Session Four: Week 32

Tuesday

Today we were excited to welcome a camera crew to our group. They are filming a project that will be posted online, and you can be sure that I will share it here when it’s ready! Our group, though nervous, really brought it for this meeting – we got a lot accomplished and felt very good about our work.

To begin with, I have to take it back to last Tuesday, and a situation that I did not record in that entry. Our Baptista has been wanting to work on the scene between her character, Bianca, and Katharina for a few weeks, and we’ve kept putting it off for various reasons. Last Tuesday, we were all set to work it when our Bianca raised a concern – with the previous woman who played that role, the blocking was developed to include her being dragged on the floor by her ankles. This woman wanted to work around that part of the scene, as she’d just had her hair done. The other women in the scene (and a few who are not in it) were impatient with this, and the conversation quickly devolved to a place that was not constructive – I would characterize it as bickering. No one wanted that, but the vibe in the room was such that it was better to leave it for the time being and hope to resolve it later.

This Tuesday, our Baptista began the session by stating that she had thought about that situation, and that she realized that she and our Kate had been unfair to our Bianca. “That’s how we did the scene with [the previous actress],” she said, “But we never asked you how you felt about it. Maybe you want to do it a different way.” She apologized for being inconsiderate and jumping on her and asked if they could work the scene, possibly in a new way. This self-started conflict resolution on her part is huge – not only is it a skill we hope to develop together as an ensemble, but it’s something she’s personally been working on since she first joined the group two and a half years ago.

We did exactly that – we reworked the scene in a way that makes our Bianca more comfortable and actually makes the scene funnier and more active. And then we just kept going. It’s a long scene, and we found that we were able to just barrel through it – and it mostly works! And then we kept going after that into the next scene, which we refined and got to a place where it’s working well, too.

The cherry on top was a quite reticent group member stepping in as the servant and completely stealing the scene with just one line. We all dissolved into laughter and applause when that happened. I hope that she can internalize how effective she was and use that experience to give her more confidence going forward – we’ve all known all along how great she is with this material, and we’ve been hoping for a moment like this.

Thursday

Written by Vanessa

It was a special session today, Shakespeare's birthday. Class started with only one person who isn't officially a member of the cast but attends the sessions when she can, though work duties call her away early. I get excited by the idea of someone showing up even if it's only for a few moments to check in - it shows how sacred this program is to this group. Every session I attend I feel the sense of honor and integrity the group brings with them into our rehearsals. It is really remarkable and it continues to humble and inspire me. I am a relatively new facilitator and this is my first blog post. I sometimes feel myself just in awe and not saying much in our sessions. I don't need to! For once I am speechless while I watch this group uncover new ideas and make strong clear choices that make me have a-ha! moments all over the place. It never fails when I ask them, "What just happened in this scene?"... all of them will have their own short and sweet analysis. Hearing their perspective is my favorite part of the day. Using their own words to describe what's going on in each scene shows they are doing their homework and striving toward translating it on the stage for audiences to enjoy. The process of putting up a show is a beautiful thing and they get it. Seeing the ladies progress in getting off book is making it more real that soon they will perform and showcase all the hard work they've put in and I'm ecstatic for them.

I've been told Thursday meetings are lighter because of the daytime schedule and how it corresponds with other activities, and today was one of those lighter days. However, it didn't stop us from diving in and working.   I heard about the success of Tuesday's session - they had blocked and worked up to around page 30! I requested three of the women show me the tail end of Act 2 Scene 1 (rumor had it that some hilarious moments had been born). There was a bit of resistance because they felt they had already worked that scene so much - but of course I begged and they obliged me. Although they weren't quite off book - they knew what they were saying and were comfortable enough to make strong, clear choices that had me laughing from start to finish. The three of them had a great sense of ensemble - one facilitator even said it was reminiscent of the Marx Brothers. Just a few tweaks had to be made for the physical comedy to work smoothly. Once some ideas were tossed around by all team members - they listened and tried it and beautiful magic occurred. A "bit" was born! And now they have a solid scene. Even though they weren't quite excited to work something they had gone over a few times, they knew their hard work paid off.   Once they solidified body placement, some good old slapstick comedy shined through and they learned (and I was also reminded) that repetition equals success and it was beautiful to watch. I can't wait for opening night when they hear the audience roar with laughter.

