Response to Jamie

I too like the idea of warm-ups. With a tight schedule, maybe we could meet slightly earlier for those of us that can.

And as far as performances go, would it be at all possible to have the performances two seperate nights? I have the suspicion that a daytime audience will get fewer audience members, and I think would help people (I know it would help me) focus on my own game, instead of dividing my attention between my own pre-show nerves and the other show, and won't be able to give the other cast the attention they deserve. I suspect more audience will come to two seperate nights of performance, rather than one long day. I may be perfectly wrong, however. And I also get it if the Blackfriar's isn't ours for both nights.

ALSO:

Are we having any sort of publicity? Posters? Anything to invite the local community?

sketches

I'll be at rehearsals about a half an hour early,this week, with some basic costuming sketches/idea boards for cast b. Come, if you have time, and give me some feedback, and keep in mind these are just some ideas to try and get the ball rolling toward some concrete ideas.

Warm-ups? Fight Call?

Since we have finished the blocking portion of rehearsal I thought maybe we can do group warm-ups before rehearsal to build cast unity. Just a suggestion. The other matter I have involves the bandit scenes that will need further rehearsal if we plan, as we have, to use rapiers. I don't know if we will be able to set up outside rehearsals, but I do believe those scenes will need some major thought.

I would also like to learn how to appear like an amatuer swordsman. I realize that for stage in order to look bad at fighting you have to be very good with the weapon. I have very little experience working with the rapier, but am willing to work on it enough for the performance. I would also like to put out there that I would love to write a pre-show speech. Another matter on when the performances show also came up. For the benefit of an audience can we have some hours separating each casts performance?

Woo! Spring Break!

Hey, anyone in either cast, if any of you are here in S-Town over spring break and want to get together and run lines for the show, I'm here and more than willing to join in. I think we should try to get together at some point and attempt to speed through the lines.

In response to Jonanthan...

Here's a tidbit from Wikipedia (yay!) which I like, and it helped me see what seems to be a very possessive, unloving act in a different context:

..."All that was mine in Silvia I give to thee" (5.4.83). Many critics (such as Stanley Wells for example) interpret this to mean that Valentine is indeed handing Silvia over to her would-be rapist, but another school of thought suggests that Valentine simply means "I will love you [Proteus] with as much love as I love Silvia," thus reconciling the dichotomy of friendship and love as depicted elsewhere in the play.

^{Is the other cast treating the ending differently? I think it would be interesting and worthwhile to see what happens if we give each show a different ending in regard to this line.}

CAST B

I've already posted this week but I just had a brilliant idea (actually not that brilliant but fun). I've decided we should rename our cast from Cast B--because I always, ALWAYS, forget what cast I'm in to something more fun.
Here are my suggestions thus far:

Car Ramrod (because I wrote it on the paper!)
The One Eyed Wonder Weasels and Their Two Balls (dirty, but hilarious)
Fern Gully (because we're not assholes)
Scooty Puff Jr. (Thank you Futurama)

What suggestions do you guys have?

Language of Ownership and Other Thoughts

Rachel mentioned the other day that the last scene of the play still feels really awkward and wrong to her - which makes sense; it'd be pretty disturbing if it felt all fine and dandy. But it made me think about how it's not just the obvious things - the attempted rape, Valentine's "offer" - that make it so icky.

It's also the language of ownership as applied to the women which dominates even - especially - the "happy" part of the resolution. Thurio describes Silvia as "mine" - and part of Valentine's words against him dare him to "take possession of her." When he gives up and the Duke then bestows her on Valentine, he thanks the Duke for this "gift."

I realize that not all of this is necessarily disturbing - the way we express marriage with language always to some degree turns on language of ownership, i.e. that spouses belong to each other. But I really do feel that this play's finale takes it too far, or perhaps in the wrong direction, as basically all the men treat Silvia as if she is either theirs to give (Valentine, Duke) or an object to compete for (Thurio, Valentine).