LOVE'S FINE WIT (with ME) April 23 AT THE CORNELIA STREET CAFE

LOVE'S FINE WIT

A reading (with music) of Shakespearean sonnets

As the dialog of an intense love triangle
And a concert of Elizabethan music and song

*Katie Fabel, Jessica Crandall, Heli Sirvio, Catherine Zubkow, Eric Roffman

William Anderson (guitar & theorbo), Helen Ellis (viola da gamba)

CORNELIA STREET CAFE

29 Cornelia Street

Sat, April 23 at 6:00

www.corneliastreetcafe.com

Advance reservations at 212 989-9319 are strongly recommended!

Help us celebrate Shakespeare�s Birthday with LOVE�S FINE WIT, a reading (with music) of Shakespeare�s most popular, most powerful, and most complex sonnets � rearranged as the dialog of an intense love triangle, with lust, betrayal, loneliness, and the triumph of true love. And a concert of Elizabethan songs and music!

EVENT LISTING
http://www.corneliastreetcafe.com/Performances.asp?sdate=4/23/2011&from_cal=0


*(Performers subject to their continuing availability.)

So... I arranged for a concert with some terrific singers and musicians, and I rearranged Shakespeare's sonnets for a reading. It tells the story of an intense love triangle. The sonnets, heard in this context of a dramatic story, as the dialog of the characters, reveal hidden and unexpected meanings and gain new power. Shakespeare was both a poet and a dramatist. Rather than taking the sonnets as his sort-of-maybe biographical musings, we are taking each sonnet out of its context, away from the usual ordering, and taking each sonnet for itself, then giving it a new context in its role in this dramatic story. Shakespeare in his plays was famous for giving each character his own voice. The sonnets seem to speak out in a whole range of different voices and moods. By taking the sonnets as dialog, as the voice of different characters, and not just WS's own voice, these different voices and moods have a new opportunity to be heard.

Several years ago I did a quite different arrangement of the sonnets:

LOVE IS MY SIN
http://tattoowesley.blogspot.com/2010/03/love-is-my-sin.html


In fact, one (almost defining) feature of the sonnets is that they are ambiguous. The same line can often be taken in two quite different ways, with quite different meanings, depending on how one interprets the syntax. (For example, take another look at the famous last line of sonnet 116!) This ambiguity helps make it possible for a sonnet to gain additional meaning and clarity by giving it a context in which it inherits the specific circumstances laid out by the previous speeches.

In filmmaking and film editing this is a familiar process. A shot of a man looking into the distance becomes a quite different shot, with different emotional content, depending on whether it is preceded by, say, a scene with a cute dog, a beautiful woman, a violent murder, an empty field of wild flowers, or a war.

LOVE'S FINE WIT, the particular rearrangement for this event, I think, tells a very interesting and moving story.

The Shakespearean songs, by the way are integrated into the story. They come from Ross Duffin's wonderful book, Shakespeare's Songbook (which also includes a DVD of many Shakespearean songs), and he himself was both encouraging and helpful in several e-mails.


The date, April 23, is special. Counting back from the date of his baptism, April 23 is usually considered Shakespeare's birthday. So we created this show as part of a three day celebration of Shakespeare's birthday at the Cornelia Street Cafe.

HOPE YOU'LL COME. Be sure to make reservations early!

Advance reservations at 212 989-9319 are strongly recommended!

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MARGARET: A TYGER'S HEART - AT RED BULL THEATER - IN THE RAW

Margaret of Anjou, whom the English still (550 years later - they do take a while to accept a French woman as English) call "Margaret of Anjou" (rather than Queen Margaret), was Queen (or "queen consort") of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471.

Shakespeare gave Margaret some of the best scenes, and one of the most enduring, sustained character arcs, of any of his characters (certainly the most important for any female character).

She first appears as a captive of the English in Henry VI Part 1, when the Earl Of Suffolk, her captor, falls immediately and passionately in love with her.

In Henry VI Part 2 she is Queen, but Suffolk is out of favor and must flee. His goodbye is one of Shakespeare's most poetic, passionate, and heartbreaking scenes.

In Henry VI Part 3, Margaret, in the midst of wars, speaks one of the most bitter, cruel vengeful speeches in Shakespeare, mocking and then killing her enemy, York, who addresses her, saying: "O tyger's heart wrapt in a woman's hide!".

In Richard III, Margaret, now an old woman, stands up to Richard III with curses, and decries the evils that have been done.

The Red Bull Theater has just held a two week "lab" developing a play that encompasses the sway of her appearance in all the plays. The result is the play -- which will be presented Friday (2/25) through Sunday (2/27), together with a benefit on Saturday evening -- Margaret: The Tyger's Heart (the title coming, as above, from York's description in Henry VI Part 3 -- "O tyger's heart wrapt in a woman's hide!" actually, one of several references to Margaret as a tyger).

The play was developed in collaboration with The Shakespeare Society.

See below for more about Margaret of Anjou. First, here's some information about this production from the Red Bull Theater:



In the Raw
Developing the Classics of the Future.

February 25-27, 2011
Shakespeare's MARGARET: A Tyger's Heart
Adapted from Henry VI and Richard III
Directed by Michael Sexton

An In the Raw Developmental Lab Production
In collaboration with The Shakespeare Society
Featuring Michael Stewart Allen, Craig Baldwin, Jacob Fishel, Kate Forbes, Jason Butler Harner, Randy Harrison, Robert Stanton, David Townsend

Focusing on Margaret of Anjou from Shakespeare�s Henry VI, Pts 1, 2 and 3, and Richard III, this workshop will explore the journey of one of Shakespeare�s most remarkable characters, a woman of astonishing variety with an extraordinary arc over four history plays.

The aim of the two-week Lab is to create an evening-length theatrical work for nine actors that tells the riveting story of Margaret�s progress from young woman to queen, lover, wife, mother, political operator and battlefield commander, exploring the comic, macabre, as well as the human and loving sides of Shakespeare�s Margaret.

Produced by Red Bull Theater in collaboration with The Shakespeare Society, the workshop offers four public presentations.

PERFORMANCES
Friday Feb 25, 8pm
Saturday Feb 26, 2pm
Saturday Feb 26, 8pm* Benefit
Sunday Feb 27, 3pm

LOCATION
Theater at St. Clement's
423 West 46th Street

TICKETS - ON SALE NOW
$40 Regular
$60 Premium
$30 Under 30/Shakespeare Society Members
$20 Students/Industry

BENEFIT PERFORMANCE - Sat Feb 26, 8pm
$100 Regular
$150 Premium
*Benefit features private party with actors, special guests Kathleen Chalfant, Michael Stuhlbarg, and others following the performance

Seating Limited!

TICKETS:
https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/795735

RED BULL THEATER
http://www.redbulltheater.com/

ABOUT IN THE RAW
A new work laboratory series, IN THE RAW creates an artistic bridge between Revelation Readings and Full Productions, providing space, time, and support for projects ready to move beyond a staged reading, but that require further development and exploration prior to full production.

