I have such a yearning to be more than I am...But you're everything. To me you're everything. What more could you be?

-Andrew Bovell, "When the Rain Stops Falling"

Sorry, it's been a few days. So busy, and tired and whatnot, but I did sleep ten hours last night so that was lovely.

Where did I leave off? Ah yes, As You Like It day.

Friday, As You Like It was at 2 p.m. so we had class a little earlier so we could get over there. 

During class we talked a lot about As you Like it and some of the Shakespearian traditions at the time.  Even though the Globe is actually only a replica of what we "think" the actual theater looked like, while adding in some modern day fire code regulations, it was still pretty cool. I saw it the last time I was in London, but it is a different experience when coming to see a show there.

-Originally, the globe was said to hold over 3000 people. They would just cram in as many people as they could. Poorer classes in standing room only, and richer classes on balconies close to the stage. Although these seats had obstructed viewing of the play, they, there, could be "seen." Very rich people (ie ...the queen) would sit on the stage, where they could be seen, have great visibility of thy play, but obstructed everyone else watching the play (hehe). Today, the globe can fit 2,200 people comfortably.

-Shakespeare actually worked for a prestigious theater company that did plays there. Theater companies, at the time, had to be attached to a "house" or person, etc, to be considered legitimate. His company was attached to Lord Chamberlain, who actually licensed plays and was well known, so they were pretty blessed. Not to mention, because of their attachment, they got to perform for the Court

-As You Like It was performed in the Elizabethan era (Queen Elizabeth's time)

-Shakespeare not only wrote, but was a producer, shareholder in the theater company, and an actor (we know he played the ghost in Hamlet), in addition to being a writer for his company

-He really didn't want his plays published; didn't want people making money off of them. Thus, he would only write out 1 singly copy of the play and took it to a scribe to make one copy for the stage manager, and then sides for the actors (which had only the specific actor's lines and cue lines). Obviously, simply doing this allowed for mistakes to be made, especially since a copier could have changed anything. Plus, plays were put on so fast that actors would "fribble" (adlibbing in blank verse in iambic pentameter [quite impressive if you think about it.]). 

-So, if someone really wanted their hands on the play, they could bribe all (or some) of the actors to go to a scribe together and...recite the play. Hence, even more mistakes

-Thus, any play you see of Shakespeare's is probably only an approximation. Considering the translations that have been made over time; probably significantly different to what they originally were. ...pretty interesting

-His plays are written with "analogous action" - the threads of his plays mirror and comment on each other. For example, within As You Like It alone, we have a Duke against a Duke (brother to brother), Oliver vs Orlando (also brother to brother), which creates sort of a Cain and Abel allusion. 

-Orlando and Rosalind (lovers), have analogous situations, they're nice, smart, witty, and everyone likes them, so they both get banished (haha)

-Touchstone and Audrey, as well

-Phebe and Silvius

-All of these analogous relationships go down in social scale because Shakespeare wrote appealing to everyone who was in the audience

-certain cool characters: Adam biblical and acting as the servant who serves his master relentlessly; Rosalind (originally played by a 14 year old male), puts on male clothing to hide herself and takes up the name ganymede (the boy Zeus fell in love with...interesting; this situation itself just shows how much Shakespeare was interested in gender complexity and ambiguity); Jaques (though french, is pronounced "Jay-quees" in English language, is a stock character of a meloncholic (Jakes, being an old name for outhouses, haha), which was actually a persona that interested people (we just write them off as depressed), because they seemed to be romantic, and they actually dressed in a certain way that people could recognize them in the play as a melancholic, soooo...Jaques was actually dressed and behaved as a persona people would recognize. 

-the role of wit sometimes spoofs using poetry "Nice is nice" but also reaffirms that poetry is the language of love (oo la la)

SO As You Like It the performance

-The Globe used to be quite tourist-y (Family...think Moulin Rouge in France style). Cool place... bad acting and theater. Three years ago they got a new director who has really changed the way things have been done, and now they do REALLY good theater

-Clum's best adivce: "three words...Rent. The. Cushion." wooden benches for 2.5 hours would have been rough. :)

-As You Like It (dad) was done in a more traditional way. costumes and such. no modernization really. except every now and then they would add sort of a modern hint in some way. One actor was talking about how children behave as rascals or something and patted a boy on the head. stuff like that. Also, at the very end, when all four couples get married, they do a traditional shakespearian dance. Right after that, they broke out into this wildly fun dance that was definitely 2009, silly, and fun and we clapped and whatnot. it was great

-Touchstone, was everyone's favorite. HE WAS HILARIOUS. Played by Dominic Rowan, who CLum says traditionally plays Romantic hero roles, the guy really really really wanted to do this part. and was phenomenal. He had jibes and movements and facials that were great. 

-My favorite, was Rosalind...Naomi Frederick. She was pretty and strong. and awesome. Also my favorite line is said by her "I am a woman. When I think, I must speak." (irony: She was actually supposed to be played by a man dressed up as a woman...who eventually dresses up like a man). 

-The columns on the stage were decorated to look like trees in the forest which was cool.

-When Orlando starts writing on every tree bad poetry about how much he loves Rosalind, they started dropping little slips of paper with poems onto them into the audience...hilarious

-They gave the people standing up, paper hats to block the sun, I got one. I had to. they're hilarious..

