Stefan
Hmm.
Stefan
And the next one’s public.
Miranda
I think so.
Stefan
Hmm. And, and and and what are we gonna do?
I’ll tell you what I wanna do. Well.
Miranda
I love three. I love scene three. Wait, what’s scene three? Which is the one where she comes back? Is that scene four?
Stefan
Oh, maybe. I guess. Yeah, that would be super cool. Maybe. Maybe he’ll ask us to do it again and we’ll get to just keep going.
Miranda
To be receive it. Plane. I’ll speak more gross. I love that line.
Stefan
I think for Thursday and next Thursday. I think I’d just like to keep going. I would probably want to do, because we’ll have everybody, we’ll have my whole team together and I think what I’d love to be able to do is the first hour do one more pass through in case just to see if everybody’s like going right. And then be able to do a nice solid run of the whole thing once at the end.
I don’t wanna start with a full run because then that just robs us of process.
Cool. Well thank you guys.
This is again, thank you so much fun. I will admit, after a long day I’m like, okay, I guess I gotta go rehearsed and then I love it. I love the two hours I spend with you guys, so thank you.
Stefan
Likewise. Thanks everyone.
Miranda
That was, this was fun. Thank you guys.
Stefan
We’ll see you guys on Thursday. Thank you.
Miranda
Thursday, are we doing seven to nine or are we doing eight to 10?
Stefan
What? I think it’s this time.
Miranda
Seven to nine.
Stefan
Is it, is it the same time or did he, did we change to time?
Miranda
No, it’s, we’re usually eight to 10, but we changed it this week. I don’t.
Stefan
Oh, this is different than last time. I just followed the email. I guess we’ll have to continue on to thread and ask Nathan, he who must be of aid, he’s going to email us. He’s gonna watch this and we’ll get an email from our overlord. I said it.
I’ll see you guys next week.
Stefan
You’ll get to choose. I’m on the.
The post Week 3 – Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure – Act 2, Scene 2 – The Rehearsal Room [Video, Audio, and Transcript versions] appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
🏁 In our second week, highlights include:
- Themes of power, authority, temptation, and morality
- The idea that those in authority often act oppressively
- Isabella's use of bribery and prayer to persuade Angelo, and Angelo's internal struggle and attraction to Isabella
Session released from the Rehearsal Room ARCHIVE - August 2023.
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🙏 Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: Stefan Novinski
- DRAMATURG: Miranda Johnson-Haddad
- ANGELO: J. Paul Nicholas
- ISABELLA: Charlotte Northeast
- PROVOST / LUCIO: Rachel Dilliplane
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/shakespeares-measure-for-measure-august-2023
😮 THE SCENE Our group will be working on Act 2, Scene 2 – Angelo’s first meeting with Isabella, where she comes to plead for her brother’s life.
Measure for Measure scene from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/measure-for-measure/read/2/2
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
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The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
Session released from the Rehearsal Room ARCHIVE - August 2023
🏁 In our first week, some highlights include the participants:
- speaking about their locations, past experiences in theater, and the current state of the industry
- sharing their excitement about working on scenes from the play and discussed the purpose of the project, which is to provide learning opportunities for young professionals
- exploring the character of Angelo and his complicated past, as well as the role of the Provost in revealing Angelo's true nature
- analyzing Isabella's entrance and her high status as she pleads with Angelo.
- discussing an upcoming monologue by Angelo and the importance of exploring different approaches to the material
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🙏 Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM Measure for Measure Team: DIRECTOR: Stefan Novinski DRAMATURG: Miranda Johnson-Haddad ANGELO: J. Paul Nicholas ISABELLA: Charlotte Northeast PROVOST / LUCIO: Rachel Dilliplane
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/shakespeares-measure-for-measure-august-2023/
😮 THE SCENE Our group will be working on Act 2, Scene 2 – Angelo’s first meeting with Isabella, where she comes to plead for her brother’s life.
Measure for Measure scene from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/measure-for-measure/read/2/2/
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare: -Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe -Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK -William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #measureformeasure #shakespeare #shakespeare #textwork
🏁 In our final session, the group:
- discussed the idea of a bookish, nerdy Beatrice and how age can influence the portrayal of the role.
- refined the dynamics of key scenes, considering Beatrice's quick wit and the layers of meaning in her dialogue with Benedick.
- evaluated Beatrice as the fool of the house and contemplated her growth from defensive barb-thrower to a woman discovering love.
- delved into how the rehearsal context and current events can shape a performance.
Plus, what about a web series of Beatrice as a childless cat lady in 2024?! Who's in? 🙋♀️😹
🛑 Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
🙏 Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
You can also WATCH the full sessions on YouTube: https://workingactorsjourney.com/youtube
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - DIRECTOR: Erika Rolfsrud -DRAMATURG: Cathleen Sheehan -And the PLAYERS: Juls Hoover, Anu Bhatt, and Shannon Lee Clair
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/july-2024-acting-the-role-beatrice
😮 THE SCENES Our group will be working on various sections from Shakespeare’s "Much Ado About Nothing": -First scene group: Act I, Scene I, lines 30-92 and Act I, Scene I, lines 111-143 -Second scene group: Act II, Scene I, lines 1-81 and Act II, Scene I, lines 123-152 -Third scene group: Act IV, Scene I, lines 269-350
Much Ado scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/1/1 https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/2/1 https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/4/1
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare: -Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe -Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK -William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #beatrice #muchado #shakespeare
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
🏁 This week, the group discussed Beatrice's emotional state, and the play's thematic elements like gender roles, public perception, and the use of wit. They also explored the historical and cultural context of the play, and theorized about its inspiration.
🛑 Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
🙏 Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
You can also WATCH the full sessions on YouTube: https://workingactorsjourney.com/youtube
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - DIRECTOR: Erika Rolfsrud -DRAMATURG: Cathleen Sheehan -And the PLAYERS: Juls Hoover, Anu Bhatt, and Shannon Lee Clair
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/july-2024-acting-the-role-beatrice
😮 THE SCENES Our group will be working on various sections from Shakespeare’s "Much Ado About Nothing": -First scene group: Act I, Scene I, lines 30-92 and Act I, Scene I, lines 111-143 -Second scene group: Act II, Scene I, lines 1-81 and Act II, Scene I, lines 123-152 -Third scene group: Act IV, Scene I, lines 269-350
Much Ado scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/1/1 https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/2/1 https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/4/1
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare: -Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe -Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK -William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #beatrice #muchado #shakespeare
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
🏁 This week, the group watched a few different versions of the opening scene and discussed the various takes on performances by Catherine Tate and David Tennant (Wyndham's), Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh (Branagh's film), Danielle Brooks and Grantham Coleman (Public Theatre), and Dame Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens (Zeffirelli's film). They discussed the significance of food references and the implications of being "too cursed." They explored the Elizabethan context, character dynamics, and the rhythm and meaning of the text, with an emphasis on understanding Beatrice's perspective, her humor, repartee with Benedick, and her stance on marriage and men.
🛑 Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
🙏 Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
You can also watch the full sessions on YouTube: https://workingactorsjourney.com/youtube
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - DIRECTOR: Erika Rolfsrud -DRAMATURG: Cathleen Sheehan -And the PLAYERS: Juls Hoover, Anu Bhatt, and Shannon Lee Clair
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/july-2024-acting-the-role-beatrice
😮 THE SCENES Our group will be working on various sections from Shakespeare’s "Much Ado About Nothing": -First scene group: Act I, Scene I, lines 30-92 and Act I, Scene I, lines 111-143 -Second scene group: Act II, Scene I, lines 1-81 and Act II, Scene I, lines 123-152 -Third scene group: Act IV, Scene I, lines 269-350
Much Ado scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/1/1 https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/2/1 https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/4/1
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare: -Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe -Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK -William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #beatrice #muchado #shakespeare
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
🏁 We dive into the first week of work on the character BEATRICE: exploring the dynamics between Beatrice and Benedict; the concept of wit as a form of communication; and addressing themes such as gender roles, societal expectations, and love. You'll see the group analyze key scenes, including the gulling of Beatrice and Benedict, the wedding scene, and the pivotal confrontation where Beatrice demands Claudio's death.
🛑 Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
🙏 Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
You can also watch the full sessions on YouTube: https://workingactorsjourney.com/youtube
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM - DIRECTOR: Erika Rolfsrud -DRAMATURG: Cathleen Sheehan -And the PLAYERS: Juls Hoover, Anu Bhatt, and Shannon Lee Clair
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/july-2024-acting-the-role-beatrice
😮 THE SCENES Our group will be working on various sections from Shakespeare’s "Much Ado About Nothing": -First scene group: Act I, Scene I, lines 30-92 and Act I, Scene I, lines 111-143 -Second scene group: Act II, Scene I, lines 1-81 and Act II, Scene I, lines 123-152 -Third scene group: Act IV, Scene I, lines 269-350
Much Ado scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/1/1 https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/2/1 https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/4/1
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare: -Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe -Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK -William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #beatrice #muchado #shakespeare
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
JulsAnuShannonErikaCathleenThis month, we’ll focus on the role of BEATRICE in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing as three different actors will work on scenes and speeches from the play. We’ll dive into what makes this character ticks and to better understand her full arc.
Our director Erika Rolfsrud has played the role Off-Broadway and in Cleveland at the Great Lakes Theater Festival. And one of our actors, Shannon Lee Clair, has played the part onstage too!
As Erika says: As I revisit Ms Bea, rereading her text, I leave it feeling frisky, wistful, and revved up! I’m SO excited!
Catch the weekly sessions on YouTube and the podcast!The Rehearsal Room is its own weekly “show”, reaching more actors, artists, and theatre lovers who would benefit from:
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Subscribe nowThe scenes for July’s workshopOur group will be working on various sections from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing
- First scene group: Act I, Scene I, lines 30-92 and Act I, Scene I, lines 111-143
- “I pray you, is Signior Mountanto returned from the wars or no?” thru “No, not till a hot January.”
- “If Signior Leonato be her father, … as like him as she is.” thru “I know you of old.”
- Second scene group: Act II, Scene I, lines 1-81 and Act II, Scene I, lines 123-152
- “Was not Count John here at supper?” thru “… I can see a church by daylight.”
- “Will you not tell me who told you so?” thru “… I will lead them at the next turning.”
- Third scene group: Act IV, Scene I, lines 269-350
- “Lady Beatrice, have you wept all this while?” thru “I must say she is dead, and so farewell.”
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library: Act I, Scene I; Act II, Scene I; and Act IV, Scene I.
ATR: Beatrice Team – bios below:* DIRECTOR: Erika Rolfsrud * DRAMATURG: Cathleen Sheehan * And the PLAYERS… + Juls Hoover + Anu Bhatt + Shannon Lee Clair
Each actor will have the opportunity to work on the role of Beatrice!
REPLAYS (both video and audio) will be available weekly in July, starting Tuesday, July 16th.
As a PATRON (starting at just $5), you can also get:
- Viewing of the sessions early (3-4 days before they go public)
- Priority access to ask questions of the artists
- And other perks
Get EARLY access and more via Patreon!
Want to be in the Room where it happens? 😉These sessions are always filled with amazing scene work, and you’ll learn:
- how professional artists approach material
- what questions to ask
- what the director expects from actors
- how to find character clues from the text
- how the exploration never stops!
Join today!The great joy of these programs is that we get to:
- spend SO much time diving deep on a scene and characters
- bring together lifelong professionals with newer/younger actors
- cast roles while being totally open to race, gender, and age
Artist Bios – a mostly California crew with our director in New York!Erika Rolfsrud (DIRECTOR) has appeared on Broadway in The Coast of Utopia, Rabbit Hole, and Exit The King. She has also appeared Off-Broadway and in regional theatre. In films, Erika has appeared in Unsane, Alone and Dream Date, and on television in Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Third Watch, Manifest, House of Cards, God Friended Me, Blue Bloods, and more. She has an MFA from Old Globe Theatre/USD.
Cathleen Sheehan (DRAMATURG) is a writer, lecturer and teacher who teaches Shakespeare and Advanced Shakespeare (among other courses) at the Urban School in San Francisco. She has served as a dramaturg for Marin Shakespeare and for California Shakespeare Theater. She holds an AB and MA in English Literature from Stanford University and pursued graduate studies in Victoria Literature at Oxford University.
Juls Hoover studied at San Diego State University, majoring in both Theater and Psychology, and also trained at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford. She also works as a Yoga Teacher while attending graduate school to obtain a Masters in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Addiction Medicine.
Anu Bhatt has worked at Chicago Shakespeare, Michigan Shakespeare and received her MFA in Acting from the Chicago College of Performing Arts/Roosevelt University. She wrote, acted in, co-directed and edited the short film AutoCorrect which is an official selection to 10 festivals. She’s currently living in LA, working on producing her next film, Crossing the Desert, a bilingual short featuring a queer South Asian woman trying to reconnect with her austere grandmother across the world.
Shannon Lee Clair was born in New York City and has lived most of her life on the west coast, also spending time significant time in Ireland and London. She earned her Bachelor’s in English and Theater at Princeton University and studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. An avid outdoors-woman, Shannon fills most of her vacation time with backpacking or sailing trips.
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The post Acting the Role of BEATRICE (Shakespeare’s “Much Ado”) in The Rehearsal Room for July 2024 with director Erika Rolfsrud, dramaturg Cathleen Sheehan and actors Juls Hoover, Anu Bhatt and Shannon Lee Clair! appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
In our final week of looking at the scenes of Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the group used "Italian run-thrus" (rapid line delivery) and continued to work on the scenes switching roles. The group discussed the benefits and challenges of role-sharing and switching between the language styles of Shakespeare and Stoppard. During the Q&A, a number of artists mentioned their growth in understanding and portrayal of these characters.
Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
You can also watch the full sessions on YouTube: https://workingactorsjourney.com/youtube
About the Scene
Our group is working on sections of Act 2, Scene 2 and Act 3, Scene 2 from Shakespeare's Hamlet - AND they will also look at the beginning of Act 2 in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- And the PLAYERS: Marcelo Tubert, Nick Cagle and Dan Cordova
Hamlet scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/2/2/ https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/3/2/
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/shakespeare-stoppard-rehearsal-room-june-2024
BOOKS
Dr. Gideon Rappaport has written three books on Shakespeare:
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
Thank you to our current patrons Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
#workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #stoppard #hamlet
Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Watch the session on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MYuYgB7GRFw
About the Scene Our group is working on sections of Act 2, Scene 2 and Act 3, Scene 2 from Shakespeare's Hamlet - AND they will also look at the beginning of Act 2 in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- And the PLAYERS: Marcelo Tubert, Nick Cagle and Dan Cordova
Hamlet scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/2/2/ https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/3/2/
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/shakespeare-stoppard-rehearsal-room-june-2024
BOOKS
Dr. Gideon Rappaport has written three books on Shakespeare:
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
Thank you to our current patrons Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
#workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #stoppard #hamlet
Watch the Week 2 session!Full transcript included at the bottom of this post.
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And there’s the audio version too – you still get everything from listening!Total Running Time: 1:51:50
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Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon – get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
About the SceneOur group is working on Act 2, Scene 2 and Act 3, Scene 2 from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and they will also look at the beginning of Act 2 in Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
CREATIVE TEAM* DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade * DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport * And the PLAYERS: Marcelo Tubert, Nick Cagle and Dan Cordova
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here for the Hamlet sections.
BOOKSDr. Gideon Rappaport has written three books on Shakespeare:
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated
- Appreciating Shakespeare
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline
Thank you to our current patrons Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
And there’s more!Catch up on our other workshops featuring lots of Shakespeare scenes, from Hamlet, King Lear, Troilus and Cressida, Midsummer, As You Like It, and our Twelfth Night repertory extravaganza – all on the podcast and YouTube. If you’ve missed any presentations thus far, click here to find them all.
Click here for the Week 2 transcript!Nathan Agin
Hey everybody, Nathan here. Welcome back week two, hope you enjoyed week one. If you haven’t checked that out, go back. You’ll get the introductions of who everybody is. And the first great week of discussion back here for the second week of Shakespeare and Stopper work. We’re without our dramaturg today, but I know there’s still gonna be a lot of wonderful discussion and work ahead of us. So with that, I’m gonna get outta the way producer heads to the back of the theater, other stuff to do, and I’ll let all of you guys get to work. So I hope you have a great session. I’ll be listening in and I may not be able to check in at the end, but we will, we’ll see you soon if I, if I don’t see you at the end of the session.
Geoffrey Wade
Great.
Marcelo Tubert
Great,
Geoffrey Wade
thank you.
Well, hi guys.
I, I wanted to, as I said before, I wanted to do this kind of round robin, thank, give everybody a chance to do everything. And today I’d like to get through, we did, it was Marcelo as Hamlet, Dan, you were doing Gilden Stern, is that right?
And Nick was Rosen Crans.
Daniel Cordova
Yes. Now I’m on Muted. Yes. I was Gild Stern.
Geoffrey Wade
Oh, yeah,
Daniel Cordova
I I get the two of them mixed up.
Geoffrey Wade
You,
Daniel Cordova
Gentle, gentle Rosen Stern.
Nick Cagle
Dan.
Geoffrey Wade
Dan was Gilden Stern.
Daniel Cordova
Yes.
Geoffrey Wade
Wait, Dan was Gild Stern. Right. And so Nick was Rosen Crans.
So this is what I wanted to do. I I, I had this all written down on a piece of paper, which of course I’ve lost, but we’re gonna do it like, like volleyball, just, just sort of go around and from the list I had that now makes Nick Gilden Stern and Marcello Rosen Crans.
Right. Does that seem, that’s right
Marcelo Tubert
Here with me.
Geoffrey Wade
Okay. That, that’s gonna be the first time through. And then we’re gonna go through all these scenes again with Nick as Hamlet and whoever the other two, whoever you haven’t played before. So we’re gonna go through it that way.
I, I, I haven’t got a lot to say, oh, I’d like to do it in, in sort of the chronological order this time. So we’ll do the Hamlet two, two first, then the Rosen, Crans and Gilden are dead. Act two, the beginning of Act two, and then go to the, back to the Hamlet for the recorder scene.
So that’s kind of the, the big format for today. And let, let me start, you know, by asking if anybody’s had any particular revelations about what we’re doing or thoughts or, you know, those wonderful shower thoughts we all get, or reactions to what, what we did last time. Anything, anything at all. We have, we have plenty of time. So let’s start just whoever, if anybody wants to speak, go ahead.
Marcelo Tubert
I mean, what I’ve been thinking about has just that, trying to get into that head space, what hamlet this moment in his, his life, right? In this, in this with what’s happened and just trying to kind of, kind of figure out what is his, his emotional kind of through line, right? Through this, these, these seeds that we’re working on.
I, I didn’t come up with any great conclusions, just that, just that, that, that confusion that he has. Just that, that he, he is driven, he, he’s, he’s driving these, these two guys to, for a confession and trying to get, I think maybe trying to get underneath their skin a little bit. And he uses, he cajoles them. He, as Gideon mentioned in one of the lines we were talking about, he’s buttering them up, finding different ways to, to attack them, to get to some kind of truth that he, he thinks he knows about what’s going on.
Geoffrey Wade
G Good. I if, does anybody else have wanna jump in on that? ’cause I, I have, I have a couple of thoughts, but
Daniel Cordova
I, I, I think I could kind of just tag onto that a little bit. I was just thinking this week, just even in, you know, personal interactions with people starting to think about, okay, how do I act with people that I haven’t seen in a long time that maybe, I don’t know, you know, are they maga heads or are they liberal? And, and, you know, my conversations with maybe somebody that I haven’t seen in years is, is maybe a little bit trepidatious at first to kind of see where do they stand before I kind of like take my stand as to how to, how to interact with them. Do you know what I’m saying? Yes.
Geoffrey Wade
Does that Make sense? Yeah. Thinks
Daniel Cordova
Marcello was saying about Hamlet, he’s kind of like a, he’s kind of trying to feel them out to see what, what, what part of the, what side of the line are these guys on as far as what’s going on in my life? And, you know, are they somebody I should trust because I knew them a long time ago, or, you know, or sorry, something else going on.
Nick Cagle
I was thinking about the fact that right before the scene, he’s speaking with Polonius and, and there’s, there’s this level of distrust that he has. And I wonder how much of that carries directly into the next part with when his two friends walk on. And would it, would it have been different, had, had they just entered his world without him being right next to Polonius before he sees them again?
Geoffrey Wade
Great. This is all great stuff that’s classic the moment before, right?
Marcelo Tubert
Yep.
Geoffrey Wade
Which we literally get to see often we have to kind of manufacture it for ourselves as, as actors. But, you know, I’ve always said that’s, that’s one of the parts, one of the things about playing a big part that makes them easier to play than small parts in some ways. Because since they’re fully written and you’re like on stage all the time, that a lot of the work has been done for you.
Now, of course, you know, there’s a bigger line load and they’re physically more demanding, but in a way, big parts are easier than small parts sometimes.
Marcelo Tubert
And
Geoffrey Wade
there are no small actors. I know, I know, I know.
Marcelo Tubert
Kenneth Morris says there are no small parts, only small paychecks.
He said that to me once second, I
Geoffrey Wade
tell you one thing, just, I, I do wanna get to these, but one thing I love about, you know, regional theater where, you know, everybody’s on the same favored nations contract, so I’m doing True West. And these, the two guys, the two leads have these massive line loads, extremely demanding that way, extremely demanding physically and particular for the guy who plays Lee, you know, these huge things. And, and I come on, I got about 14 lines, I think all together. And Amelia has one scene of maybe, you know, a half a dozen lines. And, and the joke is, of course, we’re making far more per word than they are because everybody’s making the same, they have to work so much harder.
Anyway.
Yeah, this is very interesting. Let, let me, let me start with some, my first reaction to what, to what you said, Marcelo, is he of course does, does have an emotional through line, but I think it always helps us to, to have thought about that. But what, what you can only ever play is what you are trying to accomplish, right? As you know, and, and the the great thing, you know, we all think, I’m sure we all know this, that the trick to not trick, I think the best way to approach Shakespeare is, is to think of it as problem solving all the, all the way through and, and putting things together. O of course, your character has a, has a given emotional state, but it’s the, the way to, I think help, help get you through the scene in, in the, in the first few goes anyway, is, is to, is to just try to get the information and put it together.
And, and as I said, oh, hello darling. Yeah. As I said last week, the, the longer as a character you can put off, knowing what we all know from reading the whole play, the, the longer you can put off actually putting that puzzle together, the better. Because what we as audience members, and I think actors, what we enjoy is that, is that process of, of figuring things out. So
Marcelo Tubert
It’s, yeah, it’s that discovery, that kind of line by line that leads you to the next thing that you’re listening, what they’re telling you. Oh, and you’re reacting to that.
Geoffrey Wade
Exactly. And, and the more and the more you come in, again, as I said, I think at the, I think it helps everybody, if at the beginning of this first scene, everybody’s on a kind of clean slate. Rosen Kranz and Guild Stern have a, have an assignment.
Hamlet has hi his self-assigned assignment, which is to find out if the ghost was telling the truth, right.
To, to find out where he stands. And that’s why he’s put on this antic disposition. So he can, so he can do his detective work, as it were with impunity, Rosecrans and Gild Stern have a, have a different kind of assignment. But they too are trying to find out, I think genuinely what is going on without having made too much of a,
what I want a, a pre preconceived notion of, of what’s wrong.
Marcelo Tubert
Well, they, they live in a world of confusion. The two of them, I, I mean, they are trying always to figure it out, what a, you know, heads or tails is it
Geoffrey Wade
Hundred, a hundred percent. They don’t really know. They’re trying to find their footing. And, and the, the best thing they have to go on is what would seem to be normal. And what they’ve been told sort of by the king is that he’s, you know, he’s, he’s frustrated by ambition.
They’re these two strange, you know, frustrated ambition and frustrated love, you know, unrequited love or the, the melancholic lover and the, and the, the prince who isn’t in the position he should be.
And, and these two, these two guys, Rosens and Gild stern are sort of covering the ambition side. Polonious will go at the potential. He’s mad because of love thing.
But nevertheless, the, the, I think the, the slower things dawn on you guys, and the more genuinely can, we can believe that you were at least extremely friendly. They’re, they’re not, they’re, they’re not guys like in your class who, you know, you’re in the same, we’re all in the class of, you know, 73, but I don’t know 90% of those guys. I think, I think I, I think you knew each other. I think you, you got on well, I think they were reasonably good friends.
So the, you know, what’s so appealing about Hamlet is, is his complexity. So he might find it a little odd that they’re there right at first. But, you know, as, as each of you approaches it, I, I think it will pay off for you more if you,
if you discover that, that their true calling as you go through the scene, he gets very exp by the end of the scene. It’s very explicit. He says, I know the king and queen has sent for you. And I’m gonna, even, I, I’ll even tell you why, which of course is a clever way of short circuiting them. I’m gonna give you the reasons that you will report back.
But so, so clearly, you know, you, as you, each of you does Hamlet, you have this wonderful journey through, through the scene. It starts with what’s going on and when it’s resolved, the scene is over. You know, it’s, it’s, it’s great.
So yeah, Marcelo you asked, you know, is he trying to get at them, get under their skin? I, I think perhaps a little bit in the end, what I think what we really wanna save that for is the recorders scene where he is.
Marcelo Tubert
Yes.
Geoffrey Wade
You know, so, so I, I think you can perhaps be, I think Hamlet is, is perhaps disappointed in them.
They’re, they’re not, they’re truly as, as friends to support him. He knows, he knows what their job is, but I think the level of their treachery let, let’s just give ourselves a, a place to go.
Marcelo Tubert
Yeah. Lemme
Geoffrey Wade
put it that way.
Daniel Cordova
Can can I ask you something, Jeffrey, before we Sure. Jump into it. How do you take the, the lying?
I think it’s lying. 2 55. None my Lord. But that the world’s grown honest, and the reason I ask is that it’s a little bit confusing lying. I mean, obviously we take it at face value ’cause he answers Oh, well that’s not really true, doomsdays near then.
But the reason I ask is because I’m kind of wondering what r and g are, are how they’re presenting themselves to him.
Are they saying that in, in like, Hey, you know, everybody’s just telling the truth now and, and I’m here and I’m an honest guy. Is is that what they’re saying? Or that, that everything’s treating us the way it’s supposed to? I don’t really, I don’t really know. I mean, I guess it’s maybe a Gideon question too.
Geoffrey Wade
It, it might be. Let me see.
Marcelo Tubert
Well, he answers, he’s, it’s an answer to what news, right? Yeah. Yeah. So news is not in the world’s, just, just goes on. I think that’s, I mean, for me, that’s how I see the word. Yeah. It’s not about honesty or, or, or, or deceit. It’s just to me is the, the world just just goes on as normal, you know, things happen.
Geoffrey Wade
I, oops, I, I guess you, you guys can see me. I happen to have hemp.
Daniel Cordova
Oh, nice.
Geoffrey Wade
I happen to have this, which is this entire, that’s the whole play. This is what the pages look like. This here is the script and the, the denser stuff on the other side is his explication of everything. So let me, let me,
Marcelo Tubert
What is that? Show me the cover of that book, Jeffrey.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah, it’s called William Shakespeare’s Hamlet edited and annotated by Gideon Rappaport.
Marcelo Tubert
Oh, it’s
Geoffrey Wade
self
Nick Cagle
Beautiful book.
Geoffrey Wade
Published thing, I think. But I can stand in for him and I can actually read what he says about that word upright, virtuous, truthful and obvious an obviously ironic throwaway line from their point of view intended to evoke verbal wit, but to the audience hinting at moral obtuseness of these two spies for the king. So I, I think that’s, that kind of makes sense to me. It’s, it’s, it’s kind of a throwaway line. How you doing? Everything’s great. It’s good. Life is good. You know, it’s the way we answer when we’re not, it’s not
Marcelo Tubert
Well, it’s, it’s, it is not an in-depth answer.
Geoffrey Wade
Exactly. It’s not a commitment one.
Daniel Cordova
It’s Interesting. Right. So then
Geoffrey Wade
One way or the other, but
Nick Cagle
it’s led
Geoffrey Wade
irony.
Nick Cagle
Sorry,
Geoffrey Wade
Nick, say again?
