Showing posts with label Shakespeare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shakespeare. Show all posts
25 May 2017
20 February 2013
Shakespeare the Critic
Hmmm, great indeed! "So we beat on..."
I thought this was about last night's wine-fest! Oh, my poor head!
This dude scares the $#!^ outta me! Ed, let's go get a drink and talk about it!
Well, maybe not the complete plays. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)
This one writes pretty well...for a chick!
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was an age of wisdom, it was..."
Blah, blah, blah!
Seriously, John?! As they say (or, will say in the future), less is more!
Have you thought about trying a sonnet? Come on, 14 lines...
30 July 2011
Such Stuff as Dreams are Made On
“O brave new world that has such people in’t!”
William Shakespeare writes these words in the final scene of The Tempest. And, the people he means could easily be the members of the Rockland Shakespeare Company.
In July, the group celebrated their 14th year presenting outdoor summer Shakespeare productions by staging the play – which many experts believe to be the last he wrote alone – in the Amphitheater Courtyard at SUNY Rockland Community College.
RSC productions get better each year, and the company's continued devotion to presenting these works made The Tempest their most enjoyable performance yet.
(Stavros Adamides as Prospero and Malka Wallick as Miranda.)
The play, written c. 1610, revolves around Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, and his daughter, Miranda. Twelve years before the play begins, Prospero’s brother, Antonio – aided by Alonso, the King of Naples – stole power in Milan. He exiled Prospero and Miranda, having the two taken to sea and set adrift in a rickety boat. They survived and landed on an island filled with spirits and magic.
As the play opens, fate has brought Antonio and Alonso near the island aboard a ship. Assisted by his servant, an airy spirit named Ariel, Prospero raises a storm – a tempest – which shipwrecks the two, along with members of their respective courts – including the king’s son, Ferdinand – on the island.
With the help of Ariel and various other spirits – and despite the opposition of Caliban, a savage slave who serves Prospero – the duke is restored to power, Ferdinand falls in love with Miranda, and, as Shakespeare writes elsewhere, all’s well that ends well.
(Christopher Plummer as Caliban.)
Over the last 13 years, co-directors – and RSC co-founders – Christopher Plummer and Patty Maloney-Titland, Chair of the RCC Performing Arts Department, have used various themes and settings in staging the plays – Hamlet set in feudal Japan, The Merry Wives of Windsor set in the American old west, and Love’s Labour’s Lost as a musical, to name a few.
This year, however, the two decided on a “non-theme” theme. In other words: they played it straight. The audience benefited from this decision. Without the distraction of wild costumes or music, the audience became immersed in the language of the play.
As Plummer writes in his Director’s Note, “The heart of this production is in the words and the strength of the characters who speak them.”
Plummer and Maloney-Titland cast the play following three days of auditions, and the group spent four weeks rehearsing.
“The RSC always mounts productions very quickly,” Plummer said. “We erected The Tempest in only four weeks, with an average of three to four rehearsals per week.”
The directors selected their actors well. Despite the limited rehearsal schedule, the cast delivered the excellence audiences have come to expect from the RSC. Each actor seemed perfectly suited for the role they played, and several are deserving of more effusive praise than space will allow.
Stavros Adamides portrayed Prospero with superb gravity. He delivered his lines, including the two most important speeches in the play – “Our revels now are ended,” and the epilogue – flawlessly.
Stephen Truax – in his largest speaking role to date – was excellent as the King of Naples. The role required him to display a far wider range of emotions than in his previous RSC appearances, and he did not disappoint.
Plummer played Caliban with energy, skill, and the unmasked zeal he brings to each Shakespearean role he plays. His bitter and yet still fun portrayal was reminiscent of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy of films.
Two new members of the RSC distinguished themselves in this production, easily holding their own while on the stage with their more experienced counterparts.
Malka Wallick lived up to her character’s name, portraying Miranda admirably. She exuded the wonderful, child-like innocence of one inexperienced in the wide world in general, much less the sordid world of politics and betrayal.
Theodora Kimmel stole the show as Ariel. While her appearance – she was covered from head to toe in pale blue material and make-up – made her stand out from the rest of the cast visually, it was Kimmel’s movements, her voice, and her confidence that commanded every eye while she was on stage.
(Theodora Kimmel as Ariel.)
Ironically, according to Kimmel, she was not the first choice to play Ariel.
“The part was originally given to someone else and then they dropped out,” she said.
