Life In The Oyster

To Be, Or Not to be!

Shakespeare! What memories it recalls.

First, there was our drama group's first run in, and I'm sure it was a disaster. A Comedy of Errors. There was the mime at the beginning where Andrew who was playing the father, took his twin sons (dolls, thankfully) and carried them around by they're heads which he squeezed with a rather disturbing amount of relish. Lines weren't memorized, costumes were, funny. The fat cook weighed about ninety pounds and was five five. (or the equivalent thereof) I was a nun.

Next was A Midsummer Night's Dream. If I put the 's in the wrong place, I apologize, I will never get it. THAT was fun. Rehearsal week, we memorized EVERYONES' lines, and the whole week, we were reciting them. Shakespeare applies to every part of life. Some of you might recall running lines in a big room with the lights off. There were also snacks. So in the middle of a line, someone would yell to pass the chips, everyone would erupt into laughter and it would take a few minutes to get back into character. Then there was the fun of saying some one else's lines, Jacob and Alex crawling around under the tables and tickling feet and stealing shoes. Once you know the play well enough, you can insert lines in wrong places and everything. Hilarious stuff.

Last year, *sniff* my last play with that group... We did Twelfth Night. Read it, it's hilarious. You know that line about "some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them"? Out of context, it sounds inspirational. When you know what's happening, it's hilarious. This guy is in love with the lady he works for, but he's a total dork. So she won't give him the time of day. For some fun, some of her other servants write a letter in her handwriting, set the trap where he'll find it, then when he reads the note he is inspired to do crazy things because he thinks she's asked him to, but since she hasn't he looks like an idiot, is thrown in prison for being crazy and then they send down a fake priest to make more fun of him and Oh Boy. That's just a sub plot.

My sister played the crazy man, I played the guy who pretended to be the priest, Jacob and Andrew (mrs. S's son, not crazy dad) played his sidekick, they work together nearly as well as Jacob and Jason did. Heather played Jacob's girlfriend who he ends up marrying. We had so many things go wrong in the performances. The first night, my guitar was waiting in the back of the auditorium through the first couple scenes before I have to bring it with me. Well I take it up and start to play, and something isn't right. I check my fingering and it's fine, as I'd been practicing nearly nonstop all week. Some of the kids running around (little kids, like preschool, a hazard of a family theater night) had messed with the nobs and it was ALL out of tune. My uncle, master guitar player, was in the audience and said I caught it fast enough that it wasn't noticeable, but... I was horrified. THEN in the scene where the crazy man is in the dungeon, and Jacob and I contrive to trick him, the robe and beard were never where they belonged. heh. Jacob is a whiz with mess ups and ad libbed thorugh it and we mimed them.

Since Jacob was supposed to be a drunk (he couldn't be CALLED that because it was a family show) it caused much hilarity.


And then.

There was the best one yet.

Perhaps of all time.

The Taming of the Shrew.

The ladies were beautiful. The guys handsome. Everyone was funny. I laughed till I cried. The make up. Like wow.


Some of you may not recognize that guy as Spencer. When he first came on stage I did an inventory trying to figure out who he was. Then I remembered. Spencer was spectacular. His voice, his walk, his mannerisms, his attitude, A wonderful job.

I have become boring.

Bethany leaves for London on Friday. *Sniff* It's so cool that she's going to the same place I did, and I get to tell her about the hair salon, or the house, or Lily, the housekeeper. She's going to go to Sevan, and Tblisi, and maybe Gumri and everything. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back. I wonder if all the same people will be there.... Like Rob and Chad, and Kerry and Tim and Arman and Roy.... Wow.

That is a post. It stinks, but it's a post.

posted by Marguerite @ 5/08/2006 06:38:00 PM