Each IN THE RAW project receives a workshop with a director, top-notch actors and designers, and includes public presentations. We are pleased to share this part of the creative process with our audience.


Margaret of Anjou lived for 52 years, from March 23, 1430 to Aug 25 1482. She was born in the Duchess of Lorraine, the second eldest daughter of Ren� I of Naples, Duke of Anjou and Bar, King of Naples and Sicily... and Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine.

On April 23, 1445, at the age of 15, she married King Henry VI of England, who was 23. She was described (by Shakespeare, his sources, and others) as beautiful and strong willed.

She entered the English political scene as strife between warring factions in England escalated. In May 1455, a Great Council solidified the split and enmity with the Yorkists, which initiated thirty years of the War of the Roses.

Many of the wars were fought in and over French territory. Even the terms of Henry's marriage to Margaret were seen by some as too favorable to the French. This may be one cause, or one result, (or both), of the fact that Margaret, a French woman, was not popular among some factions of the English court. The father of Henry VI, Henry V, had conquered most of France. Henry VI fought many wars to hold France, much of the war unsuccessful. Indeed, Margaret's campaigns on behalf of Henry may well be considered more successful than his.

Although allies of Margaret managed to defeat Richard Plantagenet, the Duke of York, in 1460, and Margaret had him beheaded (described in the famous scene in Henry VI part 3 above), the Yorkists managed to depose Henry VI in 1461. He regained the throne briefly in 1470. Though Henry VI was imprisoned, and then killed (by the future Richard III) in 1471, Margaret, after being imprisoned, was ransomed by the French king, and lived until 1482.

During the quieter period of her reign, between 1445 and 1455, Margaret was a champion of education, and founded Queens' College in Cambridge.

Floating past Queens' College on the river Cam is like travelling 550 years back in time.

QUEENS' COLLEGE - Cambridge
Founded by Margaret of Anjou 1448
View from the river Cam
Photo by Eric Roffman

Here is Queens' College's chronology of its creation:

before 1446 - Andrew Dokett was already Principal of St Bernard's Hostel on a site now occupied by the New Court of Corpus Christi College. He was also Rector of St Botolph's, the church of the parish within which Queens' College lies.

1446 Dec 3 - Andrew Dokett obtained a Charter from King Henry VI to found St Bernard's College on a site now part of St Catharine's College.

1447 Aug 21 - First Charter revoked. Andrew Dokett obtained a new charter from King Henry VI to found St Bernard's College on the present site of Old Court and Cloister Court.

1447-8? - Petition of Margaret of Anjou to her husband the King to have the foundation and naming of the new college. Second Charter returned to the King and the lands of StBernard's College surrendered to him.

1448 Mar 30 - Letters Patent from King Henry VI to Queen Margaret granting her the lands of St Bernard's College and licence to found a college.

1448 Apr 15 - Charter of Queen Margaret to found the Queen's College of St Margaret and St Bernard.

1448 Apr 15 - Sir John Wenlock, Chamberlain to Queen Margaret, lays the foundation stone at the south east corner of the chapel.

1448 - First part of Old Court completed: the Library, Chapel, E stairs, Gatehouse, A stairs and part of B stairs.

1449 - King Henry VI gives 200 for the buildings.

1449-50 - Old Court completed: remainder of B stairs, C stairs, Kitchens, Hall.

1454 - Chapel licensed for services.

QUEENS' COLLEGE - Cambridge
Founded by Margaret of Anjou - 1448
Courtyard view through the arch.
Photo by Eric Roffman

THE TEMPEST & JULIE TAYMOR

Julie Taymor's THE TEMPEST, a film adapted from her own stage production of Shakespeare's play, provides a simple, beautiful, richly symbolic, clear, contemporary interpretation of this dramatic and fantastic classic. Taymor's version steers a clear path between the multiple traps of over-hammy acting or poor acting, overly mysterious or banal presentation, and simple confusion or over-interpretation, threading through with sensible and considered storytelling, modern acting, and a rich visual style that serves the film well.

It's a hard play to do, and a very hard play to film.

To be sure, the film was made on a shoestring, and in some places the bare bones are evident, notably the initial tempest. But for the most part, the film looked very good, and shooting the film in Hawaii provided a natural wild and beautiful location.

Using busy actors also reduced the amount of time available for rehearsals and in some cases made improvisation necessary. But Julie Taymor, who is one of the few true genius directors, made some of these problems into virtues.

Notably, Ariel was not available to shoot with the others in Hawaii, leading to the unique and -- mostly -- successful overlay of Ariel superimposed and added to the film separately. The nude but sexless Ariel was only slightly strange -- more for being sexless than nude.

Casting Helen Mirren as Prospera was the plan from the beginning. Changing Prospero (a man) to Prospera (for Helen) was seemless. Her performance was central and perfectly natural. The gender shift was/is a non-issue.

All the acting was very fine. This is perhaps surprising, since many actors were more or less new to Shakespeare and, as mentioned above, due to the small budget and their busy careers, rehearsal time was very limited. But when the director understands a play, actors can bring their performance into line; and one part of Taymor's genius is that she understands the story she is telling.

Another part of her genius is visual story-telling (she was known for her visual direction before she was known as a director), which is how on a small budget she succeeded in making a visually strong film.

Julie Taymor (who will be 58 next Wednesday -- born Dec 15, 1952) studied mythology and folklore in college, and then worked in puppetry. Her approach to Shakespeare (in Titus and The Tempest), both to the actors and to the visual style, seems to derive much of its force from this background.

Julie Taymor, of course, is presently in previews for Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark, the most ambitious Broadway show of all time. If succesful, it will merge incredibly difficult and dangerous visual effects (quite a few injuries so far), with a mythic story.

THE TEMPEST was shown at the New York Film Festival (NYFF) and Julie Taymor appeared in several events talking about the film.


Julie Taymor
At the NYFF Press Conference
Photo by Eric Roffman

Here's an interview with Julie Taymor at the New York Film Festival Press Conference:

Here's an interview with Julie Taymor several years ago (at the time of "Across The Universe"):

Here's an interview about Spider-Man from 3 months ago with Julie Taymor, Reeve Carney and Jennifer Damiano

LINKS & EXTRA INFO...

THE TEMPEST by William Shakespeare
Adapted and directed by Julie Taymor

Cast:

Helen Mirren as Prospera
Felicity Jones as Miranda
Reeve Carney as Ferdinand
Alfred Molina as Stephano
Russell Brand as Trinculo
Djimon Hounsou as Caliban
Chris Cooper as Antonio
Alan Cumming as Sebastian
Tom Conti as Gonzalo
David Strathairn as King of Naples Alonzo
Ben Whishaw as Ariel

JULIE TAYMOR - WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Taymor

THE TEMPEST - IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1274300/

THE TEMPEST - WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tempest_(2010_film)

SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK
Currently in previews...

