So, Sometimes, Things Go Awry

Sometimes, there's a play you really want to do and you've been planning on doing all year and then April shows up and you realize, "hmm, maybe this isn't going to happen for me after all..."

Such is the situation with "The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)".

For about a year now, the plan has been for me to act in this play, along with two other girls, in the role of Jessoline (I have named my character this because when you read the script, the "characters" are the playwrights' names, but when you actually act it, you use your own name. Hence, Jessoline for blogging purposes). However, as the AD for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at Richmond Shakespeare, an employee of Ukrop's and Beaufont HealthCare, a full-time VCU student, a leader in VCU's Invisible Children chapter, and someone who also needs to eat and sleep and shower at least every now and again, the notion of taking on one more project is almost laughable.

Almost.

It's been two years since I have acted and the itch is bad. I was really looking forward to "Compleat Works", but with "Midsummer" opening and school ending soon, there's no way we could do a play that requires such careful rehearsal in such a short amount of time. Le sigh.

Hopefully it works out, because I am so looking forward to the idea of an all-female version of this show, especially if I get to be in it. But worst case, it doesn't go forward, and I move on to the next project. Right?

What, a play toward?

The more I think about it, the more I realize that my place really is in the theatre. Maybe not onstage, though that would be ideal, but certainly involved in some way.

I have been given the task of designing some silly programs for us to use as props during a scene in "Midsummer", and as our stage manager Bryan put it, I am taking care of this with perhaps a little too much glee. I even have cast lists inside them. No, really. The cast of "Arrested Development" is apparently taking part in the story of the Thrice Three Muses Mourning the Loss of Learning (or whatever it's called - I never played Philostrate and I can't be bothered to look in my script at the moment). Just that little bit of involvement is enough to send me into giggles of joy and shivers of excitement. Just that little nibble of theatrical play is so fun for me that I almost can't stand it.

And I've always been like that. No matter the show, I'm always so excited to be a part of it that I plunge headfirst and give 110% to my role. Sure, sometimes that means I go a little method - gotta use the process that works best for you - but it always means that I know I've given it my all.

I don't really know why I felt the need to make an entry about something so obvious, but I just can't help myself. I just spent four hours at rehearsal in utter bliss. That kind of thing ought to be shared.

Fat Men in Skirts

Only a couple more chances to see "Fat Men in Skirts" at VCU, directed by my dear friend (and soon to be my dear director once we start "Compleat Works") Jonathan Flack! Tonight at 8:00 PM and tomorrow at 2:00 PM at Shafer St. Playhouse.

I saw it last night and I think I can speak for at least 90% of the audience when I say, quite simply, "Nicky Silver, you are a freak. A brilliant, brilliant freak". The play is chock-full of dark humor, sickening moments, incest, rape, cannibalism, and then moments where you really, truly want to run up onstage and rescue these characters before they totally destroy themselves.

Eben Kuhns is such a delightful surprise. I had only met him once before and I had never seen him act, so I had no idea what to expect. He is completely adorable at first, a stuttering eleven-year-old with a fixation on Katherine Hepburn, and yet when he morphs into a controlling, terrifyingly dangerous teenager, it is totally believable. The fact that he can snap back and forth between these two personalities is really telling of his acting ability.

Jenn Vick, the gorgeous Jenn Vick, is so good at simultaneously making you want to slap her and making you want to hug her. Her Phyllis is really heartbreaking, funny, and such a bitch. When she commands her son to eat lipstick in order to survive, it sounds totally plausible. When she has her shoe-obsessed breakdown, it also sounds totally plausible. Not an easy task, and she carries it off beautifully.

Bryan Hall reminded me of Robert Goulet with a dash of John Cleese and with a big helping of Ridiculously Funny sprinkled on top. Everything about him - the way he looked to the way he talked to his posture - helps suck you in and get invested in this character who really can be a complete jerk, and yet his inevitable destruction is wrenching.

Oh, and when Gentry Roth runs out as Popo Martin in all her schizophrenic glory, I couldn't help but immediately thing "This girl is the next Judy Greer". She's adorable...in that paranoid, potholder-making kind of way. Her time playing Pam is great, but it's really Popo that endears her to me.

