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Of daggers & daughters & decadence.

Published by Cassandra Lewis February 16th, 2010 Cassandra Lewis in Romeo & Juliet. 0 Comments

Paul (Mercutio) & I were talking tonight about this & that, & somehow we came upon the topic of death/suicide. During this, I brought up one of Juliet’s lines, the line implying that suicide is the only power one has over one’s life.

Paul then asked me, “Does Lady Capulet ever consider killing herself? Why hasn’t she?” He added, “Maybe she’s jealous of Juliet’s bravery for just doing it.”

I was completely taken aback, amazed I hadn’t wondered this myself. She’s obviously miserable; no amount of decadent parties & beautiful dresses can cure her unhappiness. So… why hasn’t she killed herself? Does she secretly think about it? Has she herself remembered that apothecary in Mantua & deliberated purchasing her own death?

And if so, what’s stopping her?

“My child, my only life,
Revive, look up, or I will die with thee!
…
But one thing to rejoice and solace in,
And cruel death hath catch’d it from my sight!”

Is Juliet the only thing keeping her alive? And if so, why isn’t she more openly affectionate? Why isn’t she more involved in her daughter’s life?

And who’s to say she doesn’t kill herself after she buries her daughter for a second time? Lady Montague herself “dies” of grief over her son’s loss; why not Lady Capulet for her daughter?

But something is holding Lady C back. Something is preventing her from death, yet also from life; from warmly loving Juliet. But what is it? Was the loss of her other children so devastating that aloofness became her only defense? Did she force herself to love Juliet from afar out of fear of losing her & thus feeling that pain all over again?

Perhaps those parties & dresses & handsome young men were distractions from her misery & buried fears – à la Marie Antoinette. Perhaps they (& Juliet) were exactly what she needed to keep her from ending it all.

But when the masks are off & the young men go home & her only living child is cold & still, that’s when everything crumbles for Lady Capulet. That’s when aloofness is no longer enough. That’s when she’s finally free to openly love her little girl.

Blocking rehearsals

Published by elrandolph February 15th, 2010 elrandolph in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

We had our first blocking rehearsal last night, and are now in the middle of our second one. It’s really nice to get the play up on it’s feet; it helps me figure out what my lines mean. Just out of these two rehearsals, I’ve learned a lot about just how awkward my character is. The scene between Romeo and Benvolio aren’t so bad, but it really comes out in the scenes where Mercutio joins into the mix. I think Benvolio is just overpowered by the force of the personalities around him. Between the two of them, he just kind of sits back and lets them take charge. He observes them, and the other people around him. I think it is somewhat telling that at two different points in the play, people come to him to report on what is going on, and while this has something to do with him being in the right place at the right time, I think that he really is a student of human nature. Maybe this has something to do with his reluctance to get into the middle of the fight between the two houses. In addition to fearing the law, I think he genuinely sees the damage hate does to his friends.

One of the scenes I had the most fun with was blocking the party scene. Prior to this, Benvolio talks a big game about meeting women, and I think he is genuinely excited about it. But then Gregg has me going straight to the refreshments table instead of dancing. It’ll give me a chance to really play up the whole shy personality thing, as well allow me to observe everything that goes on.

Memorization is going, but it’s a slow process, I really am very concerned about getting every word right. I can’t wait to not have to have the text in hand; it’s hard to remember my scansion when I’m just reading it. I know that I’m supposed to scan it and then forget it, but I think that it has pointed me to some really profound moments in my lines. For instance, in the scene where I am telling the prince everything about the fight between Mercutio, Tybalt, and Romeo, I have a line that’s missing like 4 beats. It’s a great place to kind of be overwhelmed by everything, and really heightens the next line about how angry and bloodthirsty Tybalt is.

The pearl & the pig.

Published by Cassandra Lewis February 15th, 2010 Cassandra Lewis in Romeo & Juliet and rehearsal. 0 Comments

Some breakthroughs I’ve had during blocking:

Lady Capulet truly believes she’s giving Juliet a gift by wedding her to Paris.