Nick Cagle
Oh, no, No, I’m sorry. I was just saying, I, I really like how Gideon recognizes that the characters will, will say and mean one, one thing with a line,
Geoffrey Wade
but
Nick Cagle
the meaning will register differently with the audience
Geoffrey Wade
Yes.
Nick Cagle
Than it, than it does with the character. And that’s so interesting because it, it, it could mean that line could mean something completely different to Rosencrantz than it does to the ear of the crowd.
Geoffrey Wade
A ab Absolutely. I mean, we know,
we know what we, what we think we know, you know, the first audience, I’m trying to think chronologically hasn’t had confirmation of the truth of the ghost yet.
So it’s, it’s there, you know, as an audience, we’re kind of in the same suspended place that Hamlet is, you know, he’s been given this charge, but he has to, he has to know that it’s heavenly, not, not a devil.
Marcelo Tubert
So other than the, just the throwaway part of which I, I totally get that, that what would be the opposite of that answer about the world’s grown on us, but the world is filled with muck and shit and
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah,
Marcelo Tubert
No, things are terrible. Life is,
Geoffrey Wade
well, I, I almost, it it, I mean, in a contemporary thing, you’d say, yeah, it’s the same old, same old, you know, the world’s world’s, you know, same old.
Daniel Cordova
Well, It’s almost like,
Marcelo Tubert
it’s almost
Daniel Cordova
like they’re saying to him, good morning. And Hamlet’s saying, is it good? Is it really good? I don’t think
Nick Cagle
it’s good. Yeah, right.
Daniel Cordova
Because he says then Doom Station here. ’cause your news isn’t true.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah. I, I, I think there’s a little, now this is just an, an acting thing, but I think there’s a de we we’re not dealing with verse, so it’s not a czu really. But I think then as doomsday near is as happened so often in Shakespeare is an answer to what’s gone right before. Right. That’s the sort of call and response of it, you know, because if everything’s great, then there’s only one thing that could happen after that. And, you know, the, the final judgment
what, when he says, but your news is not true.
What, what I, I think there’s a, there’s a real break there. I think he’s decided to change the conversation from witty banter about, you know, living in fortune’s privates, which seems to me just that it’s a bunch of guys, you know, how you doing? You know, I’m, I’m, I’m living in fortune’s crotch, it’s great, it’s wonderful, you know,
Nick Cagle
it’s,
Geoffrey Wade
it’s college boys stuff. But I think that, but, and buts and yets are I important in Shakespeare? I think he is, he at that point is gonna seize control of the conversation.
And,
and he’s beginning to sound them, you know, I think as, as you know, Marcelo, and partly an answer to your question, I think he knows that there, there’s some reason there, here wit Denmark’s a long way from Wittenberg.
Marcelo Tubert
But Your news is not true. Meaning that, that things are not as good as as you
Geoffrey Wade
Exactly.
Marcelo Tubert
Good As you’re saying to me.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah.
Nick Cagle
Mm.
Geoffrey Wade
Exactly. That’s not true. You’re on unemployment, aren’t you? Why? What are
Nick Cagle
you doing?
Geoffrey Wade
Or whatever. It’s, I I, I think he, it’s, it’s a point where, you know, in, in sales or something where you take control of the conversation for a little bit. He’s, that’s what he’s beginning to do there.
I I just wanna try to get to these other couple of questions. Dan, you said, how do you think you were thinking about how I react to someone I haven’t seen for a while? Should I trust them? And I think, I think that’s a perfectly legitimate way to initially greet them.
I just, I I would encourage you to greet them as openly as possible, rather than as suspiciously as possible.
Daniel Cordova
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
Right. Yeah. Let let the suspicion that’s the, that’s where it, that, but is where it turns a little bit. It’s like, okay, okay, so what are you guys really doing here? Yeah,
Marcelo Tubert
Let’s get real here for the moment.
Geoffrey Wade
Let’s get real, let’s get real. Yeah.
So, yes, I think, you know, you do, you haven’t, and and I think it hasn’t been that long since, since they’ve seen each other. It’s not a question of years. It might be a question of months, but, you know, it’s not long, not that long.
So that, that’s a, again, a very good question. And, and Nick, you’re just before the polonious moment.
Lemme take a quick look at that.
I think, yeah, it, it probably, it’s, that’s stuff with Polonious, I’m sure its definitely got his antenna up. I mean, he is, he is, he’s a real sensitive lad anyway, but it’s got his antenna up. He does that punting about, or the, the, the suggestive stuff about don’t, don’t lose your daughter, you know, don’t turn your daughter into a whore and all that stuff.
And he, he surely knows that the, the reason Ophelia’s been kept from him is because of Polonius. So that that does weigh on him.
Nick Cagle
It’s interesting, I thought that he says these tedious old fools and then, then these two young guys come right on.
Geoffrey Wade
That’s very good, you
Nick Cagle
know?
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah, very
Nick Cagle
good.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah. That’s
Nick Cagle
interesting.
Geoffrey Wade
Yes. And he’s
Nick Cagle
Sick of Polonius and Claudius and all this, and then there’s like this whole new game, this whole new Tactic that hurts whole.
Geoffrey Wade
That’s right. And, and a whole new, you know, if we have this, what do we call it?
Well, the, the, the things he hides behind. Hi, his, his madness is informed by either a dis surprised love or thwarted ambition. So the dis surprised love thing has just been happening with Polonius, and now we’re gonna get it a taste of the ambition side, right?
Nick Cagle
Ah,
Geoffrey Wade
so it’s, it’s, it’s keeping that balance going. And again, well, you know, the, and I’m gonna stop talking a second, believe me. But what’s, what’s fun about this character is the, those elements are true.
I think he, he did love, he does love Ophelia,
Nick Cagle
and,
Geoffrey Wade
and you know, she’s caught up in these machinations. I think he has some sympathy for that. And then he, and then it, it, it tips him over into a kind of a, a, a passion, you know, in the nun, which what’ll happen in, in the nunnery scene. But that doesn’t mean his feelings for her were faults. The fact that he has some cause for ambition is not entirely put on. He, he does. I think we can, you know, he’s a prince. He’s been raised as a prince. He’s supposed to be the king.
There’s a lot going on. A lot going on. Which is why he’s so wonderfully human.
Let’s, so I think I’ve talked about all those things.
There was such a good,
good thoughts, you guys.
I am going to make my screen much smaller. Just gimme a second here so I can have all this on at the same time. And
let’s, let’s start with this first scene. And, and I think, let’s try to go through all three fairly, not not do the scenes quickly, but without a lot of discussion afterwards. Let’s, and then, and then talk about the, the three of ’em afterwards. Okay.
Daniel Cordova
Sure. It’s, it’s this one and then r and then RG are dead and then three, two. Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
I mean, we don’t have to, you know, immediately go, but
Daniel Cordova
No, I just wanna have ’em ready to go.
Geoffrey Wade
Absolutely. That’s, that’s, that’s what we’ll do. All right.
Give yourselves a second. I’m gonna mute myself and go when you’re ready.
Nick Cagle
Should we start? Sorry, with Gild and Stearns, my honored Lord.
Marcelo Tubert
I Think so.
Nick Cagle
Yeah, we’ll go from there. Okay.
My honored Lord,
Marcelo Tubert
I’m most dear Lord,
Daniel Cordova
My excellent good friends, how do thou gild and stern Rosen Krantz good lads, how do you both
Marcelo Tubert
As the indifferent children of the earth,
Nick Cagle
Happy that we are not over happy fortune’s cap. We are not the very button
Daniel Cordova
Nor the soles of a shoe,
Marcelo Tubert
Neither my Lord.
Daniel Cordova
Then you live about her waist or in the middle of her favors
Nick Cagle
Faith, her privately
Daniel Cordova
In the secret parts of fortune. Almost true. She is a trumpet. What news,
Marcelo Tubert
Not my Lord. But that the world’s grown, honest
Daniel Cordova
Then is doomsday in the air. But your news is not true.
Let me question you more in particular. What have you my good friends deserved at the hands of fortune that she sends you to prison? Hither
Nick Cagle
Prison. My Lord
Daniel Cordova
Denmark’s a prison
Marcelo Tubert
That is the world one,
Daniel Cordova
A goodly one in which there are many confines, wards and dungeons, Denmark being one of the worst.
Marcelo Tubert
We think not so my Lord.
Daniel Cordova
Why then is none to you for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so to me it is a prison.
Marcelo Tubert
Why? Then your ambition makes it one just too narrow for your mind.
Daniel Cordova
Ah, God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space. Were it not for bad dreams, were it not that I have bad dreams,
Nick Cagle
Which dreams indeed are ambition for the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.
Daniel Cordova
A dream itself is, but a shadow
Marcelo Tubert
Truly. And I hold ambition of so ary and light equality that it is, but a shadow’s shadow
Daniel Cordova
Then are our beggars bodies and our monarchs a outstretched heroes. The beggars shadows, shall we to the court for by my fa, I cannot reason
Nick Cagle
We’ll wait upon you,
Daniel Cordova
No such matter. I will not sort you with the rest of my servants for to speak to you like an honest man. I am most dreadfully attended, but in the beaten way of friendship, what make you at Elsinor
Marcelo Tubert
To visit you? My Lord, no other occasion
Daniel Cordova
Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks. But I thank you and sure difference. My thanks are too dear a Hey Penny, were you not sent for? Is it your own inclining? Is it a free visitation? Come, come deal justly with me. Come, come nay speak.
Nick Cagle
What should we say, my Lord,
Daniel Cordova
Anything but to the purpose you were sent for. And there is a kind of confession in your looks, which your monies have not craft enough to color. I know the good king and queen have sent for you
Marcelo Tubert
What and my Lord
Daniel Cordova
That you must teach me. But let me conjure you by the rights of our fellowship, by the constancy of our youth, by the obligation of our ever preserved love. And by what more dear a better proposer can charge you with all. Be even and direct with me. Whether or you were sent for or no,
Marcelo Tubert
But say you Ah,
Daniel Cordova
nay, then I have an eye of you. If you love me, hold not off
Nick Cagle
My Lord. We were sent for I
Daniel Cordova
will tell you why. So shall my anticipation prevent your discovery and your secrecy to the king and queen molt, no feather I have of late, but therefore I know not lost all my mirth, foregone all custom of exercises. And indeed it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame the earth seems to me a sterile promontory, this most excellent canopy. The air, look you, this brave ore hanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire. Why? It appears nothing to me, but a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors.
What a piece of work is a man?
How noble, in reason how infinite in faculties inform and moving, how express and admirable an action, how like an angel in apprehension, how like a God, the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals. And yet to me, what is this quintessence of dust manites, not me, no. Nor women, neither though by you are smiling, you seem to say so,
Marcelo Tubert
My Lord, there was no such stuff in my thoughts. Son,
Daniel Cordova
Why did you laugh then when I said, man, delights not me
Marcelo Tubert
To think, my Lord, if you delight not in man, what lter an entertainment the players shall receive from you. We coded them on the way. And here there are, and here there are they coming to offer you service.
Geoffrey Wade
Good, guys. So let’s now go to the r and g
Marcelo Tubert
Nine One
Geoffrey Wade
And and
Nick Cagle
sorry, what page is that in, in the RNG script again?
Geoffrey Wade
In the script it’s page 42. I’m not sure what page it is in the PDFI
Nick Cagle
see 42
Geoffrey Wade
probably in the twenties, I think. Got it,
Nick Cagle
got it.
Geoffrey Wade
Okay,
Daniel Cordova
where Did you wanna start?
Geoffrey Wade
Let’s start with gentlemen, you were welcome to Elsinore and skip the polonious hamlet stuff. So it it’ll be those couple of lines. Gentlemen. You’re welcome. All elsinore and what, my lord, I’m mad, but north northwest and I know, I know. Hawk from a handsaw.
Give yourself a a nice pause before starting Golden stern. Hmm. Yes. What I thought you Yes. Everybody Clear on that?
Daniel Cordova
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
Okay. Excellent. Dan, just give yourself a couple seconds and start up again. Yeah,
Daniel Cordova
I’m just getting it on my screen. Just set up here. So
there it is,
gentlemen, you are welcome to elsinore your hands. Come then thence of welcome is fashion and ceremony. Let me comply with you in this gob, lest my extension to the players, which I tell you must show fairly outwards, should more appear like entertainment than yours. You are welcome. But my uncle, father, and aunt mother are deceived
Nick Cagle
In what my dear Lord
Daniel Cordova
I am. But mad north northwest when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.
Nick Cagle
Hmm.
Marcelo Tubert
Yes.
Nick Cagle
What
Marcelo Tubert
I thought you
Nick Cagle
No.
Marcelo Tubert
Ah,
Nick Cagle
I think we could say we made some headway. You think
Marcelo Tubert
so?
Nick Cagle
I think we could say that.
Marcelo Tubert
I think we can say he made us look ridiculous.
Nick Cagle
We played it close to the chest, of course.
Marcelo Tubert
Question and answer. Old ways are the best ways. He was scoring off of us all down the line.
Nick Cagle
He caught us on the wrong foot once or twice perhaps. I thought we gained some ground, He
Marcelo Tubert
murdered us. He
Nick Cagle
might’ve had the edge.
Marcelo Tubert
27 3. And you think he might’ve had the edge? He murdered us.
Nick Cagle
What about our evasions?
Marcelo Tubert
Oh, our evasions were lovely. Were you sent for? He says, my Lord. We were sent for, I didn’t know where to put myself.
Nick Cagle
He had six rhetorical.
Marcelo Tubert
It was question and answer. All right, 27 questions. He got out in 10 minutes and answered three. I was waiting for you to delve. When is he going to start delving? I asked myself
Nick Cagle
And two repetitions,
Marcelo Tubert
Hardly a leading question between us.
Nick Cagle
We got his symptoms, didn’t we?
Marcelo Tubert
Half of what he said meant something else and the other half didn’t mean anything at all.
Nick Cagle
Thwarted ambition, a sense of grievance. That’s my diagnoses.
Marcelo Tubert
Six rhetorics and two repetitions leaving 19, of which we answered 15. And what did he he and what did we give him in return?
And what did and what did we get in return? He’s depressed. Then mark’s a prison and he’d rather live, in a nutshell, some shadow play about the nature of ambition, which never got down to the case, the cases. And finally, one direct question, which might have led somewhere and led in fact to his illuminating claim to tell a hawk from a Hansel,
Nick Cagle
When the wind is southerly,
Marcelo Tubert
Wonder where those clear
Nick Cagle
And when it isn’t, he can’t.
Marcelo Tubert
He’s at the mercy of the elements.
Geoffrey Wade
Good. Let’s cut it there.
Very good. Very good.
Just gimme one second, but and then we’ll go on to whatever the next one is. The
whatever. It’s Act three.
Scene two.
Marcelo Tubert
Three. Two. Yeah,
Geoffrey Wade
just, just one second.
Nick Cagle
I love to think of Tom Stopper coming up with this play.
Geoffrey Wade
It’s, it’s, it’s a work of, you know, it’s extraordinary. It’s a work of genius. It’s great.
Nick Cagle
It is,
It’s fun because you see Rosen Krantz and Giler played many different ways in many different productions and films of Hamlet. And you know, there’s the, the sort of dumb guy version. There’s the, the, you know, the college friend version I’ve seen them played where they’re quite smart. You know, where, where one of them is quite smart and one of them isn’t. And
it, it’s interesting to see, I loved Stopper’s impression of these characters.
Marcelo Tubert
Well, again, in that scene, Rosen Krantz is really like, just fuck me.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah,
Marcelo Tubert
we, we, That was just horrible.
Geoffrey Wade
Let’s, well, all, all right, let, let’s, I said we were gonna go through, but let, let’s just talk about this for a second. ’cause I had some thoughts, but as you guys were doing it, which was terrific.
Here’s, here’s my thought, at least for the way this scene goes.
Rosen Kranz is the, the two of ’em are like lost souls because they don’t know where they are and they don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing. Right? They’re in this limbo, this, this unknown place.
And I think they have different ways of dealing with the kind of exist existential fear. Literally, they don’t know what their existence is. They don’t know who they are. People call ’em by different names. They’re not sure. I mean, it’s, they sort of have no, nothing firm to stand on. And I, I think we’ll go through this again, but perhaps you can experiment with the thought just for now anyway of Rosen Crans perhaps being, I dunno, le less a person of the mind perhaps than Gild Stern.
He’s really upset and terrified and unhappy at the way this has gone because he, he thought because of what told him before that they were gonna get a lot of information and that, and they would then know where they stand. You know it.
Marcelo Tubert
Yeah, There’s a frustrat. I mean, I just decided, just, I’m gonna pull out the stuff from me on this. I’ll just try this first time through.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah. I, I, I think that’s,
Marcelo Tubert
I
Geoffrey Wade
think he’s, you know, if you will, he’s, he’s somewhat more childlike or, or, you know, he’s, he’s a, a more emotional guy.
Marcelo Tubert
Little tan, Little tantrum ish.
Geoffrey Wade
Yes. Let’s, let’s try that. And, and Gilden Stern, who, he’s he’s quite defensive in this scene, isn’t he? I noticed Nick, he’s he’s defending his, he’s saying, no, no, it worked out fine. We, we forget a, we we know a lot. We know a lot.
And the Rosen Krants going, no, we don’t, we know been, we dunno a thing.
So I think Giler is is equally
frantically in a, he’s his frantic nature’s, perhaps more subdued, holding on to this idea of, of reason, this sense that things can be figured out. We, we actually did make some progress here, and Rosen Kranz is, is calling him on it.
I don’t wanna do the scene again now, but perhaps bear that in mind the next time we go through.
Marcelo Tubert
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
So good. Let’s, let’s carry on to the, to the recorder scene.
And Nick, you start us off again when you feel like it.
Nick Cagle
And what, what line are we, is this that we start on?
Geoffrey Wade
This starts with good my Lord vouch. Save me a word with you, which is 3 23 I think. Three 20.
Nick Cagle
There. It’s
Geoffrey Wade
okay.
Nick Cagle
Good. My Lord vouch. Save me a word with you,
Daniel Cordova
Sir. A whole history.
Nick Cagle
The king sir.
Daniel Cordova
Hi. What of him
Nick Cagle
Is in his retirement? Marvelous distempered
Daniel Cordova
With drinks, sir.
Nick Cagle
No, my Lord, with color,
Daniel Cordova
Your wisdom should show itself more, Richard, to signify this to the doctor, for, for me to put him to his pation, who perhaps plunge him into more color.
Nick Cagle
Good. My Lord. Put your discourse into some frame and start not so wildly from my affair.
Daniel Cordova
I am Tam sir, pronounce
Nick Cagle
The queen. Your mother in most great affliction of spirit has sent me to you.
Daniel Cordova
You are welcome
Nick Cagle
Nate. Good. My Lord. This courtesy is not of the right breed. If it shall please you to make me a wholesome answer, I will do your mother’s commandment. If not your pardon. My return shall be the end of my business.
Daniel Cordova
Sir, I cannot.
Marcelo Tubert
What my Lord
Daniel Cordova
make you a wholesome answer my which disease. But sir, such answer as I can make you, you shall command, or rather as you say, my mother, therefore no more. But to the matter my mother, you say,
Marcelo Tubert
Then thus she says, your behavior have thus, then thus she says, your behavior have struck her into amazement and admiration.
Daniel Cordova
Oh, wonderful son, that can so astonish a mother. But is there no sequel at the heels of this mother’s admiration? In part
Marcelo Tubert
She desires to speak with you in her closet until you go to bed.
Daniel Cordova
We shall obey where she 10 times our mother. Have you had any further trade with us?
Marcelo Tubert
My Lord, you wants to love me
Daniel Cordova
And do still by these pickers and Steelers.
Marcelo Tubert
Good my Lord. What is your cause of distemper? You do surely bar the door upon your own liberty if you deny your grief to your friend.
Daniel Cordova
Sir, I lack advancement. How
Marcelo Tubert
can that be when you have the voice of the king himself for your succession in Denmark?
Daniel Cordova
I, sir. But while the grass grows, the proverb, proverb is something musty.
Ah, the recorders, let me see. One to withdraw with you. Why do you go about to recover the wind of me as if you would drive me to, into a foil, into a toil?
Nick Cagle
Oh my Lord. If my duty be too bold, my love is too unmanly.
Daniel Cordova
Do not well understand that. Will you play upon this pipe?
Nick Cagle
My Lord, I cannot.
Daniel Cordova
I pray. You
Nick Cagle
Believe me, I cannot.
Daniel Cordova
I do beseech you.
Nick Cagle
I know. No touch of it. My Lord.
Daniel Cordova
It is as easy as lying. Govern these vintages with your fingers and thumb give it breath with your mouth and it will discourse most eloquent music. Look, you. These are the stops.
Nick Cagle
But these I but these cannot I command to any utterance of harmony. I have not the skill.
Daniel Cordova
Why Look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me. You would play upon me. You would seem to know my stops. You would pluck out the heart of my mystery. You would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass. And there is much music, excellent voice in this little organ. Yet cannot you make it speak spla? Do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe? Call me what instrument? You will though you can fret me. You cannot play upon me.
Marcelo Tubert
Why are you so angry?
Daniel Cordova
I don’t know. My dad
Nick Cagle
died.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah. Good. Why is he so angry? It, it’s, he’s he’s a real emotional boy at this point
Daniel Cordova
Because he finally knows what’s going on. I mean, he is finally got confirmation of what’s going on.
Geoffrey Wade
He’s got confirmation of what’s going on. He knows from, from this point on. It’s not a, a question anymore. It’s, it’s how to execute.
So he doesn’t Yeah, that’s right. The, the, the play has turned.
It’s going to the, let’s see, the, those, the, those double soliloquy come shortly after this, right?
Nick Cagle
Mm.
Geoffrey Wade
Oh, bloody hell.
Nick Cagle
And in walks polonious at the end of this scene again.
Geoffrey Wade
Yes.
Where? Oh God, I’m sorry.
That’s that. Where is, oh, here we go.
Just let me look for a second.
Well, According to,
according to Gideon, the real turning point of the play comes,
where is it? Oh, yes. Here.
It doesn’t have a line marking in this one, but it it’s the, these double soliloquies, when Hamlets thinks he can kill Claudius, who’s at prayer. And Claudia has his confession afterwards when he e explicitly says he did it. So everyone now knows for, I mean, everyone in the audience knows for sure
Daniel Cordova
that’s right after this scene. Right? It’s
Geoffrey Wade
right after this scene.
Daniel Cordova
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
And Gideon’s
Daniel Cordova
his rank. That’ll,
Geoffrey Wade
that’s right. But just before that, Hamlet has, has his Now might I do it Pat? Now he is a praying and now I’ll do it at which, and there’s this one word in a whole line passage where he says, and if I kill him now, am I revenge to take him while he’s purging his soul when he’s, you know, ready to go to heaven.
And then he takes nine syllables to come up with the word no. At which point he sort of condemns himself. Hmm. Because he decides that he’s going to decide
he’s going to punish Claudius by sending him to hell. And that’s a decision he really shouldn’t have made. That’s a way too short way of explaining what Gideon does at some length. But I’ll let him talk about that another time.
But yes, we’re, we’re, we’re at the sort of pivot point of the whole, of the whole play.
And Hamlet is, I mean, he’s, he’s high as a kite, I think in this scene.
There’s an le let’s lemme just say a few things about this last one and then I’ll talk about some others.
There are interesting things here.
He’s a hamlet is obviously playing with them in this vouch Sickney word, a whole history. The king, whatever he’s distempered Oh, with drink and no, he is collar. Well, you should see a doctor. He’s, he’s really, this is almost Noel Cowardy quick until it gets to the point where Gildan Stern says, Jesus settle down.
He of all people, Giler is one that says, put your discourse into some frame. Right. Which is
Nick Cagle
basically
Geoffrey Wade
settle down and starting a wild so wildly from my affair, which I think may is a little bit of an embedded stage direction. I think Hamlet is physically moving around all over the place.
Marcelo Tubert
What, What line is that?
Daniel Cordova
3 35
Nick Cagle
Mm.
Marcelo Tubert
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah. Is that right? I have to go back
Marcelo Tubert
Discourse into some. Yes. It’s starting not so wild into My paper.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah. Not that we can do it here, but that’s, it’s something to bear in mind. I think that that informs Hamlet’s state of mind and his physicality and everything about him at this particular moment.
And Hamlet, you know, replies very quickly, I’m tame, I’m calmed down. Right? And, and then he starts using these big words like pronounce and
amazement. Oh no, I don’t know.
Using the word pronounce is, it’s a little formal. He’s, he’s really, he’s still kind of, he’s he’s toying with them. He’s playing with them.
Nick Cagle
Yeah. And it’s
Geoffrey Wade
interesting,
Nick Cagle
I feel like this is a moment where Gildan Stern on 3 42 is, is trying to be straight up with his, his old college buddy.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah, I think he is. And I think it’s a, I think it’s very good, Nick. He’s giving him a fair warning. It’s like
you, you’re, I I know you’re just goofing around, but the the stakes are, are are way high here. And Yeah, he says, I’m, I’m about ready to leave.
Nick Cagle
Yeah.
Marcelo Tubert
We can wrap this up. Right? It’s just,
Nick Cagle
It’s very straightforward.
Geoffrey Wade
I I, yeah. It’s very straightforward.
Marcelo Tubert
Tell me the deal. Wrap this up.
Nick Cagle
And
Geoffrey Wade
I think it’s interesting that I, I think Giler might be, again, as perhaps the quicker of the two.
He, he’s, he doesn’t, when Hamlet says, sir, I cannot, it’s, it’s Rosecrans who says what?
And it’s not, it’s not a, it’s not, what did you say? It’s what can you not do, my Lord. Right.
Rose? See that line 3 47?
Nick Cagle
Yeah. You could almost play it a as as I mean, if, if as Gild and Stern is actually, I feel trying to help him.
Geoffrey Wade
Absolutely. A absolutely. I think that’s, that’s the way to, that’s the best way into all these scenes. Both these scenes.
Nick Cagle
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
Certainly the, the first one, you know it, that’s great. That’s great. I I totally endorse that.
But perhaps you’ve sort of had it gild. Ander. Yeah. When you say if’s, not my pardon? Your pardon. In my return will be the end of my business. He’s basically saying I’m about to leave. I’m gonna leave. I I beg your pardon? I’m going,
Nick Cagle
I’m trying to save your life.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah.
Nick Cagle
And if you don’t want me to, fine. Yes. It’s interesting.
Geoffrey Wade
That’s good. Len says, sir, I cannot, and Rosecrans says, what?
That’s it. What what can you not do? Make you a wholesome answer? I’m crazy.
And, and I think Hamlet, you can just about play with them as crazy as you wanna be. You can, you can, whoever’s doing Hamlet, Dan, you, you can kind of cycle in and out of, of literally making fun of them and then going, no, I’m good, I’m good, I’m good. Go ahead. Right.
For, for example, a a wonderful son that comes can astonish a mother, exclamation mark.
I, I think, you know, if, if ELA is almost going, oh my God, I’m such a good boy. That’s great. Great news.
Anything else?
You know, and, and Hamlet, I think you can, you know, leave him, leave him, leave him hanging there for a second. So what else? And then, you know, he use, here’s another, here’s where he uses another word, like impart as a, like proceed. You know, instead of, you know, more usual word.
The, so the, the more you’re explicitly toying with them, Dan.
Daniel Cordova
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
And or, or whoever’s doing Hamlet. I, I think the better it is. Gild and Stern loses his patience by just saying, well, I’m gonna, I’m gonna piss off. I’m leaving. I’m not gonna do anything. Rosen’s approach is to say, come on man, we’re we used to hang out, we’re friends. You, you, you loved me.
And, and, and, and he, in his own own way, Rosen Grant is trying to help him. He says, what, what is the problem? You’re, you’re gonna end up in prison if you’re not careful.
Right. Tell me, tell me how I can help you out.
Right.
His, his, he’s a little more of the therapist approach.
What, when is this raises? Oh, just a little later on. When, when we get to this part about
Hamlet saying play upon this pipe, I cannot, I pray you, I believe I cannot sif I don’t a touch of it. It’s easy as lying. That’s, you know what, in in, in Greek drum, we used to call it stick athea. Right. It’s just big, big, big. It comes one right after the other. And I think the temperature rises quite quickly as it as it goes along with Gilden Stern again. And Gild and Stern’s more the one who sort of loses his temper. He, I don’t know how to play it. I can’t play it. I don’t know how to fucking play
Nick Cagle
upfront. Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
And, and I, I think Hamlet, you might be able to undercut him. Well, it’s easy. It’s easy as what you’re doing. Yeah.
