a poem he can't reach you in
Hmph. I was going to blog of my fabulous adventures, but then LJ went down for maintenance! I went in to work today at 6 AM and managed to take a nap even after caffeine. In any case, I had a lovely time goofing around with ariastar. There was much Shakespeare nerding. We watched Slings & Arrows S1 and I now have S2 & S3. I LOVE EVERYONE. I hope to be Ellen when I grow up, except without the chain-smoking. Well, and dating a pizza boy would be kind of sketchy for a teacher.
S&A is more concerned with character journeys than Making A Statement On Theater Today, which is perfectly fine. I was pleased with the end of S1 and it pretty much made me want to hug everyone except Holly. (Nobody wants to hug Holly. It brings her close enough to go for your jugular.) I am left pondering what S1 says about theater.
So, at the beginning, New Burbage has become utterly commercial, going through the motions, putting on "safe" interpretations of Shakespeare, etc. This is done partly out of Oliver's ennui, but also in the name of "accessibility," except commercialized Shakespeare is bowdlerized Shakespeare: no matter how simplified, Shakespeare performed without passion or innovation is not going to attract new theater goers. The audience is going to be the same old people experiencing the same old thing. They go to plays not to see great theater, but Shakespeare As Expected, Business As Usual. (I am convinced that the profits increase that Richard and Holly go on about is due to the gift shop installation, the well-established name of the festival, and increased PR efforts. They're not attracting a different crowd, just more of the same old crowd.)
Along comes Geoffrey, who decries the commercialization of theater, who believes that people go to the theater to be challenged, to be changed. He strips away the trappings of Business As Usual: no costumes, no set. He directs his actors (well, mostly he directs Jack) to use themselves to play their character, though using the language is essential. Ellen cannot be Gertrude until Jack finds an authentic voice for Hamlet: he tries putting the prince into his own words, but this seems more about turning Hamlet into Jack than turning Jack into Hamlet. To Geoffrey, great acting (and great directing! :D) is enough to make Shakespeare accessible, but the point of accessibility is in, mm, the audience investing thought and emotion in the performance, rather than politely applauding Business As Usual. Darren's hilarious and horrible ideas are still Business As Usual because they are all about spectacle, not about the show.
I thought it was odd that the show really didn't feature an audience member being changed or challenged by New Burbage's Hamlet, before I realized that duh, they just weren't sitting in the audience. Kate is in the cast because she saw the last good Hamlet; she discovered specific ambitions and talents and joys because of one performance. And then there is the audience of this Hamlet: Richard. He is moved to tears by the performance, even when said performance features a mediocre action-star-cum-Shakespearean-actor in the starring role. The play is moving because the actors and the director have made it real. Richard has his ideas about theater redefined. Art trumps business.
I don't think that S2 & S3 will cover this, but I am curious as to how Geoffrey would go about attracting people who think theater is not for them, rather than challenge the people who have a comfortable notion about what theater is. Is it enough to do Shakespeare with authentic feeling? Will this draw in audience members who are not even marginally comfortable with early modern English? I don't know. I do know that I was a bit irritated at Geoffrey for sneering at accessibility, even though I know what he meant. Making difficult text accessible is an essential part of teaching. It is impossible to derive meaning from art when you don't know what it says.
Of course, drama is meant to be seen, not read, so I do have faith that Geoffrey & Co. could put on accessible Shakespeare without violating their artistic integrity. It's just that that requires bringing new people in to your space, or (more likely to succeed) visiting their space. Maybe I just want Geoffrey to run through the streets and have another duel. I would love to see that, especially since then he could start panicking about blurring the line between theatrics and real life again.
In conclusion, I miss my college theater.
S&A is more concerned with character journeys than Making A Statement On Theater Today, which is perfectly fine. I was pleased with the end of S1 and it pretty much made me want to hug everyone except Holly. (Nobody wants to hug Holly. It brings her close enough to go for your jugular.) I am left pondering what S1 says about theater.
So, at the beginning, New Burbage has become utterly commercial, going through the motions, putting on "safe" interpretations of Shakespeare, etc. This is done partly out of Oliver's ennui, but also in the name of "accessibility," except commercialized Shakespeare is bowdlerized Shakespeare: no matter how simplified, Shakespeare performed without passion or innovation is not going to attract new theater goers. The audience is going to be the same old people experiencing the same old thing. They go to plays not to see great theater, but Shakespeare As Expected, Business As Usual. (I am convinced that the profits increase that Richard and Holly go on about is due to the gift shop installation, the well-established name of the festival, and increased PR efforts. They're not attracting a different crowd, just more of the same old crowd.)
Along comes Geoffrey, who decries the commercialization of theater, who believes that people go to the theater to be challenged, to be changed. He strips away the trappings of Business As Usual: no costumes, no set. He directs his actors (well, mostly he directs Jack) to use themselves to play their character, though using the language is essential. Ellen cannot be Gertrude until Jack finds an authentic voice for Hamlet: he tries putting the prince into his own words, but this seems more about turning Hamlet into Jack than turning Jack into Hamlet. To Geoffrey, great acting (and great directing! :D) is enough to make Shakespeare accessible, but the point of accessibility is in, mm, the audience investing thought and emotion in the performance, rather than politely applauding Business As Usual. Darren's hilarious and horrible ideas are still Business As Usual because they are all about spectacle, not about the show.
I thought it was odd that the show really didn't feature an audience member being changed or challenged by New Burbage's Hamlet, before I realized that duh, they just weren't sitting in the audience. Kate is in the cast because she saw the last good Hamlet; she discovered specific ambitions and talents and joys because of one performance. And then there is the audience of this Hamlet: Richard. He is moved to tears by the performance, even when said performance features a mediocre action-star-cum-Shakespearean-actor in the starring role. The play is moving because the actors and the director have made it real. Richard has his ideas about theater redefined. Art trumps business.
I don't think that S2 & S3 will cover this, but I am curious as to how Geoffrey would go about attracting people who think theater is not for them, rather than challenge the people who have a comfortable notion about what theater is. Is it enough to do Shakespeare with authentic feeling? Will this draw in audience members who are not even marginally comfortable with early modern English? I don't know. I do know that I was a bit irritated at Geoffrey for sneering at accessibility, even though I know what he meant. Making difficult text accessible is an essential part of teaching. It is impossible to derive meaning from art when you don't know what it says.
Of course, drama is meant to be seen, not read, so I do have faith that Geoffrey & Co. could put on accessible Shakespeare without violating their artistic integrity. It's just that that requires bringing new people in to your space, or (more likely to succeed) visiting their space. Maybe I just want Geoffrey to run through the streets and have another duel. I would love to see that, especially since then he could start panicking about blurring the line between theatrics and real life again.
In conclusion, I miss my college theater.