types and auditioning (my day off)

Life outside Milwaukee Shakespeare: I had 40 glorious hours at home in Chicago.
Leisure time! I got to see the new Michel Gondry film Be Kind Rewind, the one with Mos Def and Jack Black making their own versions of famous films and sweetly inspiring the audience to “take stock in their own happiness” by democratizing their entertainment [...]

codeswitching on the fly

I wrote this in 2 parts over Monday and Tuesday; I aspire to shorter and more frequent posts, but so far it hasn’t worked out that way.  My apologies. 
Monday: Today’s headache is of the tension variety, starting at my temples, residing primarily along my jaw, and loitering around my shoulders.  I was not called Sunday, [...]

fitting the Roman Soldier

Ciao, ladies! Here’s me with all-star Costume Manager Darcy Devens.
 And here’s the Designer’s rendering of “Roman Soldier.”
Since a crooked figure may attest in small place a million (So says the Prologue in Henry V), it appears as if I’m going to play the entire Roman army under the command of Bryce Lord as Caius Lucius.  [...]

Puppies!

Day Two of tablework, and I get an ocular headache–too much staring at text and screens, too much coffee.  Still, this is cool–going through the play painstakingly to make sure we know what’s being said, to whom it’s being said, what the subtext under the said things is, and also to add and subtract things [...]

the storytelling tree

As the first rehearsal of Cymbeline approached, I grew a bit apprehensive.  I was (and still am) a bit unsure of exactly what I’m going to playing onstage, and what kind of Cymbeline I was going to be a part of.  Education work-wise, there were less Big Themes n’ Ideas jumping off the page for [...]

ye olde requisite intro

The play is Cymbeline by William H. Shakespeare, produced by Milwaukee Shakespeare, directed by Jeffrey Sichel. 

First day of rehearsal equals sitting around a wagon train of tables going through business and reading the play over carrot sticks and little chocolate donuts, mainlining coffee.  Go around the table, tell us who you are and who you’re [...]

Get ready, Milwaukee Shakespeare fans

For Cymbeline, our blogger with be Matthew Pierce.  Matt is the Milwaukee Shakespeare Education Associate as well as the actor that understudied and went on for Jeffrey Withers as Prince Hal during 1 Henry IV last season (read this blog to hear a little more about that: http://milwaukeeshakespeare.wordpress.com/2007/04/23/the-curse-redux/ and http://milwaukeeshakespeare.wordpress.com/2007/04/24/understudy/). 
We are excited to have Matt in [...]

#51: Castmates’ Parting Thoughts

Dear Friends,
A few castmates had some post-production reflections I’d like to pass along:
 Robert Spencer (Feste):
Last words, mmm, let me think.  Oh, yes, I VOW  NEVER TO WORK WITH KEVIN RICH AGAIN!!!  Just kidding!
Seriously, I am so missing everyone already.  This is one I would love to have played much longer.  I feel I was just beginning to reach that level of [...]

#50: The Question of Malvolio

Dear Friends,
A recent comment contained an excellent question:
“I couldn’t figure out the “purpose” of Malvolio in the play. His character and the sub-plot on him seems to me to be “filler” to make the play “the right length.” What am I missing?”
I have a few thoughts about this.  Here goes:
First of all, Shakespeare broke from [...]

#49: Snowflakes

Dear Friends,
 The hardest thing about closing the show last weeked was that we felt it had just arrived.  Which isn’t to say that our performances on opening weekend weren’t good– it’s just that it usually takes about five performances in front of audiences to really feel like you’ve hit your stride.  This is probably why [...]