And then, and I know I’m sort of orchestrating this, but just sort of give you guys permission. I think Hamlet, this speech, you really kind of lose it. I, I’d be careful of hitting all the pronouns as you go
Daniel Cordova
through my Yeah, Dan.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah.
I think the key word why keyword. By by look, you know, how unworthy a thing you make of me, you know, thing in me sort of have sort of equal value.
Daniel Cordova
Yeah. You
Geoffrey Wade
play upon me. You seem to know my stops. You pluck the heart out of my mystery. It’s, it’s not me. It’s these things you wanna do to me. You wanna finger me, you wanna play me? Like, you can’t even play this stupid little stick.
I think call me.
His blood is a, is a strong, it’s like yeah, about as strong as you can get, as one can get.
And it’s like, what, what, what the hell do you think of me?
Daniel Cordova
Yeah. I think he’s playing that, that word game really from the, it as easy as well even before that, right. When he is asking him to play the pipe. But then he is that whole, it’s, it’s all like kind of still pretending to be like, oh, going over the top on, on being crazy on the it as easy as lying go these vintages, blah, blah, blah. Why look you now all of that. And then I think it’s a break at he’s done making those jokes and he says, blood, do you think I now he’s like, he’s explaining what he just got done saying. Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
So I think
Daniel Cordova
there’s kind of a break after You cannot make it speak.
Geoffrey Wade
Sure.
Daniel Cordova
Do you think And then he’s serious, those last, those last two lines, you know?
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah. I think he’s serious. I personally, I think he’s furious.
Daniel Cordova
Yeah, exactly. But I mean, you know, I think he’s playing crazy that whole piece before it, he’s kind of being silly with him, with them until he gets to the slut, you know?
Geoffrey Wade
Good. Sure.
Daniel Cordova
He’s Just really like, yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
Don’t you
Daniel Cordova
get what I’m saying? You idiot.
Geoffrey Wade
Just, I’m just gonna go back a little bit back to the, the Rosen and Gilden Cerner dead.
Oh, Rosen Kranz. This is, this is the Stoppard scene.
Marcelo Tubert
Yes.
Geoffrey Wade
This, this is, oh, it’s actually stage direction where Rosen Kran says question and answer. Old ways are the best ways. He was scoring up a salt all down the line. That’s when I wrote that down. He gives you the derisively, or I wrote actually kind of dripping with contempt. I, I think it’s, that’s an example of Rosen Crans is, you know, I thought you were gonna get us out of it. I thought you had this plan
Nick Cagle
and it
Geoffrey Wade
was bullshit. You chickened out. So, you know,
Marcelo Tubert
Can’t believe what you just did. I was expecting Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
And
Marcelo Tubert
you didn’t do it.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah, exactly. Oh, we’re supposed to do it. This you question Nancy. We’ll, everything will be fine.
You are, where is it? You’re welcome.
Marcelo Tubert
You’re welcome. Is in the, in the Shakespeare. Not in this, I don’t think.
Geoffrey Wade
No, there’s something
Marcelo Tubert
You’re welcome. It’s, it’s back on the, on the, on the Shakespeare.
Pardon? I don’t think it’s here.
Geoffrey Wade
Well, I, I
Marcelo Tubert
It’s in the it’s in the, lemme see Here.
Geoffrey Wade
Oh no, I’m s yeah, yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry. I was looking at the Yes. I, I, i looking at the wrong place here. Yes. That was a, a reference to that last, that that recorder scene
Marcelo Tubert
That’s line up 3 41.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah, that was just Dan. I think, you know, the more, what is it, the more genuine that is, it’s like, oh, this is great. What a great present. Thank you. Thank you so much. You know, end of conversation. But to get back to Rosen Crans and Gilden Stern.
No, I just had written down what I already talked about that Rose Kranz is fear and dis I’m not gonna talk anymore. I’ve already said it
Marcelo Tubert
said enough.
Geoffrey Wade
I’ve said enough.
Let me go back to the, the first scene.
Hamlet,
Nick Cagle
I do have a question. Oh, sorry, go ahead. Jeff.
Geoffrey Wade
Hamlet, early on, when you say sent you to prison hither, I think you need to lift the word prison. Not hither, it’s prison.
And 2 71. Who has a line about ambition? 2 71.
Oh, Crans Rose Kranz. Here. Here’s another example to me of, I think of Rosen. Kranz is slightly more emotional and, what’s the word I want?
He, he sort of gets carried away and almost childlike quality. When, when he says why, then it, why then it’s your ambition. Right? It’s like, I, I know the answer for you,
Nick Cagle
but
Geoffrey Wade
I think you can fold in something. Enthusiasm.
Nick Cagle
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
He’s enthusiastic. Where Gilden Stern is considered so that, that seemed like a place where you can jump on it. And also,
Nick Cagle
Yeah, it’s almost like they’re hoping it is ambition. They would love to be able to go back and report that
Geoffrey Wade
A hundred percent. And rosecrans at line two 80, when you say truly I hold ambition. So area in light of quality. It’s, but a shadow. Shadow that’s they’re, they’re verbal gymnastics. The, the, the witty stuff is getting so complicated. Now.
Hamlet will top even that, but then he goes, okay, enough of this. But I think Rosen Crans, I think when Hamlet says a dream itself is, but a shadow Rosen Crans go. Yeah, that’s right. That’s right. You know, let let his enthusiasm come through
and
Daniel Cordova
Yeah. They’re just,
Geoffrey Wade
they’re
Daniel Cordova
kind of extending each other’s metaphors. Right?
Geoffrey Wade
Exactly.
Daniel Cordova
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
And, and happy to be doing it. Happy that they’re on the right track. What they think. Now, Hamlet, I know I mentioned this, but your the but in, but your news is not true.
There’s a bunch of buts in here. I suddenly realized
bigger than I am.
Marcelo Tubert
What line are you at there, Jeff?
Geoffrey Wade
This is 2 94.
Marcelo Tubert
But I
Geoffrey Wade
thank you. You
Marcelo Tubert
No,
Geoffrey Wade
were you not sent for? So there’s a, there’s a, a change there.
Were you not sent for, is it your own inclining? Is it a free visitation? Come, come deal justly with me. Come, come. Nay speak.
I think you need to give them an opportunity to answer each one.
Put ’em, put ’em on the spot. Wait, wait for an answer.
Maybe inclining and visitation run together, but then deal justly with me. Wait for a second because you do it again. Come on, come on. Say something. But give him a chance not to have said anything. Right?
Daniel Cordova
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
And that, that leads you into, what should we say?
Just tell me what you’re here for.
Daniel Cordova
Yeah. Where
Geoffrey Wade
the purpose
here. But, but let me con you by the rights of fellowship, by the constancy.
There’s another one, but in the deepen, but
I’m sorry.
Nevermind. But, but in the beaten way of friendship, right. There’s somewhere where you say that, I can’t remember the, the, the exact line.
Daniel Cordova
Did, I think that’s actually earlier
Nick Cagle
That the free visitation stuff, or is that No,
Geoffrey Wade
there it is. It’s line two 90.
Daniel Cordova
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
My, I’m most dreadfully attended, but in the beaten path of friendship. What make you at Elsinore?
I, I, I, again, I think give them a ch
what I wrote was go deeper. I, I think, I think Hamlet, you’re sort of settling in into yourself, as it were.
You’re, you’re giving them a chance to say what what they’re really there for.
Daniel Cordova
Yeah. And I think there’s, I mean, three or four times when he asks them the question, but he, he prefaces the question by referencing their friendship. Yeah. He does it three or four times in a row.
Geoffrey Wade
Exactly. And, and each, each of them has to, he says, but in the beaten path, friendship, what are you doing here? Right. And, and then he says, but I thank you. Were you not sent for anything to the purpose? You’re, you’re not, you know, you’re not good enough at what you’re doing. I, I can see what’s going on. He, he keeps giving them
Daniel Cordova
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
A chance to get out of it.
Here’s a, here’s a little thing you don’t have to do, but you might want to in your, what a piece of work is, man.
Daniel Cordova
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
And I know there’s some debate about this, so I’m gonna let you do it any way you want.
Daniel Cordova
I,
Geoffrey Wade
I believe it is what a piece of work is, man. But you can do it. But what piece of work is, man, I just think it’s harder to say.
There’s some scholarly debate about that.
Nick Cagle
Hmm. But
Geoffrey Wade
just before that,
and this I stole from some other hamlet, but Earth seems to me a sterile promontory that most excellent canopy of the air, look, you this brave or hanging firmament,
rather than just throwing that away, why don’t you check in to see if they’re actually doing what you’re telling them to do?
Hmm.
Daniel Cordova
The look you Part especially Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
The look you is this excellent canopy. Look, you
Daniel Cordova
look,
Geoffrey Wade
look at this, look at this. Right. So just, just connects with them a little bit what a piece of work is. A man. I think,
Nick Cagle
You know, one, one thing is as I’m looking through it, is it’s interesting to see when they’re lying and when they’re telling the truth.
And I’m not sure that guilt, it seems that Rosencrantz does most of the lies in these scenes. I could be wrong. I was just noticing that right now he actually answers a couple of things and his answers are not true.
Geoffrey Wade
I
Nick Cagle
haven’t Gone through though each line with this, but I was just noticing that Gild Stern seems to be making an effort to be as honest as he can the whole time.
Geoffrey Wade
Good. Go with that.
I am going to,
I, I, yeah. I think there’s something to that r rather than have you three do this one again. I’m going to switch it so that Nick gets a chance at Hamlet.
Now
Marcello will be Guild and Stern.
Is this right? And Dan goes, goes to Rosecrans, right?
Daniel Cordova
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
Okay. Let’s just take like, just a, a couple of minutes, like five minutes just to stretch yourselves a little bit. ’cause I know this is a long time to sit, so I’m just gonna stretch and get myself a drink of water and let’s go back at six, I don’t know, six 18.
Sound good?
Okay.
Okay. Okay.
All righty. Oh, waiting for Daniel
Marcelo Tubert
righty then.
Geoffrey Wade
All righty then.
Hey Nick, I’m sure we talked about this, but where do you live in Hawaii?
Nick Cagle
I live on Kauai.
Geoffrey Wade
Kauai,
Nick Cagle
Yeah, on the North Shore. It’s sort of the furthest out of the five main islands.
Marcelo Tubert
Yeah, it’s that’s the ka is at the end of the road, right on your island.
Nick Cagle
That’s right. Yeah. Yeah. I just took my, my kids there yesterday to go play for a little bit. Yeah.
Marcelo Tubert
And then you have that, the big where they shot. I’m gonna wash that man right outta my hair.
Nick Cagle
That’s right. That was right, right down the street.
Marcelo Tubert
Oh, Is that right? How they be?
Nick Cagle
Yeah, we, we sing it often. My, the mountain in the background is called Ana, which means gift in Hawaiian, and it’s my daughter’s middle name. Oh,
Geoffrey Wade
That’s sweet.
Nick Cagle
Yeah. I grew up, my dad, my dad was a surfer and I grew up coming over here a lot in my youth. And we, we, my wife loved it. And we just ended up over here.
Marcelo Tubert
Wow. Fantastic. Yeah, we went to the house once across the street from that bay right in the middle there
Nick Cagle
Across, yeah. Ha Lei. I live right by Honley Bay.
Marcelo Tubert
Oh, yeah, I know exactly where that is. Beautiful.
Nick Cagle
Yeah. Yeah. It’s a good spot. It feels far away from all you find people though.
Marcelo Tubert
It’s kind of remote, man.
Daniel Cordova
I’ve been up that way, but I’ve been, I, when I stayed in on Kauai, I stayed down in Poipu the opposite end of the island.
Nick Cagle
Yeah. It’s really nice down there.
Daniel Cordova
Yeah.
Nick Cagle
It’s a little Rainier where I am. I’m on the far north shore, so it’s a little wetter up here.
Marcelo Tubert
One of my favorite spots of all the islands. It’s just that area. Wow.
Geoffrey Wade
And you
Daniel Cordova
have that big, that big rain shadow mountain that like keeps the rain on one side and not the other.
Nick Cagle
Yeah. Wale.
Daniel Cordova
Yeah.
Marcelo Tubert
We were trying to figure out how we could set up a little kiosk at the, at the beginning of the, of the, of the road there at Ke to be able to make enough money to live there short.
Nick Cagle
Elizabeth Taylor’s brother used to have a big sort of camp there that was like a hippie commune in the seventies. Yeah.
Marcelo Tubert
In one Of those canyons going on the, on the trip on the nal.
Nick Cagle
Yeah. Yeah. It’s a good spot. You guys are welcome. Anytime come visit. Oh
Geoffrey Wade
Good. I thought you’d never ask. Okay,
Daniel Cordova
That’s it. Next
Geoffrey Wade
accomplished for directing this thing. That’s all.
Daniel Cordova
Next week we’re gonna do it all in person over there.
Nick Cagle
I
Marcelo Tubert
book a flight right Now.
Geoffrey Wade
Would that
Nick Cagle
be Cool? There’s some fly fishing here, Marcello, way up in the mountains. There’s some trout.
Geoffrey Wade
I Was about to say, I was about to say, how could you live there, Marcello? There’s no fly fishing, but I guess
Marcelo Tubert
Well, there is, and also the flats. There’s some great flats and you can fish for bonefish
Nick Cagle
and Yeah,
Marcelo Tubert
there’s no, there’s some great fly fishing in Hawaii.
Geoffrey Wade
Oh, okay.
Nick Cagle
Indeed.
Geoffrey Wade
Alright. That’s always, that’s always the thing, isn’t it? When you, when you, when you think about, oh, I’ll just retire, or, or you know, the guys who are gonna rob a bank or whatever, it’s always gonna, you’re gonna set up a little shack, a little palm shack on the beach, right. Just serve drinks and live on the beach. That’s what everybody wants to do.
Oh, dear.
Marcelo Tubert
That sit, sit on the beach and read Shakespeare, right? Yeah,
Geoffrey Wade
yeah,
Nick Cagle
Yeah. Absolutely. It could use a Shakespeare festival over here, though. That would be neat.
Marcelo Tubert
Get it going, man.
Nick Cagle
Yeah,
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah. You got the, the infrastructure. All right, let’s, let’s give Nick a a chance to incorporate all these notes that I’ve been
Nick Cagle
given,
Geoffrey Wade
but, but each time through it gets more interesting. So all, all I would say is, you know, it, enjoy it and, and feel free to, you know, play the, play the extremes of what we’ve been talking about. As you get more comfortable with these lines and with how these people seem to be, if, if you have an impulse, go, go, go far with it.
Daniel Cordova
You know,
Geoffrey Wade
so funny voices and
Nick Cagle
everything.
Marcelo Tubert
Seriously,
Geoffrey Wade
You’re welcome in some of this. But e even this first time through, you know, this whole section, you know, your, your initial greeting was, was great. It sounded more like three old friends. And, and also, you know, we’re on mic, so feel free to make it very conversational. There’s no, I picked stuff with no verse, so we’re, we’re easy that way. Right.
Daniel Cordova
Just as we jump into it, I was just thinking it would be funny if once again, where they’re coming from Gil Stern and, and Rosen Krantz, maybe they, they’re trying to outdo each other and Gild Stern says, my honored Lord. And, and then Rosen Krantz is trying to pop him by saying, my most dear Lord. You know what I mean? They’re Still having those word plays going on before they get there.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah. And, and, and even very good. And even the next thing as the indifferent children of the earth happening that we’re not over that he’s, he’s, they’re,
Daniel Cordova
They’re trying to outdo each other a little bit,
Geoffrey Wade
Correcting each other or, or whatever. But absolutely there’s that constant competition going on. It’s very, very good.
Okay.
Marcelo Tubert
We ready?
Geoffrey Wade
Can remember the assignments. So yeah,
Marcelo Tubert
I am Are
Nick Cagle
we gonna just do the first scene and then stop? Or, or would you like to keep going through the other scenes?
Geoffrey Wade
Let’s, let’s try to keep going pretty much through the other scenes. I mean,
Nick Cagle
we’ll
Geoffrey Wade
have to, we’ll have to kind of stop, but,
Nick Cagle
okay. I,
Geoffrey Wade
I’ll try not to
Marcelo Tubert
try,
Geoffrey Wade
I’ll try to do that. We’ll
Marcelo Tubert
do The first scene and then we’ll go do the stop part.
Nick Cagle
Ah,
Geoffrey Wade
It’s a hard stop. Yeah. All right, lads.
Marcelo Tubert
My honored Lord,
Daniel Cordova
My most dear Lord.
Nick Cagle
My excellent good friends, how dust thou gild and stern, ah, rose and krantz good lads. How do you both
Daniel Cordova
As the indifferent children of the earth,
Marcelo Tubert
Happy in that we are not over happy Unfortunates cap are not the very button
Nick Cagle
Nor the soles of her shoot,
Daniel Cordova
Neither my Lord.
Nick Cagle
Then you live about her waist or in the middle of her favors.
Marcelo Tubert
Hey, her private suite
Nick Cagle
In the secret parts of fortune. Almost true. She is a trumpet.
What news?
Daniel Cordova
None my Lord. But that the world’s grown, honest
Nick Cagle
Is doomsday near, but your news is not true. Let me question more in particular. What have you, my good friends deserved at the hands of fortune that she sends you to prison, hither
Marcelo Tubert
Prison by the Lord.
Nick Cagle
Denmark’s a prison
Daniel Cordova
Then is the world one A
Nick Cagle
goodley, one in which there are many confines, wards and dungeons, Denmark being one of the worst?
Daniel Cordova
We think not so my Lord,
Nick Cagle
My then is none to you. For there is nothing either good nor bad, but thinking makes it so to me it is a prison.
Daniel Cordova
Why then your ambition makes it one just too narrow for your mind.
Nick Cagle
Oh God. I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space where it not that I have bad dreams,
Marcelo Tubert
Which dreams indeed are ambition for the very substance of the ambitious is merely a shadow of a dream.
Nick Cagle
A dream itself is, but a shadow
Daniel Cordova
Truly. And I hold ambition of so ary and light equality that it is, but a shadows shadow
Nick Cagle
Then are our beggars bodies and our monarchs and outstretched heroes. The beggars shadows, shall we to the court for by my Faye, I cannot reason
Daniel Cordova
We
Marcelo Tubert
wait upon You.
Daniel Cordova
We’ll wait upon you.
Nick Cagle
Oh, No such matter. I will not sort you with the rest of my servants for to speak you like an honest man. I am most dreadfully attended, but in the beaten way of friendship, what make you at Elsinore
Daniel Cordova
Isn’t you my Lord. No other occasion
Nick Cagle
Bigger than I am. I am even poor and thanks. But I thank you. I’m sure, dear friends, my thanks are too dear a hi, a hey Penny.
Were you not sent for?
Is it your own inclining? Is it a free visitation?
Come, come deal justly with me. Come, come nay speak.
Marcelo Tubert
What should we say? My Lord,
Nick Cagle
Anything but to the purpose you were sent for. And there’s a kind of confession in your looks, which your modesty have not craft enough to color.
I know the good king and queen have sent for you
Daniel Cordova
To, to what end my Lord
Nick Cagle
That you must teach me. But let me conjure you by the rights of our fellowship, by the constancy of our youth, by the obligation of our ever preserved love. And by what more dear a better proposer can charge you with, can charge you with all, be even and direct with me. Whether you were sent for or no
Daniel Cordova
What, say you.
Nick Cagle
Nathan, I have an eye of you. If you love me, hold not off
Marcelo Tubert
My Lord. We were sinful.
Nick Cagle
I will tell you why. So shall my anticipation prevent your discovery and your secrecy to the king and queen. Molt, no feather I have of late, but where for I know not lost all my mirth, foregone all custom of exercises. And indeed it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly framed the earth seems to me a sterile promontory, this most excellent canopy. The air, look you, this brave or hanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire.
It appear nothing to me, but a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors.
What a piece of work is a man.
How noble, in reason how infinite and faculties inform and moving, how express and admirable in action, how like an angel in apprehension, how like a God, the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals. And yet to me, what is this quintessence of dust?
Man delights, not me. No. Nor woman neither.
So by your smiling, you seem to say so,
Daniel Cordova
My Lord, there was no such stuff in my thoughts.
Nick Cagle
Why did you laugh then when I said, man, delights not me
Daniel Cordova
To think my Lord, if you delight not in man, what lent an entertainment do, the players shall receive from you. We coded them on the way. And here are they coming to offer you service.
Nick Cagle
She The place the king should be welcome. His majesty shall have tribute on me. The adventurous night shall use his foil and target. Are we stopping there?
Marcelo Tubert
There’s the stop point.
You’re muted. Jeff.
You’re muted. Jeffrey.
Nick Cagle
Still muted Jeff.
Marcelo Tubert
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah. There you’re,
Nick Cagle
you can
Geoffrey Wade
hear me cursing then? Yes.
We, we stop.
Just for your reference, Nick, if you’re looking at a whole script, it’s, it’s after we coded them on the way and here they come to offer you service. And that’s,
Nick Cagle
thank you.
Geoffrey Wade
So that’s three 40, I believe.
Yeah, it’s getting really nice you guys.
Let’s just carry on and we’ll talk some more later. So let’s carry on to the stop bar again, starting with Hamlets. Gentlemen, you are welcome to Elsinor.
Nick Cagle
Gentlemen, you are welcome to elsinor your hands come then
thence of welcome is fashion and ceremony. Let me comply with you in this garb. Less to my extent, to the players, which I tell you must show fairly outwards. Should more appear like entertainment than yours.
You are welcome. But my uncle, father, and aunt mother are deceived In
Marcelo Tubert
what my dear Lord
Nick Cagle
I am, but mad north, northwest. And when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.
Marcelo Tubert
Hmm.
Daniel Cordova
Yes.
Marcelo Tubert
What
Daniel Cordova
I thought you ah,
Marcelo Tubert
We can say we made some headway.
Daniel Cordova
You think so?
Marcelo Tubert
I think we can say that.
Daniel Cordova
I think we can say he made us look ridiculous. He
Marcelo Tubert
Made it close to the chest. Of course.
Daniel Cordova
Question and answer. Old ways are the best ways. He was scoring of us all down the line. He
Marcelo Tubert
Caught us. He caught us on the wrong foot once or twice perhaps. But I thought we gained some ground.
Daniel Cordova
He murdered us.
Marcelo Tubert
He might have had the edge.
Daniel Cordova
27 3. And you think he might have had the edge? He murdered us.
Marcelo Tubert
What about our evasions? Oh,
Daniel Cordova
our evasions were lovely. Were you sent for? He says, my Lord, we were sent for, I didn’t know where to put myself.
Marcelo Tubert
He had got six rhetorical.
Daniel Cordova
It was question and answer. All right. 27 questions. He got out in 10 minutes and answered three. I was waiting for you to delve. When is he gonna start delving? I asked myself
Marcelo Tubert
And two repetitions.
Daniel Cordova
Hardly. We a leading question between us.
Marcelo Tubert
We got his symptoms, didn’t we?
Daniel Cordova
Half of what he said meant something else and the other half didn’t mean anything at all.
Marcelo Tubert
Worded ambition, a sense of grievance. That’s my diagnosis.
Daniel Cordova
Six rhetorics, two repetitions leading 19 of which we answered 15. And what did we get in return? He’s depressed. Denmarks a prison. And he’d rather live in a nutshell, some shadow play about the nature of ambition, which never got down to cases. And finally, one direct question, which might have led somewhere and led in fact to his illuminating claim to tell a hawk from a handsaw.
Marcelo Tubert
But when Southern
Daniel Cordova
And the weather’s clear
Marcelo Tubert
And when it isn’t and when it can’t,
Daniel Cordova
He’s at the mercy of the elements. Suddenly
Geoffrey Wade
Mer mercy of the element. Yeah, mercy of the elements is, is the end.
Daniel Cordova
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
And that was, that was actually a, a great reading. A
Nick Cagle
it’s,
Geoffrey Wade
it’s like, oh, now I figured something out after all of that.
Delightful. Let’s, let’s go on to the recorder
Marcelo Tubert
On. Okay,
good. My Lord, about to save me a word with you,
Nick Cagle
Sir. A whole history.
Marcelo Tubert
The king, sir.
Nick Cagle
Aye sir, what of him
Marcelo Tubert
In his retirement marvel in his, in his retirement. Marvelous distempered
Nick Cagle
With drinks, sir,
Marcelo Tubert
Oh my Lord, with color.
Nick Cagle
Your wisdom should show itself more. Richard, to signify this to the doctor, for, for me to put him to his purgation, would perhaps plunge him into moral color.
Marcelo Tubert
Good. My Lord. Put your discourse into some frame and start not so wildly from my affair
Nick Cagle
By Tam, sir, pronounce
Marcelo Tubert
The queen. Your mother in most great affliction of spirit had sent me to you.
Nick Cagle
You are welcome.
Marcelo Tubert
Nay good, my Lord, nay good, my Lord. This courtesy is not of the right, is not of the right breed. If it shall please you to make me a wholesome answer, I will do your mother’s commandment. If not your pardon. In my return shall be the end of my business.
Nick Cagle
Sir, I cannot.
Daniel Cordova
What my Lord
Nick Cagle
Make you a wholesome answer. My wits diseased. But sir, such answer as I can make you shall command, or rather as you say, my mother, therefore no more. But to the matter.
My mother. You say
Daniel Cordova
Then thus she says, your behavior has struck her into amazement and admiration.
Nick Cagle
Oh, wonderful son, that can so astonish a mother. But is there no sequel at the heels of this mother’s admiration?
In part
Daniel Cordova
She desires to speak with you in her closet. There you go to bed,
Nick Cagle
We shall obey. Was she 10 times our mother? Have you any further trade with us?
Daniel Cordova
My Lord, you once did love me
Nick Cagle
And do still by these pickers and steelers.
Daniel Cordova
Good my Lord. What is your cause of distemper? You do surely bar the door upon your own liberty if you deny your griefs to your own friend.
Nick Cagle
Sir, I lack advancement.
Daniel Cordova
How can that be when you have the voice of the king himself for your succession in Denmark?
Nick Cagle
Hi sir. But while the grass grows, the proverb is something musty. Oh, the recorders. Let me see. One to withdraw with you.
Why do you go about to recover the wind of me as if you would drive me into a toil?
Marcelo Tubert
Oh My Lord. If my duty be too bold, my love is too unmanly.
Nick Cagle
I do not well understand that. Will you play upon this pipe?
Marcelo Tubert
My Lord, I cannot.
Nick Cagle
I pray. You
Marcelo Tubert
Believe me. I cannot.
Nick Cagle
I do beseech you.
Marcelo Tubert
I know. No touch of it. My Lord.
Nick Cagle
What is as easy as lying? Govern these vantages with your fingers and thumb, give it breath with your mouth and it will discourse the most eloquent music. Look you. These are the stops.
Marcelo Tubert
But these cannot I command, but these cannot I command to any utterance of harmony. I have not the skill.
Nick Cagle
Why look you how unworthy a thing you make of me. You would play upon me.
You would seem to know my stops. You would pluck out the heart of my mystery. You would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass. And there is much music, excellent voice in this little organ. Yet can, yet cannot you make it speak splu.
Do you think I’m as easy to be played on as a pipe? Do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?
Call me what instrument? You will that you can fret me. You cannot play upon me.
Geoffrey Wade
Oh, great guys. Just coming along so nicely. I I just, something Nick, I was hearing just now I’m going backwards a little bit. But that last speech was terrific, the way you turned on blood.
Although it’s, it’s not, you know, actual verse. He still gives you these great words to work with, played on in a pipe.
He gives you lots of plosives and fricatives and all those, all those good consonants.
So be sure to use them. That’s all I can say. You can really use those words coming Emil though you can fret me. You cannot play upon me. It’s, it’s, you know, it’s great, it’s great language.
Nick Cagle
I kept running into breathing problems that I was noticing. Like if I was to do this on a stage, I would have to really plan my breaths,
Marcelo Tubert
I
Nick Cagle
think Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
On
Nick Cagle
those full stops. ’cause some of ’em are quite long when you’re, you know, it’s interesting.
