Life is not about finding yourself.
Life is about creating yourself.
- George Bernard Shaw
September 09, 2008
September 05, 2008
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!
* * * * *
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!
September 04, 2008
On Behalf of Smart Women Everywhere...
I went to the grocery store today, and while checking out I was addressed by a somewhat odd individual who had also been "checking out". He commented enthusiastically on my shirt, asking if I was an English teacher, nodding about how true it was and why couldn't more people see it, and finally going in for a high-five.
On the way to my car as I chuckled a little about the varieties of human personality, it finally occurred to me that it was fairly disconcerting to realize a guy had actually been staring at my chest. Maybe it hasn't happened enough for me to get used to it, maybe this was the first time ever - or maybe the shirt is even cooler than I had originally thought.
Who knows?
August 26, 2008
R and J Chronicles: Part I
In which we shall see: sushi, a sorta-summary, a rant (all at the same time), hormones, Paul Rudd (also at the same time), and a QUESTION(s).
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
So I’m sitting eating my sushi and reading Shakespeare (“Sushi and Shakespeare” – sounds like chick lit) and thinking (FINALLY!) about Romeo and Juliet. It’s been a real struggle, and here’s why: I hate the play. I know, how can a Theatre/English Lit. person hate an iconic show, the epitome of “twu wuv”, tragedy, and beauty in pathos? Here’s the thing – the plot STINKS. You know how they say that once you get off the fence, you can’t get back on… once you choose a side you can only stick to that side OR go all the way over to the other extreme… (Trust me. They say that.) Evidently, I’m a lapsed romantic, and as such I have fallen to the opposite end of the spectrum. I just don’t see the appeal in a plot determined by hormones masked as “true love”, and by an utter lack of common sense parading around as “romance” and self-indulgent pride. I don’t blame the children – which of us haven’t at some time been stupid, horny teenagers? I blame the adults; specifically, Friar Laurence and the Nurse.
Ponder this – the play is written as a comedy. There’s a love story, there’s slapstick humor, there’s costumes and masks and feasting and dancing – all elements of a Shakespearean comedy. Then there’s the Nurse – she agrees to help Juliet get together with Romeo out of a misguided sense of the romantic; and if she’d just done her JOB and told Juliet’s mother what the girl was getting up to NO ONE WOULD HAVE DIED. I’m not convinced Juliet wouldn’t have been perfectly happy with Paris – he certainly seemed eager to please! Next we have Friar Laurence; he of the ego so huge that he’d rather test an experimental drug of his own devising on a poor innocent girl under the pretext of helping one of his favorite parishioners – and if he’d pulled his head out of his stillroom for more than two minutes he SURELY would have seen that by going to Prince Escalus he could potentially not only have cleared Romeo, he could have ENDED THE FEUD by putting the newlyweds under the protection of the government. Instead he goes all drama queen by producing his convoluted “solution”, and then runs off like a jackrabbit at the last moment when he still could have saved everybody. We end up with two dead teenagers, two miserable families, a city in turmoil, and hopefully – a fired priest and down-sized child-care provider. This is tragic, but not tragedy – according to Aristotle, tragedy occurs when unhappy things happen to good people that cannot be prevented because they are dictated by Fate. The events of Romeo and Juliet happen because the secondary characters are STUPID.
I find this annoying.
But, as a dramaturg, I have the obligation to study and research the play, and drag my feet as I will – the show does indeed go on. So, I have decided to chronicle my experience with the production of the play and see if my opinion changes; and to open it up to you (THE AUDIENCE) for feedback and response.
To start us off: let’s talk about LOVE, baby! Held up as a pinnacle of “romantic” fiction, this play has made icons of the young doomed lovers as examples of what love is all about .
What? I don’t get it.
I mean, I’m 34 and terminally single, so obviously I haven’t gotten it – but really, what’s the big deal? What is this “love” of which W. Shakespeare preaches so beautifully? What am I missing? What is this thing that is so big and overwhelming that it makes otherwise sensible people throw away home, family, tradition (and in the recent movie version, Paul Rudd -???) and act so incredibly rashly? How is the “love” in Romeo and Juliet different from raging hormones?
