Category: Theatre

  • Some Thoughts on an Eventual Lear

    From an email exchange, the heart of which was a question of just how old King Lear might or should be. Lear is not old or doddering or losing his sense, but very mindful that time is a harsh and unyielding thing. As such, it is better he divide his kingdom now when he is…

  • Looks and Sounds Like Hamlet

    We’re in the last few weeks of rehearsal for Hamlet. As is our custom, we’ve decided against the tights and codpieces of so-called Original Practiceâ„¢ and opted for a more modern take. This time, we’re fast-forwarding all the way to 1994, which just happens to be the year I graduated from college. So it is…

  • Sit Back And Watch – NFDC’s Henry IV, Part 1

    I don’t blog so much anymore. Often, I’m just too busy with another of these, another production of an out-of-the-ordinary Shakespearean play. So in light of a stack of five to ten paragraphs, here’s the video record of one such night of performance. I’m not in it, but I directed it, and I couldn’t be…

  • A Farewell To Ear

    In our just-closed production of Henry IV – Part 1, The Douglas (that blood-thirsty Scot) claimed a Lord’s ear as a means of defying the standing king. The act was done off-stage, coupled with a scream of pain. After, The Douglas would stride on-stage, proud of his deed and bearing his bloody prize, much to…

  • Chicago Hope

    Going on a business trip this week. It’s been years since I’ve traveled on my own and longer still since the last time I went on behalf of an employer. The first such trip was back during my days as a marketing data analyst for a now-defunct HMO. They sent me to Kansas City to…

  • Much Ado About Much Ado

    Ladies-In-Waiting Originally uploaded by grabbingsand. Three days. Three shows. Rain threatened both Friday and Saturday nights, but no matter. We made it. Decent crowds came on both nights and were treated to some exceptionally good Shakespeare. The nice thing about producing plays (and not being actually on stage) is that I can praise honestly the…

  • A Reverse Baptism of Censorship

    I’m going to post this ridiculousness without comment. “On Thursday night, monologist Mike Daisey was performing his well-reviewed solo show, Invincible Summer, in a 300-seat second-stage space at American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Mass., when about 80 members of a group got up and walked out. On their way out, one of the people walked…