Geoffrey Wade
Y yeah. And, and I think he’s in such a, again, in such a state and, and we’re not dealing with verse, so you can breathe whenever you like. But
yeah, there’s definitely a, a breath after easy to be played on than a pipe. Call me an instrument. You will, you can take a breath there.
Nick Cagle
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
Threaten me. You cannot play upon me. I mean all, all of them. I think he’s really at the top of his range. So when we go through it again, feel free to, you know, go as far as you can. Everyone was doing a terrific job that time of, of, I don’t know, letting yourselves go, which is good.
Daniel Cordova
It’s, It’s interesting because when you do it on, you know, when you do it on Zoom or any, I mean, it’s almost like with any kind of a like, you know, closeup film or, or, or video, you know, acting. It’s like you, you, you tend to want to be still and act, you know, just without a lot of gesturing and, and stuff. So, so it’s, there’s a temptation not to go too far, you know?
Geoffrey Wade
Yes. And and that’s, I I understand that, but as, as of, you Know
Daniel Cordova
what I’m just saying, it’s like, it’s like we have to kind of like let ourselves go a little bit like you as though you were on stage, right?
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah, Exactly. Exactly. It’s, it’s a, it’s a smaller, you know, picture, but it takes the same amount of emotional energy, if you will.
No such matter in the first scene. Nick, I keep forgetting to,
so we’re going back to the beginning here,
Daniel Cordova
2 87.
Geoffrey Wade
2 87. Is that where he says no such matter?
Daniel Cordova
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
Yes. Yes.
Nick Cagle
Oh yes. No. Such
Geoffrey Wade
matter, No such matter. It it’s weird. It’s not,
it, it’s not a case of Oh, forget about it. It’s like, oh no, no, I’m not, it, it’s, I’m not gonna treat you that way.
You’re my friend. You’re not my service.
Nick Cagle
It’s interesting. Like it is. And he’s not necessarily telling the truth right there. Right. So he’s not very well attended.
Geoffrey Wade
He is, he is well attended.
Nick Cagle
He is well attended. Okay. I
Geoffrey Wade
I,
Nick Cagle
I
Geoffrey Wade
think, I mean the people he, the people we see him with who are his inferiors, which would be Horatio and the guys on the Battlement, right.
He is actually quite straightforward with Horatio. He is completely honest. And, and Horatio is completely honest with him.
The, the, the, the people he deals with who are his attendance are actually really good. Yeah.
So that’s, yeah. He’s, he’s winding him up a little where he says,
yeah, he’s, he’s making, again, he’s he’s painting a picture for them of
Nick Cagle
Yes.
Geoffrey Wade
Of his discontent
Nick Cagle
and Saying, my respect for you, I would hold you too. And the highest level of respect.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah.
Nick Cagle
I see.
Geoffrey Wade
Again, you know, he’s, he’s a little bit keeping his enemies close. I mean,
Nick Cagle
yeah,
Geoffrey Wade
he knows, I don’t think he knows how much of an enemy, I don’t think he’s determined quite how much of an enemy they are, because as far as we know in this scene, they’ve come to be information gatherers later. They, they will become, you know, in that recorders scene when it’s clear that they’re completely in the employee of the king and queen.
I think he, he loses it with them. But here,
Marcelo Tubert
well, I mean, he’s testing them, right? He’s, he’s just a, he,
Geoffrey Wade
he’s testing ’em. And, and he knows, I mean, he, he’s able to say in the end, look, I know something. He says it, you, you have to teach me. You have to tell me what’s going on. And, and I, I, I implore you by, you know, the bo bonds of friendship by what we’ve gone through together, by the fact that we’re all the same age. You know, just, Just I
Daniel Cordova
think that there’s a, I I don’t mean to cut you off, Jeff.
Geoffrey Wade
No, No, go ahead. No, I,
Daniel Cordova
I think that there’s, you know, especially in this first scene that we are doing at this point, he still does not have confirmation that the ghost is, is evil or good Right. Or honest. Right. Right. And he doesn’t like his uncle, but he doesn’t have any evidence yet that he killed old Hamlet. So I, I think, you know, in this scene he’s still kind of like, well, I could be wrong about these guys. Maybe they just got, you know, somebody paid their way to come to Elsinore. But as the scene goes on, he’s getting more and more information that’s getting him closer to all of these Yeah. Suspicions being true.
Right.
Geoffrey Wade
E exactly. And
Daniel Cordova
they’re, It’s just peeling it closer and closer. It’s like he’s kind of giving them the opportunity, the out Yeah. The opportunity to, to say No, no, no, no. We, we came, we, we, we, you know, we sold our bicycles so that we could get money to come to you. See, you what I mean? He’s giving them all these opportunities to not be at the service of the king and queen. And, and yet they can’t get there. Right? Yeah. And, and they, I I think they feel like they have to be honest with him because they can’t lie. They’re all, they’re childhood friends, you know, tribal lie. But they, he sees through it.
Geoffrey Wade
He sees through it a a and, and his as, as you, as you said earlier, Nick, and we all know he, he asks them three or four times, come on, come on, tell me, tell me
Daniel Cordova
Yeah. You’re my
Geoffrey Wade
Friends and be even and direct with me. Mm.
Just tell me whether you were sent for, that’s all. It’s all he is asking. And Rose kind of, it gives it away. It’s like, what do we do? What are we supposed
Nick Cagle
to do?
Geoffrey Wade
And Gilden Stern, who I think Rosecrans Rosecrans turns to Gilden Stern because he figures Gild Stern will have a better solution than going Yeah, yeah. We present for, yeah. The, the longer we can live in, in not quite knowing where, where we are in the scene, but for Hamlet and, and the lads the better. Right. But more information is gathered as we go through the scene. Yeah.
Daniel Cordova
I Mean, that’s what I think that there’s a progression of, of hamlet’s understanding of the situation throughout this first scene.
Geoffrey Wade
L let me,
let me just, so no such matter.
We, we’ve, we’ve got that it’s no, I, I wouldn’t treat you that way. The word is Haney, like,
Nick Cagle
yeah, I caught myself.
Geoffrey Wade
Haney. If you haven’t got a, if you haven’t got, if you haven’t got a penny, Haney will do.
Nick Cagle
Haney,
Geoffrey Wade
Haney, Haney.
Marcelo Tubert
There’s no ed on The there. An ed
Geoffrey Wade
To what end? I don’t know what the line that is.
Nick Cagle
To what end? My
Daniel Cordova
3 0 5.
Nick Cagle
3 0 5.
Geoffrey Wade
Thank you. I know the good queen, good queen, good king and queen of cent for you. I think, again, this, this can be Rosen Crans a little more innocent. He’s like, well, why would they do that?
Right. He’s not very good at this.
So a little more innocent on that.
Yeah. What say you, the more unsure that is, the better the, the more rosecrans lives in innocence, I think the better.
Nick Cagle
I feel like every Time they get close to getting caught gild and stern goes quiet.
Geoffrey Wade
Yes. Yeah.
And I, I just because you did it, I suddenly got it. This, this thing about Rosecrans laughing when he says Manda light’s, not me, Rosen Kran sort of can’t, he’s here’s what he thinks is a sort of slightly dirty joke or something. Slightly.
Daniel Cordova
Yeah. And,
Geoffrey Wade
and he just laughs He’s that guy. Right. So you, you decide how much you’re laughing at that.
I mean, I, I think he just comes up with an explanation real quick. I think he is laughing. Well, you, you decide. Is he laughing at the slightly, slightly dirty joke of Manites? Not me.
You, are you with me? Yeah.
Daniel Cordova
Yeah. I, I I mean, I think he has, I I mean obviously it, it’s almost a stage direction, right? Because
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah,
Daniel Cordova
He says though by you’re smiling, you seem to say so
Geoffrey Wade
Then Why
Daniel Cordova
did you Laugh?
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah.
Daniel Cordova
But there’s obviously, there’s some reaction to the Manites, not me. Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
And, and I, again, again, I think it’s part of Rosen Crans is sort of more innocent, more direct nature that
Daniel Cordova
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
And laughs at the joke and is able to get himself out of it that first. Now moving on to Rosa Grands Gold Center dead Nick, that first speech, which is still the play gentleman, you’re welcome to Elsinore your hands. Come on.
And this, it’s interesting what, what, what he says. What, what do you think he’s saying there? I mean, I know what I think he’s saying. What do you think he’s, what do you think Hamlet is saying with giving hands the perce of welcome, all of that.
Nick Cagle
What does a pance mean?
Geoffrey Wade
The outside appearance.
Nick Cagle
Ah, okay. Well that, that will help my inform my decision. ’cause I had no idea what that word was. I was like, what?
It’s fashion and ceremony. I, I, I understand. Now
Geoffrey Wade
let Me, let me double check that. But I’m pretty sure that because he has all these image, this imagery of dressing, you know, being dressed a certain way,
Nick Cagle
Which I, which I tell you must
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah.
Nick Cagle
It’s all about appearances, isn’t it? He is talking about fashion and ceremony.
Garb.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah.
Nick Cagle
Which I tell you must show fairly outwards. I think he’s saying that he understands that the shell of them is different than what’s on the inside.
Geoffrey Wade
Well, I’ll, he, he,
he, he’s, he’s saying that he’s making a show of, of welcome. I
Nick Cagle
see. You are, you are welcome.
Geoffrey Wade
You are welcome.
Nick Cagle
But I’m,
Geoffrey Wade
And, and I don’t want, I don’t want people to think you’re not as welcome as the players. And,
Marcelo Tubert
And what is the yours re refer to appear like entertainment than yours. Which I tell You,
Geoffrey Wade
I, I want, I want to, I want to, he says the,
Marcelo Tubert
I Would do this guard
Geoffrey Wade
The outward appearance of welcome is, is making a show, but it’s fashion, it’s ceremony, it’s shaking hands and you know, of sharing a drink or something.
And I want to do that. I wanna make that show with you in this garb so that when I do the same thing to the players, it doesn’t look like I’m welcoming them more than I’m welcoming you.
Daniel Cordova
Right, exactly.
Nick Cagle
I see. I was thinking of it the opposite Way, but No, no, I understand. It’s his show, not their show.
Geoffrey Wade
Yes.
Daniel Cordova
He’s, He’s saying, I need to show everyone that, that I am as I am welcoming you, as at least as much as I would welcome the players. ’cause I’m about to welcome them. Yeah. Really.
Geoffrey Wade
I’m really happy
Daniel Cordova
to
Geoffrey Wade
see them
Daniel Cordova
Really, really passionately. And, and so take my hands so that everybody sees that, that I am genuinely welcoming you guys here.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah. And, and again, there’s this mix, I think for him, for Hamlet of, because he says it twice. I mean, he’s, I, I, I can’t get around. He says, gentlemen, you’re welcome to Elsinore. I’m gonna shake your hands. I don’t want anybody to think that I’m not, you know, I know we’ve had a little discussion here. I know you’re working for the king and queen, but I even, I’ve even, I know you’re working and I, I don’t want you to sort of get called out. Right. So your secrecy will molt no feather. I’m kind of, I’m kind of doing a favor. You’re welcome. You’re welcome. I’m gonna make a show.
I don’t want you to, people to think that they’re more welcome. And the last thing he says is, you are welcome.
And I, and I think the stress might be on r
Nick Cagle
That’s interesting.
Geoffrey Wade
And again, you, you, you decide.
Daniel Cordova
And then I think also that, that’s a clean cut between that and then it’s like almost an afterthought. Oh. But my uncle, father and aunt mother are deceived.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah. I think that, and here it’s,
Daniel Cordova
It’s not part of the previous stuff.
Geoffrey Wade
Absolutely.
Nick Cagle
Yeah.
Geoffrey Wade
This is, this is my, my personal take on it. I think there’s a almost a sort of wink in that. I think he says, you’re welcome to elsinor, dah, dah dah da da, all this thing about welcome. And then, you know, Dick and Matthews always talks about old, old information. The word welcome when it comes around here two sentences later is old information. So what you wanna stress is you really are welcome.
Nick Cagle
Ah,
Geoffrey Wade
and, and it’s almost, it’s almost an aside to them. It’s, but don’t, but I’m onto you.
I don’t know. I, I, you know, I’m, I’m only crazy some of the time.
Right. I, I think there’s a little, it’s almost like a wink and a, a nudge there. But yes, there’s a, a definite break, as Dan said, between you’re really welcome and that last little thing.
Marcelo Tubert
And when, when he says, I am, but Mad North Northwest is mad there. Crazy. I am,
Geoffrey Wade
yeah. Mad, mad throughout this play. When it they say mad, they mean insane. What we would call insane. Not or crazy, not angry.
Nick Cagle
And
Marcelo Tubert
is that a juxtaposition that when the wind is suddenly, that he has a different take on it, right? Yeah. That he he will, he would hard for my hands off.
Geoffrey Wade
It’s, it’s kind of gibberish. He’s saying, listen, I’m only mad when the wind’s blowing one way.
Marcelo Tubert
It goes the other Way,
Geoffrey Wade
it’s going the other way. I know
Marcelo Tubert
what,
Geoffrey Wade
I know what’s up. Mm.
But really, he knows what’s up the whole time.
Nick Cagle
Yeah.
Daniel Cordova
Kinda saying, Hey, I might be crazy in the morning. That doesn’t mean I’m crazy in the afternoon
Nick Cagle
Part-time. Crazy. Yeah. I’m
Geoffrey Wade
part-time crazy. Let me, so that, that first speech, that’s the way that goes, Dan, your, your both you guys in that scene, Dan and Marcelo, that was, that was terrific. That seems playing. I don’t know. I had to be muted because I was laughing my ass off.
Nick Cagle
Me too.
Geoffrey Wade
Right. It’s, as these differences emerge between the two of them, it, it becomes quite funny.
But again, it’s not, you know, it’s funny because Rosecrans is desperate to find out to, to find a place to stand on. And Gilden Stern is desperate to defend what he thinks he’s already standing on because that’s, that’s the way they hold off chaos and living in a world without order or, or even names.
But that’s, that’s where the comedy comes in as we all know that what’s funny in comedy is the, is the tragedy behind it. So, but just really good work,
Marcello, in this last scene
Marcelo Tubert
is
Geoffrey Wade
Oh yeah. Gilden Stern, you said, know my Lord with collar Line three 30
Marcelo Tubert
Call. Yes.
Geoffrey Wade
E everybody’s, everybody in this scene is operating at a sort of high pitch at this point. Because the, the, the triumph for Hamlet and the disaster for the king and the court, that’s just happened with the, the play within the play and people running off all directions and clearly a lot of excitement going on in the court.
I I think when Hamlet says, with drinks, sir,
Marcelo Tubert
No, my Lord with collar. Right?
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah. It’s with what the fuck is the matter with you,
Marcelo Tubert
Frank? It’s
Geoffrey Wade
So I think this is, again, this is, is this is why I think it’s so important that they, they actually be kind of old friends at the beginning. It’s
Marcelo Tubert
like, buddy,
Geoffrey Wade
what is, are, are you blind or stupid? No, with collar man, the more direct that is, I mean, it’s a little, you know, you’re on the verge of, of insubordination. You, you’re talking to a prince in a pretty kind of borderline way, but you have orders from the king. So, so you,
Marcelo Tubert
this is this,
Geoffrey Wade
this is what will give us the, the ammunition for that. Those last lines. When, when Gudden Stearns, no, I can’t play this fucking, I can’t play it. Well, you are a bastard. Why then why are you treating me like a pipe? Right?
Marcelo Tubert
Yeah. You,
Geoffrey Wade
you both get to a certain, but anyway, with collar, I think he be, can even begin to lose your patience with him there. Line 3 47 Hamlet.
Sir, I cannot
Nick Cagle
Oh, thank you.
Geoffrey Wade
Throughout, throughout Shakespeare, when it’s cannot, the, the stress is, is always on the first syllable.
I I’m sure there’s an exception somewhere, but 98% of the time it’s cannot.
Nick Cagle
Mm.
Geoffrey Wade
What my Lord, you got that. That was great. And Nick advancement line 360 8.
In your answer to, to Rosecrans who says, you know, what’s the cause of your distemper? I think, sir, I lack advancement. This is like the 10th time I’ve told you. Right. I think how much Oh,
Nick Cagle
I see.
Geoffrey Wade
I, I think just to give yourself a slightly different color there.
Nick Cagle
Hmm.
Geoffrey Wade
It’s like, you idiot, how many times do you have to tell you?
Nick Cagle
Hmm.
Geoffrey Wade
It just, I mean, it, it just occurred to me this time when you guys are going through it, we have one minute to go. So I’m gonna stop. Obviously I think it’s wonderful the way you guys are finding these different colors now. Colors and colors and, I don’t know, we, we can go over a minute or two. Does is does anybody have a
Marcelo Tubert
I have got some
Geoffrey Wade
Observation or a complaint or anything.
Marcelo Tubert
Yes. Complaints about everything. It’s, it’s interesting. I, you know, I sometimes I, I start and stop and I have to go back because you know that right now, as, as, as I’m still not totally familiar, even though I’ve worked on it, that line surprised me. They, they come upon me and I’m not dying. What? Wait, I gotta go.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah.
Marcelo Tubert
Lemme see this.
Geoffrey Wade
That’s, that’s fine. That’s, that’s why we’re, we’re doing it this way also. I, I’ve, I’ve made it a little harder if you all by having everybody do every part. But I think it’s, I think it’s paying interesting dividends already.
Marcelo Tubert
Yeah. You just gotta pay attention to everything now.
Geoffrey Wade
Yeah.
Marcelo Tubert
Not bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. My,
Geoffrey Wade
My line. It’s like, I’m gonna have to say that next time through.
Daniel Cordova
Just one second thing I noticed is that I, I, I had had the question last week, the, the line, I know a hawk from a handsaw and why that’s such a weird line. And then I looked it up during this week, A handsaw is a, is Elizabethan for a different kind of a bird than a hawk.
Nick Cagle
Oh, a handsaw
Daniel Cordova
is like a heron.
Geoffrey Wade
Oh,
Daniel Cordova
He know. I can tell two different kinds of birds if I was hunting.
Nick Cagle
Oh, well thank
Geoffrey Wade
you. I cannot believe all these years, I’d never bothered to look that
Nick Cagle
up. Me too.
Geoffrey Wade
I’m a little embarrassed. But
Nick Cagle
You know,
Daniel Cordova
it’s like the, the hunter goes out and, and she’s like saying if the wind is one way, I, I can’t tell the birds apart, but when the wind’s the other way, I can tell the birds apart.
Nick Cagle
Wow.
Marcelo Tubert
That
Geoffrey Wade
actually makes it seem s slightly less, completely mad.
Daniel Cordova
Which is
Geoffrey Wade
insane. So that’s good. Thank you. Thank you for
Nick Cagle
naming
Marcelo Tubert
That.
Daniel Cordova
Probably. That’s a Gideon probably something he would’ve brought up. Yeah,
Geoffrey Wade
he would’ve, he would’ve, well he, he may watch this. I, I don’t know. But once again, I, I’m enjoying this immensely and we will continue next week.
Continue to, to mix it up. Yep.
And do, do look at it again. Because what I’m gonna try to do next week is a thing that Dan, you may remember we did of, of trying to look at who you’re speaking to on the screen as you do it much more where, where you, you look at the script and no matter how much or how little you, you look at the script, then look up so that you’re looking in the person’s eyes and the person who’s listening has to, has to be looking too.
It’s
Marcelo Tubert
Put on my screen. This is the first time in these rehearsals that I’ve not put it on my screen.
Geoffrey Wade
Ah,
Marcelo Tubert
But I will for next week.
Geoffrey Wade
Well, you, you can or not, I mean, you can do it on, you can still do it reading, but the, the point is, whether it’s on your screen or you’re holding it, I want you to be able to look at each other. It’s a very slow way of working, but it, the connections you can make, particularly on Zoom, where it’s very difficult and you’re, you can’t really pick up cues quite as much as you’d like to.
It. It’s, it’s a sort of luxurious way to work. Since we have all this, we have another, you know, four hours of work to do on this. So,
Marcelo Tubert
Hey, I have got to go. My kids, my friends. Yes.
Geoffrey Wade
Yes. It’s wonderful, wonderful seeing you all. See you next week. Five o’clock.
Nick Cagle
Thank you so much. Thanks
Geoffrey Wade
guys. Thank you.
The post Week 2 – Shakespeare and Stoppard (Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern scenes) – The Rehearsal Room appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Watch the session on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MYuYgB7GRFw
About the Scene Our group is working on sections of Act 2, Scene 2 and Act 3, Scene 2 from Shakespeare's Hamlet - AND they will also look at the beginning of Act 2 in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- And the PLAYERS: Marcelo Tubert, Nick Cagle and Dan Cordova
Hamlet scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/2/2/ https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/3/2/
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/shakespeare-stoppard-rehearsal-room-june-2024
BOOKS
Dr. Gideon Rappaport has written three books on Shakespeare:
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
Thank you to our current patrons Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
#workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #stoppard #hamlet
Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Watch the session on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Lv9Rs26SJRw
About the Scene Our group is working on sections of Act 2, Scene 2 and Act 3, Scene 2 from Shakespeare's Hamlet - AND they will also look at the beginning of Act 2 in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- And the PLAYERS: Marcelo Tubert, Nick Cagle and Dan Cordova
Hamlet scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/2/2/ https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/3/2/
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/shakespeare-stoppard-rehearsal-room-june-2024
BOOKS
Dr. Gideon Rappaport has written three books on Shakespeare:
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
- Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
- Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
Thank you to our current patrons Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
#workingactor #rehearsal
As you might have seen, we’re working on scenes with the trio of Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in The Rehearsal Room this month – and now: we’re heading to YouTube!
For the first time, I’ll be releasing the weekly rehearsal sessions on YouTube for ALL to enjoy.The goal here is to reach more actors, artists, and theatre lovers who would benefit from:
- a deeper examination of material
- insight into how the collaborative process brings a show to life
Check out the full update here!I’d love for you to follow along, so just click below to subscribe to our YouTube channel – and then click the bell icon to get notification of when new videos are released!
Subscribe to WAJ on YouTubeThere’s no reason our Rehearsal Room can’t be its own weekly “show”. I’m inspired by all of the participants who have been willing to come together to do this in a “down and dirty fashion” – a la public access channels! – and time will tell how large and popular this could become – but I have high hopes. 😁
Thank you to our group of artists in June willing to experiment here!
I’m very excited to share our sessions with a much larger audience and thrilled that you’re here for the next step.
Oh – and if you’d like early access to the sessions BEFORE they go live on YouTube AND you’d like priority for sending questions in to the artists (ahead of YouTube comments), become a patron here!
The post A Rehearsal Room Update: we’re headed to YouTube! appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
MarceloNickDanGeoffreyGideonOur group will be working on sections of Act 2, Scene 2 and Act 3, Scene 2 from Shakespeare’s Hamlet – AND they will also look at the beginning of Act 2 in Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
We will examine Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Hamlet in HAMLET and the arc of their friendship, from innocent bonhomie to profound betrayal. And as a bonus, we’ll look at the scene at the opening of Act 2 of Stoppard’s ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD where Stoppard imagines the conversation of his protagonists immediately after that Act 2 scene in HAMLET.
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here for the Hamlet sections.
Shakes/Stoppard Team – bios below:* DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade * DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport * And the PLAYERS… + Marcelo Tubert + Nick Cagle + Dan Cordova
Geoffrey’s notes on casting: In the spirit of these WAJ scenes being about exploration rather than performance, I’d like the casting to be variable and TBD. I think everyone, including me, will have a uniquely insightful experience by looking at the work from a variety of perspectives. Hamlet is the ultimate ‘many-ways-to-interpret’ part, so I think it’d be interesting to let each actor at least have one go at it.”
REPLAYS (both video and audio) will be available weekly in June for 30 days. (The first session will be available ~ June 11th.) Attendees can be part of the final “live” session on Thursday, June 27th.
As a PATRON (starting at just $5), you can also get:
- Viewing of the sessions early (3-4 days before they go public)
- Priority access to ask questions of the artists
- And other perks
Get EARLY access and more via Patreon!
Want to be in the Room where it happens? 😉These sessions are always filled with amazing scene work, and you’ll learn:
- how professional artists approach material
- what questions to ask
- what the director expects from actors
- how to find character clues from the text
- how the exploration never stops!
Join today!The great joy of these programs is that we get to:
- spend SO much time diving deep on a scene and characters
- bring together lifelong professionals with newer/younger actors
- cast roles while being totally open to race, gender, and age
Artist Bios – a mostly SoCal crew and one actor on Kauai!Geoffrey Wade (DIRECTOR) has performed on Broadway and off-, and continues to work extensively in regional theater and in national tours. He has done episodic television and several films, including Steven Spielberg’s The BFG. Geoffrey has directed critically acclaimed productions of A Walk in the Woods and The Crucible.
Gideon Rappaport (DRAMATURG) is San Diego’s premiere Shakespearean dramaturg; he has worked as an English, humanities and Shakespeare teacher in high school, college, graduate school and professional theater. He earned his Master of Arts and Ph.D. in English and American literature at Brandeis University. He is the author of the book Appreciating Shakespeare and host of a podcast under the same name.
Marcelo Tubert is known for his ability to change character and dialect, in comedy or drama, with ease. His four decade career includes work in all mediums. (Hear Marcelo on the podcast!)
Nick Cagle began his career at 11 when he was cast in his first professional stage play at The Laguna Playhouse, and soon after, he began to work in television and film. He trained at The Boston Conservatory and at LAMDA. After graduating he landed roles on MTV, HBO and with SONY Online Entertainment and performed at multiple regional theaters in California.
Dan Cordova has performed at South Coast Repertory and studied Drama at the University of California, Irvine. He also worked for many years at the Disneyland Resort as a stage manager.
—
The post Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” and Stoppard’s “Ros & Guil are Dead” in The Rehearsal Room for June 2024 with Marcelo Tubert, Nick Cagle, Dan Cordova and director Geoffrey Wade! appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
DennisKodiSarahWillMirandaOur group will be working on Act 1, Scene 2 – where Cassius urges Brutus to oppose Caesar for fear that Caesar may become king.
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here.
Julius Caesar Team – bios below:* Will Block as DIRECTOR * Miranda Johnson-Haddad as DRAMATURG * Dennis Renard as BRUTUS * Kodi Jackman as CASSIUS * Sarah Garic as CASCA
We’re actually re-visiting this scene after first workshopping it in 2021 – always fun to see how a new group approaches it!
Get access to watch the REPLAYS of all sessions for only $5 per month!
REPLAYS (both video and audio) will be available approximately each Friday in May for 30 days, beginning May 10th. Attendees can be part of the final “live” session on Thursday, May 30th.
Want to be in the Room where it happens? 😉These sessions are always filled with amazing scene work, and you’ll learn:
- how professional artists approach material
- what questions to ask
- what the director expects from actors
- how to find character clues from the text
- how the exploration never stops!
Start your 7-day free trial today!The great joy of these programs is that we get to:
- spend SO much time diving deep on a scene and characters
- bring together lifelong professionals with newer/younger actors
- cast roles while being totally open to race, gender, and age
Artist Bios – we have an All-LA crew this round!Will Block (DIRECTOR) is an actor, director and teacher. He is currently the Artistic Director for The Porters of Hellsgate Theatre Company in LA. With them, he has directed All’s Well that Ends Well, All is True or Henry VIII, and The Two Noble Kinsmen. He was previously the founding Artistic Director of Method and Madness, for whom he appeared as the title character in Richard II and directed productions of Henry IV and Macbeth.
Dr. Miranda Johnson-Haddad (DRAMATURG) is the Resident dramaturg at A Noise Within in LA. She has been a consultant and teacher for The Shakespeare Theatre in DC and a Scholar in Residence at The Folger Shakespeare Library. Miranda has taught Shakespeare and Renaissance literature at numerous universities and is the author of several articles on Shakespeare in performance.
Dennis Renard (BRUTUS) is a Mississippi native and recent theater credits include Come Get Maggie with Rogue Machine, Choir Boy with Dezart Performs, and 12 Angry Men at the Laguna Playhouse. He performed in the Secret Cinema immersive theater shows: Stranger Things and Arcane. Recent TV/Film credits: NCIS (CBS), Book of Queer (MAX, nominated for 6 Emmys). He is a graduate of UCLA and has appeared onstage at The Goodman Theatre and the Illinois Theatre Festival.