SPIDER-MAN - WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man:_Turn_Off_the_Dark

SPIDER-MAN ON BROADWAY -- Official Site
http://spidermanonbroadway.marvel.com/#home

OTHELLO

John Ortiz as Othello, Jessica Chastain as Desdemona, and
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Iago in OTHELLO
Photo by Armin Bardel

The LAByrinth production of Othello, (here's the text) directed by Peter Sellars, with Philip Seymour Hoffman as Iago, John Ortiz as Othello and Jessica Chastain as Desdemona, is a feast for students and directors of Shakespeare, but quite skimpy on the delivery of emotion, especially in (what is usually) the cataclysmic conclusion.

There are many strange features in this production, some of which help illuminate the richness of the play, some of which confuse the audience and dissipate the power of the story and some of which actually do both.

Peter Sellars, of course, is best known for opera productions which have a reputation for quirky originality.

The first striking feature of the production is the slow pace at which the actors speak. This allows an audience unused to Shakespearean language to understand and process far more than is ever possible when the actors (as Hamlet suggested) speak their words trippingly on the tongue. Audience members (and actors) are allowed to savor and appreciate the poetry and the words.

For audiences used to the rhythms of modern films, and more interested in the experience than the details, however, this rich but 4 hour long presentation can seem plodding and tedious.

A second feature of the production is that Desdemona's father Brabantio is cut out of the play, characters are combined, and suddenly the characters pull out cell phones and start talking to each other across the room and on microphones. This gets the play off to a shaky start (not to mention the fact that the sound system seemed to be flaky for a while the night I saw the show). People new to the play, and those who know the play by heart are equally able to be confused about who is who and why they say what they say, at the beginning. (Not surprisingly, the appearance of the cell phones provoked some not very supportive laughter from the audience.)

The play is set (mostly) in a military base in Cyprus. This provides a universal, timeless environment in which to enact the tragedy.

However, Sellars does not seem to take this setting seriously. Hoffman, with a pot belly, and casual clothes, never in uniform, is vocally a great Iago, but physically impossible to imagine as a candidate for Othello's next in command. Other characters are in and out of uniform, and the set design does not evoke a military base, except fleetingly.

In most productions, Desdemona is a problem: The relation between Othello and Desdemona (O & D) is vapid and unconvincing. Here, Desdemona is a strong, though naive character. And there is a lot of physical communication between Othello and Desdemona. They kiss a lot, and lie next to each other a lot. This is a big improvement over most productions. Yet it still seems like puppy love. Because of the open set design, the other characters can freely observe Desdemona and Othello making out on a super-modern, stylized electronic bed. But what they see and what we see is not what Iago describes to Brabantio, Desdemona's father:

IAGO: Even now, now, very now, an old black ram
Is topping your white ewe.

This -- if taken to be an accurate representation of the O & D affair -- suggests that any glimpses we see of their physical relationship should be torrid passion, not innocent necking.

(If, in Sellars version, the intention is for Iago to be misleading Brabantio about the nature of Othello's affair, and the relation between Desdemona and Othello is intended to be depicted as almost High-Schoolish, then it takes away much of the urgency of the whole play. Note -- Since Brabantio is not in this production at all, I was a little confused at the time these lines were delivered, and it is hard to remember how these lines were used in this production.)

It was Sellars intention to create an Othello for the Obama generation. Sellars seems to consider most productions of Othello as demeaning to blacks in general and Othello in particular. It seems to have been Toni Morrison who changed his mind about the play (see the video interviews -- click on see all!)

In assessing the treatment of Othello in the play, realize that here is a black man, in white Europe, hailed as a great soldier, loved by a beautiful white woman for his character, having sex with her (and possibly other women), marrying her despite some objection by her father, and commissioned for an important military expedition. This is in a play written more than 400 years ago. How many modern plays, TV shows or movies treat a black character in an interratial sexual/romantic relationship and interratial career, with such importance?

Othello, the man, the general, is not a puppet for a simple anti-black propaganda play; he should be taken seriously by the director, the audience and the world. He is a great man and a terrible killer. And his interratial marriage is at the center of the play. The play is about the reaction of all the characters to Othello, his position, and his beautiful wife.

So I think it is a mistake, even in accentuating other aspects of the play, as Sellars does brilliantly, to minimize the importance of the basic thread. The relation -- the interracial relation -- between Othello and Desdemona should not be minimized. Indeed it should be maximized to the extent of exhibiting a physically provocative -- rather than timid -- passion. (In the "pre-Obama world" a black man would not be shown coupling with a beautiful white woman. The "post-Obama world" should portray these people as they are created in the play.)

Generally speaking, the casting of a Latino as Othello, and a black man as Cassio, and a big black woman as a combination of characters, does support Sellars stated ambition of making the play more about universal issues, and less about a stupid, credulous, murderous black man than is perhaps (he believes) usually the case. Liza Col�n-Zayas as Emilia, Iago's wife, excellently carries Sellars' idea of how her character's silence is as important as Iago's deception in deluding Othello, and how her courage in revealing the deception unwinds the plot. (However, casting Philip and Liza as a couple is dubious; they are not convincing as a married couple.)

Indeed Sellars' essay and video interviews about the production are extremely interesting. He did accomplish what he set out to do. But, as so often happens, it is what he did not do and did not focus on and therefore did not do, that cause the weaknesses in the production.

It is at the end that the play has the greatest and strangest lapses:

1-- The classic line:

OTHELLO: Put out the light, and then put out the light

is not matched with any action that makes sense of the line. Othello is walking in meaningless circles around the bed.

2 -- The stylized electronic bed does not allow or evoke the emotions raised by the lines:

DESDEMONA: Prithee, tonight
Lay on my bed my wedding sheets: remember;

The wedding sheets, which should carry enormous emotional power, are missing from the bed, and can not deliver the message they should carry to Othello (and to the audience).

3 -- And finally, Ortiz simply does not produce the physical or vocal strength necessary to convey the powerful emotions that would illuminate this twisting of Othello from lover to killer and then convey the cosmic remorse that suddenly erupts when he realizes what horror he has committed; how he has been deceived, betrayed and destroyed.

So, all in all, I enjoyed this production and learned much from it, but did not exit from the theater emotionally devastated!


This is only the beginning of the "Othello Project," for Peter Sellars. According to the notes distributed at the theater, Sellars and Toni Morrison are discussing a prequel to Othello, called "Desdemona," starting from the stories that Othello told Desdemona so that she fell in love with him. And Sellars is planning to return to Othello as well as Toni Morrison's "Desdemona," in part with the idea of developing a film. This project should be exceptionally illuminating to all those who love Shakespeare.


In addition, on Sunday October 4, there will be a free panel discussion about Othello:

OTHELLO DISCUSSION EVENT
FREE OTHELLO DISCUSSION SUNDAY October 4:

"Is It Possible?": Othello in the Age of Obama

Luis Argueta, documentary filmmaker;
Mary Schmidt Campbell, Dean of Tisch School of the Arts;
Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx; and
Carmen Pel�ez, playwright and actress.

