Everything You May Have Missed This Week

Scene Assignments

#1, Act 2, Scene 1
Esculas..... Sydney
Elbow....... Andy
Pompey..... Leith
Froth..........Jeanette
Angelo.......John

#2, Act 2, Scene 2
Angelo.....John
Isabella.... Gale
Lucio.......Leith

#3, Act 2, Scene 4
Angelo....Tom
Isabella....Jeanette
Servant.....Sydney

Each student is welcome to work on a Sonnet as well,
as their own time restraints permit.

For next week:

1) Familiarity With the Text. Memorize or not, you should be very familiar with the text.

Ways To Do That: Read it out loud over and over again. Get someone to read it with you-- ideally of course,you get together with your partner(s). Record the text and listen to it over and over. I had an acting friend who claimed that 23 -- or was it 27-- was the magic number. He said if practiced a text 23 times it stuck in his memory. Personally, I never kept count, but I know reading out loud, bit by bit and then chunk by chunk and then larger chunk by larger chunk always worked for me.
Pitfalls To Avoid: Not doing it. It's inconvenient, you're busy, you can't get together with your partner-- whatever. Do not let this stop you. I had another friend who said: Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Here, here.
The Other Big Pitfall: Doing it the same way each time. (Unless what you choose is a monotone.) Falling into a predictable rhythm or melody or WAY to do it. Keep changing it up. Do it with a funny accent. Try it while you do something else-- something physical. Throw a ball back and forth, take a vigorous walk, do jumping jacks.


2) Character Analysis

Look Through the Text of the Whole Play:
1) What is said about the character? (Consider the source.)
2) What does the character say about him/ herself?
3) What does the character DO? What actions do they take? A list will do nicely.

In This Scene:
1) What is the character's greatest wish or need?
2) What is their greatest fear?
3) How do they want the world to see them?
4) Hidden Truth: Something true about them that they do not want the world to see?
5) Essential line of text: Something this character says in this scene that strikes you as the essence of who they are.

Opportunity Knocketh

Dear Students,

We've been invited to be part of a Reading Series happening this spring and summer through Solo Gallery in downtown Hood River. The date they would like us to fill is April 17th-- the Thursday after our last class-- or we could ask for the next Thursday instead-- which would be the 24th, the day after Shakespeare's birthday.

We could draw on the Sonnets as well as the scenes we've worked on from Measure for Measure. I would join you in reading, and could maybe scare up some other volunteers to join us as well.

What think you(se)?

Fearless Leader

Choices, Choices....

Have you sent me your choices for roles in our four scenes from Measure for Measure?

#1: Act 2, Scene 1
Escalus, Elbow, Pompey, Froth (smaller), Angelo (smaller)

#2: Act 2, Scene 2
Angelo, Isabella, Provost (small), Lucio (small),


#3: Act 2, Scene 4
Angelo, Isabella, Servant (small)

#4: Act 3, Scene 1
Claudio, Isabella, Duke (silent)

By my count, there are 15 roles-- 9 larger and 6 smaller ones. With 7 students that means everyone needs to take on two roles and someone will need to tuck in a third role-- maybe the silent Duke in the final scene. Plus we'll need two plucky volunteers to take on two of the "larger" roles, requiring a larger commitment.

I would like to see Tom and John take on Angelo in Scene #2 or #3 with Isabella, and Andy take on Claudio in Scene #4. That leaves the four ladies with three Isabella scenes to chose from-- plus we need to fill out Scene #1, where Syd has announced a preference for Escalus.

Please send me your thoughts and or preferences so we can move forward on our great adventure!

Yours Truly,
a

Measure for Measure Title Taken from the Bible:

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgement you pronounce you will be judged and the measure you give will be the measure you get" (Matthew 7.1 and 7.2).

This quotation from Christ's Sermon on the Mount, stating generally that each individual will be judged as harshly as he has judged others, implies that mercy and human sympathy should temper justice.

"And he said to them, 'Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you'" (Mark 4.24)

cliffsnotes.com

Hold yer Horses!

Hold on, Everybody! Hold off on your upcoming home work assignments for Monday! I am rethinking how we should go about skinning this here Shakespeare cat. And I want your input on Monday night.

I am thinking about going forward with my original ( and currently scuttle-butted) plan of working on scenes from only one play rather than branching out and doing scenes from threel plays. After reading parts of Measure for Measure together on Thursday evening , I am reconsidering our battle plan. It might serve us better to focus our energies on one play rather then scatter it among three.

This means focusing on the three "great scenes" from M4M that we read Thursday, casting three (or more) Isabellas, two Antonios, one Claudio... and, well, probably doubling up some duties to see if we can't make one of the "comic" scenes funny.

As I say: Think on it! Answer me come Monday at the hour of five!

Your fearless (if fickle) leader,
AK Huk'n Stuff

And when are we painting your house, John asks?

Hello all.

Althea, John has been very sick - still is, but has moved to the sofa. He will not be coming to class tonight.

I'll be there. I need clarification and guidance on what is what with the different metonymy and syneddoche and such...never was a literary scholar. so hope you'll help us this evening.

See ya,
Gale