Kodi Jackman (CASSIUS) is a classically trained actor with an extensive movement background. Regional Credits include: Much Ado About Nothing (A Noise Within), A Few Good Men (La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts), All’s Well That Ends Well (A Noise Within), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (New Orleans Shakespeare Festival), and Antony + Cleopatra (Shakespeare Orange County. She studied at Guildford School of Acting.
Sarah Garic (CASCA) is an Indian-American playwright and actor based in Long Beach. She developed her first play Bootstraps through the support of Jennie Webb and the Los Angeles Female Playwright’s Initiative. And she has wandered through a lot of degrees … MS in Engineering at IFP School in Paris, a BA in Human Rights and Gender Policy Studies, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Rice University. When she is not writing or acting, she is advocating for environmental justice and sustainability. She has studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the Antaeus Company.
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The post Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” in The Rehearsal Room for May 2024 with Dennis Renard, Kodi Jackman, Sarah Garic and director Will Block! appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
JulsSapnaPaulBrianErikaGideonOur group will be working on Act 1, Scene 7 – where Iachimo begins his attempt to seduce Imogen by telling her that Posthumus is betraying her (later claimed as a test). Imogen forgives the slander and agrees to keep in her bedroom that night Iachimo’s trunk that he says is filled with jewels and precious ornaments.
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here.
Cymbeline Team – bios below:* Erika Rolfsrud as DIRECTOR * Gideon Rappaport as DRAMATURG * Juls Hoover and Sapna Kumar as IMOGEN * J. Paul Nicholas and Brian Boller as IACHIMO
Yes, our first foray into double casting—and our first time working on this play!
Get access to watch the REPLAYS of all sessions for only $5 per month!
REPLAYS (both video and audio) will be available approximately each Thursday in April for 30 days, beginning April 11th. Attendees can be part of the final “live” session on Wednesday, May 1st.
Want to be in the Room where it happens? 😉These sessions are always filled with amazing scene work, and you’ll learn:
- how professional artists approach material
- what questions to ask
- what the director expects from actors
- how to find character clues from the text
- how the exploration never stops!
Start your 7-day free trial today!The great joy of these programs is that we get to:
- spend SO much time diving deep on a scene and characters
- bring together lifelong professionals with newer/younger actors
- cast roles while being totally open to race, gender, and age
Artist Bios – folks coming from LA/San Diego, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York!Erika Rolfsrud (DIRECTOR) has appeared on Broadway in The Coast of Utopia, Rabbit Hole, and Exit The King. She has appeared Off-Broadway and in regional theatre. In films, Erika has appeared in Alone, Dream Date and Unsane. In television she has appeared in Manifest, Law & Order: SVU, House of Cards, God Friended Me, Blue Bloods, Third Watch and more. She has an MFA from Old Globe Theatre/USD. Website.
Gideon Rappaport (DRAMATURG) is San Diego’s premiere Shakespearean dramaturg; he has worked as an English, humanities and Shakespeare teacher in high school, college, graduate school and professional theater. He earned his Master of Arts and Ph.D. in English and American literature at Brandeis University. He is the author of the book Appreciating Shakespeare and host of a podcast under the same name.
Juls Hoover (IMOGEN) studied at San Diego State University, majoring in both Theater and Psychology, and also trained at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford. She also works as a Yoga Teacher while attending graduate school to obtain a Masters in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Addiction Medicine.
Sapna Kumar (IMOGEN) is originally from the Midwest (Indianapolis and Chicago). She was part of the writing team and ensemble for the theater piece “Yoniverse” at the 2023 Hollywood Fringe Festival, named Best Drama of the Festival, Best of the Broadwater theater, and received an Encore Producers’ Award. TV credits include co-stars on Netflix’s hit comedy series I Think You Should Leave and on ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat. Sapna is a graduate of Purdue. Website.
J. Paul Nicholas (IACHIMO) has worked off-Broadway, in regional theatre and national tours, and on TV/film. He has won two Barrymore Awards and received his MFA from The Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University. Website.
Brian Boller (IACHIMO) is a Chicago-based actor, dancer, and teaching artist, and is also skilled in stage combat and choreography. He is a graduate of Le Moyne College and studied at the Joel Hall Dancers and Center.
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The post Shakespeare’s “CYMBELINE” in The Rehearsal Room for April 2024 with Juls Hoover, Sapna Kumar, J. Paul Nicholas, Brian Boller and director Erika Rolfsrud! appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
JamesGideonJamalDennisMadeleinePaulOur group will be working on Act 2, Scene 1 – where Edward and Richard (both later king) receive the news of their father’s death, and the Yorkist leaders prepare once more to meet the Lancastrian forces.
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here.
Henry VI Team: – bios below:* James Newcomb as DIRECTOR * Gideon Rappaport as DRAMATURG * Jamal Douglas as RICHARD * Dennis Renard as EDWARD * Madeleine Person as the MESSENGER * Paul Bernardo as WARWICK
Get access to watch the REPLAYS of all sessions for only $5 per month!
REPLAYS (both video and audio) will be available approximately each Wednesday in January for 30 days. Attendees can be part of the final “live” session on Tuesday, January 30th.
Want to be in the Room where it happens? 😉These sessions are always filled with amazing scene work, and you’ll learn:
- how professional artists approach material
- what questions to ask
- what the director expects from actors
- how to find character clues from the text
- how the exploration never stops!
Start your 7-day free trial today!The great joy of these programs is that we get to:
- spend SO much time diving deep on a scene and characters
- bring together lifelong professionals with newer/younger actors
- cast roles while being totally open to race, gender, and age
Artist Bios – folks coming from LA to Florida!James Newcomb (DIRECTOR) has performed in over 60 Shakespeare plays and 75 other productions. He worked for 14 seasons at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, is a founding company member of Shakespeare & Company, and was an inaugural company member of The Denver Center Theatre, where he remained for 7 seasons. He is also an Instructor for the UCSD Graduate Theatre Program, and has worked at Utah Shakespeare Festival, Chicago Shakespeare, and Shakespeare Santa Cruz.
Gideon Rappaport (DRAMATURG) is San Diego’s premiere Shakespearean dramaturg; he has worked as an English, humanities and Shakespeare teacher in high school, college, graduate school and professional theater. He earned his Master of Arts and Ph.D. in English and American literature at Brandeis University. He is the author of the book Appreciating Shakespeare and host of a podcast under the same name.
Jamal Douglas (RICHARD) is a writer, poet, educator, and actor. He is a graduate of the UCSD/The Old Globe MFA program.
Dennis Renard (EDWARD) is a graduate of UCLA. He has appeared onstage at The Goodman Theatre and the Illinois Theatre Festival.
Madeleine Person (MESSENGER) was previously a literary scholar and translator, and has worked and studied with Theatricum Botanicum.
Paul Bernardo (WARWICK) has worked extensively in regional theater and has appeared in numerous industrials and commercials as well as independent and feature films. For Orlando Shakespeare, he has played Brutus twice, Claudius, Polixenes, Antigonus, Duke Vincentio, and Banquo. Paul also received his MFA from The Academy of Classical Acting and is a founding member of the Upstart Creatures theater company in NYC.
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The post Shakespeare’s “HENRY VI Part 3” in The Rehearsal Room for March 2024 with Jamal Douglas, Dennis Renard and director James Newcomb! appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
CharlotteMaxKathleenPaulCassieOur group will be working on Act 3, Scene 4 – where Hamlet verbally attacks his mother for marrying Claudius. We’ll be exploring the TWO sides of Hamlet with TWO different actors!
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here.
Hamlet Team – bios below:* DIRECTOR: J. Paul Nicholas * DRAMATURG: Cassandra Alexander * HAMLET: Charlotte Northeast * HAMLET: Max Herzfeld * GERTRUDE: Kathleen Turco-Lyon
Get access to watch the REPLAYS of all sessions for only $5 per month!
REPLAYS (both video and audio) will be available approximately each Wednesday in January for 30 days. Attendees can be part of the final “live” session on Tuesday, January 30th.
Want to be in the Room where it happens? 😉These sessions are always filled with amazing scene work, and you’ll learn:
- how professional artists approach material
- what questions to ask
- what the director expects from actors
- how to find character clues from the text
- how the exploration never stops!
Start your 7-day free trial today!The great joy of these programs is that we get to:
- spend SO much time diving deep on a scene and characters
- bring together lifelong professionals with newer/younger actors
- cast roles while being totally open to race, gender, and age
Artist Bios – folks coming from LA to Philadelphia!J. Paul Nicholas (DIRECTOR) has worked off-Broadway, in regional theatre and national tours, and on TV/film. He has won two Barrymore Awards and received his MFA from The Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University. Directing credits include The Merry Wives of Windsor (The Treehouse Theatre), Hamlet and The Tempest (M.I.T. Shakespeare), and several other regional shows. He’s also a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab. Website.
Cassandra Alexander (DRAMATURG) is a Philadelphia-based actor, teaching artist, theatre maker, and arts administrator. She holds degrees in Theatre & Drama and Arts Management from Indiana University, although her love of classical theatre blossomed while studying abroad at Shakespeare’s Globe in London. She also works as the Development Officer/Artistic Assistant at Delaware Shakespeare, and has worked as text coach there on Macbeth, as well as co-adapting versions of The Winter’s Tale and Cymbeline.
Charlotte Northeast (HAMLET) is an actor, director, writer, coach and producer who trained with Circle in the Square and has won several acting awards. She also was part of the team that adapted Jane Eyre for the stage. Website.
Max Herzfeld (HAMLET) is an actor and voice over artist. He can be heard in numerous games and animation projects.
Kathleen Turco-Lyon (GERTRUDE) has worked off-B’way and regionally, at theaters from Maine to California, and is a member of The Actors Center in New York City. She has taught actors both independently and on the university level. She has won awards for performances in August: Osage County and Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Website.
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The post Shakespeare’s “HAMLET” in The Rehearsal Room for January 2024 with Kathleen Turco-Lyon, Charlotte Northeast, Max Herzfeld and director J. Paul Nicholas! appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
JulsErikaNickGideonOur group will be working on the FAMOUS “balcony scene”: Act 2, Scene 2 – where Romeo overhears Juliet express her love for him and then he answers her.
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here.
R&J Team – bios below:* DIRECTOR: Nick Cagle * DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport * ROMEO: Juls Hoover * JULIET: Erika Rolfsrud
Get access to watch the REPLAYS of all sessions for only $5 per month!
REPLAYS (both video and audio) will be available approximately each Thursday in December for 30 days. Attendees can be part of the final “live” session on Wednesday, December 27th.
Want to be in the Room where it happens? 😉These sessions are always filled with amazing scene work, and you’ll learn:
- how professional artists approach material
- what questions to ask
- what the director expects from actors
- how to find character clues from the text
- how the exploration never stops!
Start your 7-day free trial today!The great joy of these programs is that we get to:
- spend SO much time diving deep on a scene and characters
- bring together lifelong professionals with newer/younger actors
- cast roles while being totally open to race, gender, and age
Artist Bios – folks coming from Hawaii, New York, and SoCal!Nick Cagle (DIRECTOR) began his career at 11 when he was cast in his first professional stage play at The Laguna Playhouse, and soon after, he began to work in television and film. He trained at The Boston Conservatory and at LAMDA. After graduating he landed roles on MTV, HBO and with SONY Online Entertainment and performed at multiple regional theaters in California.
Gideon Rappaport (DRAMATURG) is San Diego’s premiere Shakespearean dramaturg; he has worked as an English, humanities and Shakespeare teacher in high school, college, graduate school and professional theater. He earned his Master of Arts and Ph.D. in English and American literature at Brandeis University. He is the author of the book Appreciating Shakespeare and host of a podcast under the same name.
Juls Hoover (ROMEO) studied at San Diego State University, majoring in both Theater and Psychology, and also trained at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford. She also works as a Yoga Teacher while attending graduate school to obtain a Masters in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Addiction Medicine.
Erika Rolfsrud (JULIET) has appeared on Broadway in The Coast of Utopia, Rabbit Hole, and Exit The King. She has appeared Off-Broadway and in regional theatre. In films, Erika has appeared in Alone and Dream Date, and in television she has appeared in Law & Order, Third Watch, All My Children, and As The World Turns. She has an MFA from Old Globe Theatre/USD.
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The post Shakespeare’s “ROMEO & JULIET” Balcony Scene in The Rehearsal Room for December 2023 with Juls Hoover, Erika Rolfsrud and director Nick Cagle! appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
CaseyJoePaulTrevynLiisaTerriCatOur group will be working on two scenes: Act 1, Scene 1 – where Baptista announces that Bianca cannot marry until Katherine does – and Act 2, Scene 1 – Katherine’s wedding is arranged and Bianca’s suitors vie for her hand.
Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.
Shrew Team – bios below:* DIRECTOR: Terri McMahon * DRAMATURG: Cat Sheehan * KATHERINE: Casey McKinnon * HORTENSIO / PETRUCHIO: Joe Holt * BAPTISTA: Paul Bernardo * GREMIO: Liisa Ivary * BIANCA / TRANIO: Trevyn Wong
Get access to watch the REPLAYS of all sessions for only $5 per month!
REPLAYS (both video and audio) will be available approximately each Wednesday in November (skipping Thanksgiving week) plus Tuesday December 5th for 30 days. Attendees can be part of the final “live” session on Monday, December 4th.
Want to be in the Room where it happens? 😉These sessions are always filled with amazing scene work, and you’ll learn:
- how professional artists approach material
- what questions to ask
- what the director expects from actors
- how to find character clues from the text
- how the exploration never stops!
Start your 7-day free trial today!The great joy of these programs is that we get to:
- spend SO much time diving deep on a scene and characters
- bring together lifelong professionals with newer/younger actors
- cast roles while being totally open to race, gender, and age
Artist Bios – folks coming from New York, LA, Oregon and more!Terri McMahon (DIRECTOR) is an actor, voiceover artist, and director. She has directed plays at American Players Theatre, as well as the Santa Cruz, Arabian, and Island Shakespeare Festivals. Terri has been an actress at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for over 25 years. She cut her teeth adapting many of Shakespeare’s plays to forty-minute, two-person school visit program shows for OSF’s extensive educational program. Website
Cathleen Sheehan (DRAMATURG) is a writer, lecturer and teacher who teaches Shakespeare and Advanced Shakespeare (among other courses) at the Urban School in San Francisco. She has served as a dramaturg for Marin Shakespeare and for California Shakespeare Theater. She holds an AB and MA in English Literature from Stanford University and pursued graduate studies in Victoria Literature at Oxford University.
Casey McKinnon (KATHERINE) is an actress and producer born and raised in Montreal, Canada. She studied Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Best known for her extensive web series career, she has produced and starred in four streaming series. She is an ambassador for The Chimaera Project, and developed and launched SUPPORT.HER, a mentorship program empowering women and non-binary filmmakers. Website
Joe Holt (HORTENSIO / PETRUCHIO) is an actor with TV roles on Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, The Good Wife, Franklin and Bash, and Supernatural. LA Theatre includes Macbeth at Antaeus, We Are Proud to Present… at The Matrix, Nine Circles at The Bootleg Theatre, and The Pain and the Itch at The Zephyr. He also wrote, produced, directed, and acted in Noël, which was distributed on ShortsHD.
Paul Bernardo (BAPTISTA) has worked extensively in regional theater and has appeared in numerous industrials and commercials as well as independent and feature films. For Orlando Shakespeare, he has played Brutus twice, Claudius, Polixenes, Antigonus, Duke Vincentio, and Banquo. Paul also received his MFA from The Academy of Classical Actingand is a founding member of the Upstart Creatures theater company in NYC.
Liisa Ivary (GREMIO) – yes, 2 i’s, it’s Finnish – is a classically trained actor, director and choreographer who has extensive voice over credits, and she holds an MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. She has spent multiple seasons as an actor at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Arizona Theatre Company, Missouri Rep, and the Utah, Colorado and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals. Website
Trevyn Wong (BIANCA / TRANIO) is a Queer, Asian Artist and recent BFA graduate from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. In his senior year, he portrayed the role of Mozart in Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus. Out of school, he landed at American Players Theatre. His next chapter takes him to New York City. Website
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The post Shakespeare’s “TAMING OF THE SHREW” in The Rehearsal Room for November 2023 with Liisa Ivary, Joe Holt, Casey McKinnon, director Terri McMahon and more! appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
PaulNickStevenJ. PaulPhilippaWe had a fantastic time with The Winter’s Tale last month and now onto Shakespeare’s MACBETH!
Our group will be working on Act 4, Scene 3 – where Malcom tests Macduff and Ross shares tragic news. Scene from the Folger Shakespeare Library here.
Macbeth Team – bios below:* DIRECTOR: J. Paul Nicholas * DRAMATURG: Philippa Kelly * MACDUFF: Paul Bernardo * MALCOLM: Nick Cagle * ROSS: Steven Sean Garland
Get access to watch the REPLAYS of all sessions for only $5 per month!
REPLAYS (both video and audio) will be available approximately each Wednesday in October (4-25) for 30 days. Attendees can be part of the final “live” session on Tuesday, October 24th.
Want to be in the Room where it happens? 😉These sessions are always filled with amazing scene work, and you’ll learn:
- how professional artists approach material
- what questions to ask
- what the director expects from actors
- how to find character clues from the text
- how the exploration never stops!
Start your 7-day free trial today!The great joy of these programs is that we get to:
- spend SO much time diving deep on a scene and characters
- bring together lifelong professionals with newer/younger actors
- cast roles while being totally open to race, gender, and age
Artist Bios – folks coming from LA, Florida, and Hawaii!J. Paul Nicholas has worked off-Broadway, in regional theatre and national tours, and on TV/film. He has won two Barrymore Awards and received his MFA from The Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University. Directing credits include The Merry Wives of Windsor (The Treehouse Theatre), Hamlet and The Tempest (M.I.T. Shakespeare), and several other regional shows. Website.
Dr. Philippa Kelly is resident dramaturg for the California Shakespeare Theater and for Napa Shakes. Other dramaturgy credits include the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Aurora Theater, and Word for Word. Philippa is Chair and Professor of English at the California Jazz Conservatory, and professor at various University of California campuses including Berkeley and Santa Cruz. Website.
Paul Bernardo has worked extensively in regional theater and has appeared in numerous industrials and commercials as well as independent and feature films. For Orlando Shakespeare, he has played Brutus twice, Claudius, Polixenes, Antigonus, Duke Vincentio, and Banquo. Paul also received his MFA from The Academy of Classical Actingand is a founding member of the Upstart Creatures theater company in NYC.
Nick Cagle began his career at 11 when he was cast in his first professional stage play at The Laguna Playhouse, and soon after, he began to work in television and film. He trained at The Boston Conservatory and at LAMDA. After graduating he landed roles on MTV, HBO and with SONY Online Entertainment and performed at multiple regional theaters in California.
Steven Sean Garland has worked in both film and TV, along with extensive stage credits that include legit as well as musical theater. His most recent on-screen appearances include A Friend of the Family (Peacock), The Outsider (HBO), Three Months (MTV Films), and Andrew Dean’s Fronteras (Vertical Entertainment). Website.
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The post Shakespeare’s “MACBETH” in The Rehearsal Room for October 2023 with Paul Bernardo, Nick Cagle, director J. Paul Nicholas and more! appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
ChristopherShannonJ. PaulGeoffreyGideonWe had a fantastic time with Measure for Measure last month and now onto Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale!
Our group will be working on Act 2, Scene 1 – where Leontes has Hermione arrested for adultery and treason. Scene from the Folger Shakespeare Library here.
The Winter’s Tale Team:* DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade (listen to a full interview here and Dogberry discussion here) * DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport (interview) * LEONTES: Christopher Guilmet * HERMIONE: Shannon Lee Clair * ANTIGONUS: J. Paul Nicholas
Get access to watch the REPLAYS of all sessions for only $5 per month!
REPLAYS (both video and audio) will be available approximately each Thursday in September (7-28) for 30 days. Attendees can be part of the final “live” session on Wednesday, September 27th.
Want to be in the Room where it happens? 😉These sessions are always filled with amazing scene work, and you’ll learn:
- how professional artists approach material
- what questions to ask
- what the director expects from actors
- how to find character clues from the text
- how the exploration never stops!
Start your 7-day free trial today!The great joy of these programs is that we get to:
- spend SO much time diving deep on a scene and characters
- bring together lifelong professionals with newer/younger actors
- cast roles while being totally open to race, gender, and age
Artist Bios – folks coming from LA, Philadelphia, and New York!Geoffrey Wade has performed on Broadway and off-, and continues to work extensively in regional theater and in national tours. He has done episodic television and several films, including Steven Spielberg’s The BFG. Geoffrey has directed critically acclaimed productions of A Walk in the Woods and The Crucible.
Gideon Rappaport is San Diego’s premiere Shakespearean dramaturg; he has worked as an English, humanities and Shakespeare teacher in high school, college, graduate school and professional theater. He earned his Master of Arts and Ph.D. in English and American literature at Brandeis University. He is the author of the book Appreciating Shakespeare and host of a podcast under the same name.
Christopher Guilmet has performed Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre and regionally at 3D Theatricals, Musical Theatre West, Antaeus Theatre, Reprise Theatre, Colony Theatre, Stages St. Louis, Musicals Tonight!, 5th Avenue Theatre, and the Village Theatre.
Shannon Lee Clair was born in New York City and has lived most of her life on the west coast, also spending time significant time in Ireland and London. She earned her Bachelor’s in English and Theater at Princeton University and studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. An avid outdoors-woman, Shannon fills most of her vacation time with backpacking or sailing trips. Website
J. Paul Nicholas has worked off-Broadway, in regional theatre and national tours, and on TV/film. He has won two Barrymore Awards and received his MFA from The Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University. Website.
The post Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” in The Rehearsal Room for September 2023 with Geoffrey Wade, Christopher Guilmet, Shannon Lee Clair, and more! appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
We had a fantastic time with To The Lighthouse last month and now onto Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure! Our group will be working on Act 2, Scene 2 – Angelo’s first meeting with Isabella, where she comes to plead for her brother’s life. Measure for Measure Team: Get access to watch the REPLAYS of all […]
The post Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure” in The Rehearsal Room for August 2023 with Stefan Novinski, J. Paul Nicholas, Charlotte Northeast and more! appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
We had a great time with King Lear this month and now onto To The Lighthouse! Our group will be working on an adaptation of part of the 1927 novel: the end of the first section (“The Window”) and the beginning of the second section (“Time Passes,”) wth Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay’s last conversation, their house […]
The post Virginia Woolf’s “To the Lighthouse” in The Rehearsal Room for July 2023 with Brian Nelson, Anne Gee Byrd, Alberto Isaac and more! appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
AnnieRandallJeanneLizzieThomasWe had a great time with Henry V last month and now onto King Lear!
Get access to watch the REPLAYS of all sessions for only $5 per month!
Sessions will be held on Tuesdays May 6, 13, 20, and 27. Recordings typically available the following day, for 30 days! We have BOTH video and audio replays available.
Want to be in the Room where it happens? 😉These sessions are always filled with amazing scene work, and you’ll learn:
- how professional artists approach material
- what questions to ask
- what the director expects from actors
- how to find character clues from the text
- how the exploration never stops!
Start your 7-day free trial today!The great joy of these programs is that we get to:
- spend SO much time diving deep on a scene and characters
- bring together lifelong professionals with newer/younger actors
- cast roles while being totally open to race, gender, and age
King Lear Team for Act 2, Sc 4:* DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso (listen to our podcast conversation with Annie and Randall) * LEAR: Randall Duk Kim * GONERIL: Jeanne Sakata (podcast episode) * REGAN: Lizzie King-Hall * CORNWALL: Thomas Farber
Artist BiosAnnie Occhiogrosso has worked as a director, dramaturg, acting coach and actress. She was co-artistic director of the American Players Theatre and received national attention for her body of work there, directing 16 Shakespearean plays along with works by Moliere, Ibsen, Plautus, and Chekhov.
Randall Duk Kim has been acting professionally for 50+ years, playing dozens of leading roles in everything from Shakespeare to Moliere to Chekhov to the Greeks—acting at major theatres all around the world, from Honolulu to Vermont to Singapore.
Jeanne Sakata has worked at acclaimed regional theatres all over the country, including in NY, Seattle, Portland, the Bay Area, and numerous theatres in Southern California. She has played opposite such legendary actors as Chita Rivera, Estelle Parsons, and Raul Julia.
Lizzie King-Hall is a New-York based actor and voice coach. She’s a proud graduate of the Brown/Trinity MFA Program and Actors’ Equity Member.
Thomas Farber is a student at Centenary University in Performance Studies.
The post King Lear in The Rehearsal Room for June 2023 with Annie Occhiogrosso, Randall Duk Kim, Jeanne Sakata and more! appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
ElizabethGideonKwanaErikaMicheleWe had a great time with The Winter’s Tale last month and now onto Henry V!
Get access to watch the REPLAYS of all sessions for only $5 per month!
Sessions will be held on Mondays May 8, 15, 22 and Tuesday, May 30. Recordings typically available the following day, for 30 days!
Want to be in the Room where it happens? 😉These sessions are always filled with amazing scene work, and you’ll learn:
- how professional artists approach material
- what questions to ask
- what the director expects from actors
- how to find character clues from the text
- how the exploration never stops!
Join NowThe great joy of these programs is that we get to:
- spend SO much time diving deep on a scene and characters
- bring together lifelong professionals with newer/younger actors
- cast roles while being totally open to race, gender, and age
Henry V Team for Act 3, Sc 4 and Act 5, Sc 2 (selection):* DIRECTOR: Elizabeth Dennehy * DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport * HENRY: Kwana Martinez * KATHARINE: Erika Rolfsrud * ALICE: Michele Schultz
Follow along with the Folger text here and here.
Artist Bio’sElizabeth Dennehy has been acting for 30+ years, across theatre, tv, and film. She has over 50 film/tv credits and has also worked as a dialogue coach on TV shows. Elizabeth enjoys collaborating with actors to create exciting auditions and has been an audition coach for years. (Hear Elizabeth on the podcast, and she has also been part of several previous workshops.)
Gideon Rappaport is San Diego’s premiere Shakespearean dramaturg; he has worked as an English, humanities and Shakespeare teacher in high school, college, graduate school and professional theater. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in literature and art history at Cowell College, University of California, Santa Cruz, and his Master of Arts and Ph.D. in English and American literature at Brandeis University. He is the author of the book Appreciating Shakespeare and host of a podcast under the same name.
Kwana Martinez regularly appears in national commercials, on stage, and in TV/film. In Los Angeles, she is a board member and company member of the Antaeus Theatre Company. She studied at Vassar, British American Dramatic Academy, and Harvard. (She also played Hamlet in a previous workshop.)
Erika Rolfsrud has appeared on Broadway in The Coast of Utopia, Rabbit Hole, Exit The King. She has appeared Off-Broadway and in regional theatre. In films, Erika has appeared in Alone and Dream Date, and in television she has appeared in Law & Order, Third Watch, All My Children, As The World Turns. She has an MFA from Old Globe Theatre/USD.
Michele Schultz is an actor and business affairs consultant and entertainment attorney in Los Angeles.
Both Erika and Michele participated in our Repertory workshop!
The post Henry V in The Rehearsal Room for May 2023 with Elizabeth Dennehy, Kwana Martinez, and more! appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
LizMarceloMeaghanMikeWhat was clear to me during 2020-2022 was how much FUN the workshops scenes were to produce and how much it seemed others enjoyed them too!
I was also consistently blown away at the quality of the work in such a short period of time.
So I’m bringing the Rehearsal Room workshops back, starting in April 2023!
Want to be part of the fun?You’ll learn:
- how professional artists approach material
- what questions to ask
- what the director expects from actors
- how to find character clues from the text
- how the exploration never stops!
Weekly sessions begin Monday, April 3rd and run for 4 weeks. You can watch the REPLAY of each session by becoming a Patreon member at the $5 level or above. Only $5 for the entire month!
Join NowThe great joy of these programs is that we get to:
- spend SO much time diving deep on a scene and characters
- bring together lifelong professionals with newer/younger actors
- cast roles while being totally open to race, gender, and age
The Winter’s Tale Team for Act 1, Scene 2:* DIRECTOR: Liz Swain * LEONTES: Marcelo Tubert * HERMIONE: Meaghan Boeing * POLIXENES: Mike Gerbi
Follow along with the Folger text here.
