There's no truth at all in the oracle!
Why is Shakespeare still so popular? It's because he understood the human condition better than anybody before or since. (Hell, Freud used his characters as models for his own work...that's how human these characters were and continue to be). In our current political climate, what with a would-be tyrant sitting in the White House splitting up families and accusing everybody who crosses him of lying, there are things in this play that are so current you can't help but marvel at how little we've progressed in 400 years...or in 2000 for that matter. There is a moment in this play that always gets a laugh. Whether it is a laugh of recognition, discomfort, or absurdity doesn't matter. It always gets a response. I have sent Cleomenes and Dion to Delphos to get the truth from the Oracle of Apollo. The word of god! The absolute truth! They show up during the trial scene with this sealed document, open it up and read it. It completely exonerates Hermione, Polixenes, and Camillo, and calls me a jealous tyrant. There is a moment of joy in the court, followed by Leontes saying: "There's no truth at all in the oracle. The sessions will continue. This is mere falsehood." I'm calling "fake news" on the word of an all-knowing entity. Even last night, deep in Orange County, there was quite a response. An unhinged tyrant screaming fake news is all to common today. So, I guess there is one moment of my life that I can thank that person in the White House for. Of course, from that point I immediately repent everything and suffer for 16 years before redemption. (I wonder how long a prison term for treason is?)
I try to keep politics out of my blogs, but as an artist we are some of the last bastions of truth and hope in this country. Shakespeare is not fake news. He is the most real dude that ever lived (ironically there are so many that want to claim he didn't live). He is the truth! He is why I believe in God. He can't be accidental, nor Mozart, nor Van Gogh. Nor all the great artists who speak to us in truth and beauty. We take a vow of poverty to give this thing to the world. It is our calling. It is our way of understanding this crazy fucking world. I once heard Mike Tyson say that the only place he ever felt safe was in the boxing ring. (Can you imagine?) But I only feel whole onstage doing Shakespeare. It is there that I am connected to humanity, in service of this text which goes to the heart and soul of the human condition. Searching for the truth. Ever reaching to understand the most important questions of love, life, and liberty!
And if you do enough Shakespeare you may get a bit grandiose at times. I don't apologize for it. This is a grand thing, and I'm happy to be part of a grand tradition. For all the people who mock artists as not having real jobs, I ask: What do you do in your free time? See movies? Watch TV? Listen to Music? Go to museums? Play video games? Guess what...artists give you the escape you need. And we hold up the mirror to nature. (Guess who said that? yup).
Something else I am particularly proud of in this production is that we are telling the story of redemption. This is not an easy story to tell. Especially today when everybody is so willing to condemn anybody for any transgression (even if it was a couple of tasteless tweets 10 years ago...yes, I'm talking about James Gunn). There have been a lot of people (mostly women) who have come up to me after and said that they didn't want to forgive my character, but the way we did the play left them (albeit grudgingly) happy and in tears at the reconciliation. This was carefully crafted and painstakingly worked on by Steph and the entire cast.
Steph's cutting of the play should be published and solely performed from now for another 400 years. It's beautiful. It captures everything necessary and does what Shakespeare did himself when he used source material--brings forth the heart.
Leah brings such heart, clarity, and love to her Hermione that you love our family because you can't help but love her. She won't believe any of these words when she reads them, but it's true. Who would think of playing "How will this grieve you when you shall come to clearer knowledge that you thus have published me." not as a rebuke, but actual concern for her husband. Oh, and the heartbreaking admission in the trial of "your favor I do give lost; for I do feel it gone, but know not how it went" makes me question everything and want nothing more than to stop the whole thing...although I don't.
What I brought to the process of making this story of redemption possible was the need for us to fight for the love between Hermione and Leontes. And that was only because I was lucky enough to work with Esau Pritchett when he played Othello at Alabama Shakes. (Incidentally, he is playing it right now at Notre Dame. If you live near there, go see him. He is a genius and one of the best people I know). During the table work, he talked about how important it was for Othello and Desdemona to fight for that love in the beginning of the play, because it goes away so quickly. And if you don't care about that, you can't really care about any of it. The same is true of this play (if not more so). Othello is being manipulated by Iago. Leontes is struck out of the clear blue sky by his jealousy.