All this time I’ve been wondering why Lady Capulet has been goading her daughter into the very life she herself hates; she was married far too early to a man she didn’t (& doesn’t) love, had children when she herself was a child, & is now trapped in a life she never wanted.

She doesn’t want Juliet to suffer the same fate; she’s trying to save her from it. And she thinks Paris is everything Lord Capulet isn’t: young, handsome, & noble. Thus, to her, Paris is nothing short of a delightful gift to her only daughter.

“I wish the fool were married to her grave” = a better fate than life for her daughter.

This has been another Lady Capulet-ism I’ve been grappling with. I’ve been asking myself why she would wish something so terrible upon her daughter… only to completely break down over Juliet’s death a few pages later.

And I realized that this sentiment is a kind one. Lady Capulet knows that Juliet, by declining the marriage proposition to Paris, has just sealed an ugly fate. And she also knows her husband’s temper very well, & that he will surely abandon Juliet because of her decision.

Thus, death is the kinder option for her poor, naive daughter – who, to Lady Capulet, has just turned down a beautiful gift.

Lord Capulet is an insensitive jerk.

Although it’s pretty obvious that theirs is a loveless marriage, I don’t think Lady Capulet realized how heartless her husband truly was until Tybalt’s death. Tybalt was perhaps the son she once had, but lost; the son she never got to raise & love.

And upon his death, what does Lord Capulet do? Utters some words about being sad, then proceeds with the plans to marry off their daughter – the only child they have left.

And although Lady Capulet supports the marriage between Paris & Juliet, she needs time to cope with Tybalt’s loss; the last thing she needs is another child snatched from her too soon. And that’s exactly what Lord Capulet is doing – without even consulting her.

Which leads to my last conclusion…

It sucked to be a woman in this time.

Perhaps it’s just Lord Capulet, but it seems like women had absolutely no voices in their homes. They were seen & not heard. Whenever I’m on stage with my husband, I’m directed to stand behind him, or away from him, & to silently comply with his orders.

But Lady Capulet is a woman with a lot to say. She’s passionate & heartfelt & intelligent. She is nothing to be ignored.

I just hope I can get that across.

P.S.
I still don’t know her name. Angelica perhaps?

Rehearsal 4

Published by paulmorris February 15th, 2010 paulmorris in "Play practice" ;). 0 Comments

I wonder if I’ve met with nurse before. I know I probably see her at the party, but do I remember her? We shall see…

Blocked my death scene today. I feel pretty good about my lines except for those last few I have… Christ It’s…. Well… I have to figure out how the hell to do this. I’m stabbed. (I’m going with near the heart right now.) I then have to fall on the stairs and talk. And talk. And talk. Then get taken away by Benny to die.

Sigh… I kinda wish I had… “Alas, my body stops.” Then I fall.

Nope. Mercutio feels the need to talk. A lot.

Hmm… This is like blog number 20.

Okay. So. My death. I don’t like sitting down so early. I dunno. I’ll have to really force this to fit. It’s awkward. Romeo and Benvolio hovering over me. Those guys are the last thing I want around me at this second. I wanna run away, but I can’t.

I played around with my last “Your houses!” today. (Last line I have.) I played it more like… “I can’t believe how ridiculous your stupid little feud is, I have to die cause of it?”

I think it works better then screaming it. I don’t think I could scream at this point. I die offstage like five seconds later.

I really want my death to be dirty. I have to get that across. I need to show how terrified I am. But I have to try to hide that terror. I’m a better swordsman than tybalt. I wasn’t going to kill him. I’m the prince’s cousin… He’s not going to execute me for fighting. It’s a hot day. I want some action. I want to beat Tybalt up. I’m not going to kill the guy though. Wait Romeo what are you doing? Ow. Wait… This sucks. Oh I am dead. That sucks too.