Moderated by Dr. Avery T. Willis, who has collaborated with Peter Sellars as an assistant director and dramaturg since 2006.

OTHELLO Sunday Speakers Series

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4 3:00-4:00PM

General Admission Lobby opens at 2:15PM

NYU Skirball Center
566 LaGuardia Place & Washington Square South

Here are some interesting links:

WEB VIDEO -- James Earl Jones -- Othello's Testimony: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJybA1emr_g&feature=related




Kenneth Branagh's version:


Paul Robeson as Othello & Uta Hagen as Desdemona:

THE BARD GOES GLOBAL: SHAKESPEARE FILMS AT FSLC

A Celebration of Shakespearean Cinema from Around the Globe



Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio
Romeo + Juliet
Directed by Baz Luhrmann, USA, 1996; 120m
Photo Credit: The Film Society of Lincoln Center/The Kobal Collection



Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey
Romeo and Juliet
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli, UK/Italy, 1968; 138m
Photo Credit: The Film Society of Lincoln Center/The Kobal Collection



Macbeth
Directed by Orson Welles, USA, 1948; 108m
Photo Credit: The Film Society of Lincoln Center/The Kobal Collection



Toshir� Mifune and Isuzu Yamada
Throne of Blood
Directed by Akira Kurosawa, Japan, 1957; 110m
Photo Credit: The Film Society of Lincoln Center/The Kobal Collection

The Film Society of Lincoln Center (FSLC) will showcase a summertime selection of films based on the works of William Shakespeare with The Bard Goes Global: Shakespeare on the International Screen, a 12 day, 18 film series beginning on Wednesday, July 15 through Sunday, July 26. Director Julie Taymor will appear in person at a screening of Titus on Thursday, July 23.

18 Films 10 Countries 12 Days (July 15-26)

Romeo & Juliet (2 versions)
Hamlet (3 versions)
Macbeth (4 versions)
Antony & Cleopatra
Henry V
King Lear
Richard III
Midsummer Night's Dream
Merchant Of Venice
The Tempest
Titus (Director Julie Taymor to Appear in Person)
Sonnets


Comments from FSLC:

"For a medium that spent many of its early years trying to distinguish itself from theater, cinema has often gravitated toward the challenges offered by Shakespeare. How much should a filmmaker refer to its theatrical origins? Do you embrace the opportunities cinema engenders to open up the play or guard against them? Should Shakespeare's historical settings be maintained or is the essence of his greatness its timelessness? And what should be done about Shakespeare's language? Despite (or perhaps, because of) these considerations, screen adaptations of the Bard's works continue apace; thirteen Shakespeare-based films are reportedly in production.

"To help prepare for this new Bardic wave, The Film Society offers the works of William Shakespeare through films from around the world, ranging from a Mumbai gangster-style Macbeth (Maqbool) to three renditions of Hamlet, two of which re-imagine the tragedy of the Prince of Demark as a tale of corporate corruption. Along the way, celebrated films by Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Akira Kurosawa, Aki Kaurism�ki, Derek Jarman, Grigori Kozintsev, Roman Polanski, Julie Taymor, Baz Luhrmann, and many more, can be rediscovered.

The Bard Goes Global opens on July 15 with one of two interpretations of Romeo and Juliet. Franco Zeffirelli's cinematic 1968 version (also showing on Thu Jul 16 & Sun Jul 19) was described by Roger Ebert as "the most exciting film of Shakespeare ever made", earning the film two Oscars, including one for Best Cinematography. The director's wildly popular adaptation of Shakespeare's most ubiquitous work very much caught the spirit of the moment: shrewdly casting beautiful teenage unknowns Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey, he emphasized the glory of young love when generational conflict was reaching a crescendo. Baz Luhrmann's 1996 interpretation, Romeo + Juliet (Wed Jul 22 & Sat Jul 25), transports the star-crossed lovers, played by a 22 year-old Leonardo DiCaprio and a teenage Claire Danes, to "Verona Beach," liberally peppering the original Elizabethan dialogue with modern-day accents.

In addition to two renderings of Romeo and Juliet are four very unique adaptations of Macbeth: Orson Welles' 1948 director's cut (Sat Jul 18), painstakingly restored by the UCLA Film & TV Archive (and out of print on DVD); Kurosawa's 1957 masterwork, taking place in medieval Japan, Throne of Blood (Wed Jul 15 & Sun Jul 19), praised by critic Harold Bloom as "the most successful film version of Macbeth"; Vishal Bhardwaj's imaginative 2003 Mumbai gangster rendition, Maqbool (Fri Jul 24 & Sun Jul 26) starring Irrfan Khan (Slumdog Millionaire, The Darjeeling Limited, The Namesake); and Polanski's 1971 collaboration with influential critic Kenneth Tynan (Tue Jul 21, Wed Jul 22 & Sun Jul 26).

Also included are three versions of Hamlet. Svend Gade and Heinz Schall's restored Danish silent from 1920 (Sat Jul 25)which premiered at the 2007 New York Film Festival with original polychrome tints intact features live piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin. This unique and madcap take on the story of the Prince of Denmark stars Danish diva Asta Nielsen playing the title role; Hamlet was born a princess and her gender was kept hidden. Finally, on Thursday, July 16 and Sunday, July 19 will be Michael Almereyda's 2000 edition starring Ethan Hawke & Bill Murray and on Thursday, July 23, Aki Kaurism�ki's 1987 deadpan noir comedy Hamlet Goes Business (also showing on Fri Jul 24 & Sun Jul 26).

Other highlights include directorial debuts from Charlton Heston with Antony and Cleopatra (Sat Jul 18 & Mon Jul 20), Al Pacino in Looking for Richard (Wed Jul 22 & Sat Jul 25) and Laurence Olivier with his 1944 blockbuster Henry V (Wed Jul 15). In the biggest budgeted British film of the time, Olivier creates one of the most beloved Shakespeare adaptations at the movies, earning him a special "Honorary Oscar".


Film Descriptions

The Angelic Conversation
Derek Jarman, UK, 1985; 81m
Described by the director as "a dream world, a world of magic and ritual, yet there are images there of the burning cars and radar systems, which remind you there is a price to be paid in order to gain this dream in the face of a world of violence," this powerful examination of love and desire balances 14 Shakespearean sonnets (read by Judi Dench) with often astonishing tableaux that evoke everything from classic friezes to contemporary performance art. The project was shot on Super-8 then transferred to 35mm, giving each image a haunting effect, like paintings suddenly animating into life.
Sat Jul 18: 9:30pm
Thu Jul 23: 4:30pm

Antony and Cleopatra
Charlton Heston, UK/Spain/Switzerland, 1972; 160m
After years of monumental leading roles, Charlton Heston's first project as a director was this prime example of a character brought down by passion. He glided into the role of the Roman conqueror who Cleopatra (Hildegarde Neil) first abhors, then over whom she gradually and forcefully exerts her power. Rarely seen, this deeply felt rendition of Shakespeare's second Roman tragedy was a true labor of love for Heston, who co-wrote the screenplay, and presents a little-remembered side of the headliner's immense talent.
Sat Jul 18: 1:00pm
Mon Jul 20: 1:00pm

