Covid-19 has taken a lot of things from us. Like the ability to breathe without a piece of cloth in front of our faces. And the chance to meet up with a group of friends without strategic planning. And the opportunity to head to school and be bored in a classroom rather than be bored…
Read more 3 Things I Learned About Making Art from James Ijames’s White
Cassius: Did Cicero say anything? Casca: Ay, she spoke Greek. Cassius: To what effect? Casca: Nay, an I tell you that, I’ll ne’er look you i’th’face again. But those that understood her smiled at one another, and shook their heads. But for mine own part, it was Greek to me. William Shakespeare: Julius Caesar, Act…
Read more Rewriting the Bard: Julius Caesar
Dead Man’s Cell Phone Production Poster (Designed by: Linda Nichols) Sarah Ruhl is the second most performed playwright in the United States — second only to the Bard his own self. This is the last weekend that it will be performed in Colorado Springs at the Springs Ensemble Theatre. In other words: this is the…
Read more Sarah Ruhl’s Stage Directions
Tonight is the opening night of Theatre ‘d Art’s production of A Clockwork Orange — in which I am playing Alex’s mother and the orderly who straps him into the cinny contraption. Aside from the insane story, the insane in-your-face staging (we’re doing it promenade-style), and the insane insanity inherent in the piece itself…this has…
Read more A Clockwork Orange: The Book, The Movie, The Play
King Henry VI, Part 2 by William ShakespeareMy rating: 3 of 5 stars The Henry plays — and a great deal of Shakespeare’s history plays — were written prior to 1594. These are Shakespeare’s early attempts and a lot of critics have pointed out: it shows. Henry VI, Pt 2, is definitely rough. There are…
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I’m trying to read Shakespeare’s works in the (generally) agreed upon order in which they were written. That means there’s a lot of histories up front. Right now, I’ve finished the Henry VI trilogy and am moving on to Richard III. And, really, the only thing clear to me is Shakespeare’s historical presentations are quite questionable.…
Read more The Original Pronunciation of Shakespeare
Luckily, no one was injured in the riot rehearsal process of Marat/Sade. (That’s the short title. The long title is The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade. It’s by Pete Weiss.) Not to give anything away — but…
Read more Tonight there was a lot of screaming
For the past few weeks, I’ve been happily learning how to do lighting design over at SET, a Colorado Springs Theatre Company. SET’s finishing up its season with a badass one-act play involving corrupt governments and a disturbing use of Christmas carols. We open on Thursday, and if you’re in town — or even if…
Read more Springs Ensemble Theatre Presents Harold Pinter’s "One for the Road"; a.k.a. "Jenny did the lights"
Ali: No breaks in this week’s chain, I am pleased to report. Also, I made cookies and went on a seven mile hike over the weekend. As of yesterday, I’m only two miles away from hitting my work out goal for the week (a seven mile hike helps a lot). Work in progress for this…
Read more Tournaments, Cross Dressing Princes, and Mini Operas: A Tuesday Post of Accountability
Tuesday sneaks up on me sometimes. Time to be accountable! Here is what I have done this past week: 1. Glorious news! I have almost filled a 120 page notebook with new novel words! The rough kind of words, but words nonetheless! Next week I should be able to say: filled a notebook. Such almost-satisfaction.…
Read more Filling Notebooks: A Tuesday Post of Accountability