Four scenes to get the audience to understand me. Four scenes to get it across how close me and Romeo are. Four scenes to show the audience…

Well…

Tybalt kills Mercutio.

Romeo kills Tybalt.

Romeo gets banished.

Juliet pretends to kill herself. Romeo hears shes dead.

Romeo kills Paris.

Romeo kills himself.

Juliet Kills herself.

If only I didn’t exist Romeo could have lived happily ever after.

Being Romeo’s Mom…

Published by bethanyfarrell February 14th, 2010 bethanyfarrell in Acting and Romeo & Juliet. 0 Comments

Hello! I’m Bethany Farrell and I am playing Romeo’s mom, Lady Montague, in this production. (I also am working on the sets as a scene shop assistant, but that is a different blog post)

Lady Montague is a mother and a wife. She loves her son deeply and is very confused by the sequence of events that end in her son’s banishment from their home in Verona. She doesn’t understand how her son came to murder her enemy, except that she knows that he was acting on behalf of his friend. Lady Montague hates the Capulets because they have caused so much trouble for her and her husband. I am really excited to step into this character, her beautiful clothes, and this exciting production.

Foreshadowing the throwdown

Published by Katie B. OConnor February 13th, 2010 Katie B. OConnor in Acting, Direction, Romeo & Juliet and rehearsal. Click on post title to comment

Yesterday Gregg and I were working on my first monologue in the play. It occurs when Lady Capulet and Juliet are discussing the possibility of Juliet getting married soon. In the monologue the Nurse reminisces about weaning Juliet, whilst remembering her daughter, Susan, who died as a young child. Her specific line is , “Well Susan is with God, she was too good for me”. I thought that this was simply a parent remembering what was probably the most painful moment in her life. Gregg asked me to go deeper. “What literary device is at work here?!” I honestly had no idea. As an English major, I like to think that my experience with close reading helps me keep up with the Theatre majors when it comes to understanding the text. But in this case, I was at a total loss.

“Foreshadowing! She’s foreshadowing Juliet’s death!”

I was stunned when he said that. It had never occurred to me. Gregg always says that every word in a play is there for a reason, but I thought the part about Susan was just to indicate that the Nurse is more than just a clown. He went further to point out that this speech is the longest in the play so far. Why is it given to the Nurse? I think it’s because she’s one of the oldest characters in the play and is something of a storyteller. She has so much energy and demands attention (probably more than a servant should) wherever she goes.

Speaking of energy…

Today we blocked the scene where the Nurse seeks out Romeo in town and banters with Mercutio. Whenever I’d read the scene in the past, I always saw it as Mercutio being a “saucy merchant” and the Nurse being flustered. But it opened up for me today. Mercutio and the Nurse are both attention whores, plain and simple. Mercutio finally has Romeo’s attention after losing him the night before, only to have it stolen again by Juliet by way of the Nurse. When Mercutio teases her, it’s more than just a young man ridiculing an old woman: it’s a throwdown. So now I see the scene as a battle between Mercutio and the Nurse for Romeo’s attention, the audience’s attention, and the much sought after title of comedic relief.

When she’s outside the Capulet house, the Nurse presents herself as a lady. I was having trouble trying to make myself sound more “important” but now that the idea of competing with Mercutio for Romeo’s attention has planted itself, I think I’ll have a much firmer grasp on the scene next time. Just gotta keep the energy up!

Rehearsal 3

Published by paulmorris February 13th, 2010 paulmorris in "Play practice" ;). 0 Comments

Block block blockin on heaven’s doorrrr.

We blocked everything but my death scene today. Gregg asked me a question about my line “without his roe like a dried herring.” For some reason I forgot what it meant… That was slightly embarrassing… I’m making fun of Romeo’s penis… But it’s a very awkward line to make “sexual.” We shall attempt to “make it so” as Picard says.