I’m excited to welcome a new face to the Room: thanks for joining us, Mike!
Bio’s Liz Swain is an English born actor, director and teacher. Recent directing credits include King Lear with The Southwest Shakespeare Company, Hamlet and Measure for Measure (co directed with Armin Shimerman), and The Two Noble Kinsmen for the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival.
Marcelo Tubert is known for his ability to change character and dialect, in comedy or drama, with ease. His four decade career includes work in all mediums. (Hear Marcelo on the podcast!)
Meaghan Boeing is an actor, musician and educator, with a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from Ithaca College and a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from The Old Globe/University of San Diego.
Mike Gerbi is an actor, writer and producer with an MA in Classical Acting from LAMDA.
The post The Rehearsal Room is BACK with The Winter’s Tale workshop for April 2023 with Liz Swain, Marcelo Tubert, and more! appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
Reed Birney played Uncle Vanya at SoHo Rep in 2012 in a translation by Annie Baker, with a cast that also included Michael Shannon. He joined us in December 2021 to discuss the character in depth.
You’ll hear Reed and I talk about:
- his ideas going into Chekhov
- what he discovered and connected with about the role
- trusting the script
- challenges in the production
- and playing trapped characters
We also learn lots more about Reed in our lightning round with a couple special New York questions!
This episode marks our third installment in our Chekhov series as we focus on Reed playing the role of Uncle Vanya. If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out two most recent episodes of our Vanya workshop and Libby Appel’s Q&A. I suspect you’ll have an even deeper appreciation of and curiosity for the works of Chekhov.
This episode also concludes Season 5, which began way back in March! We’ve released a dozen episodes this year, from interviews to workshops to text work and Q&A’s. Thank you to everyone listening and I hope you’ve enjoyed this season as much as I have. I’d love to hear below if you have a favorite episode, guest, or moment. I’m also excited to share that we just passed 40K downloads and the show regularly appears in the top 100 of arts podcasts around the world!
Reed and I first spoke on the podcast back in Season 2 about his life and career. He has over 130 credits on stage and screen over the past 45 years. He is a Tony Winner for The Humans, a Tony nominee for Casa Valentina, and you can see him in the film Mass (now streaming on Hulu and elsewhere), HBO’s Succession, Apple’s Home Before Dark, and currently in theaters in The Menu with Ralph Fiennes. He also just closed a production of Chester Bailey with his son Ephraim at Irish Rep in New York. This guy just keeps working!
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This is a wonderful follow up to our Chekhov workshop from last episode with an even deeper discussion with the director!
You’ll hear Libby and I talk about what she looks for in auditions, what she expects in rehearsals, her inspirations, what things went well, what scared her, and yes, we have another lighting round!
Libby Appel is the author and translator of Five Chekhov Plays, the former Artistic Director for Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Indiana Repertory Theatre, and former Dean of Cal Arts Theatre.
It was a great honor that she gave so much of her time to both the workshop and this Q&A. Gaining insight into “the other side of the table” is always valuable and few directors have accomplished as much as Libby, so I’m sure it’ll be a fun and very informative hour for you.
Learn more about Libby @ theworkslibbyappel.com
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We have our first workshop scene NOT from Shakespeare, and there’s a great reason! From October 2021, we present a deep dive into the first half of Act 2 from Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya with director Libby Appel - who wrote the translation along with our dramaturg!
Uncle Vanya - excerpt of Act 2 * DIRECTOR: Libby Appel (Q&A) * DRAMATURG: Allison Horsley * VOICE: Ursula Meyer * PROFESSOR: Alberto Isaac (interview) * SONYA: Deidrie Henry * MARINA: Jully Lee * VANYA: Howard Leder * YELENA: Sara Mountjoy-Pepka * ASTROV: Corey Hedy
One final thing I’ll leave you with before we get to it is that Sara mentions toward the end that Libby asks such great questions, which is really the basis of any deep work, creative or otherwise. What questions do you need to be asking yourself, and as an actor, how far are you willing to push yourself to find answers?
Fantastic work after only a few weeks of rehearsals; listen in to the cast and director continue to discuss the process. Part of The Rehearsal Room series. Prefer to watch the session? Find it here on YouTube!
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script"
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The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
Geoffrey has played Dogberry twice, at very different times in his life, and finds it's a fascinating character to dissect. He first performed it as a student at Amherst College and then again at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.
You’ll hear Geoffrey and I talk about rehearsals, preconceived ideas, and discoveries. How to ground characters that seem eccentric, bizarre or over the top, and how to trust yourself and the script. He’ll talk about working on roles that people think are “funny” and dealing with any sense of obligation an actor might have to be comical.
And as some of these guests have been mentors to me and perhaps even to some of you (even by listening to these conversations), you’ll hear a defining conversation in Geoffrey’s life with a mentor about this very role. Plus, don’t miss the lighting round where you’ll learn even more about Geoffrey!
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We have another “all pro” group—all the actors in the scene are professionals, so the work has been so fun and rich! Our dramaturg Philippa said that she found it so mind-blowingly good how fully the actors and director jumped into this scene, that it’s not something she usually experiences—and I don’t think I could have said it better myself.
In the scene today, Silvius tries in vain to get an answer from Phoebe regarding her love. Rosalind chides Phoebe about her treatment of Silvius and Phoebe ends up falling in love with “Ganymede” (which is, of course, Rosalind in disguise as a man). After Rosalind departs, Phoebe convinces Silvius to bring a letter to this Ganymede, and Silvius is delighted to do so.
As You Like It - Act 3, Scene 5: “Sweet Phoebe” * DIRECTOR: Elizabeth Dennehy (listen to our interview) * DRAMATURG: Philippa Kelly * SILVIUS: James Newcomb (listen to our interview) * PHOEBE: Erika Rolfsrud * ROSALIND: Meaghan Boeing
Fantastic work in Shakespeare's As You Like It from May 2021. After only a few weeks of work, the cast and director continue to work on and discuss the process. Part of The Rehearsal Room series. Prefer to watch the session? Find it here on YouTube!
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Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script"
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Today’s guest grew up on a tiny island in the Caribbean, studied fashion and dance in New York, often felt like she never had the right background or training, and yet found success in several careers.
Veralyn Jones is an award-winning actress who has been working professionally for over 30 years across theatre, film and TV. She has worked at The Denver Center, South Coast Repertory, Mark Taper Forum, The Kirk Douglas Theatre, and internationally at LaScala Theatre in Stockholm, Sweden.
Click here for full show notes and links.
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The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
Today’s guest grew up in the Philippines, fell in love with movies as a kid, found validation through acting, pursued his master’s degree, got fired from a big break, and still has been working for over five decades!
Alberto Isaac has been working for 50+ years across theatre, TV, and film. In addition to regional theatre gigs across the country, he has enjoyed a long association with East West Players, joining them shortly after that company started, and also found success as a director and playwright there.
Click here for full show notes and links.
Become a Patron to get exclusive access and discounts.
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script"
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
Today's guest started in the theatre at a very young age, felt adrift and wasn’t exactly sure what he’d do as a young man, and ended up working for years at some of the best theatres in the country.
Jamie Newcomb has performed in over 60 Shakespeare plays and 75 other productions. He worked for 14 seasons at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, is a founding company member of Shakespeare & Company, and was an inaugural company member of The Denver Center Theatre, where he remained for 7 seasons.
Click here for full show notes and links.
Register for Acting the Role: The Macbeth's with Susan Angelo and Bo Foxworth
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The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
Marcelo shares how he approaches a voiceover audition for a video game. We look at what direction and description is initially provided and then how to use your instincts to create your own performance rather than going for an impersonation. You’ll hear the actual audition Marcelo sent in and we also get into dealing with rejection and booking jobs.
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Learn about Acting the Role: The Macbeth's with Susan Angelo and Bo Foxworth
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In their first online workshop together, learn the context, clues, and process for playing The Macbeth duo from two accomplished, professional actors! Details: WHERE: All online, via Zoom WHEN: Mondays, June 6-27, 5-7 pm PT / 8-10 pm ET HOW: Register to be an ACTOR and work on scenes and speeches or be part of […]
The post New Online Workshop, June 2022 – Acting the Role: The Macbeth’s with Susan Angelo and Bo Foxworth appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
Marcelo was born in Argentina, moved to LA at a young age, felt very lost with his career, almost quit after his first TV role, and eventually booked a job that changed his life. Plus, we get a quick look at Marcelo’s process with a voiceover audition for a video game, and you’ll hear what he sent in! It was fascinating to hear about the many ups and downs, and all the relationships, mentors, and teachers who helped him along the way. We covered a LOT of ground, so get ready for a very full ride. A lot of laughs too.
Click here for full show notes and links.
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script"
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
We’ve kicked off The Play’s the Thing with our First Folio investigation of Shakespeare’s King Lear! The great joy of these programs is that we get to: spend SO much time diving deep on a scene and characters bring together lifelong professionals with newer/younger actors cast roles while being totally open to race, gender, and […]
The post Cast Announced for KING LEAR in The Rehearsal Room – April 2022 appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
Elizabeth shares her approach to working on Shakespeare, which includes what the number of syllables can tell you, the thought igniter exercise, the first question to ask, and more. Plus we chat about the difference in performing a monologue in an audition vs a show.
Learn more about our April Shakespeare workshop with Randall Duk Kim and Annie Occhiogrosso
Macbeth's dagger speech (Act 2, Sc 1)
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation
Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw. [He draws his dagger.]
Thou marshal’st me the way that I was going,
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o’ th’ other senses
Or else worth all the rest. I see thee still,
And, on thy blade and dudgeon, gouts of blood,
Which was not so before. There’s no such thing.
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes. Now o’er the one-half world
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse
The curtained sleep. Witchcraft celebrates
Pale Hecate’s off’rings, and withered murder,
Alarumed by his sentinel, the wolf,
Whose howl’s his watch, thus with his stealthy pace,
With Tarquin’s ravishing strides, towards his design
Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,
Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
Thy very stones prate of my whereabouts
And take the present horror from the time,
Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives.
Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives. [A bell rings.]
I go, and it is done. The bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven or to hell.
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We discuss her very humble beginnings, her dad Brian Dennehy and his career struggles, deciding her family was a priority, working even more when she was pregnant, and helping other actors. Plus, we get another mini-Shakespeare class where Elizabeth dives into a piece from Macbeth! She’s been an audition coach for years, and has also helped many students with their college auditions, so you’ll definitely want to check this out!
Click here for full show notes and links.
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script"
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
In their first online workshop, these two masters of the theatre will share their lifetime exploration of Shakespeare with students of all ages! The class will be completely VIRTUAL (anyone can register) and will run on Tuesdays from April 5-26, 2022. You can sign up as an actor (open to any age, race, and gender […]
The post New Class, April 2022: The Play’s the Thing with APT co-founders/AD’s Randall Duk Kim and Annie Occhiogrosso appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
We're back for Season 5 of The Working Actor's Journey! We've got five more amazing interviews headed your way over the coming months; you'll hear:
- coming to America stories
- the realities and hardships of working in New York and LA
- and what it's like with parents who were in the biz.
Professional actors speak about feeling adrift, lack of confidence, and full blown-panic attacks. These guests have had the chance to look back and to see what's worked, what hasn't, and what to embrace about their path.
Be sure to subscribe to find out who are guests are and to hear so much more. Regular listeners may be able to identify the voices, as all of these guests have been part of our workshop series and almost all of them were totally new to me, so it was very exciting to learn all about them!
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The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
In our first ever session focusing on the work of Hannah Cowley, we have selected excerpts from TWO scenes from her popular play The Belle’s Stratagem: Act 3, Scene 1 and Act 5, Scene 5! The great joy of these programs is that we get to: spend SO much time diving deep on a scene […]
The post Cast and Creative Team Announced for THE BELLE’S STRATAGEM in The Rehearsal Room – February 2022 appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
For today’s episode, we’re bringing you the second half of the Repertory workshop featuring Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
In the fist scene: Viola (as Cesario), is on her way to see Olivia, and encounters first the Fool Feste and then Sir Toby and Sir Andrew. Olivia, meeting Cesario, sends the others away and declares her love.
Then in our second scene - Malvolio, who (according to the mischievous letter he received) is dressed with yellow stockings and is smiling grotesquely, appears before an astonished Olivia. Thinking him insane, Olivia puts him in the care of Sir Toby, who decides to treat him as a madman by having him bound and put in a dark room. Toby also decides to deliver Sir Andrew’s challenge to Cesario in person in order to force the two of them into a duel. Terrified, they prepare to fight.
Our cast includes... Act 3, Sc 1:
FESTE – Garrett Botts
VIOLA – Sara Mountjoy-Pepka
OLIVIA – Michele Schultz
SIR TOBY – Jamal Douglas
SIR ANDREW – Janet Greaves
Act 3, Sc 4:
VIOLA – Michele Schultz
OLIVIA – Sara Mountjoy-Pepka
MARIA – Erika Rolfsrud
MALVOLIO and SIR ANDREW – Janet Greaves
SIR TOBY – Jamal Douglas
FABIAN – Garrett Botts
DIRECTOR: Elizabeth Swain
DRAMATURGS: Gideon Rappaport and Philippa Kelly
VOICE COACHES: Ursula Meyer and Scott Ferrara.
Prefer to watch the session? Find it here on YouTube!
Join us for Comedy of Manners in the Rehearsal Room ONLINE with director Brendon Fox - sessions begin February 3rd!
Registration for Actors open through Sunday, January 23rd - grab your spot here. Plenty of room for virtual audience too.
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The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
For today’s episode, we’re bringing you the second half of the Repertory workshop featuring Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
The first scene includes almost everyone at Olivia’s house, some great exchanges with the Fool, and then the meeting of Olivia and Viola, who is disguised as Orsino’s servant Cesario. Then the following scene has Orsino with Viola (disguised) who expresses her love for Orsino through a story about “Cesario’s sister.”
This was actually the second presentation we did, though these two scenes come first chronologically in the play, so that’s why you’re hearing this part first. Don’t worry - you didn't miss anything.
Our cast includes... Act 1, Sc 5:
MARIA – Janet Greaves
FESTE – Sara Mountjoy-Pepka
OLIVIA – Michele Schultz
MALVOLIO – Jamal Douglas
SIR TOBY – Garrett Botts
VIOLA – Erika Rolfsrud
Act 2, Sc 4:
ORSINO – Garrett Botts
FESTE – Michele Schultz
VIOLA – Sara Mountjoy-Pepka
DIRECTOR: Brendon Fox
DRAMATURGS: Gideon Rappaport and Philippa Kelly
VOICE COACHES: Ursula Meyer and Scott Ferrara.
Prefer to watch the session? Find it here on YouTube!
Get your copy of "10 Ways to Stop Worrying and Start Working!"
See additional content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
OK, there is a lot going on with this scene, so let’s attempt to summarize! Queen Elizabeth and the Duchess of York (Richard’s mother) are grieving over their children and grandchildren. Former Queen Margaret secretly watches, and then comes forward to share they are not the only ones who’ve suffered. King Richard is passing by with his army, and the Duchess gives him a piece of her mind. Finally Richard is alone with Elizabeth and begins to talk with her about her daughter—also named Elizabeth—and the plans Richard has for her. So buckle in!
Richard III - Act 4, Scene 4: “Teach me how to curse mine enemies” * DIRECTOR: Liz Swain * DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport * MARGARET: Veralyn Jones * RICHARD: Michael Kirby * DUCHESS: Maggi Veltre * ELIZABETH: Morgan Ring
Fantastic work in Shakespeare's Richard III from May 2021. After only a few weeks of work, the cast and director continue to work on and discuss the process. Part of The Rehearsal Room series. Prefer to watch the session? Find it here on YouTube!
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In this scene, Hamlet’s friends from school, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, have just arrived and the King and Queen ask them to find out what’s going on with Hamlet. A short while later, Hamlet enter reading and is greeted by Polonius before Ros and Guil join us.
- DIRECTOR: Gigi Bermingham
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- HAMLET: Kwana Martinez
- POLONIUS: Seth David Mitchell
- ROSENCRANTZ: Max Herzfeld
- GUILDENSTERN: Danielle Reliford
Fantastic work in Shakespeare's Hamlet from May 2021. After only a few weeks of work, the cast and director continue to work on and discuss the process. Part of The Rehearsal Room series. Prefer to watch the session? Find it here on YouTube!
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Professional actor Reed Birney joined us LIVE (December 1, 2021) to discuss the character of Uncle Vanya in Chekhov’s play of the same name.
Reed played the role in a critically-acclaimed production at Soho Rep in NY in 2012, using a new translation by Annie Baker. Reed has been a working actor for 40+ years, winning the Tony Award for The Humans; he currently appears in the new film Mass, alongside Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, and Ann Dowd – written and directed by Fran Kranz.
The post Reed Birney on playing the role of Uncle Vanya from Chehov’s play – LIVE Discussion and Q&A on Facebook [Watch the Replay] appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
This is the final section of the play right to the end. As Bassanio, Gratiano, and Antonio all return home after the trial with Shylock, Portia and Nerissa decide to play one final trick on their partners. And it’s important to remember this is actually the first time Antonio—who is such close friends with Bassanio—meets Portia (as herself, not the disguised lawyer).
- DIRECTOR: Brendon Fox
- DRAMATURG: Philippa Kelly
- BASSANIO: Marcelo Tubert
- PORTIA: Amber Scales
- NERISSA: Aubrey Saverino
- ANTONIO: Ross Hellwig
- GRATIANO: Sara Mountjoy-Pepka
Fantastic work in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice from May 2021. After only a few weeks of work, the cast and director continue to work on and discuss the process. Part of The Rehearsal Room series.
Prefer to watch the session? Find it here on YouTube!
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Professional actor Geoffrey Wade joined us LIVE (October 27, 2021) to discuss the character of Dogberry in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.
Geoffrey has played the part twice, at very different times in his life, and finds it’s a fascinating character to dissect. He first performed it as a student at Amherst College and then again at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
Geoffrey trained at the Central School of Drama and has been working professionally for 30+ years across theatre, film, and TV. He is about to resume rehearsals for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in San Francisco!
Discover more with Geoffrey: * His podcast episode + His text work episode – Tom Stoppard * His workshop scenes
The post Geoffrey Wade on Dogberry (Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing) – LIVE Discussion and Q&A on Facebook [Watch the Replay] appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
A fantastic scene workshop from Shakespeare's As You Like It from April 2021. After only a few weeks of work, the cast and director continue to work on and discuss the process. Part of The Rehearsal Room series.
In this scene, we first meet Rosalind and Celia, and have only recently learned that Rosalind’s father has been banished by Celia’s father, the Duke. The two women attempt to dissuade Orlando from wrestling Charles, and Rosalind and Orlando are visibly affected by each other.
- DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade (also covering for Duke)
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- ROSALIND: Janet Greaves
- ORLANDO: Jamal Douglas
- CELIA: Whitney Wakimoto
- LE BEAU: Madeleine Person
- DUKE FREDERICK: Danny Fulkerson
Prefer to watch the session? Find it here on YouTube!
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Professional director Libby Appel joined us LIVE (September 30, 2021) for a fun Q&A and discussion about her career, theatre, and of course, Chekhov!
Libby is currently directing a section of Act 2 in her translation of Uncle Vanya for The Rehearsal Room.
She was such a fantastic guest and has so much enthusiasm for the work!
The post Discussion with Director Libby Appel – LIVE on Facebook [Watch the Replay] appeared first on The Working Actor's Journey.
A fantastic scene workshop from Shakespeare's King John from February 2021. After only a few weeks of work, the cast and director continue to work on and discuss the process. Part of The Rehearsal Room series.
This is the very opening of the play—where we learn of the conflict over the throne between England and France, and then there is a dispute between two brothers brought before the King. One of the brothers (the Bastard) resembles King John’s older brother Richard and that young man is given a choice.
- DIRECTOR: Gigi Bermingham
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- KING JOHN: Marcelo Tubert
- QUEEN ELINOR: Madeleine Person
- BASTARD: Ross Hellwig
- CHATILLON/ROBERT: Corinna Christman
Prefer to watch the session? Find it here on YouTube!
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Click here to register for our new workshop - Acting the Role: LADY MACBETH with Susan Angelo - begins October 11th! Spots for actors and audience, though space is limited.
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A fantastic scene workshop from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar from February 2021. After only a few weeks of work, the cast and director continue to work on and discuss the process. Part of The Rehearsal Room series. * DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade * DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport * BRUTUS: Peter Van Norden * CASSIUS: Elizabeth Dennehy * CASCA: Howard Leder
Prefer to watch the session? Find it here on YouTube!
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Click here to grab an audience spot for our upcoming CHEKHOV session in The Rehearsal Room with director Libby Appel - begins September 13th!
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A fantastic workshop of two scenes from Shakespeare's As You Like It. Enjoy the scene after only a few weeks of work and then the cast and director discuss the process! * DIRECTOR: Elizabeth Swain * ROSALIND: Aubrey Saverino * CELIA: Meaghan Boeing
Prefer to watch the session? Find it here on YouTube!
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Click here to grab an audience spot for our upcoming CHEKHOV session in The Rehearsal Room with director Libby Appel!
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A fantastic workshop of the lover's quarrel from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Enjoy the scene after a month of work and then the cast, director, and dramaturg discuss the process!
- DIRECTOR: James Newcomb
- DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
- HELENA: Anne Gee Byrd
- HERMIA: Maggi Veltre
- DEMETRIUS: Michael Kirby
- LYSANDER: Garrett Botts
Prefer to watch the session? Find it here on YouTube!
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Click here to grab an audience spot for our upcoming CHEKHOV session in The Rehearsal Room with director Libby Appel!
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A fantastic workshop of two scenes from Shakespeare's King Lear, featuring Tony Amendola as Lear (he played the part @ Utah Shakes) and Elizabeth Dennehy (yup, Brian's daughter!) as Goneril in Act 1, scene 4 (Lear curses) and Act 2, scene 4 (Lear is broken down). * Director: Geoffrey Wade * Dramaturg: Gideon Rappaport * Lear: Tony Amendola * Goneril: Elizabeth Dennehy * Regan: Maggi Veltre
Prefer to watch the session? Find it here on YouTube!
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Click here to grab an audience spot for our upcoming CHEKHOV session with director Libby Appel!
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It's our very first workshop presentation—from June 2020, featuring Tony Amendola as Richard and Anne Gee Byrd as Margaret in Act 1, scene 1 ("Now is the winter...") and Act 4, scene 4 (curses everywhere)!
This is where our virtual workshops all began, and the work is still fantastic. Don't miss it and our wonderful additional artists:
- Directors: Geoffrey Wade and Gigi Bermingham
- Dramaturg: Gideon Rappaport
- Clarence: Geoffrey Wade
- Brackenbury: Russell Clements
- Duchess: Kandace Crystal
- Elizabeth: Ashley Engelman
Prefer to watch the session? Find it here on YouTube!
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Today I'm excited to share a "vocal clinic" we did as part of The Rehearsal Room with certified Fitzmaurice Voicework teacher, Scott Ferrara!
This is something very new to me, so I was excited to learn directly from a teacher, and as you hear, this work can be very different (and still quite beneficial) to the "traditional" voice warm-ups you may know. There are also many personal applications to this voicework beyond acting—something you can carry into many areas of your life!
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We have another special episode today from the vault of scene presentations! From our October 2020 workshop, it's the final evening of "Will you walk in, my lord?" from Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida.
And if you enjoy this, know that registration is now OPEN for our next workshop series in April 2021! Plus, save 20% with our Early BARD discount through Sunday, March 21st.
Learn more and join The Rehearsal Room now!
Troilus and Cressida - Act 3, Scene 2 * DIRECTOR: James Newcomb * DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport * TROILUS: Ross Hellwig * CRESSIDA: Sapna Kumar * PANDARUS: Marcelo Tubert
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Today we have a great discussion with another often overlooked role in the theatre: the voice coach! Similar to a dramaturg, one of the primary roles of this coach and teacher is to help make the text clear—that means both in how you deliver the words and also taking care of your instrument!
Ursula Meyer is currently the head of graduate acting at UCSD. She has had the privilege of studying voice with Cicily Berry, Patsy Rodenburg, Andrew Wade, Arthur Lessac and is a designated Linklater teacher. She graduated with distinction from the Advanced Voice Studies Program at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London under David Carey.
Get your FREE ticket to our final scene presentations Featuring professional actors, directors, and coaches!
February 8-12 - reserve your ticket now!
Monday: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Wednesday: Julius Caesar
Thursday: King John
Friday: As You Like It
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Today I answer many of your questions about The Working Actor's Shakespeare virtual workshops; our next round happens Jan 18 - Feb 12, 2021, so this is the FINAL WEEK to register! I'll cover what to know, including experience, schedule, unlimited pass, union status, scholarships, and more!
Grab your spot now » https://workingactorsjourney.com/virtual-workshops
Deadline for ACTORS to register is TODAY, January 12th at 11:59 pm PST. There are only 3 spots left, with Mondays sold out!
Everything else (coaching, audience, drop-in) closes on Sunday, January 17th at 11:59 pm PST.
Learn more and join The Working Actor's Shakespeare now!
And even more:
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Please enjoy this special episode from our vault! From August 2020, we're releasing the final workshop presentation of "Clarence's Dream and Murder" from Richard III. We're doing this for a couple reasons: 1) it's such fantastic work and I'm sure you'll learn something, and 2) registration is now OPEN for our next workshop in January 2021!
Learn more and join The Working Actor's Shakespeare now!
Richard III - Act 1, Scene 4 * DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade * DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport * CLARENCE: Peter Van Norden * 1ST MURDERER: Aubrey Saverino * 2ND MURDERER: Daniel Cordova
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BEN WHITEHAIR RETURNS for a great discussion!
I am thrilled to welcome Ben back to the show—we did this Q&A as part of the October virtual workshops.
We chat about the pandemic, social media trends, SAG-AFTRA, and more!
Ben (@benwhitehair, who appeared on ep. 11) is the co-founder of Working.Actor, co-founder of The Social Media Advantage (TSMA), and Chair of the SAG-AFTRA NextGen Performers Committee.
As you’ll hear, Ben is BUSY, so I’m deeply grateful he found some time to squeeze this chat between all his other virtual meetings, self-tapes, and work!
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Today we have a great discussion with an often overlooked role in the theatre: the dramaturg!
And if you're wondering exactly what that person does, you're in the right place!
Gideon Rappaport is San Diego’s premiere Shakespearean dramaturg and is the author of the forthcoming book A Shakespeare Companion for Students. For the October workshops, he's collaborating with the casts on two scenes, from Troilus and Cressida and King Lear.
Purchase tickets to the final scene presentations Only $5 for each evening!
Tuesday, October 27th @ 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET: Tickets for TROILUS AND CRESSIDA
Wednesday, October 28th @ 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET: Tickets for KING LEAR
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We're doing the virtual Shakespeare workshops again in October! Plus, hear an excerpt from the rehearsals of Richard III!
The future of Shakespeare scene study is here: we’re running a 4-week accelerated online workshop with professional actors and directors from theatre, TV, and film!
Join the ONLY Shakespeare Scene Study where professionals and lifelong veterans of the industry are your scene partners! Be an actor in the scenes OR sit in on everything! All through Zoom.
There’s early bird pricing now through September 25th and we’ve added SO MUCH more to this round!
Learn more about the workshops!
Get Anna's self-tape course "What's My Frame?" for 20% off with code WAJ at checkout: workingactorsjourney.com/whatsmyframe
Get a FREE Shakespeare monologue consult with coach Aubrey Saverino—just mention the WAJ podcast: aubreysaverino.com/private-coaching
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What if your scene partner were a professional actor? How might that up your game and what might you learn from someone who has been working for decades?
Now you can make that happen! We’re opening up registration on Wednesday, July 22nd at 12 pm Pacific Time for a series of virtual Shakespeare Workshops to happen in August 2020.
Learn more about the workshops!
