Iago in Omaha

 It was interesting re-reading my blog about Iago all these years later as I once again get ready to play the role. This time in Omaha with Nebraska Shakespeare. Playing a role again has both benefits and challenges.  The benefits are that you've done all the text work and homework, you understand the character and their motivations, and you have a head start on learning the lines. I've noticed that lines fall back into my brain pretty quickly when I've learned them before. The challenges are to come to the new experience open to different interpretations and choices, and it can be a little hard to learn text that has been cut differently than before. Although the benefit of having the majority of it easily accessible far outweighs this challenge.

I've been in Omaha a little over a week now. We've had an entire week of table work, which is such a luxury and blessing in this day and age. Sitting together and discussing the play and the relationships and truly understanding the text we are all speaking gives a great jumping off point for the play to take off as we start blocking tonight. The people are awesome here. It's a good group, and a good room to be a part of and I look forward to what is yet to come.

Omaha itself seems like a nice little city. Although the weather has been terrible since I got here, and I spent most of the first week recovering from a cold, the times I've been out have been great. Saw a few friends and even some family here, which is one of the reasons I chose to come to Omaha. My dad was born and reared in Nebraska, and coming to the ancestral homeland has me thinking about him.

Other facts about Omaha: Everybody here has an innate sense of direction and will tell you that you need to "go north," or the thing you are looking for is "southeast of where you are." Um, thanks Magellan, can you just tell me if I need to turn right or left? I mean it's not like there are mountains or an ocean to use as a point of reference.

It's more diverse than I expected. That's a pleasant surprise. And a little more progressive. Sure, there are people here who wear their Trump/Pence shirts unironically, but there are also a lot of BLM signs and messages of support for marginalized groups in this country. 

There are drive through Subways here.  The sandwich shop. Not that I love Subway, but compared to other fast food places, it is edible. I haven't driven through yet, but it couldn't take longer to get my order than In n Out. 

Finally, any conversation you have with a native won't last more than a few words before they tell you you have to check out the zoo.  Apparently, it's one of the best in the world. So, I will be going there at some point.

I'll dive more into the thoughts on Iago and the play as we go on.