I feel weird about this rehearsal. I’m getting so annoyed of doing my lines perfectly in my head, or at home… Yet when I stand there I fall back to this “mugging” crap. Lines I have memorized disappear. Gregg tells me to pronounce something in a different way and I forget to do it like 10 seconds later. Queen Mab is still plaguing me. It’s so weird. I did it the first time as crazy. The second time like I was performing something. The third time like it was a very sexual story. Gregg made me stand in place. God… There ain’t nothing like standing still while trying to perform the queen mab speech. It’s…. Terrible.

Gregg told me to be almost obsessed with Romeo which I wholeheartedly agree with. It’s just a question of how do I do that. “That same pale hard hearted wench, that Rosaline…” That’s a pretty good one to express it on.

In the second scene I’m in when me and Benvolio look for Romeo who is hiding from us… I think I “discovered” something today.

I think Mercutio is well aware that Romeo can hear him. Mercutio knows Romeo is hiding. But Mercutio thinks that Romeo is playing at first… Until of course Romeo never comes out with a “surprise!” or something. I’m going to look into that stuff more. A pause before “That in thy likeness thou appear to us.” Seems to work. Like “Why the hell haven’t you come out yet? The night’s just started let’s do something.”

I tried “Romeo, good night.” But I said it like this “Romeo? (Final pause hoping for romeo to respond) Good night. I’ll to my truckle bed, this field bed is too COLD for ME to sleep.”

I think I’m really hurt that Romeo is “ditching” us. I have to get it in my head that I’m more obsessed with vying for Romeo’s attention.

Stop mugging too. Which sucks… Cause Mercutio is kind of all about mugging. I have to do that… While not doing it.

I also feel the impulse to run away from Katie when I call her “ancient” but I’ll have to force a meaning to stay around and mess with her dress and head and stuff.

All in all…. Seemed like I did a lot more character work today than I thought I was going to. I expected just blocking… So maybe that might be some of the reasonings behind my mistakes today. Hopefully I’ll be “in da zone” tomorrow. We shall see. Gerp.

Oh and to Jon… I only check my blogs like 30-40 times a day so don’t hate. I think Jon is jealous of how awesome my blogs are. Like how instead of talking about my character I usually end up digressing into me complaining about things I don’t like. Jon WISHES he had my blogging skillz. (See it’s Bold, italicized, AND IN CAPS.) YOU AINT GOT NOTHIN ON ME JONNY BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow I have so much free time it hurts.

On Bookends and Insomnia.

Published by paulmorris February 11th, 2010 paulmorris in Mercutio. 0 Comments

I’m completely exhausted yet I can never fall asleep anymore. I find myself semi-hallucinating though so that’s pretty interesting at times. Sigh… Just hit 53 hours. My personal record is 100 hours. It’s a very interesting experience. I suggest you try it sometime. (Preferably not when you’re expected to “function” in society.)

I think the weirdest thing about being Mercutio is the fact I’ve done it before. When I was a freshman I was pretty much Mercutio in “R and J.”

It’s odd. This bookending thing. First play and last play, same character with completely different results.

That’s what’s so weird. Being Mercutio again actually gives me a form of measurement in how I’ve “improved” or “changed” as an actor and/or human being.

I feel incredibly lucky to have been given this opportunity because as far as I know… At UMW theatre… This probably hasn’t happened very often. Or ever to my knowledge. One actor, two mainstage shows, showing the actual progress I have made. An actual comparison of a particular character from an “unlearned” freshman actor’s perspective. To the actor I am today. The incredibly intelligent, infallible, and powerfully talented senior actor that I undoubtedly have become.

I hope you “got” my sarcasm there… But obviously I would like to assume I have at least gotten a bit “better” at this whole gig.

It’s so weird. I still remember my exact inflections on lines from my freshman year. Some of those were correct. A lot were wrong. It’s a shame I probably won’t get to do Mercutio again three years from now to see what terrible acting choices I will make for this run in retrospect.

I’ve been intoxicated by Mercutio since I was in forth grade. My Father introduced me to him. He is and always will be my absolute favorite character of all time. It’s intimidating stepping into his skin… But God I’m in love with this.