There could not have been a more serendipitous withdrawal. Kimmel was outstanding in a role that – while not the largest – connects all the action in the play by aiding Prospero in his quest to bring the rest of the cast under his power, thus allowing him to regain his dukedom.
The actors were more than ably supported by the crew behind the scenes. Maggie O’Rourke (make-up), Karen Hummel-Kinsley (costume design), and Ebonie Avant (movement choreographer) did an exceptional job helping to create the characters the audience saw.
Although the first show was rained-out, the group presented five performances between July 9th and 17th.
Attendance was, “very consistent,” according to Plummer, with audiences of more than 100 at each performance.
Plummer thanked those who attended the shows for their continuing enthusiasm for the RSC.
“There is nothing like the electric connection between an actor and their audience,” he said.
A sentiment echoed by Kimmel.
“What would Shakespeare be without his loves?” she asked. “What would performances be without a sensitive and appreciative audience?”
“We are extremely passionate about the RSC and performing the works of Shakespeare for the community. I am very proud of what we have accomplished over the past 14 years…and I see no end in sight,” Plummer said.
He promised bigger things to come.
“In appreciation for all the support from our audiences, we are planning a 15th year celebration next summer; a mini Shakespeare Festival outside in the courtyard at RCC which will be filled with fun, food, and, of course, performances for all. You won’t want to miss it,” Plummer said.
William Shakespeare writes these words in the final scene of The Tempest. And, the people he means could easily be the members of the Rockland Shakespeare Company.
In July, the group celebrated their 14th year presenting outdoor summer Shakespeare productions by staging the play – which many experts believe to be the last he wrote alone – in the Amphitheater Courtyard at SUNY Rockland Community College.
RSC productions get better each year, and the company's continued devotion to presenting these works made The Tempest their most enjoyable performance yet.
(Stavros Adamides as Prospero and Malka Wallick as Miranda.)The play, written c. 1610, revolves around Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, and his daughter, Miranda. Twelve years before the play begins, Prospero’s brother, Antonio – aided by Alonso, the King of Naples – stole power in Milan. He exiled Prospero and Miranda, having the two taken to sea and set adrift in a rickety boat. They survived and landed on an island filled with spirits and magic.
As the play opens, fate has brought Antonio and Alonso near the island aboard a ship. Assisted by his servant, an airy spirit named Ariel, Prospero raises a storm – a tempest – which shipwrecks the two, along with members of their respective courts – including the king’s son, Ferdinand – on the island.
With the help of Ariel and various other spirits – and despite the opposition of Caliban, a savage slave who serves Prospero – the duke is restored to power, Ferdinand falls in love with Miranda, and, as Shakespeare writes elsewhere, all’s well that ends well.
(Christopher Plummer as Caliban.)Over the last 13 years, co-directors – and RSC co-founders – Christopher Plummer and Patty Maloney-Titland, Chair of the RCC Performing Arts Department, have used various themes and settings in staging the plays – Hamlet set in feudal Japan, The Merry Wives of Windsor set in the American old west, and Love’s Labour’s Lost as a musical, to name a few.
This year, however, the two decided on a “non-theme” theme. In other words: they played it straight. The audience benefited from this decision. Without the distraction of wild costumes or music, the audience became immersed in the language of the play.
As Plummer writes in his Director’s Note, “The heart of this production is in the words and the strength of the characters who speak them.”
Plummer and Maloney-Titland cast the play following three days of auditions, and the group spent four weeks rehearsing.
“The RSC always mounts productions very quickly,” Plummer said. “We erected The Tempest in only four weeks, with an average of three to four rehearsals per week.”
The directors selected their actors well. Despite the limited rehearsal schedule, the cast delivered the excellence audiences have come to expect from the RSC. Each actor seemed perfectly suited for the role they played, and several are deserving of more effusive praise than space will allow.
Stavros Adamides portrayed Prospero with superb gravity. He delivered his lines, including the two most important speeches in the play – “Our revels now are ended,” and the epilogue – flawlessly.
Stephen Truax – in his largest speaking role to date – was excellent as the King of Naples. The role required him to display a far wider range of emotions than in his previous RSC appearances, and he did not disappoint.
Plummer played Caliban with energy, skill, and the unmasked zeal he brings to each Shakespearean role he plays. His bitter and yet still fun portrayal was reminiscent of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy of films.
Two new members of the RSC distinguished themselves in this production, easily holding their own while on the stage with their more experienced counterparts.