RESTORED PRINT
Hamlet (1920)
Svend Gade and Heinz Schall, Germany, 1920; 110m
Piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin
Screened at the 2007 New York Film Festival, this very different approach to Hamlet was long available only in black and white. See it now in its original polychrome tint, thanks to a lovingly restored print courtesy of the German Film Institute. Danish screen diva Asta Nielsen was at the height of her popularity when she took on the title role with a twist: the Prince was born a Princess. For reasons of royal succession, her gender was disguised, a secret known only to Hamlet's parents and nursemaid. The text acquires provocative new resonance in this assertive, ever-powerful silent.
Sat Jul 25: 6:30pm

Hamlet (2000)
Michael Almereyda, USA, 2000; 112m
"Visually both brilliant and dark...This Hamlet may be closer to inspired collage than to poetic drama, but it releases the old fable with its emotional force intact."-David Denby
When the CEO of a major media conglomerate dies, his artsy son Hamlet (Ethan Hawke) discovers that something is rotten in the Denmark Corporation. Imagining, like Kaurism�ki, the contemporary world of corporate skullduggery as an equivalent to medieval court intrigues, Almereyda creates a cool, steel-and-glass labyrinth for Shakespeare's most internal character, in which reflections and corporate branding brilliantly serve this executive prince's sense of wounded vanity. With Sam Shepard, Diane Verona, Kyle MacLachlan, Julia Stiles, Liev Schreiber, and Bill Murray as Polonius.
Thu Jul 16: 3:45pm and 9:15pm
Sun Jul 19: 4:00pm

Hamlet Goes Business / Hamlet liikemaailmassa
Aki Kaurism�ki, Finland, 1987; 86m
Having tackled Dostoevsky with his first feature, Finnish malcontent Aki Kaurism�ki confronted Shakespeare with his fourth: the somewhat clueless son of a deceased business magnate is visited by his father's ghost and, finally, given something to do. Lusciously shot in black and white and edited with the crisp pace of a B-movie, Hamlet Goes Business is remarkably faithful to its source-albeit rendered in Kaurism�ki's trademark deadpan style. The final act, in which Hamlet re-stages his version of The Murder of Gonzago, is one of the comic highpoints of the director's career.
Thu Jul 23: 6:15pm
Fri Jul 24: 2:30pm
Sun Jul 26: 6:15pm

Henry V, aka The Chronicle History of Henry the Fift with his Battell Fought in Agincourt in France
Laurence Olivier, UK, 1944; 137m
"Almost continually, [Henry V] invests the art of Shakespeare-and the art of cinema as well-with a new spaciousness, a new mobility, a new radiance." ~James Agee
Olivier's debut as a film director-complete with a $2 million price tag that made it the most expensive British film production to that point-literally moves from the stage of the Globe Theater deep into the realm of cinema, as the once wild Prince Hal assumes the throne and faces down a purportedly invincible French army at the Battle of Agincourt. Made when British wartime morale was being especially challenged, Olivier's Henry V is often read as straight nationalistic propaganda. Nevertheless, it became and remains among the best-loved Shakespeare adaptations on screen.
Wed Jul 15: 1:15pm and 6:15pm

King Lear / Korol Lir
Grigori Kozintsev, USSR, 1971; 140m
The Soviet cinema made more than its share of celebrated adaptations of classic world literature, but Kozintsev's King Lear, the Shakespeare play labeled by one critic "the best suited to Russian adaptation, being the longest, wildest, starkest, and most replete with pain and suffering at all levels," is among the greatest film versions of Shakespeare in any language. Using Boris Pasternak's translation and a superb score by Shostakovich, Kozintsev fashions an exhilarating adaptation that vividly captures both the chaos of battle and the deepening madness of the king.
Sat Jul 18: 4:15pm
Mon Jul 20: 3:20pm

Looking for Richard
Al Pacino, USA, 1996; 112m
This provocative musing on the Bard's place in today's culture follows Pacino's search for the soul of Richard III. Dedicated to rescuing the work from academic speculations and giving it back to the audience, he discusses performing Shakespeare with luminaries Vanessa Redgrave, John Gielgud, and Kenneth Branagh, while working through the play in a production co-starring Winona Ryder, Alec Baldwin, and Kevin Spacey. Along the way, Pacino expresses both his touching reverence for Shakespeare's genius and an unbridled enthusiasm in sharing his pleasure with us all.
Wed Jul 22: 3:50pm
Sat Jul 25: 1:30pm

RESTORED DIRECTOR'S CUT
Macbeth (1948)
Orson Welles, USA, 1948; 108m
In the late '40s, Republic Studios president Herbert Yates moved to upgrade his B-studio by hiring name-brand filmmakers John Ford, Allan Dwan, and, following the failure of The Lady From Shanghai, Orson Welles. Welles's Macbeth, shot on the studio backlot in 23 days, brought out the true darkness of the play, but Yates grew nervous hearing that his actors were to speak with Scottish accents. He soon cut the film by 20 minutes and re-recorded the dialogue. This print, the result of exhaustive research by the UCLA Film and Television Archive, restores Welles's version, as well as the overture and original exit music.
Print courtesy of the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Macbeth preservation funded by The Film Foundation and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Sat Jul 18: 7:00pm

Macbeth (1971)
Roman Polanski, UK/USA, 1971; 140m
In perhaps the least romantic take on the Scot who would be king, Polanski, working with critic Kenneth Tynan, focuses on Macbeth's (Jon Finch) bloody will to rule and downplays his ruminations on the costs. In a daring move often inspiring mention of the then-recent murder of Polanski's wife Sharon Tate, the director includes an off-stage scene, Duncan's murder, rendering it from Macbeth's point of view. Seen today, Polanski's Macbeth firmly stands alongside the era's other meditations on ultra-violence, A Clockwork Orange and Straw Dogs, as harsh rebukes to the idea that humankind's worst instincts can be controlled.
Tue Jul 21: 2:00pm
Wed Jul 22: 8:40pm
Sun Jul 26: 8:00pm

The Maori Merchant of Venice / Te Tangata Whai Rawa o Weniti
Don Selwyn, New Zealand, 2002; 158m
Made by a group of New Zealand filmmakers as the first feature completely shot in the Maori language, The Maori Merchant of Venice follows Hairoka (Waihoroi Shortland), an importer-exporter and religious pariah among his fellow wealthy Maoris. The film explores the creation of his outsider status and the uses his community makes of it. In a unique role reversal, Maori actors wear silks and satins while the few Caucasian role-players are treated as exotic others, offering a fascinating cross-cultural examination of Shakespeare.
Thu Jul 16: 6:15pm
Sun Jul 19: 1:00pm

