Follow thou the wars

The thing that makes Shakespeare by the Sea unique and awesome, is also the most challenging thing about it.  Tour.  We travel to 24 different parks during our 10 week run.  And when I say "we" I mean the cast.  We are the crew.  We unload the truck, put up the set, perform a show, strike the set, put it back in the truck, and then go drinking.  This is legitimately the most authentic traveling Shakespeare troupe experience you could possibly find in this day and age.  We are the players that come to Hamlet's court.  We are the Edema Ruh of "The Name of the Wind."  And those of us that have done this for multiple years take enormous pride in the fact that we do something that nobody in their right minds would sign up for if they really knew what was in store. 
I see it slowly dawning on all of the first year SBTS'ers.  It's still early, so they are still happy and full of hope.  But tour will change them.  It must.  It does.  And those that are doing both shows?  I worry for their sanity.  Doing only one show this year is sort of like a vacation.  Sure, I still have to travel all over the southland, and build sets, load/unload trucks and whatnot, but no more that three times a week.  Child's play.  I almost feel guilty.  Almost.  But I've served my time.  This is my tenth season.  Only Andy has more seasons under his belt than me, and he's a hall of famer.  Nobody will ever touch his streak of doing both shows for 10 straight years.  Nobody should even try. I mean, just look at the guy.  He's only 32 years old. That's what tour does to you.  Although he's still so damn handsome.  My favorite Andy role will always be when he played Mustardseed for me in Midsummer.  The angriest fairy in the fairy kingdom. 

By the way, that's my first picture that I've ever inserted into my blog.  It took me like 20 minutes to figure out how to do it, so it also may be my last.  But if it is, I went out with the greatest.  He's everybody's favorite person.  Deservedly so.

So far on tour (with Othello) we have hit Hermosa Beach and Mission Viejo.  And what I love about tour can be summed up in the differences of these venues.  We have been going to Hermosa for probably 17 of the 19 years of SBTS.  It is among my favorite tour spots.  It used to be solidly number one, but there is a poplar tree that grew really large prohibiting us from using the amphitheater (although we now use it as our dressing room) and going around to the other side of the wall.  What I loved about the park before last year was the intimacy it afforded us as actors.  We play in parks for literally thousands of people on certain nights.  But there was something really special about packing a natural amphitheater with nearly a thousand people who were literally less than fifty feet away.  It encouraged us to do the play in a much more subtle and personal way.  However, I still love the park and really love the audience there.  This was our first stop, and therefore our first performance beginning at 7 PM instead of 8.   Looking out for all of those soliloquies in the first half of the show was an entirely different experience than it had been.  I could see everybody.  I could look into the eyes of the audience and invite them personally to come on this journey with me.  This is what's so great about what we do.  The show was different.  Had to be different.  I was there with a thousand accomplices and I could see their eyes.  Most of them were more than ready to be complicit in Iago's crimes.  It was great.

Saturday we were at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, which is way down in Orange County.  And if Chris Nelson were to drive you there, you would also inexplicably drive through most of Long Beach.  (But I did hit a bunch of Poke Stops along the way).  The college is doing a festival of plays out in their quad.  They have built a stage and have lighting and seats.  It was really cool.  Unfortunately, our entire Othello set didn't fit on the stage that they had set up.  So we had to cut the entire top level of our set and improvise roughly half the blocking of the show.  But, again, what is challenging is also special.  It may have been the best show we've done to date.  And we had Tara go on as Emelia because Olivia was out of town. She did great! And she couldn't do most of the blocking that she had prepared to do.  Poor kid.   A show cannot get stagnant if it continually moves.  We all found new stuff.  It was great.  And having a full array of lights, and even blackouts at the end of the acts was a luxury we weren't really prepared for.  This is tour.  This is the first week of tour.  We are all happy and sane.  We are all finding new things and going deeper into the play.  The honeymoon is in full bloom.  And it's great.  I'll let you know who cracks first. 

Come see us this week at two more Orange County locations:  Huntington Beach (Central Park), a new venue, on Thursday at 7 PM.  And one of our old favorites:  Rush Park in Rossmoor on Saturday at 7 PM.  There are also some Cymbeline performances happening this week.  I guess on Weds, Fri, and Sunday.  You can check those out too, I guess.  (I think I may get one of the Cymbeline folks to crack first with this sort of talk). 

And as always, thanks for all the kind words.  I have received emails and FB messages.  As well as the incredible response after the show.  It's humbling and empowering to know that what we are doing is touching so many of you.  And thanks for all the food.  The way to an actor's heart continues to be his stomach. 

See you soon. 

Oh, you are well tuned now...

