R and J Chronicles: Part II

In which we shall see: a rehearsal report, respected ruminations referenced by a revered reader, rollicking redactions for revelry and reflection, and a forthcoming moratorium on the letter "R".

* * * * *

I headed to the first "full-cast" rehearsal this week (quotations because we still don't quite have enough actors - O, the perils of professional-grade community theatre!) and had the chance to distribute my dramaturgy packet to the group. (As rumored, I did in fact stay up working on it until 3:00 that morning. I may procrastinate, but I do come through!) I've already got a new list of terms and topics to research, which is cool. Still no progress on the "liking the story" front, but I am VERY impressed with the actors we've found so far, their enthusiasm for the project and their grasp of the language. The read-through was marvelous. I can't wait to see what they'll actually be doing on stage as they deliver these lines!

An online friend (who'll I'll be meeting in RL tonight - woot!) very kindly linked me to some lovely ruminations on love from another friend's blog. In an interesting coincidence, this friend had been recently watching West Side Story, the big Leonard Bernstein musical based on Romeo and Juliet. ("Ah, Fate.") This author discusses several examples of "love-at-first-sight-or-darned-close-to-it" from movies, books, and Real Life. She then asks:

Do we sometimes not LET ourselves fall in love? Do we slow down a process that is actually quite simple and straightforward and FAST with all of our fears and reservations? If Maria and Tony had been more practical about loving each other, they never would have gotten around to it. They didn't have enough time [West Side Story]. If Dan hadn't decided right away that he LOVED Marie and wanted to commit to her, there's no way he would have dragged his children along to a different state to chase after her. And it would have been over[Dan in Real Life]. If my Grandpa hadn't had the guts to pop the question and Grandma hadn't had the guts to say YES, who knows... [First date. Really.]

These people (fictional and otherwise) I'm sure experienced all that is hard and painful and disappointing about love--even after they were IN love. But at least they were brave enough to go for it.

In a follow-up post the author continues:

...Maybe love isn't as much the mystery and struggle I've found myself thinking it is. Maybe love is really this simple, this easy, this everyday. And maybe it really can happen in an instant, in an afternoon of hot chocolate and honest conversation, maybe in one kiss...

A quote that a friend sent me this week:
"The opportunity of a lifetime has to be taken in the lifetime of the opportunity." E. Oaks

So the moral of the story? Of course there are still a ga-zillion reasons to take your time with relationships, to really get to know a person and build trust, etc. Of course! But maybe there's something to be said for just letting love happen; for not complicating an apparently uncomplicated process; for seizing opportunities to love today, right now, this very minute.

(The full posts with complete stories - and they're good ones! - can be found here and here.)

Much food for thought, eh? Which reminds me - our "assignment" for the R and J rehearsal was to come with a song that reminds us of a character or theme or some other aspect of the play. The range was fascinating: from "The First Time (Ever I Saw Your Face)" to the Beatles to classical and Gregorian chants to Coldplay and Daughtry to a whole CD of songs from groups I'd never even heard of (the only name I recognized was "Nine Inch Nails". Yeah). We figure we'll end up with a whole series of mix CDs of completely random Romeo and Juliet music. Count Orsino would be so proud. (And, possibly, suffering from indigestion.)


Watch out for falling turtles (particularly if they're dressed like Cupid),


Cyd



P.S. Cookies to anyone that gets the Orsino reference!