Our roster of professional actors include guests from the show Robert Pine, Tony Amendola, Anne Gee Byrd, and Peter Van Norden, along with other industry veterans James Newcomb, Elizabeth Dennehy, and Marcelo Tubert.
https://workingactorsjourney.com/virtual-workshops
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You're invited to sit in on a NEW online event happening LIVE on Thursday, June 18th: we’re doing an open workshop of Shakespeare’s Richard III, bringing together both veteran and rookie actors!
There's limited space, so register for the workshop today: workingactorsjourney.com/virtualworkshop
First up are a couple of scenes from Shakespeare's Richard III with Tony Amendola (Utah Shakespeare, Berkeley Rep) as Richard, Marcelo Tubert as Clarence, and Anne Gee Byrd as Queen Margaret. We'll also be joined by a trio of younger actors (playing Brackenbury, Elizabeth, and the Duchess), along with dramaturg and teacher Gideon Rappaport!
Now two important things to note:
- The workshop will NOT be recorded or replayed—you must be there live!
- A portion of the proceeds will go to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
Get your tickets now! workingactorsjourney.com/virtualworkshop
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Today you’ll hear the FULL production from our recent LIVESTREAM reading of Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor (more info and watch the show here).
It’s an all-star cast of past guests from the podcast, including Harry Groener, Dawn Didawick, Peter Van Norden, Anne Gee Byrd, Tony Amendola and many more!
For this "Merry Wives" episode, you’ll hear our introduction to the play, a great section from our dramaturg Gideon Rappaport, and then the full show, including both our intermission and post-show discussions!
The Merry Wives of Windsor Cast: * SIR JOHN FALSTAFF (a rogue with no money but many plans) - Peter Van Norden * MASTER FORD (gentleman of Windsor) - Harry Groener * MISTRESS FORD (Ford's wife) - Dawn Didawick * MASTER PAGE (wealthy gentleman) - Tony Amendola * MISTRESS PAGE (Page's wife) - Anne Gee Byrd * DR. CAIUS (French physician) / NYM (Falstaff's follower) - Geoffrey Wade * MISTRESS QUICKLY (Dr. Caius' housekeeper) - Amelia White * SIR HUGH EVANS (Welsh parson and schoolmaster) - Marcelo Tubert * FENTON (a young gentleman) - Ross Hellwig * HOST OF THE GARTER INN (Innkeeper) - Robert Pine * ROBERT SHALLOW (Justice of the Peace) - Alan Mandell * ABRAHAM SLENDER (Shallow's rich nephew) / WILLIAM (Page's son) - Rob Crisell * PISTOL (Falstaff's follower) - Aubrey Saverino * SIMPLE (Slender's servant) / ROBIN (Falstaff's servant) - Susan Benninghoff * BARDOLPH (Falstaff's follower) / RUGBY (Caius' servant) /1ST SERVANT (Ford's) / SWING - Kevin Manley * ANNE (Page's daughter) /2ND SERVANT (Ford's) /SWING - Ashley Engelman
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Things went very well with our first reading, so welcome to the "Much Ado About Something" series, as we all do our part to fight this pandemic and stay entertained at the same time.
Next up is our online reading of William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor with an all-star cast of past guests from this podcast. This is a wonderfully underrated comedy, with lots of great characters!
The broadcast will be May 14th at 3 pm Pacific / 6 pm Eastern, and yes, you can WATCH all of this too.
Head over here to get all the details and to set a reminder for when we go live!
Now once again, we have an incredible cast, all with very deep theatre backgrounds, including 3x Tony Nominee and 3x Ovation winner Harry Groener as Master Ford, Dawn Didawick (Harry’s real-life wife) as Mistress Ford, Peter Van Norden as Sir John Falstaff, Tony Amendola as Master Page, and Anne Gee Byrd as Mistress Page, with Geoffrey Wade, Alan Mandell, and Robert Pine returning, and we have new additions to the show with Amelia White and Marcelo Tubert, plus a number of other great actors!
More info: https://workingactorsjourney.com/merrywives/
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Today you’ll hear some excerpted scenes from our recent LIVESTREAM reading of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing (more info and watch the show here).
It’s an all-star cast of past guests from the podcast, including Dakin Matthews, Robert Pine, Geoffrey Wade, Anne Gee Byrd, Alan Mandell and many more!
And if you enjoy this, we're doing another LIVE reading you can WATCH on May 14th at 3 pm PT - our next show is Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor with past guests Harry Groener, Dawn Didawick, Peter Van Norden and lots more!
More info on the upcoming "Merry Wives" show: https://workingactorsjourney.com/merrywives
Much Ado About Nothing Cast: * LEONATO (governor of Messina): Dakin Matthews * ANTONIO (Leonato's brother): Alan Mandell * BEATRICE (Leonato's orphaned niece): Gigi Bermingham * HERO (Leonato's daughter)/SEXTON (town clerk): Aubrey Saverino * DON PEDRO (Prince of Aragon): Peter Van Norden * BENEDICK (a soldier): Geoffrey Wade * CLAUDIO (a young Count): Ross Hellwig * DON JOHN (illegitimate brother of Don Pedro): Tony Amendola * BORACHIO (Don John's follower): Ray Porter * FRIAR FRANCIS/BALTHASAR (attendant of Don Pedro): Armin Shimerman * MARGARET (Hero's waiting woman)/CONRADE (Don John's follower): Jeanne Sakata * DOGBERRY (the Constable): Robert Pine * URSULA (Hero's waiting woman)/VERGES (Dogberry's partner): Anne Gee Byrd * MESSENGER/1ST WATCH/SWING - Rob Crisell * 2ND WATCH/SWING - Susan Benninghoff
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In these times of much ado about SOMETHING, you're invited to an online Shakespeare reading of Much Ado About Nothing with an all-star cast of past podcast guests!
The broadcast will be April 2nd at 3 pm Pacific / 6 pm Eastern, and yes, you can WATCH all of this too.
Head over here to get all the details and to set a reminder for when we go live!
We have an incredible cast, all with very deep theatre backgrounds and many of whom have spent their lives working on Shakespeare—including our past guests Dakin Matthews, Armin Shimerman, Ray Porter, Peter Van Norden, Robert Pine, Alan Mandell, Anne Gee Byrd, Gigi Bermingham, Geoffrey Wade, Tony Amendola, and Jeanne Sakata!
More info: https://workingactorsjourney.com/muchado/
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In this episode, Randall and Annie share insights into working on Shakespeare through the appropriately chosen piece, Hamlet’s "Advice to the Players"—the one that begins “Speak the speech I pray you”. You'll hear Randall and Annie discuss:
- Some of the most important advice that actors can take from Hamlet’s words
- How an actor can use and develop his or her own “discretion”
- How to look at Shakespeare’s First Folio, and how to play with it to find all the clues
Plus we chat about why “updated” productions of Shakespeare can make the audience feel distant, and instead, how to make it exciting!
This is such a great session and it was so fun to hear them share how the texts are really like musical scores for actors—showing you how to make sense of these works and perform them! These two are amazing teachers and have so much to share!
Click here for full show notes and links.
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Randall's monologue from Hamlet by Shakespeare - the "Advice to the Players" (from the First Folio) Speake the Speech I pray you, as I pronounc'd
it to you trippingly on the Tongue: But if you mouth it,
as many of your Players do, I had as liue the Town-Cryer
had spoke my Lines: Nor do not saw the Ayre too much
your hand thus, but vse all gently; for in the verie Tor-
rent, Tempest, and (as I may say) the Whirle-winde of
Passion, you must acquire and beget a Temperance that
may giue it Smoothnesse. O it offends mee to the Soule,
to see a robustious Pery-wig-pated Fellow, teare a Passi-
on to tatters, to verie ragges, to split the eares of the
Groundlings: who (for the most part) are capeable of
nothing, but inexplicable dumbe shewes, & noise: I could
haue such a Fellow whipt for o're-doing Termagant: it
out- Herod's Herod. Pray you auoid it.
Be not too tame neyther: but let your owne
Discretion be your Tutor. Sute the Action to the Word,
the Word to the Action, with this speciall obseruance:
That you ore-stop not the modestie of Nature; for any
thing so ouer-done, is frõ the purpose of Playing, whose
end both at the first and now, was and is, to hold as 'twer
the Mirrour vp to Nature; to shew Vertue her owne
Feature, Scorne her owne Image, and the verie Age and
Bodie of the Time, his forme and pressure. Now, this
ouer-done, or come tardie off, though it make the vnskil-
full laugh, cannot but make the Iudicious greeue; The
censure of the which One, must in your allowance o're-
way a whole Theater of Others. Oh, there bee Players
that I haue seene Play, and heard others praise, and that
highly (not to speake it prophanely) that neyther hauing
the accent of Christians, nor the gate of Christian, Pagan,
or Norman, haue so strutted and bellowed, that I haue
thought some of Natures Iouerney-men had made men,
and not made them well, they imitated Humanity so ab-
hominably.
It's a special one today—a double-bill! Randall Duk Kim and his lifelong professional partner—and wife—Annie Occhiogrosso are one of the great teams of the American theatre. They have worked together their entire professional lives and are dedicated to the classics, and in particular, to the works of William Shakespeare. They, along with their partner Charles Bright, founded American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin, where Randall and Annie were co-Artistic Directors. Randall has worked as an actor for 50+ years, playing dozens of leading roles all over the country at major theatres. Annie has worked as an actress, director, dramaturg, and teacher. Just a bit of what we cover in this episode with Randall and Annie:
- Not seeing race as any kind of barrier in theatre
- Moving to New York and submitting to every Shakespeare festival
- Why Annie initially despised Randall over his casting in a play
- The ideas and misconceptions behind "classical" and "method" acting
- Starting their own theatre to work on Shakespeare’s First Folio
- How Randall, a lifelong classical actor, ended up in The Matrix
And so much more! Plus, we get another mini-Shakespeare master class: Randall and Annie dive into Hamlet’s advice to the Players and share so many wonderful tips and tools!
Click here for full show notes and links.
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Hamlet by William Shakespeare HAMLET (First Folio version)
Speake the Speech I pray you, as I pronounc'd
it to you trippingly on the Tongue: But if you mouth it,
as many of your Players do, I had as liue the Town-Cryer
had spoke my Lines: Nor do not saw the Ayre too much
your hand thus, but vse all gently; for in the verie Tor-
rent, Tempest, and (as I may say) the Whirle-winde of
Passion, you must acquire and beget a Temperance that
may giue it Smoothnesse. O it offends mee to the Soule,
to see a robustious Pery-wig-pated Fellow, teare a Passi-
on to tatters, to verie ragges, to split the eares of the
Groundlings: who (for the most part) are capeable of
nothing, but inexplicable dumbe shewes, & noise: I could
haue such a Fellow whipt for o're-doing Termagant: it
out- Herod's Herod. Pray you auoid it.
Be not too tame neyther: but let your owne
Discretion be your Tutor. Sute the Action to the Word,
the Word to the Action, with this speciall obseruance:
That you ore-stop not the modestie of Nature; for any
thing so ouer-done, is frõ the purpose of Playing, whose
end both at the first and now, was and is, to hold as 'twer
the Mirrour vp to Nature; to shew Vertue her owne
Feature, Scorne her owne Image, and the verie Age and
Bodie of the Time, his forme and pressure. Now, this
ouer-done, or come tardie off, though it make the vnskil-
full laugh, cannot but make the Iudicious greeue; The
censure of the which One, must in your allowance o're-
way a whole Theater of Others. Oh, there bee Players
that I haue seene Play, and heard others praise, and that
highly (not to speake it prophanely) that neyther hauing
the accent of Christians, nor the gate of Christian, Pagan,
or Norman, haue so strutted and bellowed, that I haue
thought some of Natures Iouerney-men had made men,
and not made them well, they imitated Humanity so ab-
hominably.
Mike Moreno hosts The Actor CEO Podcast (available on Apple, Stitcher, etc) and he dives into the knowledge and skills that allow actors and artists to embrace their creative entrepreneur spirit, along with the reality that you both run and own your own business from the moment you choose to be a professional.
Its focus is to help you learn the skills that make a more successful actor by taking control of yourself as a brilliant, creative business and becoming a rockstar CEO of that business. Join Mike in becoming an Actor CEO!
Actor CEO has over 100 episodes and Mike has talked with teachers, industry pros, and actors of various levels, and has covered so many different topics, including actor finances, marketing, social media, auditions, voice over, and so much more!
The show is very well-reviewed and often in the top 200 of all Performing Arts podcasts in the US. Many of you may already be listeners and fans, but if not—get on that!
Many of you may already be listeners and fans, but if not—get on that!
Just a bit of what we cover:
- Where is Mike in his journey?
- The difference he's seen in performers between NY and LA
- What Mike has learned from doing his podcast
- Why it's crucial to create great self-tape auditions!
- The two things that if actors do will put them miles ahead
- What you can learn from Will Smith and The Rock when it comes to performing
I hope you enjoy this conversation—I’d love to hear what you think about this kind of episode, if it’s helpful, and if you’d like to hear more like it. Reach out to me on Twitter @wajpodcast, or if you prefer, you can send an email here.
Click here for full show notes and links.
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L. Scott Caldwell, or “Scotty” as she is also known, has been a working actress for 40+ years, from Chicago to New York to LA, and many other places! In fact, right after we chatted, she was off to shoot episodes of Facebook’s Sacred Lies, ABC’s A Million Little Things, and HBO’s Insecure. She stays busy! Scotty has over 100 onscreen credits, including recurring characters on Lost, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Southland, Queens Supreme, and PBS’ Original Series Mercy Street.
Just a bit of what we cover in this episode with Scotty:
- Her experience and awareness of the Civil Rights Movement in Chicago
- Working on the play A Raisin in the Sun several times
- The impact of watching very strong women on film
- The personal rejection she experienced being fired and the breakdown she had
- What she took from studying with Uta Hagen, and the one item she uses consistently
Scotty and I ended up talking mostly about her early years, leading up to her first film role, and it’s such a fascinating journey, filled with excitement, doubt, challenges, and rewards.
Click here for full show notes and links.
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In this episode, Simon shares how he worked on a couple of different audiobook projects: first, dealing with a practically unreadable chapter in Alan Moore’s Jerusalem and then, a bit on The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth.
You'll hear Simon discuss:
- The research and immense work that went into the audiobook of Jerusalem
- How he made sense of unusual spellings, and dialogue without punctuation in The Wake
- And what he believes is good narration
Plus we chat about building confidence, and how to approach audiobook projects you may not enjoy.
It's a great session, and it was really wonderful to hear Simon’s process of both experiencing anxiety and putting in so much effort to make sure he does the book justice for both the author and the audience.
Click here for full show notes and links.
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The beginning of "Around the Bend"—the "unreadable chapter" in Alan Moore's Jerusalem Awake, Lucia gets up wi’ the wry sing of de light. She is a puzzle, shore enearth, as all the Nurzis and the D’actors would afform, but nibber a cross word these days, deepindig on her mendication and on every workin’ grimpill’s progress. Her arouse from drowse is like a Spring, a babboling book that gorgles up amist the soils o’ sleep, flishing and glattering, to mate the mournin’ son. Canfind in this loquation now she gushes and runs chinkling from her silt and softy bed, pooring her harp out down an illside and aweigh cross the old manscape to a modhouse brookfast. Ah, what a performance, practised and applausible. She claps her hands, over her ears, to drone out all the deadful wile-ing and the sorey implecations of whor farmlay. With her bunyans all complainin’ she escapes the Settee o’ Destraction and beguines her evrydaily Millgrimage towar’s ridemption or towords the Wholly Sea; to wards, the tranquilisity of night.
Simon Vance (@SimVan) has narrated over 1000 audiobooks in his career, with such a diverse range of works, from George R.R. Martin and Steig Larsson’s Millennium series (which we discuss), to Brent Weeks and Charles Dickens! He’s also focused on getting back in front of the camera as an actor, which we talk about at length because of how much success he’s had in audiobooks, and he still wants to explore new territory!
Just a bit of what we cover in this episode with Simon:
- What he initially studied at University that didn't work out
- All the twists and turns and decisions that led him to a job at the BBC
- The weekend workshop that really opened his eyes to being an artist
- The struggles he faced as an actor when first moving to California
- Being nervous before starting to record an audiobook
- His new challenge of getting better as an on-screen actor in film and TV—and so much more!
Simon is wonderfully open about the lack of clarity in his early years, the not knowing, and the challenging relationships. While it hasn’t always been easy, he also has some fantastic ideas and insights on what has worked for him along the way!
Plus, Simon even shares how he worked on a practically unreadable chapter in Alan Moore’s Jerusalem, so don’t miss that!
Click here for full show notes and links.
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In this episode, Jeanne discusses a monologue she worked on from the TV show Threat Matrix. She plays a Cambodian woman who recounts her experiences of escaping the Khmer Rouge. I’ve visited Cambodia and seen first-hand some of the atrocities that happened there—just horrific, as we talk about.
You’ll hear Jeanne discuss:
- how a book she had read two years earlier helped her initially with the audition and then again, once she booked the part
- how she ended up finding a sense of ease with the text
the challenges of learning a Cambodian dialect, and how she - felt insecure about it
Plus, we talk about working on monologues that are stories set in the past vs. things that are happening right now!
It's a great session, and it was really wonderful to hear Jeanne’s process of connecting to this material.
Click here for full show notes and links.
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Jeanne's monologue (as Dara) from Threat Matrix DARA
The stream bed, it was dry season
But the rocks still slippery
Uncle Sam help me, carry my baby
He say he have baby boy long time ago in the States
[AGENT FRANKIE: Did he talk about his boy, did he say his name?]
No, but he say worse pain in world
is losing family
[AGENT FRANKIE: How long did you walk?]
At least three hours, then no more
But Uncle Sam, he move quickly like he see in dark
Then he stop us at pool of water near big boulder
Uncle Sam say, many mines in jungle on side
Only way through water
Water deep, cold
Sam carry my baby high
On other side, we see small house
He had name for it.
Jeanne Sakata has had a 30+ year career spanning theater, film, television, and voiceover. She was in two different stage productions this past year, both with notable companies, jumping from Shakespeare to new plays: appearing in Othello at A Noise Within in Pasadena, CA and in Do You Feel Anger? at the Vineyard Theatre in NY.
For her first play, Jeanne wrote the celebrated and award-winning solo show Hold These Truths, based on the life of Gordon Hirabayashi, a Japanese-American student at the University of Washington who challenged the American Government during World War II.
Just a bit of what we cover in this episode with Jeanne:
- Growing up on a lettuce farm right near the railroad tracks
- Thinking she would be a journalist and majoring in English at UCLA
- How acting and therapy both came into her life at the same time
- How the Spanish language opened her eyes to working on Shakespeare
- Her deep need to tell Gordon’s story based on her own family’s history
- How her marriage and relationship has lasted over 40 years—and so much more!
Jeanne even shares how she worked on a monologue with a Cambodian accent for a TV show, so don’t miss that!
She has such a great attitude toward celebrating your successes, allowing for flow, and being open to multiple approaches!
Click here for full show notes and links.
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Audrey Moore hosts the wonderfully-named podcast Audrey Helps Actors (available on Apple, Stitcher, Google Play, etc), and it's exactly what it sounds like!
Every episode Audrey invites someone from the business to chat about everything from advice for auditions and getting a new agent, to the nitty gritty of exploring different theatrical markets and information about how you can better use your union.
The show is regularly in the Top 100 of ALL Performing Arts podcasts in several countries; it's often been in the Top 25 and as of publishing, the show is in the Top 50 for Performing Arts in the US—pretty amazing! And she's not even releasing episodes right now—that's how popular the show is!
Many of you may already be listeners and fans, but if not—get on that!
Just a bit of what we cover:
- Where the idea for the podcast started and looking at what had existed
- Why Audrey was doing so well in auditions, but wasn't booking
- How to find the problem you actually need to solve in your career
- Audrey's own journey with horrible self-tapes
- How to manage your time and energy with various opportunities
I hope you enjoy this conversation—I’d love to hear what you think about this kind of episode, if it’s helpful, and if you’d like to hear more like it. Reach out to me on Twitter @wajpodcast, or if you prefer, you can send an email here.
Click here for full show notes and links.
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See additional content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
In this excerpt, Richard discusses one of Leontes’ speeches in The Winter’s Tale by Shakespeare—it’s in the first act where he has his suspicions about his wife and his best friend having an affair. Leontes is speaking with his trusted advisor Camillo, who cannot bear to hear these accusations and Leontes responds “Is whispering nothing?” and goes from there.
You’ll hear Richard discuss:
- how Shakespeare drops you into this without any backstory
- the questions you want to ask yourself with words that repeat
- and that if you even explore the sounds of the speeches, they can give you clues too!
It's a great session, and it was a lot of fun to hear Richard’s insights on the character and all the possibilities that lay before you with a text like this!
Click here for full show notes and links.
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The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare LEONTES, KING OF SICILIA
[finishes the shared line with Camillo] Is whispering nothing?
Is leaning cheek to cheek? Is meeting noses?
Kissing with inside lip? Stopping the career
Of laughter with a sigh (a note infallible
Of breaking honesty)? Horsing foot on foot?
Skulking in corners? Wishing clocks more swift?
Hours, minutes? Noon, midnight? And all eyes
Blind with the pin and web but theirs, theirs only,
That would unseen be wicked? Is this nothing?
Why then the world and all that’s in’t is nothing,
The covering sky is nothing, Bohemia nothing,
My wife is nothing, nor nothing have these nothings,
If this be nothing.
Richard Riehle (pronounced "Really!"), has hada nearly 50-year career, he’s still going!
With 400+ onscreen credits to his name, plus years and years of regional theatre, he is truly a working actor! You’ve probably seen Richard in dozens of things, with very memorable parts in the films Glory, The Fugitive, Office Space, and Casino, as well as appearances on Modern Family, Grounded for Life, and Black-ish. And of course, that doesn’t even touch on the decades of regional theatre Richard did before he even started working on-camera!
Just a bit of what we cover in this episode:
- How he was open to whatever possibilities came along, literally saying things like “Yeah, I guess I can do that”
- How he saw being an actor as a job—it was what he did to put money on the table
- How people can really depend and rely on him
- How he does the audition and then walks away
- Why it sometimes feels like he's starting all over
- Why certain projects (that he was excited about) didn’t end up working out
Richard even shares how he works on Shakespeare, with a speech from The Winter’s Tale, so don’t miss that!
Click here for full show notes and links.
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Coming up in the next round of interviews, actors that continue to work in all different mediums:
- a Tony winner with plenty of on-screen work
- an actor/playwright who has worked around the country
- a Shakespeare actor who ran his own theatre and appears in several big movies
- an actor with over 400 tv/film credits (plus years of theatre)
- and a voice you’ve probably heard reading books to you!
Now the credits of the guests I just shared are outstanding, and still—each of these actors has had ups and downs, highlights and frustrations. What we’re getting at are the actual and real paths of artists and creatives. These guests have been around, they’ve kept working, and they’ve figured out some things along the way.
There are still challenges, it’s not all “easy” at this point—but they’ve learned what they need to do to keep going, the mental game of being an actor long-term, and how to do the work at a professional level. And what you’ll hear is that there is not only one way to do this—you’ll hear lots of perspectives and approaches, so take what resonates for you!
These guests can be mentors for you, they can be your personal Board of Directors, guiding you, inspiring you, and leading you forward!
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Arye Gross (@thataryegross) is an actor with 40+ years in the business who always gives a memorable performance, wherever he pops up. He was absolutely one of the inspirations for this podcast. It's a personal episode too—as Arye has been a friend, mentor, and teacher to me over the years.
Don't miss our actor marketing advice » Click here for full show notes and links.
Arye has had a pretty amazing career. He’s got over 120 credits on IMDb and that doesn’t even account for the MULTIPLE recurring guest roles he’s had on shows like Diagnosis Murder, The Practice, Wildfire, The Riches, and as Dr. Sidney Perlmutter on Castle.
He’s also absolutely one of those “hey, it’s that guy” guys—he’s popped up in so many different things on screen over the years, from Just One of the Guys and Soul Man to Friends and Grey Gardens and a hundred other things—even if you didn’t know his name, you knew his face. I mean, he’s in the actual book called “Hey, It’s That Guy,” so , you know, it’s official. Though I have a feeling, after today's episode, you'll know who he is from now on!
Just a bit of what we cover in this episode:
- Building props that he's used onstage
- Being re-cast as the narrator of The Wonder Years
- Upstaging Dan Aykroyd with strawberries
- Neuroscience, empathy, and authenticity
- Being embraced and rejected by the audience
- Getting fired multiple times from the same show
- What Arye still loves about acting
Plus a whole lot more!
Get your copy of "12 Top Acting Tips from Season One"
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Alan Mandell (in his 90s and still working!)is an actor and director, and he's also been a general manager of multiple theatres. He’s considered one of the leading interpreters of Samuel Beckett’s work, and he even collaborated directly with the playwright several times!
It was really fascinating to hear all about Alan’s career—his story is a combination of being in the right place at the right time, and being willing to do whatever it took to make theatre happen, which is such a great attitude!
Just a bit of what we cover in this episode:
- Growing up in Canada during the Depression
- Doing radio drama and theatre in Toronto
- How he got involved with The Actor's Workshop through volunteer office work
- His initial reaction and confusion when he first read Waiting for Godot
- Teaching acting classes and helping out with the San Quentin Drama Workshop
- Being involved in the early days of Hedwig and the Angry Inch
- What success has meant to him and mentoring young actors in the theatre
Plus a whole lot more, and Alan also shares some direct acting notes from Samuel Beckett himself on Waiting for Godot, so don’t miss that!
Click here for full show notes and links.
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In this excerpt, Tony Amendola (@tmamendola) from Ep #18 discusses Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare.
As Tony shares, it’s almost like an "anti-love" sonnet, that it makes fun of sonnets that are too flowery, as it has a very different tone and style with its message.
You’ll hear Tony discuss:
- how he approaches a pieces of text like this
- how he might set the scene in his mind when doing this
- why he loves this sonnet in particular
It's a great session, and Tony also shares at length the balance you want to find between ideas and behavior when working on texts like this!
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Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Tony Amendola (@tmamendola) was an associate artist, actor and director at the Berkeley Rep Theater for ten years. Regional theatre work includes the Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Rep, ACT, the Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Williamstown Theater, CenterStage and the Oregon, California and Utah Shakespeare Festivals.
He has 120+ credits on film/TV, including as a series regular on Continuum, and recurring work on Stargate SG-1 and Once Upon a Time as Pinocchio’s father Geppetto. He’s appeared as the title character in Uncle Vanya and King Lear, as King Henry in Lion in Winter, and as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice.
Voiceover work includes video games World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy 15, and Call of Duty, and as the narrator of The Land Before Time XIV.
Just a bit of what we cover in this episode:
- Getting nervous about auditions and loving it
- Being petrified over a particular role, and having no faith in himself to do it
- His first TV job in LA and how the director helped him through it
- What he learned coming back to Merchant of Venice, 25 years later, as an actor
- Tony's daily routine of body, mind, and spirit
- Advice he would give to smart, driven students of acting
- Surrounding yourself with people you respect
- One of his favorite failure stories, and how it led him to LA
Plus a whole lot more, and Tony also lets us in on how he works through Shakespeare’s sonnet #130!
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Kristine Oller guides successful creative professionals through the process of designing and aligning the next chapter of their lives and careers – always with an eye towards helping them expand their brilliance and increase their resilience.
She is here to discuss a rather tricky topic for creatives: having enough money to really pursue your career. Sure you can get that stereotypical job waiting tables, but is that really going to fuel you, or stress you out more? What would it look like to have a truly amazing side business that gave you the resources you need (and more) to fully pursue your dream, and to lose the desperation of needing to book a role to make rent?
And Kristine was in this exact position: working jobs that drained her, and she found something else that helped her thrive.
Yes, she does have a course (link below), but this is not an hour-long sales pitch; we don't even mention the course! This is a fun and important conversation about how to sustain yourself as a creative until you get your next break, and the one after that and the one after that!
Just a bit of what we DO cover:
- Her journey as an actor and beyond
- Finding her first side biz and pursuing it
- How that gig made her a better actor at auditions
- Stories that artists tell themselves that keep them AWAY from cash
- Why it's unhealthy to hear stories of being down to your last dime before your "big break"
I hope you enjoy this conversation and this experiment—I’d love to hear what you think about this kind of episode, if it’s helpful, and if you’d like to hear more like it. Reach out to me on Twitter @theworkngactors, or if you prefer, you can send an email here.