There's a lot of excitement leading up to opening night, but I love theatre because it's never a finished product.  There is no perfection.  There are moments that you hope to recreate, only better.  And there is the growth of the show.  When I direct, I like to tell my actors that a show grows deeper, and not larger because I don't want them to milk moments.  And I try to take my own advice when I act.  To plant all of it deeper.  And this is the work of an actor.  It doesn't stop on opening night.  During the week, I still dive back into my script and think about what my character is doing, and how to strengthen that.  But the great thing about being in the middle of the run is that you don't have to focus on the minutia of acting--lines, blocking, etc.  That stuff is in you, and you can sit in it and really take it in.  The whole play.  Your sphere of concentration is endless at this point.  (What I mean by that is how much of your mind is taken up with the simple tasks is very small, so you can open up your senses to the whole stage and beyond).  And you can tinker a bit with your script during the week, and then go onstage and incorporate that deeper understanding without worry.

Last night I was in a good space.  I knew Phil was good to go, so I didn't have to worry about that.  Dorian was back as Roderigo, so there was comfort as well.  (But Greg absolutely killed it as an understudy.  You can't do it any better than he did).  And the moments that I wanted to play my action more clearly, I was able to do.  But I was also really able to take it all in.  The whole play.  The audience. The park.  The helicopters. Everything.

And what I saw was delightful.  I've spoken in generalities about the cast, because this blog has been more personal than those in the past.  Partly because I'm blogging on my own site, but also because of how enormous this role is.  I've used it to sort of check in with myself as to the progress of Iago.  But last night, I got to check in with the rest of the cast.  Man.  It was great.

Melissa Booey is our Desdemona.  I wish I had more stage time with her.  She is amazing.  She literally glows with talent and beauty.  I don't know how else to describe it.  Annie commented that she's great and beautiful like a porcelain doll.  But Booey gives that fragile doll such strength, that her Desdemona is really unlike any I've seen.  Our moments together onstage are fleeting, but so fun.

Of course she (and I) are helped enormously by our Emilia.  My dear Olivia.  She was my Hermia and my Celia in previous seasons.  Not the sort of casting you would expect for Emilia.  The wife of Iago.  The actual conscience of the play.  I was lucky enough to sit in on the auditions, and when Booey and Olivia did their scene, their chemistry together was clearly what the play needed.  And I trust her onstage like few others.  I know that she'll be so there and go where it needs to go.  And the audience clearly loves Emilia as there is always a gasp toward the end of the play when...(well I don't want to spoil it)...let's just say they stop rooting for Iago.

BJ plays Cassio.  I don't know if I even need to say any more.  If you have followed my blog, then you know that he's "my guy."  I haven't directed a Shakespeare that he wasn't my lead.  He's so good.  And he's the actor that pretty much everybody in SBTS looks up to as the leader.  Not only is he great onstage (which I really can't overstate...he's great) but his energy, attitude, and craftiness keep us all afloat.  Our last moment onstage together is my favorite.  There are no more games.  Cassio becomes the Captain indeed.

I mentioned Dorian earlier.  I didn't really quite realize that all of his scenes were with me until Greg had to step in.  Shakespeare almost never does this.  All of these two or three person scenes.  This would be a great play to workshop in a class because it's all so small and personal.  Dorian is a great scene partner.  He's really smart.  He thinks about...literally...everything.  And that is great.  And I love having a Roderigo who is sort of like a little brother...but one that mom loves more.  I think that's the relationship we have.  At least the one that we share.  Of course Iago cultivates relationships that seem real to others, but not to him.  But the great thing about Dorian is that there is never a moment that isn't authentic.  He doesn't fake anything.  It's all legit, and that sort of scene partner makes you better.  He's also another actor who is never content.  He's always working to go deeper and make it better.  I want to buy stock in this guy.  He's too young to be this together.  It kind of pisses me off now that I think about it.  I'm going to kill him extra tomorrow. (spoiler alert).

Jessica is a force of nature.  She is Bianca.  She may be my new favorite person.  I mean, I still love everybody in the company, but Jessica just makes me happy to be alive.  She's great onstage.  Man, her voice is clear as a bell and strong as a very large bell (not sure where that metaphor was going, so stay with me).  She's got all the chops.  Forget about it.  But she's also the most supportive actor you can imagine.  Onstage she is fierce and relentless (which is what you want in a partner), and offstage she's positive and supportive.  I mean, she saw me working on lines one day early on, and came over and held book for me.  But more than that, every time I needed a word of encouragement on this journey, she somehow knew it and was there.  Not that this is all about me.  I mean, I'm trying to have at least one blog that not...but when an actor you admire thinks you are doing well, it really helps.  And she's soooo good as Bianca.  Her and BJ together are like the most delightful thing ever.

I can't believe that Phillip agreed to do this.  He took on Othello with 4 rehearsals (3 of which were tech), learned all those lines on his own and somehow became the Othello we needed.  He's a pro.  And now that he's got the role under his belt, he's also getting to that place where he can open that sphere of concentration and it's great to see.  There are some really terrifying moments and some heartbreaking ones.  And what I would give to have his voice.  I'm so jealous.

But no play works without wonderful actors in supporting roles.  I know, because I have played many supporting roles in my time.  In fact, I still hope to write a book entitled "Shakespeare's Army: How to play all those roles that scholars don't write about."  Look for it in a book store near you...when book stores exist again. 