Malka Wallick lived up to her character’s name, portraying Miranda admirably. She exuded the wonderful, child-like innocence of one inexperienced in the wide world in general, much less the sordid world of politics and betrayal.
Theodora Kimmel stole the show as Ariel. While her appearance – she was covered from head to toe in pale blue material and make-up – made her stand out from the rest of the cast visually, it was Kimmel’s movements, her voice, and her confidence that commanded every eye while she was on stage.
(Theodora Kimmel as Ariel.)Ironically, according to Kimmel, she was not the first choice to play Ariel.
“The part was originally given to someone else and then they dropped out,” she said.
There could not have been a more serendipitous withdrawal. Kimmel was outstanding in a role that – while not the largest – connects all the action in the play by aiding Prospero in his quest to bring the rest of the cast under his power, thus allowing him to regain his dukedom.
The actors were more than ably supported by the crew behind the scenes. Maggie O’Rourke (make-up), Karen Hummel-Kinsley (costume design), and Ebonie Avant (movement choreographer) did an exceptional job helping to create the characters the audience saw.
Although the first show was rained-out, the group presented five performances between July 9th and 17th.
Attendance was, “very consistent,” according to Plummer, with audiences of more than 100 at each performance.
Plummer thanked those who attended the shows for their continuing enthusiasm for the RSC.
“There is nothing like the electric connection between an actor and their audience,” he said.
A sentiment echoed by Kimmel.
“What would Shakespeare be without his loves?” she asked. “What would performances be without a sensitive and appreciative audience?”
“We are extremely passionate about the RSC and performing the works of Shakespeare for the community. I am very proud of what we have accomplished over the past 14 years…and I see no end in sight,” Plummer said.
He promised bigger things to come.
“In appreciation for all the support from our audiences, we are planning a 15th year celebration next summer; a mini Shakespeare Festival outside in the courtyard at RCC which will be filled with fun, food, and, of course, performances for all. You won’t want to miss it,” Plummer said.
14 May 2011
New York City Area Summer Shakespeare - 2011
-----------------------------------------------------------------
New York Public Theater (Shakespeare in Central Park):
shakespeareinthepark.org
All’s Well That Ends Well & Measure for Measure
June 6 – July 30
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey:
shakespearenj.org
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (on the outdoor stage)
June 22 – July 31
Timon of Athens
July 6 – 24
Othello
September 7 – October 2
----------------------------------------------------------------
Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival:
hvshakespeare.org
The Comedy of Errors & Hamlet
June 14 – September 4
----------------------------------------------------------------
Rockland Shakespeare Company:
rocklandshakespearecompany.com
The Tempest
July 8, 9, 10 & 15, 16, 17
----------------------------------------------------------------
New York Public Theater (Shakespeare in Central Park):
shakespeareinthepark.org
All’s Well That Ends Well & Measure for Measure
June 6 – July 30
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey:
shakespearenj.org
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (on the outdoor stage)
June 22 – July 31
Timon of Athens
July 6 – 24
Othello
September 7 – October 2
----------------------------------------------------------------
Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival:
hvshakespeare.org
The Comedy of Errors & Hamlet
June 14 – September 4
----------------------------------------------------------------
Rockland Shakespeare Company:
rocklandshakespearecompany.com
The Tempest
July 8, 9, 10 & 15, 16, 17
----------------------------------------------------------------
01 April 2011
The Day My Marriage Ended - April 1, 2004
This date always brings back the pain of how my marriage crumbled so quickly. You may have heard about it. If not, below are the news reports.
Sadly, when it comes to heartbreak, what happens in Vegas, doesn't stay in Vegas!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spears Weds Outlook Editor
Bard Wire Report
April 1, 2004
Las Vegas (Bard Wire) – Oops, she did it again! For the second time in two months Britney Spears has married.
A publicist for the pop-princess announced today that Spears tied the knot after a recent performance at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.
The small ceremony took place in the wedding chapel of the Excalibur Hotel and Casino just after 4 a.m. on Sunday, Mar. 7.
According to her publicist, Spears, age 22, married Bud Koenemund, age 35. Koenemund is reportedly the Editor-in-Chief of Outlook Student Press, the newspaper of SUNY/Rockland Community College, a small school 25 miles north of New York City.
“I don’t know what it is about that town [Las Vegas], it just makes me want to get married…I think it’s the overwhelming class surrounding everything there,” the new Mrs. Spears-Alexander-Koenemund wrote in a statement released to the press.