Maqbool
Vishal Bhardwaj, India, 2003; 132m
Composer-cum-filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj's Maqbool is an engaging update of Macbeth set in contemporary Mumbai. Maqbool (the excellent Irrfan Khan, Slumdog Millionaire) is a leading henchman for crime boss Abbaji (an award-winning performance by Pankaj Kapoor), until two corrupt cops predict he will soon take over Abbaji's criminal empire with the help of his boss's mistress, Nimmi. Bhardwaj, who co-wrote the screenplay with Abbas Tyrewala, works outside of Bollywood convention, avoiding numerous subplots to focus on Maqbool's relentless rise to power and his inevitable collapse.
Fri Jul 24: 8:15pm
Sun Jul 26: 1:00pm

A Midsummer Night's Dream
William Dieterle and Max Reinhardt, USA, 1935; 132m
The romantic intrigue in the court of Theseus, Duke of Athens, has failed to pair each suitor with the right partner. That's nothing a few servings of the right magic can't cure. The only U.S. film credit for the highly influential Austro-German theater director Max Reinhardt is this Warner Bros. super-production, based on his 1934 staging in The Hollywood Bowl. Adding to his extraordinarily inventive cinematic vision are a superb James Cagney as Bottom, Olivia de Havilland as Hermia, Dick Powell as Lysander, and, unforgettably, Mickey Rooney as Puck.
Fri Jul 24: 4:15pm
Sun Jul 26: 3:45pm

Romeo and Juliet
Franco Zeffirelli, UK/Italy, 1968; 138m
"I believe Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet is the most exciting film of Shakespeare ever made...because it has the passion, the sweat, the violence, the poetry, the love, and the tragedy in the most immediate terms I can imagine. It is a deeply moving piece of entertainment." ~Roger Ebert
Zeffirelli's wildly popular, Oscar-winning adaptation of Shakespeare's most ubiquitous work very much caught the spirit of the moment: shrewdly casting beautiful teenage unknowns Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey, he emphasized the glory of young love when generational conflict was reaching a crescendo. Although taking great liberties with the text, he makes up what the film lacks in authenticity with a real sense of lived experience.
Wed Jul 15: 9:00pm
Thu Jul 16: 1:00pm
Sun Jul 19: 6:20pm

Romeo + Juliet
Baz Luhrmann, USA, 1996; 120m
Baz Luhrmann's eye-catching second feature transports the star-crossed lovers to an ocean-side North American suburb ("Verona Beach"), liberally peppering the original Elizabethan dialogue with modern-day accents and gun-toting action. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes generate plenty of on-screen heat while handling the text with admirable ease. Few adaptations have played more successfully with the inherent tensions between theatrical tradition and cinematic potential. With John Leguizamo, Harold Perrineau, Pete Postlethwaite, Paul Sorvino, Brian Dennehy, and Paul Rudd.
Wed Jul 22: 1:30pm and 6:15pm
Sat Jul 25: 3:45pm

The Tempest
Derek Jarman, UK, 1979; 95m
"The concept of forgiveness in The Tempest attracted me; it's a rare enough quality and almost absent in our world. To know who your enemies are, but to accept them for what they are, befriend them, and plan for a happier future is something we sorely need." ~Derek Jarman
When a shipwreck strands Alonso on the obscure island on which he had banished his royal brother, the magician Prospero, and niece, Miranda, Prospero must decide how far to go to exact revenge. The late, great Derek Jarman presents Shakespeare's final play as a meditation on the possibility of re-invention, giving his exception visual imagination free rein in a film that combines elements of the Baroque, Gothic, and Roaring '20s.
Thu Jul 23: 2:30pm
Fri Jul 24: 6:15pm
Sat Jul 25: 9:00pm

Throne of Blood, aka Macbeth / Kumonosu j�
Akira Kurosawa, Japan, 1957; 110m
When an old woman prophesizes that Lord Washizu (the great Toshir� Mifune) will one day become daimyo, the local provincial ruler, his wife Asaji (Isuza Yamada) spurs her husband into increasingly greater risks. Kurosawa's extraordinary adaptation of Macbeth, stripped of most dialogue and minor characters and performed through the stylistic filter of Japanese Noh theater, could scarcely be farther from the original. Yet few, if any, more effective screen adaptations of Shakespeare exist. Magnificently photographed on sets built on the side of Mount Fuji, Throne of Blood is one of Kurosawa's greatest achievements.
Wed Jul 15: 4:00pm
Sun Jul 19: 9:10pm

Titus
Julie Taymor, Italy/USA/UK, 1999; 162m
Julie Taymor, fresh from her stage triumph The Lion King, boldly took up the challenge of one of Shakespeare's earliest and most violent texts, grounding its horrors in recognizable if repellent emotions and her signature stunning visuals. Following his victory over the Goths, Roman general Titus Andronicus (Anthony Hopkins) returns home with the captured Goth queen Tamora (Jessica Lange). Despite her pleas for mercy, he sacrifices the queen's eldest son in memory of his own slain children. Thus begins a brutal cycle of revenge and treachery. With Alan Cumming and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Julie Taymor will be in person for this screening!
Thu Jul 23: 8:00pm




What's playing when:

Wednesday, July 15
1:15 Henry V
4:00 Throne of Blood
6:15 Henry V
9:00 Romeo and Juliet (1968)

Thursday, July 16
1:00 Romeo and Juliet (1968)
3:45 Hamlet (2000)
6:15 The Maori Merchant of Venice
9:15 Hamlet (2000)

Saturday, July 18
1:00 Antony and Cleopatra
4:15 King Lear
7:00 Macbeth (1948)
9:30 The Angelic Conversation

Sunday, July 19
1:00 The Maori Merchant of Venice
4:00 Hamlet (2000)
6:20 Romeo and Juliet (1968)
9:10 Throne of Blood

Monday, July 20
1:00 Antony and Cleopatra
3:20 King Lear

Tuesday, July 21
2:00 Macbeth (1971)

Wednesday, July 22
1:30 Romeo + Juliet (1996)
3:50 Looking for Richard
6:15 Romeo + Juliet (1996)
8:40 Macbeth (1971)

Thursday, July 23
2:30 The Tempest
4:30 The Angelic Conversation
6:15 Hamlet Goes Business
8:00 Titus

Friday, July 24
2:30 Hamlet Goes Business
4:15 A Midsummer Night's Dream
6:15 The Tempest
8:15 Maqbool

Saturday, July 25
1:30 Looking for Richard
3:45 Romeo + Juliet (1996)
6:30 Hamlet (1920)
9:00 The Tempest

Sunday, July 26
1:00 Maqbool
3:45 A Midsummer Night's Dream
6:15 Hamlet Goes Business
8:00 Macbeth (1971)

Single Screening Tickets: $7 members/students/child - $8 senior - $11 public
Series Pass ($40 public/$30 member): admits one person to five titles in the series;
only available for purchase at the box office ~ subject to availability.

CONCERT 'N' CUISINE & WORDS 'N' WINE

The road leading to Stone Barns


This weekend there is cuisine and chamber music:

Sharon Roffman and friends are playing a terrific concert at Stone Barns' Center for Food and Agriculture this Sunday (July 6) from 5 PM to 6 PM.