Steph and I both agree that this is the best group we've ever had.  Not to discount all of you bastards who left us, we love you too.  But this group?  We replaced our titular (heh) character a week before we opened, and everybody not only rallied around Phillip, but were excited by the prospect of doing something crazy.  This is the cast that you want to go to Vegas with.  This is the group that you want to have your back in a bar fight.  These are the folks that you want to get together with several times a week for the rest of your life.  More than that, this is the cast you want to do a great play with.  hey are special.

Chris is on the banner hanging over the band shell from 15 years ago.  He played Ferdinand back then.  He was dreamy.  He still is.  You may notice that I am not on the banner.  I am not dreamy.  Although I once was...I mean, c'mon I was pretty buff as Macbeth...nothing.  Anyway, Chris plays Brabantio and also Montano.  He took last year off (the year that I was finally going to steal him from Steph to be in the show I directed) because his awesome wife Jamie had their second child.  I mean...I have two kids, and I haven't taken a year off in the last 7, but hey, when you're dreamy you get to do such things.  I told him last night, that I was going to be the guy that really liked Brabantio.  And I tired.  But Brabantio is a dick. Everybody hates him.  My favorite thing may be to hear Chris tell everybody how his character is right, and if everybody listened to him, it all would have turned out ok.  He has a very Chris Nelson-centric way of viewing the plays that he's in.  King Lear is now the Tragedy of the Duke of Cornwall.  King John is the Heroic Adventures of Hubert.  And don't get him started on Paris and Juliet.  He could be the next Tom Stoppard by writing all of his characters stories.  Hmm, maybe he can sell books with me in the bookstore of the future.

Christopher (not Chris, although they both answer to both names...exhausting) was that rare unicorn that comes in to audition every few years.  This super talented, handsome, sweet guy that can handle text.  I don't even know if he was out of the room before Cy exclaimed that he had his Posthumus.  He's great in it, but I don't care about Cymbeline.  (Cymbeline...pshhhaw).  I mean, I do.  Because I did the fights, and Cy directed it and all my friends are in it...but c'mon.  Cymbeline.  Actually, originally I don't think Christopher was able to do both plays, but we begged him, because we are not above begging, and he came on to play a senator and many soldiers.  (Part of Shakespeare's Army...I'm telling you, this book is going to be big).  What I admire about Christopher is that if you were in the audience and were to look at him (and, why wouldn't you because he's so handsome) you know what the story is.  You know how he feels about what is happening.  He doesn't mail it in.  He doesn't check out.  And that may be the hardest thing to do when you are part of Shakespeare's army.  To stay in it.  But he is.  And he's also super terrific as Posthumus in that other play we are doing, if you want to go see it.  I hear the fights are great. 

Iyan is also in both plays.  He has a really great fight in that other show.  You should totally see it.  I forget the name of it, but it's great.  He's the elder brother, rustic mountaineer in it.  And has my favorite moment.  I won't spoil it for you...but I totally will.  He chops off Cloten's head and gloats about it.  Hilarious.  In Othello, he's a Senator and Soldier too.  He also has one of my favorite moments in this play too.  When the Duke says "your son in law is far more fair than black," the look on his face is priceless.  Iyan had never done Shakespeare before this summer, and he claimed he was intimidated, but I think he was hustling us, because he's on point.  In both shows--Othello, and that other one.  Iyan is also Stephs favorite ever.  I have Jessica, she has Iyan.  And like Jessica, he's that person in the room that you are most happy to see.  You just feel better when he's around.  I wish I could bottle that.  I wish I had that.

Finally we have Ryan.  Effing Lodovico (and his identical cousin the Duke of Venice).  Ryan was my Oliver last year, and many years ago was Sir Andrew Aguecheek.  He's also in that other show...Cymbe--something.  Where he plays the Iyan's younger brother.  But he doesn't have a fight, so...who cares.  (I kid because I care...no, I kid because I can).  Anyhoo, Ryan is one of my dudes.  I love Lodovico.  Effing Lodovico, always showing up at the wrong time; when Iago is about to complete some coup de gras.  Othello finally makes me his Lieutenant?  Here comes Lodovico.  I'm working Desdemona over?  Here comes Lodovico.  I'm about to kill Cassio?  Here comes Lodovico.  I tell him to follow Othello and make sure he doesn't kill Desdemona?  Lodovico nowhere to be found.  Effing Lodovico.  Effing Ryan.  He's another in Shakespeare's Army who gets what it means to commit to it.  And the play is better for it and him.  All of these guys playing these roles.  They may seem thankless, but they really aren't.  The world of the play depends on them.  Anybody who has seen a production where people onstage are checked out know what I mean.  These roles are so challenging because you log so much stage time, and get a few moments to really show what you can do (or so you think).  Really being active and involved in a role that doesn't speak in several scenes is tremendously difficult, but absolutely essential. 

But what am I doing giving this away for free?  You can read all about it in "Shakespeare's Army" coming soon (no, not soon...I've had this idea ruminating for 25 years) to a bookst...um Ipad near you.

Ok, so next week I'll talk a lot more about myself.  Because if I don't, who will?