Please go see it, if you can...it's FREE! and very well-done. Break a leg for the rest of your run, guys!

Stuff I've Learned

Here are a few things I have learned while working on Richmond Shakespeare's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream":

-The term "romantic entanglements" can never be taken too literally.
-Brandon Crowder's crotch is a magnet for Adam Mincks's face...and vice versa.
-Just when you think Kerry McGee couldn't become more adorable, she does.
-You will not win a battle of geekdom against Stacie Rearden Hall.
-Andrew Hamm is delightfulbolical.
-Don't punch Sandra Clayton in the stomach.
-Kerry and I have identical rehearsal processes: eat a brownie, go onstage.
-There is a such thing as "too far".
-There is no such thing as a bad time to join the JAZZ BAND or the ORCHESTRA.

Busy Bee.

That's what I am!

I've had school, work, rehearsals for "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and line-learning for "The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare Abridged". Busy, busy, busy.

"Midsummer" is already one of my favorite things I've ever worked on. It's so funny - and the cast is DYNAMITE. And I love working with Andrew Hamm. His reactions to what the actors do are priceless - sometimes he bursts out into uninhibited laughter, sometimes he gasps, sometimes he jumps up and down and claps, and sometimes he just whispers "I love actors!" to me. Whatever the reaction, it's guaranteed I'm going to love it. It's nice when a director doesn't just hide in the back of the house and bark orders. The enthusiasm is contagious and I've certainly caught it.

Movie recommendation time: "Sideways", "Vivre Sa Vie" (always, probably my favorite film at the moment), "The Fall", and "Regular Lovers". If you haven't seen any of them, you really need to.

I am falling behind on life in general.

I have so little to do and so much time to do it in.

Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.

I have a paper for my Media and Morality class, I need to finish reading Richard II, learn my lines for Compleat Works, update the other two blogs, end my addiction to Jordan almonds, and at least get started on a few writing projects that have yet to be written.

All in one week. This week. Spring break.

So, my apologies for falling way behind on the updating, especially for "Love to Every Corner". I was so thrilled at having a few days that were relatively unscheduled that I jumped at the chance to get some shuteye.

I saw "Amadeus" four times in total. Cried every time. That was a damn good show and I'm sad to see it close, but I'm stoked for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to start up. Sundaaaaaay.

122.

That's how much I weighed this morning.

I haven't seen that number since my freshman year of high school, before the Attack of the Giant Chest occurred. This has certainly made my day many times better!

I took my Shakespeare mid-term exam today. I think it went all right...I somehow managed to forget who made a certain quotation from As You Like It, but hopefully that won't count against me too much. I think my essay was pretty good.

I'm seeing "Amadeus" again tomorrow night with my dad, and once more on Friday night with my mom. I figured it was best not to take the divorced parents on the same night, and at any rate, I'm happy to see it twice more. It's that good. Plus, Jake's in it, and since he's one of my best friends, that makes it even cooler.

My writer's block is getting really intense lately. I write four sentences and call it quits. I'd like to go back to The Affairs of the Littlefaires for a while, but I can't seem to expand on Kate's story. B-Rea, any ideas?

SNOWING.

THAT IS WHAT IT IS DOING IN RICHMOND.

I haven't seen real snow in years...this is so beautiful. Snow has such a magical, calming quality to it. I think I'll be taking lots and lots of pictures in the early morning...this might call for some staying-up-until-dawn from me.

Rock Me, Amadeus

I saw "Amadeus" on Friday night at Richmond Shakespeare, and...

...holy cow. That was a good play. It was already a script that I adored, so what a treat that I got to go see one of my best friends with my other two best friends in it! All of the performances were excellent. The two leads, Mike Hamilton as Mozart and Andrew Hamm as Salieri, were right on pitch (ha-ha, I made a music funny) and played very well off of each other.

If you can go see it, GO. It runs one more weekend and it is not one to be missed!

www.richmondshakespeare.com