Most importantly is the way that everybody else reacts to us. This can't be overstated. There are only Kings and Queens onstage because of the way they are treated by everybody else. The way Camillo, Paulina, Emilia, Antigonus, Clemomenes, Dion, Mamilius, the other lords react to the change of character in Leontes tells the story very clearly. Something unnatural is happening, and the fact that they are allowed to speak their hearts tells us of a kingdom which gives freedom of speech. Respects it even though it's hard for the tyrant to hear...he does hear it. And in the end, when we are all together onstage for the big reveal. Happiness is restored! Hope is restored! There is redemption!
The question that troubles many is: Can we forgive? My question is: Can people change? If we accept the latter, then we must accept the former. I'm ever hopeful that the person somehow in charge of this country will have a come-to-Apollo moment and repent his many sins (babies in cages, people, how do you explain that away?). I don't think it's in his character, but if he repents for 16 years, I'm here for it.
I try to keep politics out of my blogs, but as an artist we are some of the last bastions of truth and hope in this country. Shakespeare is not fake news. He is the most real dude that ever lived (ironically there are so many that want to claim he didn't live). He is the truth! He is why I believe in God. He can't be accidental, nor Mozart, nor Van Gogh. Nor all the great artists who speak to us in truth and beauty. We take a vow of poverty to give this thing to the world. It is our calling. It is our way of understanding this crazy fucking world. I once heard Mike Tyson say that the only place he ever felt safe was in the boxing ring. (Can you imagine?) But I only feel whole onstage doing Shakespeare. It is there that I am connected to humanity, in service of this text which goes to the heart and soul of the human condition. Searching for the truth. Ever reaching to understand the most important questions of love, life, and liberty!
And if you do enough Shakespeare you may get a bit grandiose at times. I don't apologize for it. This is a grand thing, and I'm happy to be part of a grand tradition. For all the people who mock artists as not having real jobs, I ask: What do you do in your free time? See movies? Watch TV? Listen to Music? Go to museums? Play video games? Guess what...artists give you the escape you need. And we hold up the mirror to nature. (Guess who said that? yup).
Something else I am particularly proud of in this production is that we are telling the story of redemption. This is not an easy story to tell. Especially today when everybody is so willing to condemn anybody for any transgression (even if it was a couple of tasteless tweets 10 years ago...yes, I'm talking about James Gunn). There have been a lot of people (mostly women) who have come up to me after and said that they didn't want to forgive my character, but the way we did the play left them (albeit grudgingly) happy and in tears at the reconciliation. This was carefully crafted and painstakingly worked on by Steph and the entire cast.
Steph's cutting of the play should be published and solely performed from now for another 400 years. It's beautiful. It captures everything necessary and does what Shakespeare did himself when he used source material--brings forth the heart.
Leah brings such heart, clarity, and love to her Hermione that you love our family because you can't help but love her. She won't believe any of these words when she reads them, but it's true. Who would think of playing "How will this grieve you when you shall come to clearer knowledge that you thus have published me." not as a rebuke, but actual concern for her husband. Oh, and the heartbreaking admission in the trial of "your favor I do give lost; for I do feel it gone, but know not how it went" makes me question everything and want nothing more than to stop the whole thing...although I don't.
What I brought to the process of making this story of redemption possible was the need for us to fight for the love between Hermione and Leontes. And that was only because I was lucky enough to work with Esau Pritchett when he played Othello at Alabama Shakes. (Incidentally, he is playing it right now at Notre Dame. If you live near there, go see him. He is a genius and one of the best people I know). During the table work, he talked about how important it was for Othello and Desdemona to fight for that love in the beginning of the play, because it goes away so quickly. And if you don't care about that, you can't really care about any of it. The same is true of this play (if not more so). Othello is being manipulated by Iago. Leontes is struck out of the clear blue sky by his jealousy.
Most importantly is the way that everybody else reacts to us. This can't be overstated. There are only Kings and Queens onstage because of the way they are treated by everybody else. The way Camillo, Paulina, Emilia, Antigonus, Clemomenes, Dion, Mamilius, the other lords react to the change of character in Leontes tells the story very clearly. Something unnatural is happening, and the fact that they are allowed to speak their hearts tells us of a kingdom which gives freedom of speech. Respects it even though it's hard for the tyrant to hear...he does hear it. And in the end, when we are all together onstage for the big reveal. Happiness is restored! Hope is restored! There is redemption!
The question that troubles many is: Can we forgive? My question is: Can people change? If we accept the latter, then we must accept the former. I'm ever hopeful that the person somehow in charge of this country will have a come-to-Apollo moment and repent his many sins (babies in cages, people, how do you explain that away?). I don't think it's in his character, but if he repents for 16 years, I'm here for it.
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