Curiosity is golden when it comes to Shakespeare and this group is never lacking of that. Someone asked, "Tell me something no one knows about Shakespeare" and a few facilitators gave some facts off the top of their heads - and this is when we had a group tribute of: SHAKESPEARE'S BIRTHDAY – someone led us into song and we all joined in. It was a great moment of thanking the man who brought us all together.

I'm honored that this team let me in so late into their efforts. I learned today that this group has been working on this project since October and I find their dedication to be the most inspiring thing in my life right now. I feel like they have welcomed me with open hearts and minds, which is exactly what good artists do, and that's who they are. I was pretty excited to get my official badge before walking into the session today, to have tangible proof of my being a part of this team. But the truth is, I didn't need a badge for it to be official. From day one, they took me in and we all have been striving toward goals together ever since. I have so much to give to my other projects thanks to the inspiring injections I get from these ladies every week.

Session Four: Week 31

Tuesday

We were pleased today to welcome back two members of the group who had had scheduling conflicts but worked them out. Both of these women were in the group in its first session and provide great perspective on the work this ensemble is doing, not to mention wonderful individual contributions. It’s good to have them back.

We tried splitting up into two groups with mixed success. The group in the back of the auditorium made good progress on a very funny scene, but that meant that they were often so loud that those of us in the front of the room couldn’t hear each other! We didn’t want to try to decide which scene was “more important” (the answer truly is neither), so we muddled through it.

Kyle worked with that group in the back, while I worked with the others. We worked on the “seduction” scene between Katharina and Petruchio, clarifying the meanings of certain lines and working to make the scene a sparring or chess match – since we are limited in what we can do physically, we need to be creative, but this actually proved to be less of a challenge than we thought it would be. The woman playing Kate is very thinking-centered, and that’s the way she’s playing her character – which we all think is completely accurate to the text. We’ve been discussing for months that the reason she goes with Petruchio at all is because, in this scene, he proves himself to be her intellectual equal. To that end, we just need to work the scene to be sure that all of the barbs land each way. It works.

We continued on with the scene and discovered a funny bit in which Gremio and Tranio shove each other around a bit as they vie for Baptista’s permission to marry Bianca. The ideas flew among the ensemble, and the groundwork of the scene has been established.

Thursday

We took time today to run lines and do detailed scene work. We were very proud of one ensemble member who, despite nagging self-doubt about being able to read/understand Shakespeare and memorize lines, has her lines nearly memorized, and they are nearly word perfect. We were very vocal about our excitement – this is a big accomplishment for her, and one we’ve been encouraging her to be open to since we began in September.

We returned to Act II Scene I, specifically the end of the scene featuring Baptista, Gremio, and Tranio. We got into more detailed work on the scene. Although our Gremio was very tired, she kept plugging away, not wanting our time together to be wasted.

We ran into some challenges with the word “argosy.” For one thing, the ensemble realized that no matter how our actors play that word, our audience may not get its meaning. For another, our Gremio is consistently mispronouncing it. Rather than give up on this part of the scene, though, we arrived at two solutions, both of which add to the scene enormously: First, we decided to embrace the mispronunciation, as Tranio can follow it up by pointedly pronouncing it correctly. Second, our Gremio is going to pull a cartoonish picture of a boat out of her pocket to show Tranio and Baptista, and then the audience; Tranio will then take out a bigger picture of the same boat and show that off.

I love these solutions because they were arrived at in the spirit of teamwork and effective communication, both of which are skills we all hope our ensemble will improve during their time in the group. Additionally, rather than finding a solution that might have made our Gremio feel badly about stumbling over such a foreign word, we found a way to take that “mistake” and build on it rather than condemn it. That’s a really important part of what we do.