Koenemund, who was in Las Vegas for a journalism convention, held a brief press conference today.
“Britney and I are insanely happy together, and we plan to remain that way for the rest of our lives,” he said.
Several reporters asked Koenemund what attracted him to Spears.
“Well, there is her obvious physical beauty, but Britney also possesses a surprising, almost encyclopedic, knowledge of the works of William Shakespeare. What could be sexier than that?” he said.
When reached for comment, Spears answered a similar question.
“He made me laugh. He comes on very serious, but once you get to know him deep-down, he’s very funny,” she said.
Friends of Koenemund doubted a wedding day would ever arrive for the editor.
“Bud may chance have some odd quirks and remnants of wit broken on him, because he had railed so long against marriage,” Benedick Padua joked. “But doth not the appetite alter?” he added.
On Jan. 3 of this year, Spears married hometown friend, Jason Allan Alexander, but the union was annulled only 55 hours later. This is the first marriage for Koenemund.
In a related story, Las Vegas Police and members of MGM Grand security are investigating how a student journalist from New York gained back-stage access at the hotel.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spears Dumps Editor, Ends Second Marriage
Bard Wire Report
April 1, 2004
Las Vegas (Bard Wire) – Britney Spears’ second attempt at marriage has ended. Her union with New York newspaper editor Bud Koenemund lasted only three and a half weeks.
The couple officially separated earlier today, according to their respective spokespeople.
Though brief by conventional standards, this marriage outlasted her first by more than three weeks.
Reportedly, the trouble in paradise was due to jealousy, and the long-distance nature of the relationship.
According to a source close to Spears, Britney couldn’t handle the fact that Bud was constantly surrounded by young, scantily-clad, college girls.
A spokesperson for Koenemund told a different story however.
Benedick Padua presented copies of public documents pertaining to Spears’ brief marriage to Jason Allan Alexander showing that Spears is, in fact, still legally married to Alexander.
The documents, available at thesmokinggun.com, plainly show that a marriage license was issued to Britney Jean Spears and Jason Allen Alexander. However, only 55 hours after the wedding, an annulment request was granted to Britney Jean Spears and Jason Allan Alexander.
“The misspelling probably wouldn’t be enough to overturn the annulment,” said George Dewey, a partner in the Las Vegas law firm Dewey, Skrewem, & Howe.
Apparently, it was enough for Koenemund.
“Although Bud is deeply saddened by the ending of his marriage, he has no interest in being ‘the other man’,” Padua said, “he doesn’t want to be used only for his body, like some brainless piece of meat.”
Legal experts on both sides commented that the divorce proceedings in a case like this could get very nasty.
Sadly, when it comes to heartbreak, what happens in Vegas, doesn't stay in Vegas!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spears Weds Outlook Editor
Bard Wire Report
April 1, 2004
Las Vegas (Bard Wire) – Oops, she did it again! For the second time in two months Britney Spears has married.
A publicist for the pop-princess announced today that Spears tied the knot after a recent performance at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.
The small ceremony took place in the wedding chapel of the Excalibur Hotel and Casino just after 4 a.m. on Sunday, Mar. 7.
According to her publicist, Spears, age 22, married Bud Koenemund, age 35. Koenemund is reportedly the Editor-in-Chief of Outlook Student Press, the newspaper of SUNY/Rockland Community College, a small school 25 miles north of New York City.
“I don’t know what it is about that town [Las Vegas], it just makes me want to get married…I think it’s the overwhelming class surrounding everything there,” the new Mrs. Spears-Alexander-Koenemund wrote in a statement released to the press.
Koenemund, who was in Las Vegas for a journalism convention, held a brief press conference today.
“Britney and I are insanely happy together, and we plan to remain that way for the rest of our lives,” he said.
Several reporters asked Koenemund what attracted him to Spears.
“Well, there is her obvious physical beauty, but Britney also possesses a surprising, almost encyclopedic, knowledge of the works of William Shakespeare. What could be sexier than that?” he said.
When reached for comment, Spears answered a similar question.
“He made me laugh. He comes on very serious, but once you get to know him deep-down, he’s very funny,” she said.
Friends of Koenemund doubted a wedding day would ever arrive for the editor.
“Bud may chance have some odd quirks and remnants of wit broken on him, because he had railed so long against marriage,” Benedick Padua joked. “But doth not the appetite alter?” he added.
On Jan. 3 of this year, Spears married hometown friend, Jason Allan Alexander, but the union was annulled only 55 hours later. This is the first marriage for Koenemund.