“Time is a silly thing sometimes.”

-Paul Morris-

Oh… Hey snow. Again. Hey there snow.

Published by paulmorris February 10th, 2010 paulmorris in Random. 0 Comments

This isn’t even fun anymore… I used to enjoy snow. Now… Instead… I’m about to scrape ice off of my car. I’m sure I’ll be complaining about how hot it is during the summer.

I really haven’t been thinking about Mercutio lately. More just… Snow.

It’s funny how tiny little things like snowflakes can all form together to make something solid.

I don’t like my blog. I re-read it in my mind earlier tonight and became horrendously embarrassed of the whole thing. I suppose that’s what blogs are for though. “Oh look at how far I’ve come.”

It’s more just painful now. We had a table read… About a week ago. It’s annoying. I think that’s why I can’t think about Mercutio… I’ve done everything I can do. I HAVE to get this on its feet now. I can’t just keep thinking anymore. This isn’t right. Snow I detest you but I love you. I realized I should be going to class in an hour… But I want to do something play related. I’m sure I’m going to eat those words come the weekend after 20 hours straight of blocking. But hey, look at how far I’ve come.

Snow must really suck for Almost, Maine. Go see Almost, Maine. Cameron, Kalyna, Taylor, Magan, and Maggie (and others, I don’t know who tech is) have been putting in a lot of work for it. I don’t know what the forecast is for the weekend but I’m just going to assume it’s going to be snow related. If I, for some reason, have readers that didn’t know there was a play this weekend… Well there’s a play this weekend in studio 115. Trudge through the snow. These kids were working on your snow days.

February 11 – 14 at 7:30 p.m.
February 13 – 14 at 2:00 p.m.

Oh wow. Looking at those dates I just realized three years ago was tech week for “R and J.” We had a snow day on Valentine’s day (day before opening night) and ran the show through twice. I remember slipping on ice right after Gregg told us to “take good care of ourselves and not die.” I hit my head really hard and was afraid I forgot all my lines.

Paul from three years ago is freaking the hell out right about now and is using that as an excuse to skip class.

Paul from two years ago is freaking drunk as hell right about now and is too drunk to think about going to class.

Paul from one year ago is freaking mad as hell right about now and is too pissed off to go to class.

Paul right now is being ever so contemplative and writing a blog in complete stream of consciousness and it’s a snow day so he doesn’t have to go to class.

“Oh look at how far I’ve come.”

-Paul Morris-

cabin fever and line memorization

Published by elrandolph February 8th, 2010 elrandolph in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

We haven’t had any rehearsals since the first readthrough on thursday night. I’m kind of getting tired of my apartment walls. The readthrough went well though, it was clear that a lot of people had put some thought into their lines already, and that they were really committed to the show. However, it’s hard for me personally to connect and really make choices while I’m sitting down and not really in the moment, so I’m really looking forward to when rehearsals start in earnest, if we ever manage to dig out of this snow.

I’ve been thinking about how Lady Capulet’s lines affect me in act 3. Mercutio and Tybalt are dead, and I’m heartbroken but trying to save Romeo’s life by telling the truth, and out of her rage, she calls me a liar. I feel like that is a particularly horrible affront to Benvolio, because he strikes me as an intensely honorable person. Not only that, but he is telling the truth to prevent further bloodshed, so Lady Capulet calling him a liar in order to kill someone else would be the antithesis of everything he stands for. Unfortunately, I have no more lines, so I can’t express my displeasure that way. Obviously I will have to wait till rehearsal and try out different things, and see which one feels best in the moment, but right now thinking about it makes me want to spit at her, I’m so disgusted. That seems a little strong, however, and would probably disrupt the scene horribly. Maybe I’m just so broken up already that this doesn’t even register, or pushes me completely over the edge in terms of grief.

I’m memorizing my lines, which is my least favorite part of the process, but better to get it out of the way than have it hang over you.

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