I just sat in on a production meeting, and I’ve been catapulted into research mode – I totally “get” the director’s vision of the play, and I’m excited about it. I’ve been pounding out notes on details and collecting all kinds of pictures for days. I’m not sure that I’ll ever catch the fire of the “passion” of Romeo and Juliet – but I’m interested to see how it goes.
So, help me out – quote me anything you’ve got, tell me stories, sing me songs… what do YOU know about love? Eventually I may be an expert on Shakespeare, but at the moment I’m not sure I’ll ever understand that thing that makes the world go round (other than gravity).
Watch out for love-struck teenagers (always sound advice, if you think about it),
P.S. Okay, so it wasn't SUSHI-sushi - technically the California Rolls were completely cooked. But it was fishy, and rice-y, and soy sauce-y, and everybody's got to start somewhere, right? Right?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
So I’m sitting eating my sushi and reading Shakespeare (“Sushi and Shakespeare” – sounds like chick lit) and thinking (FINALLY!) about Romeo and Juliet. It’s been a real struggle, and here’s why: I hate the play. I know, how can a Theatre/English Lit. person hate an iconic show, the epitome of “twu wuv”, tragedy, and beauty in pathos? Here’s the thing – the plot STINKS. You know how they say that once you get off the fence, you can’t get back on… once you choose a side you can only stick to that side OR go all the way over to the other extreme… (Trust me. They say that.) Evidently, I’m a lapsed romantic, and as such I have fallen to the opposite end of the spectrum. I just don’t see the appeal in a plot determined by hormones masked as “true love”, and by an utter lack of common sense parading around as “romance” and self-indulgent pride. I don’t blame the children – which of us haven’t at some time been stupid, horny teenagers? I blame the adults; specifically, Friar Laurence and the Nurse.Ponder this – the play is written as a comedy. There’s a love story, there’s slapstick humor, there’s costumes and masks and feasting and dancing – all elements of a Shakespearean comedy. Then there’s the Nurse – she agrees to help Juliet get together with Romeo out of a misguided sense of the romantic; and if she’d just done her JOB and told Juliet’s mother what the girl was getting up to NO ONE WOULD HAVE DIED. I’m not convinced Juliet wouldn’t have been perfectly happy with Paris – he certainly seemed eager to please! Next we have Friar Laurence; he of the ego so huge that he’d rather test an experimental drug of his own devising on a poor innocent girl under the pretext of helping one of his favorite parishioners – and if he’d pulled his head out of his stillroom for more than two minutes he SURELY would have seen that by going to Prince Escalus he could potentially not only have cleared Romeo, he could have ENDED THE FEUD by putting the newlyweds under the protection of the government. Instead he goes all drama queen by producing his convoluted “solution”, and then runs off like a jackrabbit at the last moment when he still could have saved everybody. We end up with two dead teenagers, two miserable families, a city in turmoil, and hopefully – a fired priest and down-sized child-care provider. This is tragic, but not tragedy – according to Aristotle, tragedy occurs when unhappy things happen to good people that cannot be prevented because they are dictated by Fate. The events of Romeo and Juliet happen because the secondary characters are STUPID.
I find this annoying.
But, as a dramaturg, I have the obligation to study and research the play, and drag my feet as I will – the show does indeed go on. So, I have decided to chronicle my experience with the production of the play and see if my opinion changes; and to open it up to you (THE AUDIENCE) for feedback and response.
To start us off: let’s talk about LOVE, baby! Held up as a pinnacle of “romantic” fiction, this play has made icons of the young doomed lovers as examples of what love is all about .
What? I don’t get it.
I mean, I’m 34 and terminally single, so obviously I haven’t gotten it – but really, what’s the big deal? What is this “love” of which W. Shakespeare preaches so beautifully? What am I missing? What is this thing that is so big and overwhelming that it makes otherwise sensible people throw away home, family, tradition (and in the recent movie version, Paul Rudd -???) and act so incredibly rashly? How is the “love” in Romeo and Juliet different from raging hormones?