In a related story, Las Vegas Police and members of MGM Grand security are investigating how a student journalist from New York gained back-stage access at the hotel.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spears Dumps Editor, Ends Second Marriage
Bard Wire Report
April 1, 2004
Las Vegas (Bard Wire) – Britney Spears’ second attempt at marriage has ended. Her union with New York newspaper editor Bud Koenemund lasted only three and a half weeks.
The couple officially separated earlier today, according to their respective spokespeople.
Though brief by conventional standards, this marriage outlasted her first by more than three weeks.
Reportedly, the trouble in paradise was due to jealousy, and the long-distance nature of the relationship.
According to a source close to Spears, Britney couldn’t handle the fact that Bud was constantly surrounded by young, scantily-clad, college girls.
A spokesperson for Koenemund told a different story however.
Benedick Padua presented copies of public documents pertaining to Spears’ brief marriage to Jason Allan Alexander showing that Spears is, in fact, still legally married to Alexander.
The documents, available at thesmokinggun.com, plainly show that a marriage license was issued to Britney Jean Spears and Jason Allen Alexander. However, only 55 hours after the wedding, an annulment request was granted to Britney Jean Spears and Jason Allan Alexander.
“The misspelling probably wouldn’t be enough to overturn the annulment,” said George Dewey, a partner in the Las Vegas law firm Dewey, Skrewem, & Howe.
Apparently, it was enough for Koenemund.
“Although Bud is deeply saddened by the ending of his marriage, he has no interest in being ‘the other man’,” Padua said, “he doesn’t want to be used only for his body, like some brainless piece of meat.”
Legal experts on both sides commented that the divorce proceedings in a case like this could get very nasty.
18 March 2011
Eyes: Young and Blue
Not a fan of my blue eyes. I adore brown. Who wants to swap?
- Lara Schutz, 22 February 2011
Photograph by Lara Schutz - copyright 2008
Eyes: young and blue. One matched pair, slightly used;
Called striking, on occasion. Asking trade.
No known impairments, still sparkle like new.
Seeking an extra-genetic upgrade;
Recessive genes – too slow in receding –
Have denied me the brown shade I adore.
Thus, I beg an exchange satisfying
Purely aesthetic desire, nothing more;
My mind will retain the burdens perceived
Within a scant two dozen years of sight;
Memories – good and bad only conceived –
Remain, to fade slowly in life’s twilight.
Alas, I know this yearning is but vain
Hope, tinged with an envy I can't constrain.
- Lara Schutz, 22 February 2011
Photograph by Lara Schutz - copyright 2008
Eyes: young and blue. One matched pair, slightly used;
Called striking, on occasion. Asking trade.
No known impairments, still sparkle like new.
Seeking an extra-genetic upgrade;
Recessive genes – too slow in receding –
Have denied me the brown shade I adore.
Thus, I beg an exchange satisfying
Purely aesthetic desire, nothing more;
My mind will retain the burdens perceived
Within a scant two dozen years of sight;
Memories – good and bad only conceived –
Remain, to fade slowly in life’s twilight.
Alas, I know this yearning is but vain
Hope, tinged with an envy I can't constrain.
08 July 2010
Sleep No More!
For Arthur H. Monigold
"Macbeth does murder sleep." Alas, I fear,
For all his genius, the Bard is mistook.
No, it was not the good Scot who crept near,
To steal innocent slumber, like a crook;
Nor did Claudius truly wrack sweet dreams
With "murder most foul" in Denmark’s garden.
'Tis but fiction, though foul indeed it seems
When guards prey upon moments unguarded;
In truth, 'twas one familial – one of trust,
That condemned me with his lies and incest,
Who used a child to sate his vile lust,
And damned me to endless nights without rest.
Weep, not for Dunsinane and Elsinore,
But for the child that lives, yet sleeps no more!
"Macbeth does murder sleep." Alas, I fear,
For all his genius, the Bard is mistook.
No, it was not the good Scot who crept near,
To steal innocent slumber, like a crook;
Nor did Claudius truly wrack sweet dreams
With "murder most foul" in Denmark’s garden.
'Tis but fiction, though foul indeed it seems
When guards prey upon moments unguarded;
In truth, 'twas one familial – one of trust,
That condemned me with his lies and incest,
Who used a child to sate his vile lust,
And damned me to endless nights without rest.
Weep, not for Dunsinane and Elsinore,
But for the child that lives, yet sleeps no more!
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