Stone Barns is a beautiful working farm, with rolling hills, walking trails and animals, situated on the spectacular grounds that were once a Rockefeller estate. "Come early and walk around, have a snack in the cafe (run by the incredible restaurant Blue Hill), or bring your own picnic (there are picnic tables galore!)"

Just across from the concert is Blue Hill at Stone Barns, one of America's very top, top restaurants. If you can't get a reservation at the restaurant (they're usually sold out a month or two in advance), stop in and make a reservation for a future treat!

These great works of chamber music reflect or were inspired by nature. Here's the program:

Haydn's "Sunrise" Quartet
Brahms' Viola Quintet in F Major

with Sharon Roffman, Jasmine Lin, Melvin Chen, Jacob Braun, and Mark Holloway.

Stone Barns is a short train ride or drive from New York City.

To reserve tickets go to
http://www.stonebarnscenter.org/sb_calendar/eventdetail.aspx?EventID=1958


Also the website for the Blue Hill cafe is
http://www.bluehillstonebarns.com/bhsb.html it is open until 5.

Sharon adds: "Please join us for some great music in the beautiful environment that inspired this concert."

Next weekend, there is Shakespeare & Wine:

Long Island Wineries Serve Up Shakespeare & Chardonnay with

FOOD OF LOVE

July 11 & 12

This July, two Long Island wineries will serve up FOOD OF LOVE, a light-hearted look at love with words by William Shakespeare and wine by the glass.

Produced by Spitfire Theatre, this unique theatrical experience is created and directed by Abigail Anderson, an English director who has worked at Shakespeare's Globe in London and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Anderson has been described by The Oxford Times as "one of the most exciting and eclectic young directors in the UK."

Laugh with Benedick and Beatrice, sigh with Romeo and Juliet, get steamy with Petruchio and Kate! FOOD OF LOVE brings together some of Shakespeare's most romantic love scenes, songs, and poems in a specially created show for some of Long Island's most picturesque outdoor locations.

Audiences will have the chance to sample the local wines as part of a relaxed summer evening, in addition to exploring the vineyards and enjoying the show.

Director Abigail Anderson says, "The beauty of Shakespeare's language is perfectly complemented by the beautiful surroundings of Long Island's wineries. We're delighted to have the chance to perform here and, in doing so, throw the spotlight on to the flourishing wine-growing community on the North and South Forks."

The 50 minute performance showcases the talent of four professional actors, all experienced Shakespearean performers, who will move in and around the audience to create an unforgettable and intimate theatre experience. The cast is: Khris Lewin, Adam Mastrelli, Amy Prosser, and Laura Rikard.

FOOD OF LOVE is the beginning of a long term project by Spitfire Theatre to bring high quality, accessible and inspiring Shakespeare performances to Long Island.

Performances will take place rain or shine as follows:

Friday, July 11 at 7:00pm
Palmer Vineyards in Aquebogue, Long Island
Located at 5120 Sound Avenue Aquebogue, NY 11931

Directions: Take the LIE to last exit (exit 73). Continue east on RT 58 to Osborne Ave. Turn left. Drive to end (Sound Ave). Turn right. Drive 6 miles to Palmer Vineyards, on the left.

Wine writer Howard Goldberg once described Palmer as, "Long Island's most important winery." Palmer wines are sold in many states across the country and can be found in many top restaurants such as Gallaghers Steak House, Fultons Crabhouse, The View Restaurant, and many more.


Saturday, July 12 at 7:00pm
Castello di Borghese in Cutchogue, Long Island
Located at 17150 County Route 48, Cutchogue, NY 11935

Directions: Take the L.I. Expressway I-495 to Exit 73 toward Greenport/ Orient. This is CR-58. Follow for 2 miles until reaching roundabout. Take 2nd exit off roundabout, continuing on CR-58. Turn left onto Northville Turnpike/CR-43 at traffic light. Turn right onto Sound Ave. at stop sign. Castello di Borghese will be approximately 9 miles on your right.

Winner of "Best Winery" Editor's Choice Award from Long Island Press. Borghese Vineyard has the oldest vines producing the finest wines in this winemaking region. Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc are their signature wines, along with many award winners including Meritage and Chardonnay.



All tickets are $55.00 in advance and $60 at the door. Tickets are available at http://www.theatermania.com/ or toll-free 1-866-811-4111.

Doors open 30 minutes prior to each performance.

For more information visit http://www.spitfiretheatre.com/.

FOR TEENS: SHAKESPEARE LAB JR @ THE PUBLIC

Calling all New York City Teenagers!

Are you a New York City teenager who is interested in the arts, theater or poetry? Do you enjoy acting onstage and meeting new people? Are you looking for something fun and rewarding to do during your summer vacation?

How about a FREE SHAKESPEARE WORKSHOP in the heart of the East Village!

If you, or someone you know, is a teenager (ages 13-19) who lives in one of the Five Boroughs, then the Public Theater's Shakespeare Lab Jr. program is right for you.

Located near Astor Place in the heart of the East Village, Shakespeare Lab Jr. is an intensive summer workshop program for highly motivated young people entering grades 9-12. Participants spend 5 action-packed days inside the world-famous Public Theater working with our energetic staff of professional teaching artists to engage in a unique and exciting exploration of history's most famous playwright�William Shakespeare.

Over the course of one full week, participants will gather inside the Public Theater's landmark building to:

EXPLORE Shakespeare's most powerful plays, plots, themes and characters;

PLAY theater games and interact with their peers in a safe environment;

LEARN acting, movement and voice skills;
WRITE and perform their very own sonnets!
Participants who complete the program will have the chance to:

PERFORM onstage at the Public Theater for family and friends!

JOIN Summer Shake Up: a special one-day event at the famous Delacorte Theater in Central Park home of the world renowned "Shakespeare in the Park". Exclusive backstage tour of the theater, workshop with Public Theater Artists, and a free box lunch.

GET FREE TICKETS to see the Public Theater's highly anticipated production of Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park (participants get 2 free tickets without having to wait in line!)

PLUS a special NEW program: SUMMER SHAKEUP -- a special visit to the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home of the world-famous "Shakespeare in the Park." Games, workshops, activities, a free lunch, and a chance to act on one of the most important Shakespeare stages in the world.

Shakespeare Lab Jr. is FREE, and is open to students in New York City. Workshops take place August 11-15 and August 18-22, Monday through Friday. Participants may choose between a morning session (9:30-1:30pm) and an afternoon session (2:30-6:30pm).

Register ONLINE Today!

If you are registering a GROUP � CLICK HERE.

If you are registering as an individual � CLICK HERE.

"I am much more confident about my speaking now and this will definitely help me out when I speak and present projects" -Ohahida Arabi, Shakespeare Lab Jr. participant

"What I liked most about the workshop is how you were able to meet new people and interact in a safe environment, learning Shakespeare in a fun way." -Kelsey Knutsen, Shakespeare Lab Jr. participant

"This workshop gave (my daughter) the confidence she needed to tackle Shakespeare!" -parent of participant, Sarah Gaines

LOVE'S WILL: LOVE POETRY FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

I created a half-hour performance of love poetry for Valentine's Day, a few years ago.