I just sat in on a production meeting, and I’ve been catapulted into research mode – I totally “get” the director’s vision of the play, and I’m excited about it. I’ve been pounding out notes on details and collecting all kinds of pictures for days. I’m not sure that I’ll ever catch the fire of the “passion” of Romeo and Juliet – but I’m interested to see how it goes.
So, help me out – quote me anything you’ve got, tell me stories, sing me songs… what do YOU know about love? Eventually I may be an expert on Shakespeare, but at the moment I’m not sure I’ll ever understand that thing that makes the world go round (other than gravity).
Watch out for love-struck teenagers (always sound advice, if you think about it),
Cyd
P.S. Okay, so it wasn't SUSHI-sushi - technically the California Rolls were completely cooked. But it was fishy, and rice-y, and soy sauce-y, and everybody's got to start somewhere, right? Right?
August 18, 2008
Good News / Bad News
In which we shall see: Good news, and... the other kind.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sorry it's been a while - I think my percolator had stalled out. GOOD NEWS: It's been in for repairs, and should be humming along shortly.
GOOD NEWS: I went to Crown Burger for lunch!
BAD NEWS: I have decided to drop out of the Pocatello Marathon. I realized over the weekend that there was no way I could get myself in shape in two weeks, and that I REALLY need to focus on getting a job rather than all sorts of muscle strain.
GOOD NEWS: Onion rings are healthier than french fries, right? What with being made of a non-potato vegetable and all...
GOOD NEWS: Mom has decided that she wants to participate in a marathon, so we will train together to get ready for one a few months from now (maybe January).
BAD NEWS: Chances are excellent she will completely kick my trash. *whimpers*
"GOOD" NEWS: Apparently most of the male half of the Brighton High School drama department has a crush on me.
BAD NEWS: The only guys who crush on me are in high school, rather than, say, their older single-yet-still-normal brothers (ha!) or their widowed/divorced-yet-still-awesome fathers.
DEPRESSINGLY BAD NEWS: I'm actually speculating on the marital possibilities of the FATHERS of the high school boys I know. (I have GOT to get out of this state.)
GOOD NEWS: It's been a fascinating few days, debating with an online friend of mine on an intense topic and feeling like I've been keeping up!
BAD NEWS: ... Nope. We're good.
RELATED TANGENTIAL NEWS: Thanks to the debate, this friend's mother thinks I'm the coolest thing since Cheez Whiz. I probably should have warned him that I tend to have that effect on my guy-friends' mothers. *waves to Potentate*
GOOD NEWS: I should be able to pick up Disc 4 of Season 2 of Roswell from the library this afternoon.
BAD NEWS: I'm watching Roswell, when I should be reading Romeo and Juliet.
BAD NEWS: I just can't make myself read Romeo and Juliet.
GOOD NEWS: I have three different movie versions of the play arriving today, one of which is a "full-text" production. I'll be able to listen to it (when I'm not watching Roswell) and make jewelry for the upcoming family wedding at the same time! I love successful multi-tasking!
GOOD NEWS: The Boy I Thought Would Never Call did actually text me.
BAD NEWS: He told me to email him, and then left the country. *Sigh*
RANDOM NEWS: On my way back from Crown Burger I saw a guy at the corner who was either doing a few minutes of Tai Chi/Yoga/D&D moves or pretending to be a superhero while he was waiting for the light to change. Tough call.
COOL NEWS: Check out his awesome photo my niece took! I think these hippos should be mascots here on my blog, and that they need names. Any thoughts?
Watch out for falling turtles,
Cyd
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sorry it's been a while - I think my percolator had stalled out. GOOD NEWS: It's been in for repairs, and should be humming along shortly.
GOOD NEWS: I went to Crown Burger for lunch!
BAD NEWS: I have decided to drop out of the Pocatello Marathon. I realized over the weekend that there was no way I could get myself in shape in two weeks, and that I REALLY need to focus on getting a job rather than all sorts of muscle strain.
GOOD NEWS: Onion rings are healthier than french fries, right? What with being made of a non-potato vegetable and all...