Session Four: Week 30

Tuesday

Written by Kyle

This is was the first day that I had facilitated the program as the solo facilitator; I had to lean heavily on the senior members of the company for some of the procedural elements of the rehearsal. I think it was a nice way to let them shine a bit, and to flex their leadership muscles. We started the session by finishing the film version of the show; we made a special effort to note what the actors who were not speaking were doing while onstage - how did they engage in the scene without having lines? At the end of the film, one of the company noted how few actors the film version actually employed. She said that she was a little worried about the scene when Petruchio and Kate reach his home because we didn’t have enough actors to play the servants; when she saw it in the movie version, however, she noticed they only had two actors - they were just highly energized and could make it work. She said it was inspiring, and that she was excited to try it like they had done in the movie.

After the movie and a small discussion we moved on the warm-up. It was nice to be there on my own because I could start to introduce some warm-up activities they hadn’t tried before. So we ended up working on our voices a little bit by ‘Tarzan-ing’ our voices along the apron of the stage. They seemed to like that exercise and like mixing up their routine. After a few tongue twisters I started to teach them the beginning of ‘Modern Major General’ from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance- a classic staple of so many people’s early theatre experiences. For me, those are the types of traditions are essential in the prison. They are the traditions that have transcended so many generations and cultures, and participation allows for a little nugget of that transcendence. It’s what my theatre teachers did with me, their teachers with them, and so on. The women get to become a part of a theatre tradition bigger than all of us, despite the necessary separateness of walls and fences that defines the prison life.

Once we started working on the show, we worked the famous scene when Kate and Petruchio first meet. The company was all engaged in the scene, and we collectively brainstormed how we could stage it in a way that made sense of the word play, was funny, and didn’t involve a ton of physical violence - easier said than done! One particularly nice learning moment came with the actor playing Kate: she asked me if she should ‘maybe be a little flirty’ with Petruchio. I said I didn’t know and that it was up to her. I pointed out that Kate does nothing but tell Petruchio how terrible he is, and even has several lines that say that she is leaving, and yet the scene is several pages long; so there is a pretty big contradiction with what the character says and does that she, as the actor, needs to reconcile. We chatted for another minute or so before she cut me off to give me the best answer she possibly could: “I think I just need to try it once or twice and see how it goes.” Spoken like a true actor!

Thursday

Written by Lauren

We had a very small group today. We started out running a scene that one of the women suggested. It had been blocked before, but we hadn't touched on it in a while, so it was worth revisiting. We read through it a couple of times and cleared up some of the confusion in the language. When I asked if they wanted to put it on its feet, the women suggested we move on since we were missing so many people, including people for that scene. It was suggested that we run lines.

We started at the beginning, and I was so pleased to see that two of the women were already almost off book for the first few scenes! Not only that, but they both were putting so much characterization into their line readings. At one point we got into a discussion about who one woman should have been talking to. While this discussion started to become frustrating since everyone had a different opinion, it was great to see that everyone was so passionate about the script and had such educated things to say to back up their viewpoints. When we left the discussion, we decided that the choice is ultimately up to the woman playing the character, so she decided to think about it on her own and get back to us.

We read through about the first half of the script. Even though it was a small group and we didn't get very physical, we all left feeling accomplished and really good about how the play is shaping up!

Session Four: Week 29

Tuesday

Tonight, we began watching a film version of The Taming of the Shrew, chosen specifically because its approach is similar to the ensemble’s. We did not get through the entire film and will finish it next Tuesday (since more people are usually present on Tuesdays).

It was a lot of fun to watch. In particular, we all loved the physicality, the energy, the big and humorous performances, the touches like leaning every time someone said Pisa, or sighing every time the name Bianca was spoken.  We are definitely going to want to find those moments and that vocabulary for our Shrew.

Thursday

We did some solid scene work today on Act III Scene I, in which Lucentio and Hortensio tag time their wooing of Bianca. As a team, we worked out a very humorous and effective entrance (absolutely rooted in our interpretations of these characters), and we clarified what each person in the scene wants.

Our Bianca (who is newer to the role) was hesitant to “do” very much in the scene because she wasn’t sure how her character felt about Hortensio. She felt torn: is Bianca even slightly interested, or is she already in love with Lucentio? I encouraged her to make a decision either way, for the sake of rehearsal, and to embrace the possibility that it might not work. We need to allow ourselves to make mistakes in rehearsal so that we can find the things that do work. With that, she decided to try the scene as if she were not interested in Hortensio at all, and she found that this is a comfortable approach for her.