Learn more about Kristine's course Cashflow for Creatives. Code JOURNEY for a special discount!
Click here for full show notes and links.
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Robert Goldsby started out acting during World War II, in a touring production for the troops in the Philippines. He earned a B.A. in French and Comparative Literature from Columbia and, along with directing studies, an M.F.A. in Acting from Yale. He was an actor, resident stage director and conservatory director of San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre, running the first Training Congress.
For 30 years, he was professor of acting, dramatic literature and directing at the University of California at Berkeley, and he ultimately served as chair of this department. Robert was a founding director of the Berkeley Stage Company, which introduced many new plays and playwrights to America.
When he relocated to Los Angeles, he worked at many of the the major university and professional theatres of the region. He has translated works by Sardou, Molière, and Feydeau. Of the 150+ productions he directed, there were 11 plays by Molière, 46 classical plays from Aristophanes to Shakespeare to Giraudoux, and 98 plays from the modern repertory from Ibsen to Innaurato.
As both director and scholar, Robert has been particularly devoted to Molière. He published a book from his lifetime of experience and research, titled: Molière On Stage: What’s So Funny?
Just a bit of what we cover in this episode:
- Working with Walter Matthau and getting pinched by him
- The importance of studying both Literature and Performance
- Why directors need to really understand the text
- His introduction to the very alive work of Molière
- Creating the curriculum for the ACT program, which is still used
- Why plays were so thrilling when he was teaching
- What student actors had that professionals did not
Click here for full show notes and links.
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Paden Fallis hosts the podcast In and [Out of] the Arena (available on Apple, Stitcher, etc), and it’s an atypical interview show: he creates a very cool roundtable discussion with working actors out there, people from all over the country.
Actors with credits on Broadway, network TV, indie films, voiceover, and everything in-between. It’s a weekly, topic-driven show, so each episode focuses on a different issue actors face.
Paden is an actor, director, writer and producer, currently based in Atlanta, Georgia. He studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. His first screenplay, As Far as the Eye Can See, made its World Premiere at the Montreal World Film Festival.
Just a bit of what we cover:
- Where Paden is on his journey
- Why he wanted to do a podcast
- What he has learned about acting since starting the podcast
- The Trader Joe's incident with actor Geoffrey Owens
- Professional jealousy and avoiding bitterness
- How social media drives casting
- Actors who want to feed the soul
- One thing he wish he had done differently when he started
I hope you enjoy this conversation and this experiment—I’d love to hear what you think about this kind of episode, if it’s helpful, and if you’d like to hear more like it. Reach out to me on Twitter @theworkngactors, or if you prefer, you can send an email here.
Click here for full show notes and links.
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Ray Porter from Ep. #16 talks text work in John Webster's The White Devil.
This is a Jacobean play and comes in the period right after Shakespeare. As Ray shared, plays in this period were much darker and a definite departure from many of the themes you’d see in Shakespeare’s work. It’s not a play I was familiar with and really glad these guests are introducing us to other classical works. As I mentioned in the complete episode with Ray, this may be a great play for you to find a lesser-known monologue for your auditions.
You'll hear Ray discuss:
- why this speech fascinates him
- how language was the CGI of the day
- why classical theatre and plays like this are still so relevant today.
It's a great session and a wonderful discussion about theatre, politics, and acting!
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Ray’s monologue from The White Devil FRANCISCO
An old tale.
Upon a time Phoebus, the god of light,
Or him we call the sun, would need to be married:
The gods gave their consent, and Mercury
Was sent to voice it to the general world.
But what a piteous cry there straight arose
Amongst smiths and felt-makers, brewers and cooks,
Reapers and butter-women, amongst fishmongers,
And thousand other trades, which are annoyed
By his excessive heat! 'twas lamentable.
They came to Jupiter all in a sweat,
And do forbid the banns. A great fat cook
Was made their speaker, who entreats of Jove
That Phoebus might be gelded; for if now,
When there was but one sun, so many men
Were like to perish by his violent heat,
What should they do if he were married,
And should beget more, and those children
Make fireworks like their father? So say I;
Only I apply it to your wife;
Her issue, should not providence prevent it,
Would make both nature, time, and man repent it.
Ray Porter (Tw: @Ray__Porter; IG: @rayporter_narr8s) spent 18 seasons with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival playing all sorts of roles, including many leads, and has since narrated more than 300 audiobooks (including the Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Maberry), all while still appearing on film, tv, and onstage.
He has multiple Earphones Awards, has been nominated for Audie awards for his narration, and was named Audible's Narrator of the Year.
Just a bit of what we cover in this episode:
- why you don't want to be a tribute band
- making audiobooks that SUCK (and how to get better)
- an acting approach that gives you freedom
- not believing your own PR
- technique only up to a point
- the most important thing to do, especially as an actor
- and lots more!
We even work on a piece of text from The White Devil by John Webster! Post-Shakespeare themes and ideas—very cool stuff, and I'm sure most people are not using this for their classical monologue!
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We have a special episode today. It’s a tribute to the actor Philip Bosco. In this, you’ll hear the voices of Armin Shimerman, Peter Van Norden, and Phil himself as Malvolio in Twelfth Night.
Phil was quite a legend in the theatre scene, and he recently passed away, so I decided to finally sit down and put this together. Yes, it is sad, and at first, I thought this episode needed to be really somber, but it’s also a celebration of Phil’s life, what he did, and the many people he impacted!
A few quick highlights about Philip Bosco:
- Won the Tony Award for Lend Me a Tenor, with another FIVE nominations, along with multiple Drama Desk nominations and one win
- Performed in over 50 productions on Broadway, playing all different styles and genres
- Over 100 Film and TV credits, including a Daytime Emmy Award
Click here for full show notes and links.
Watch the entire production of Twelfth Night
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Dawn Didawickis an LA-based actor who has worked at numerous regional theatres, has lived and worked in both DC and New York, and also has a number of film and TV credits.
She appeared on Broadway in Arthur Miller's All My Sons,with the production winning a Tony Award for Best Revival. She's also a founding member of the Antaeus Theatre in Glendale, CA.
In today's episode, Dawn and I cover:
- doing industrials
- dealing with fear
- having mentors
- working on new plays
- sexual harassment and shame
- how to keep working
- Yiddish actors
- passing it on
- being respectful
- and lots more!
Click here for full show notes and links.
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Francis Guinan from Ep. #14 talks text work in Jessica Dickey's The Rembrandt, which premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago in 2017 with Francis in the cast, alongside John Mahoney, who many people know as the dad on Frasier (one of my personal favorites), but who was also a longtime Steppenwolf ensemble member.
You'll hear how Francis found his way through the text, and the deeper connections between art and the relationship his character has with John's. I was lucky enough to see this production at Steppenwolf and John passed away not long after The Rembrandt closed.
It's a great session and a wonderful insight into how an actor works.
Click here for full show notes and links.
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Francis’ monologue from The Rembrandt HENRY
I touched it.
It was… surprisingly– spiky.
The paint.
Slashes of ochre
and black
and white
and red.
I suddenly thought–
Art is such a slight thing.
It’s a trick.
The closer you get, it recedes, like a shadow.
It lives, it glows, and then you touch it and it’s not really there.
Or it’s ALL there—Rembrandt. Homer.
I touched it all…
Well, specifically three of us touched it—myself, this girl Madeline and Dodger.
We counted to three, and we touched it.
[minor dialogue omitted]
I remember my Dad reading in the paper that this Rembrandt had been purchase for 2.3 million– and this was 1961 mind you!–and he turned to me, I was all of FIVE, and he said (ala gruff dad) “Come on Hank, we’re going to see what the hell is worth 2.3 million.” And he dragged me to the exhibit. We stood in front of it, his brow furrowed, the callouses on his hand… There was something about the way he stood there—staring—as if he felt separate—as if it was some Great Thing that would always be just beyond his reach…
I never asked him what the thought of it, the painting.
If he liked it.
If it pleased him.
(I’d like to thing it did—that somehow he was—touched by it.)
I regret that actually.
Terribly.
It’s just a slight thing—canvas, paint—and yet it contains—what?
Wordls. Truths.
I stood there today, and I thought,
There is only one of this– in all of time.
I touched that fragility
and my heard just…
[to Simon, sleeping] My love? Are you there?
I want you to know.
You’ve been
a wonderful
partner.
You have.
I have failed you so terribly.
So terribly.
But I am here now.
I’m here.
Francis Guinan grew up in Iowa and went to college pre-med, but then changed directions and ended up meeting the actors who would go on to create the Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble in Chicago. He has been a member for 30 years and appeared in over 40 productions, and also has 80+ film/tv credits including Boss, The Last Airbender, and Eerie, Indiana.
Just a bit of what we cover:
- discipline and focus
- messing with other actors onstage
- great directors
- rehearsal questions
- John Mahoney
- Shakespeare
- younger actors
- current passions, and lots more!
Plus, he works on a piece from THE REMBRANDT, which had its world premiere at Steppenwolf!
Check out the show notes for additional info and items mentioned in this episode.
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Reed Birney thought he was just going to be a schmuck actor after decades of struggle. Then he takes on a part that terrifies him and it leads to a number of great projects and successes, including a Tony Award.
Just a bit of what we cover:
- The freeing nature of doing nudity in both theatre and film
- Why he chose not to go to Juilliard after being accepted, and why he might have hated acting if he went
- The unbelievable circumstances of his first Broadway show
- Why your imagination is so important, along with children playing in sandboxes
- What can lead you to “bad acting” and how to avoid it
- His experience working with The Coen Brothers and Sam Raimi early in their careers
- The excitement and challenges of working on Casa Valentina
- The helpful note from the director that helped him unlock the character in The Humans
- The example he tries to set for both his children who are actors
Check out the show notes for additional info and items mentioned in this episode.
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We're back for another season with great chats ahead! Hear excerpts from upcoming interviews with actors that have worked for 30-50+ years, hearing how they got started, what challenges they faced, how they deal with auditions, actually work on material, and more.
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Happy Solstice! Where are we headed in season two? It's time to add your voice to the conversation by letting me know what you thought of season one! The first 20 people to respond will receive a code for a free item on Audible, no trial required: redeem it for a book, a premium podcast, a talk, whatever you like. Share your ideas right here » http://workingactorsjourney.com/feedback - and thanks! Plus: which unlikely Asian country ranked second for most WAJ downloads? Find out in today's quick update.
Dakin Matthews is an actor, teacher, and scholar. In this bonus episode you'll hear the mini-Shakespeare master class he gives in episode #12 on one of the speeches from Romeo and Juliet. You'll learn the logic that Juliet uses and how it unravels, where you need to be at the end of the speech if you're performing it, how both male and female actors tend to shy away from emotion, and more. Plus: what do you think of these "classes"? Tell us on Twitter @working_actors or on workingactorsjourney.com.
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Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Act IV, Scene 3
Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again.
I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins,
That almost freezes up the heat of life.
I’ll call them back again to comfort me.
Nurse!—What should she do here?
My dismal scene I needs must act alone.
Come, vial.
What if this mixture do not work at all?
Shall I be married then tomorrow morning?
No, no, this shall forbid it. Lie thou there.
Laying down her dagger.
What if it be a poison which the friar
Subtly hath minist’red to have me dead,
Lest in this marriage he should be dishonor’d
Because he married me before to Romeo?
I fear it is, and yet methinks it should not,
For he hath still been tried a holy man.
How if, when I am laid into the tomb,
I wake before the time that Romeo
Come to redeem me? There’s a fearful point!
Shall I not then be stifled in the vault,
To whose foul mouth no healthsome air breathes in,
And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes?
Or if I live, is it not very like
The horrible conceit of death and night,
Together with the terror of the place—
As in a vault, an ancient receptacle,
Where for this many hundred years the bones
Of all my buried ancestors are pack’d,
Where bloody Tybalt, yet but green in earth,
Lies fest’ring in his shroud, where, as they say,
At some hours in the night spirits resort—
Alack, alack, is it not like that I,
So early waking—what with loathsome smells,
And shrikes like mandrakes’ torn out of the earth,
That living mortals, hearing them, run mad—
O, if I wake, shall I not be distraught,
Environed with all these hideous fears,
And madly play with my forefathers’ joints,
And pluck the mangled Tybalt from his shroud,
And in this rage, with some great kinsman’s bone,
As with a club, dash out my desp’rate brains?
O, look! Methinks I see my cousin’s ghost
Seeking out Romeo, that did spit his body
Upon a rapier’s point. Stay, Tybalt, stay!
Romeo, Romeo, Romeo! Here’s drink—I drink to thee.
Dakin Matthews is an actor, playwright, dramaturg, director, teacher, and scholar. He has 150+ credits on IMDb, has taught Shakespeare around the world, worked on Broadway and won awards, and was artistic director of several theatres—and he started out to be a priest! We talk about feeling confident and intimidated, why the classics are important, what being a professional means, and more. This episode is sponsored by Audible: get a free audiobook and a 30-day trial at workingactorsjourney.com/audible
Dakin Matthews around the web IMDb | Wikipedia | IBDb | Actors Access | His former Andak theatre company
Highlights * Dakin's father as an indentured servant * How acting in a Shakespeare play gave him a more intimate knowledge of it * The situations when he feels in awe of people * How he approaches working with or teaching younger actors * The production of Shakespeare he saw that really changed his view of what theatre could be * How he ended up teaching at Juilliard and eventually performing in The Acting Company * Why he feels acting is his primary skill, above being a teacher or scholar * Why there aren't great Shakespeare acting classes online * How he approaches playing real people, and the roles that he couldn't quite figure out * The out-of-left-field offer to get involved with Rocky the Musical * How Dakin has had time to be involved in so much * Working on the "Come vial" speech from Romeo and Juliet * Why many actors either shy away from or miss the mark with emotional moments * Why it's so important to find a group of like-minded creative people * Quotes that matter to him
Selected People and Items Mentioned * Antaeus Theatre * Portuguese immigration to Hawaii * ACT, San Francisco * The Juilliard School * USD San Diego MFA (Old Globe Program) * Cal State East Bay, Hayward, CA * David Ogden Stiers, actor * Kurtwood Smith, actor * Liz Huddle, actress * PCPA Theatre * John Houseman, actor, director, and teacher * Stephen McKinley Henderson, actor * Group 1 at Julliard: Patti Lupone, Kevin Kline, David Ogden Stiers, Mary Jo Negro, Mary Lou Risotti, Sam Tsoutsouvas, David Schramm, Tony Azito, Jim Moody, Gerald Gutierrez, Norman Snow, Benjamin Hendrickson * US bombing of Cambodia * Jack O'Brien, director * Sherlock's Last Case (play) * Remington Steele, TV show * Henderson Hogan Agency * The History Boys (play) * Frank Langella as Nixon * Rocky the Musical * Waitress musical
For complete bio and other links, check out the full show notes!
@benwhitehair is an unusual guest here, but you'll soon discover why he's a great addition! He already has 50+ credits on IMDb, is the co-founder of LA Actors Tweetup, is on the LA Local Board of SAG-AFTRA, and is the chair of its NextGen Performers committee. We talk about being a homeschooled cowboy and hating sheep, "grad school for the working actor", leveraging social media, and much more. This episode is sponsored by Audible: get a free audiobook and a 30-day trial at workingactorsjourney.com/audible
Gigi Bermingham gets honest and vulnerable about the journey—it's a special episode! She's an actress and singer with 30+ credits on IMDb, two LA Ovation Awards, and an LADCC Award for her solo comedy show Non-Vital Organs. We talk about her rural Northern California upbringing, her French mother, exhaustion and a food addiction, her career in real estate, playing Maria Callas, and much more! This episode is sponsored by Audible: get a free audiobook and a 30-day trial at workingactorsjourney.com/audible
In Part 2 of our chat, veteran actor Clyde Kusatsu (@judgeito1948) shares how he approaches playing different Asian ethnicities, what he's learned from casting directors, his challenge with alcohol and being sober for nearly 24 years, and why he got involved with SAG-AFTRA politics, where he currently serves as the National Vice President for Los Angeles. Check out Ep #8 for Part 1! This episode is sponsored by Audible: get a free audiobook and a 30-day trial at workingactorsjourney.com/audible
Clyde Kusatsu (@judgeito1948) grew up in Hawaii amidst a rapidly developing culture and economy, did summer stock with musical theatre star Howard Keel, became a “college working actor” at Northwestern, and worked twice with the legendary actor Toshiro Mifune, the John Wayne of Japanese film. He has over 300 credits on IMDb and is currently the National Vice President Los Angeles for SAG-AFTRA. This episode is sponsored by Audible: get a free audiobook and a 30-day trial at workingactorsjourney.com/audible
Peter Van Norden from Ep. #7 talks text work on performing platitudes and pauses in Harold Pinter's The Hothouse. As he was in rehearsals when we spoke, you'll hear how Peter is still figuring things out, still asking questions, and not really sure exactly where he'll ultimately arrive with this piece, and we're along for that journey.
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Peter's monologue from The Hothouse by Harold Pinter
ROOTE
Patients, staff and understaff. A very merry Christmas to you all, and a happy and prosperous new year. And on behalf of all the staff I'd like to wish all the understaff the very best luck for the year to come and a very happy Christmas. And to the patients I should like to send a personal greeting, to each and every one of them, wishing them the heartiest compliments of the season, and very best wishes, on behalf of the staff, the understaff and myself, not forgetting the Ministry, which I know would be glad to be associated with these words, for a healthy, happy and prosperous new year.
/Pause/
We have had our little difficulties, in the year that is about to die, our little troubles, our little sorrows as well as our little joys, but through working together, through each and every one of us pulling his weight, no matter how lowly or apparently trivial his job, by working, by living, by pulling together as one great family, we stand undaunted.
/Pause/
We say goodbye to the old year very soon now, and hail the new, but I say to you, as we stand before these embers, that we carry with us from the old year...things...which will stand us in good stead in the new, and we are not undaunted.
/Pause/
Some of you, sitting at your loudspeakers tonight, may sometimes find yourselves wondering whether the little daily hardships, the little daily disappointments, the trials and tribulations which seem continually to dog you are, in the end, worth it. To you I would say one simple thing. Have faith.
/Pause/
Yes, I think if I were asked to convey to you a special message this Christmas it would be that: Have faith.
/Pause/
Remember that you are not alone, that we here, for example, in this our home, are inextricably related, one to another, the staff to the understaff, the understaff to the patients, the patients to the staff. Remember this, as you sit by your fires, with your families, who have come from near and from far, to share this day with you, and may you be content.
Peter Van Norden has been acting for 45+ years on both stage and screen. We cover how musicals shaped his life, training at the Neighborhood Playhouse with Sanford Meisner, working with two star-studded productions of Hamlet, learning from Meryl Streep, how to measure your acting career, and we work on a monologue from The Hothouse by Harold Pinter (Peter is now appearing in this show in LA). This episode is sponsored by Audible: get a free audiobook and a 30-day trial at workingactorsjourney.com/audible
Nike Doukas from Ep. #6 talks text work on performing contemporary iambic pentameter and verse from Mike Bartlett's King Charles III. You'll hear that Nike brings the same tools that she would to any verse text, classical or modern. There are some wonderful insights she brings to the language of this piece and what you need to be thinking about.
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Nike’s monologue from King Charles III by Mike Bartlett
TV PRODUCER
This may seem strange, but sometimes I wake up
From nightmares where I have been on TV
And something’s happened, just by chance, perhaps
A light has blown, or chair collapsed, but I
Am shocked, and jumping look ridiculous.
And then that clip goes viral and from then
Forever more, I am the girl who jumped
It is the matter of my life, and when
I die it will be what is writ, not all
I did, and wanted, and achieved, but that:
A captured idiocy stuck on repeat.
/Enter Charles/
Your Majesty. Welcome. Here’s the microphone
Into which you’ll speak, the autocue is there.
Nike Doukas is an actor, director, teacher, and accent coach. She studied at University of Wisconsin, Madison and has an MFA from the American Conservatory Theatre. She works regularly in regional theatre and has nearly 40 credits on IMDb, including a recurring role on Desperate Housewives. We talk about hating the winter, auditioning for grad school, arriving off-book, and getting emotional. This episode is sponsored by Audible: get a free audiobook and a 30-day trial at workingactorsjourney.com/audible
Geoffrey Wade from Ep. #5 talks text work on performing The Player from Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Geoffrey played this part at Weston Playhouse in Vermont and he even shares some of his script notes from rehearsals.
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Geoffrey’s monologue from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard
THE PLAYER: We’re actors…. We pledged our identities, secure in the conventions of our trade, that someone would be watching. And then, gradually, no one was. We were caught, high and dry. It was not until the murderer’s long soliloquy that we were able to look around; frozen as we were in profile, our eyes searched you out, first confidently, then hesitantly, then desperately as each patch of turf, each log, each exposed corner in every direction proved uninhabited, and all the while the murderous King addressed the horizon with his dreary interminable guilt…. Out heads began to move, wary as lizards, the corpse of unsullied Rosalinda peeped through his fingers, and the King faltered. Even then, habit and a stubborn trust that our audience spied upon us from behind the nearest bush, forced our bodies to blunder on long after they had emptied of meaning, until like runaway carts they dragged to a halt. No one came forward. No one shouted at us. The silence was unbreakable, it imposed itself on us; it was obscene. We took off our crowns and swords and cloths of gold and moved silent on the road to Elsinore.
@geoffreywade is an actor, director, teacher, photographer, and acting coach. He has performed on Broadway and off-, works extensively in regional theater, appears in episodic television, in radio and on tour with LA Theatre Works, and films include Steven Spielberg’s The BFG. We chat about inspirations, being a professional, non-paying theatre, and the Player from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. This episode is brought to you by the FreeMeditationCourse.com - start your journey today!
Harry Groener from Ep. #4 talks text work on singing a Noel Coward song ("Mrs. Worthington") and performing King Lear's "Reason not the need" speech from Shakespeare's play. If you're following along, this speech is at the end of Act 2, Scene 4. He also shares ideas on how to make the most of your rehearsal time.
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Harry’s Monologue from King Lear (Act 2, Scene 4) by Shakespeare
KING LEAR
O, reason not the need! Our basest beggars
Are in the poorest thing superfluous.
Allow not nature more than nature needs,
Man’s life is cheap as beast’s. Thou art a lady;
If only to go warm were gorgeous,
Why, nature needs not what thou gorgeous wear’st,
Which scarcely keeps thee warm. But for true need—
You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need!
You see me here, you gods, a poor old man,
As full of grief as age, wretched in both.
If it be you that stirs these daughters’ hearts
Against their father, fool me not so much
To bear it tamely; touch me with noble anger,
And let not women’s weapons, water-drops,
Stain my man’s cheeks! No, you unnatural hags,
I will have such revenges on you both
That all the world shall—I will do such things—
What they are yet I know not, but they shall be
The terrors of the earth! You think I’ll weep:
No, I’ll not weep.
I have full cause of weeping, but this heart
Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws
Or ere I’ll weep. O Fool, I shall go mad!
Harry Groener has three Tony Award nominations (Oklahoma, Cats, Crazy For You), and has also been a series regular on Dear John, and played Mayor Wilkins on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Born in Germany and growing up in San Francisco, he got started with ballet, and then worked with PCPA and studied at the University of Washington. He has acted around the country in regional theatre and has over 80 credits on IMDb. This episode is brought to you by the FreeMeditationCourse.com - start your journey today!
Hope you're new year is off to a great start! How have things been going with the podcast? Nathan checks in to share stats, reviews, and more in this quick look behind-the-scenes. We'll be back next week with continuing episodes in Season 1 of The Working Actor's Journey!
Anne Gee Byrd has performed leading roles in everything from Shakespeare to Shaw across the country, and is no stranger to contemporary works, too. She has received LA Drama Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. and was named Best Leading Actress by the LA Weekly for her performance as Mother Courage. She has also had a long television and film career, with over 80 credits on IMDb. This episode is brought to you by the FreeMeditationCourse.com - start your journey today!
You wanted these text work sessions as separate episodes and I'm happy to accommodate! First up: @ShimermanArmin from Ep #2 takes us into Shakespeare's Henry VI, part 3 with Richard of Gloucester, a soliloquy Armin used for auditions. He also talks about his general approach to Shakespeare and some of the overall principles he teaches in classes. If you're following along, this speech is at the end of Act 3, Scene 2.
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Armin’s Monologue from Henry VI, Part III (Act 3, Scene 2) by Shakespeare
RICHARD OF GLOUCESTER
Ay, Edward will use women honorably.
Would he were wasted, marrow, bones, and all,
That from his loins no hopeful branch may spring,
To cross me from the golden time I look for!
And yet, between my soul’s desire and me—
The lustful Edward’s title buried—
Is Clarence, Henry, and his son young Edward,
And all the unlook’d-for issue of their bodies
To take their rooms, ere I can place myself:
A cold premeditation for my purpose!
Why then I do but dream on sovereignty,
Like one that stands upon a promontory
And spies a far-off shore where he would tread,
Wishing his foot were equal with his eye,
And chides the sea that sunders him from thence,
Saying, he’ll lade it dry to have his way:
So do I wish the crown, being so far off,
And so I chide the means that keeps me from it,
And so, I say, I’ll cut the causes off,
Flattering me with impossibilities.
My eye’s too quick, my heart o’erweens too much,
Unless my hand and strength could equal them.
[ARMIN BEGINS HERE, AND CUTS LINES]
Well, say there is no kingdom then for Richard;
What other pleasure can the world afford?
I’ll make my heaven in a lady’s lap,
And deck my body in gay ornaments,
And witch sweet ladies with my words and looks.
O miserable thought! And more unlikely
Than to accomplish twenty golden crowns!
Why, love forswore me in my mother’s womb;
And for I should not deal in her soft laws,
She did corrupt frail nature with some bribe,
To shrink mine arm up like a wither’d shrub,
To make an envious mountain on my back,
Where sits deformity to mock my body;
To shape my legs of an unequal size,
To disproportion me in every part,
Like to a chaos, or an unlick’d bear-whelp
That carries no impression like the dam.
And am I then a man to be belov’d?
O monstrous fault, to harbor such a thought!
Then since this earth affords no joy to me
But to command, to check, to o’erbear such
As are of better person than myself,
I’ll make my heaven to dream upon the crown,
And whiles I live, t’ account this world but hell,
Until my misshap’d trunk that bears this head
Be round impaled with a glorious crown.
And yet I know not how to get the crown,
For many lives stand between me and home;
And I—like one lost in a thorny wood,
That rents the thorns, and is rent with the thorns,
Seeking a way, and straying from the way,
Not knowing how to find the open air,
But toiling desperately to find it out—
Torment myself to catch the English crown;
And from that torment I will free myself,
Or hew my way out with a bloody axe.
Why, I can smile, and murder whiles I smile,
And cry “Content” to that which grieves my heart,
And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,
And frame my face to all occasions.
I’ll drown more sailors than the mermaid shall,
I’ll slay more gazers than the basilisk,
I’ll play the orator as well as Nestor,
Deceive more slyly than Ulysses could,
And like a Sinon, take another Troy.
I can add colors to the chameleon,
Change shapes with Proteus for advantages,
And set the murderous Machevil to school.
Can I do this, and cannot get a crown?
Tut, were it farther off, I’ll pluck it down.
@ShimermanArmin is perhaps best known as Quark on the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series. He has been working 50 years in the business and has 200 credits on IMDb. He's also done many voiceovers, video games, and commercials. Plus: a Shakespeare scholar, teacher, director, and actor. We talk about acting in high school, working at the Old Globe, finding a mentor on Broadway, and even dive into some Richard of Gloucester. This episode is brought to you by FreeMeditationCourse.com - start your journey today!
Robert Pine is a great actor to help us kick things off! He's been working for the past 50+ years and probably best known for starring on the show CHiPs. He has over 200 credits on IMDb, appearing on almost every iconic show from the '60s to today. He’s also done commercials, video games, soap operas, theatre, and plenty of films. We talk about being pre-med, his ADD, his son Chris, longevity, and having fun. This episode is brought to you by FreeMeditationCourse.com - start your journey today!
What's ahead for this podcast? Hear excerpts from upcoming interviews! The Working Actor's Journey features in-depth conversations with actors that have worked for 30-50+ years, hearing how they got started, what challenges they faced, how they deal with auditions, actually work on material, and more.