GOOD NEWS: Mom has decided that she wants to participate in a marathon, so we will train together to get ready for one a few months from now (maybe January).
BAD NEWS: Chances are excellent she will completely kick my trash. *whimpers*
"GOOD" NEWS: Apparently most of the male half of the Brighton High School drama department has a crush on me.
BAD NEWS: The only guys who crush on me are in high school, rather than, say, their older single-yet-still-normal brothers (ha!) or their widowed/divorced-yet-still-awesome fathers.
DEPRESSINGLY BAD NEWS: I'm actually speculating on the marital possibilities of the FATHERS of the high school boys I know. (I have GOT to get out of this state.)
GOOD NEWS: It's been a fascinating few days, debating with an online friend of mine on an intense topic and feeling like I've been keeping up!
BAD NEWS: ... Nope. We're good.
RELATED TANGENTIAL NEWS: Thanks to the debate, this friend's mother thinks I'm the coolest thing since Cheez Whiz. I probably should have warned him that I tend to have that effect on my guy-friends' mothers. *waves to Potentate*
GOOD NEWS: I should be able to pick up Disc 4 of Season 2 of Roswell from the library this afternoon.
BAD NEWS: I'm watching Roswell, when I should be reading Romeo and Juliet.
BAD NEWS: I just can't make myself read Romeo and Juliet.
GOOD NEWS: I have three different movie versions of the play arriving today, one of which is a "full-text" production. I'll be able to listen to it (when I'm not watching Roswell) and make jewelry for the upcoming family wedding at the same time! I love successful multi-tasking!
GOOD NEWS: The Boy I Thought Would Never Call did actually text me.
BAD NEWS: He told me to email him, and then left the country. *Sigh*
RANDOM NEWS: On my way back from Crown Burger I saw a guy at the corner who was either doing a few minutes of Tai Chi/Yoga/D&D moves or pretending to be a superhero while he was waiting for the light to change. Tough call.
COOL NEWS: Check out his awesome photo my niece took! I think these hippos should be mascots here on my blog, and that they need names. Any thoughts?
Watch out for falling turtles,
Cyd
August 02, 2008
News From the Front
I caught the bouquet tonight.
I caught my first at age 13, then two more by 19. There were a few more scattered instances I have striven to repress, and the last bouquet at age 23 was an ambush job for which I deny all responsibility.
Since then I've taken pride in my ability to duck out into the hall or suddenly remember my camera in the car or hide behind the cake table while the mother of the bride is looking specifically for me as they're about to throw the bouquet. The military could learn a thing or two from my stealth tactics. Tonight, I got lazy - five minutes after I walked in the call went out for all single women ("...above the age of 13, and taller than 4'10"...") to take the dance floor. The flowers dropped straight for my head, so I was really putting my hands up out of self-defense - and since the 6 or so nearest competitors had ignored both the age and height restrictions (I'm pretty sure there was a 7-yr.-old on my right) it wasn't really a surprise when I took the "prize".
Since then I've taken pride in my ability to duck out into the hall or suddenly remember my camera in the car or hide behind the cake table while the mother of the bride is looking specifically for me as they're about to throw the bouquet. The military could learn a thing or two from my stealth tactics. Tonight, I got lazy - five minutes after I walked in the call went out for all single women ("...above the age of 13, and taller than 4'10"...") to take the dance floor. The flowers dropped straight for my head, so I was really putting my hands up out of self-defense - and since the 6 or so nearest competitors had ignored both the age and height restrictions (I'm pretty sure there was a 7-yr.-old on my right) it wasn't really a surprise when I took the "prize".Well, you've got to admit it's a lovely bouquet.
* * * * * * * *
I have my next rant percolating, and plan to get it down soon. Also a philosophical column, and a series of reviews on movies and books (let me preview that by saying that a shirtless Brendan Fraser was totally worth the price and timing of a midnight movie). Stay tuned.
Days to marathon: 28
Chapters read in Breaking Dawn: 2
Sunday School lessons to do before any more Breaking Dawn: 1
Episodes of Roswell until Max and Liz kiss: 0 (SQUEEEE! Yay for TV on DVD!)
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