We then spent some time just running lines, which may be what the bulk of our remaining Thursdays will be used for – school and work commitments often make for low attendance. Several individuals are making good progress toward having their lines memorized, while others are feeling more challenged. We went over some tips and made sure to encourage and uplift those who are a bit overwhelmed.

Session Four: Week 28

Tuesday Written by Kyle

Tonight was my first night working as a facilitator; I went through the orientation and so missed the opening/warm-up aspect of the session. I wondered whether I was going to jump right in or hang back and observe. The former won out in short order! When I arrived the company was warm, welcoming and eager to know about me. We went through what I came to realize are the questions that all new company members are asked. What brings you to Shakespeare? Why do you want to do Shakespeare? What do you hope to get out of this experience? etc. Simple questions all, but questions I could talk about for hours. I was as eager to answer as they seemed to ask, and it felt like a nice sort of initiation to get the ball rolling.

The group set out working Act 1 scene 2; it’s a long scene with lots of entrances, exits, shtick, and lots of people on the stage. It can get a little messy with the staging and so the company had to stop and discuss many times just how we wanted to make it work. I suggested that we bring the most important elements of the scene downstage center. This prompted many more questions of the company that seemed to lead into one another: How were we going to use staging to highlight the important part of the scene? What was the important part of the scene? Why? All good critical questions that as they unravel can give the distinct impression that the scene is unraveling. They hung with it though, and took direction well. One of the newer members in the company who has a smaller part had the benefit of watching the whole scene, and she was able to voice some great ideas about staging. We were able to take those ideas and build on them in a really wonderful way. At one point they used the steps on the stage to express one character’s dominance over another; it was a really wonderful idea that utilized the space in a really organic way- it would have been a good idea in any playhouse! By the end everyone was tired, but morale seemed high for all who stayed to the end.

On a personal note, as it is my first time working with the company, and I wondered how the night would go… It was humbling, exciting and most importantly, I found the experience a little common place in the most wonderful way. Very quickly we become people doing theatre, the same as I have done my whole life. It not as if you can ever forget where you are, and frankly, it would be inappropriate to try. The point is however, that for most of the night the prison was not downstage center- it was the backdrop of the show at best. What was up front for me was the fact that there were the same hopes, fears, company archetypes, and the willingness to make something out of nothing that has been the spirit of all my experiences in the theatre- in short, I’m hooked.

Thursday

Written by Frannie

Attendance was light today, but this enabled us to give a lot of attention to a couple of scenes that really needed it.

Most of our work was done on Act IV Scene I – just the first part of the scene when Grumio enters and has a conversation with Curtis. The woman playing Curtis has been patient as we’ve rotated through Grumios, but at a certain point she was not eager to continue working this scene with stand-ins, so we let it alone for awhile. Now that I’m in the role, we decided to really dig in to make it easier to for her to learn the lines.

We made a lot of discoveries together – she proved to be very flexible and a great improviser as we tried different things. We discovered that Curtis and Grumio are rivals of sorts – they needle each other throughout the scene. We found that the scene worked best when Curtis repeatedly interrupted Grumio, pushing him and getting under his skin.

Something else that has been very striking lately, but was especially in focus today, is the growing confidence of one of our ensemble members, who is playing Vincentio. She joined the group well after its start date last year, and, despite extreme stage fright and shyness, pushed through her one scene with lines as Balthasar and emerged with a new feeling that maybe speaking in front of people is something she can actually do – and do well. This year, she rolled with the punches on casting, ending up with Vincentio and deciding that it was meant to be – that she was meant to take on this role, which, for her, is quite “large.”

Since then, she has been a constant and constructive voice in the group. She’s become a self-professed “Shakespeare nerd,” reading about him outside of our group and bringing us pertinent ideas that she’s come across. She’s also emerged as an insightful and compassionate director, guiding scenes and actors to find better ways of working with our material. This has been a truly exciting change to witness, and I can’t wait to see where she is on the other side of our performances. She’s always been a great asset to the group, but her recent emergence in such a positive leadership role is remarkable and inspiring.