-It was overall a great performance. Clum says it's the best he's ever seen of As You Like It. It was hilarious, well acted, and definitely changed a lot of our groups' minds about Shakespeare. It is so much easier to watch shakespeare. Not to mention, you catch more of his wit, sarcasm, and irony by listening to it. Reading it...You have to be fully devoted to actually catch all the tones and emotions of it. I loved it. 

(the globe and Kyle & I with the funny paper hats to block the sun)

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Today

Today, I slept in until 10:30 and said, fine, I'll get up. I do like the bed here. I rounded up...Geoff, Cameron, Kyle, Chelsea, and Ted and we started to head over to the theater for today because it was in a different area (Islington, which was actualy a really cool little area). We first stopped at King's Cross to catch the underground....and see Platform 9 & 3/4 (Kind of a big deal for Harry Potter fans, mom and dad). Got to Islingston and went to this restaurant called Chilango which was like Chipotle and very cool. I got a vegetarian one with peppers and guac. yummy mucho mucho. 

Today's show was When the Rain Stops Falling," which turned out to be a perfect title. The theater, the Almeida, is actually a new theater, in an old building 1837, used to be some scientific and literary institute, been 100 things since then and is not a theater starting 1980 I think. Clum saw it a couple weeks ago with a group of graduate students he did a program with for two weeks. There was a bunch of famous people there (ie Dustin Hoffman) there to see it because it's really gotten in the news. Asked us if we wanted to see it, of course we were all in, got us scattered seats. and off we went today.

When the Rain Stops Falling was originally performed in Australia in 2008 (yeah, brand new). This was it's European premiere (and No, mom, I dunno if this could ever come to the States...). It openings with rain POURING on the stage. 

I got the play. Had to. such great monologues (future audition material). and good story (maybe read this one, too, mom?)

I wanna retype something on the back of the play, gives you an idea about it:

"An epic play spanning four generations and two hemispheres, When the Rain Stops Falling moves from the claustrophobia of a London flat in 1959 to the windswept coast of southern Australia, and into the heart of the Australian desert in 2039. ...[it] interwaves a series of connected stories, as seven people confront the mysteries of their past in order to understand their future, revealing how patterns of betrayal, love and abandonment are passed on. Until finally, as the desert is inundated with rain, one young man finds the courage to defy the legacy."

It was incredibly sad, but amazing. That describes it pretty well, and I don't want to give one part away, in case you want to read it, mom. 

But I love the way playwrights can intermingle time frames. there were four time periods that sometimes were on stage all together, and other times just them. It led you back and forth between different times, so you pieced together yourself how everything actually played out. I made a prediction about how Gabrielle's seven year old brother was killed (as did a couple others), that turned out to be true so I was pretty proud of myself (haha). But it was so interesting to see how it played out. and SO SAD. Today was their last performance, and I am so glad that Clum got us tickets. 

One key part of it was Ayer's Rock, which Nate (if you're reading this!) walked around in Australia for five hours. It was pretty cool! I thought of you!

Anyway, it is Fourth of July (Wish I was at the lake, watching the fireworks from the boat SO BAD) and I should go hang out with my American friends, haha, but I'll try and write a little bit more tomorrow. 

I'll just leave you with the opening scene of When the Rain Stops Falling by Andrew Bovell and then my favorite quotes typed out, just so I'll remember.

First scene:

Let us begin with

A steady fall of rain.

Gabriel York wears a raincoat...

People pass him by. Back and forth. Back and forth....they carry umbrellas and raincoats.  Their heads are bent against the relentless weather and against their relentless lives.  Back and forth. Back and forth. Until in unison they stop.

And Gabriel opens his mouth and screams.

And a woman falls to her knees in the street.

And a fish falls from the sky and lands at Gabriel's feet.

Black.

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(all the people walking around are actually all the characters from all the time periods and generations. very cool).

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fave quotes and some are paraphrased. (applicable to the play):

"There are parts of me you have never touched."

-Gabrielle York

"'Passions, great passions can elevate the soul to do great things.' But a woman without passion in her life, has nothing to do but wait." - Elizabeth perry

"Dear Son, in the desert, on a clear night, if you know where to look, you can see the planet Saturn.  The word planet derives from the Greek and means wanderer. Saturn is named after the Roman god who devoured his own son. Forgive me."

-Henry Law

"You can be standing on solid ground then without even noticing, it turns to water beneath you.  And if you don't move, you'll drown."

-Gabrielle York

"I have such a yearning to stand under a different sky than the one I was born under"

-Gabriel Law

"I have such a yearning to be more than I am."

"But you're everything. To me you're everything. What more could you be?"

-Henry Law, Elizabeth Perry

"You don't have a right to see the future."

-Elizabeth

"Let the dead take care of the dead."

-Gabriel, then others

"Cruel aren't they? Parents."

"Cruel aren't they? Children."

"And I know she's safe, this Gabrielle, but I'm holding on. I'm still holding on"

-Joe

"Having nothing to say is another way of having so much to say you dare not begin."

-Elizabeth perry (older) and a couple others.

"I love being in a car at night... because you can only see so far ahead and that's enough, for now."

"I love you"

-Gabrielle. then Gabriel.

"Somewhere at the end of this mess is where you belong."

-Gabriel York (to Andrew - 4th generation)

"Listen...the rain has stopped."

-Gabriel York.