I'm doing a few of the poems tonight at HB Studio's Valentine's Day party.

Some time ago, I posted a version of this performance online:

http://www.inteem.com/valentine/valentine_02.htm

You need Flash and a speaker (or earphones).


I also posted online a film of Shakespeare's Sonnet 65:


"My Love" from Sonnet 65

SHAKESPEARE LAB AT THE PUBLIC

The highly acclaimed SHAKESPEARE LAB actor training program (at New York's Public Theater), is now accepting applications for its 12-week acting intensive on June 2-August 25, 2008.

Scholarships are available to cover the cost of tuition.

At the Tribeca Film Festival, I had a chance to talk with Amir Arison (a young, rising star in theater, film and TV) who has taken the LAB, and he found it extremely valuable!

Now entering its fourteenth year, The Public Theater Shakespeare Lab presents a unique opportunity for actors to develop their classical skills. Founded by former artistic producer of The Public Theater, Rosemarie Tichler, the Lab immerses the actor in Shakespeare's plays and language under the instruction of some of the most respected teachers of classical theater in New York and the world. In previous years, faculty has included Christopher Bayes, Ron Van Lieu, Michael Cumpsty, John Dias, Kate Forbes, J. Steven White, and Janet Zarish. Guest Artists have included Dana Ivey, Mark Lamos, Roger Rees, Liev Schreiber, Jordan Thaler and George C. Wolfe.

Under the leadership of Director Barry Edelstein and Associate May Adrales since 2007, the Shakespeare Lab continues to evolve into one of the country's most successful training programs for Shakespearean performance.

Throughout the summer, Lab actors will enrich their understanding of Shakespeare and his plays through intensive study and performance; develop skills in clown, movement, voice and teaching, and forge significant relationships with fellow Lab members, teachers and members of The Public Theater's professional community of artists.

Numerous graduates of the Shakespeare Lab have gone on to secure roles on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in regional theaters, in addition to work in film and television. The Lab provides a unique opportunity for actors to work on their craft during The Public Theater's world-renowned Shakespeare programming at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

For more information about the application process, call 212-539-8525.

ON THE WAY TO TIMBUKTU

This is not a review. It's more of a rumination on making a play from Shakespeare's sonnets.

Dispensing with the review part: On the Way to Timbuktu is a fierce one-woman play about a professor of Shakespeare and her history. It's an interesting play, very, very well performed by Petronia Paley, in an intense performance that never flags. See it! Friday (12/21) is the last night in this run at EST (the Ensemble Studio Theater) , but it was described as a "work-in-progress," so keep in mind to see it when "progress" next produces a public performance.

Now the commentary:

A few years ago, I staged a two character short play ("Love Is My Sin" at TSI / PlayTime -- in their �Seven Deadly Sins from Shakespeare� series) with dialog consisting entirely of sonnets. The characters were an Older Man (OM) and a Younger Woman (YW). (I played the OM and Amy Quint played the YW.) They had a strong relationship and, when they are separated, the man has a brief, torrid affair with "The Dark Lady (DL)." When it ends, he returns to YW, but reconciliation is difficult. Originally, the Dark Lady (DL) was also a character in my adaptation, but when the (foreign born) actress who was to be DL got a part in her native country, she left abruptly just before the run, and I had to cut the sonnets which showed the explicit affair, and left that sequence as an implied event.

I'm currently starting to rehearse a full-length, three character version of this story. It's a musical -- but an unusual one: a classical music musical. It is to have dialog constructed entirely from the sonnets, plus Elizabethan instrumental music, song and dance.

The sonnets are enticing, and enigmatic. They seem to be trying to tell a story, but it is not complete, it is not in order, and it is tantalizing. The 154 sonnets, taken as a group, might best be described as if its printing resulted from the following scenario: It was to be a complete story (like Shakespeare�s other long, narrative poems), written this time in the form of sonnets, about an older man (a poet), a young man, (the lover of the poet), a rival poet, and a sexy, black haired, black eyed, possibly black, promiscuous woman (who had affairs with at least two of the other characters). Then, before it was completely finished, while still in draft form (with some elements of the story yet to be written, and variant versions of some story line sonnets still in the manuscript), the document was snatched. But, on the way to be taken to the printer, the manuscript was dropped, with pages scattered to the winds, some blown away and lost, and others gathered up in the wrong order.

The challenge has always been to understand the nature of the sonnets: are they autobiographical? If so, who is The Dark Lady? And the Young Man? Why are they in this order? Are there other sonnets? Why are so many in pairs? Etc.

Of course, if the sonnets are to be taken and performed as autobiographical, then they must all be spoken in an older male voice. If they are to be performed by various men and women of various ages, then one can � in fact must -- take advantage of the fact that some of the sonnets contain some information about the speaker and the subject of the poem, and many do not, so each sonnet can be given a context grounded on what it does or does not say, and can be coupled with other sonnets to create a new context and a new meaning (much the way, in film editing, each image � each shot, each scene -- colors those before and after it with new meaning, by defining a context.)

There is a love triangle in the sonnets, which is suggested (by the context in the original order) to be the Young Man (YM), the Older Man (OM) and DL. (There may even be a love rectangle -- with the Other Poet (OP) � though, here, the sonnets provide rather sparse material for constructing a story.)

But there is also enough information and lack of information in the sonnets to rearrange them to construct a love triangle consisting of the Older Man, DL and a Younger Woman, instead of the Young Man: the Man-Woman-Lady or MWL triangle, rather than the MML triangle. I thought this would be more fun (at least for me) when I wrote the adaptation, so this is what I did. (Rearranging the sonnets also justifies the speaking of some sonnets by people other than Shakespeare; and it reveals new meanings and shades of meanings in the sonnets.)

For example, the first group of sonnets, taken in context to be Shakespeare or the OM encouraging the Young Man to have children, yields many sonnets that can be taken in MWL context as the YW encouraging the OM to have a child (with her!) before he is too old and it is too late (ie. before he dies single). There are several other story lines implicit and explicit in the sonnets: the love triangle -- three relationships are described, with love, as well as jealousy, and breakups. Aging is an issue, as are music, and art.

I don't know the genesis of On the Way to Timbuktu (OtWtT). (It started in EST's Going to the River series, but that is not what I mean.) Selene (the central character) is a professor, teaching Shakespeare's sonnets. There are several elements in the play. There is the lecture and discussion Selene gives about the sonnets; there is, in particular, a discussion of the role of the DL as a black woman in Elizabethan times. There is Selene�s love history; there is, in particular a love triangle she is involved with � here, a black woman (a student who is first involved with Selene, then with Selene and her husband in a threesome), who leaves with Selene�s husband. There is Selene�s performance of the sonnets, some in the context of her character speaking in class, some as her character speaking in the context of this love triangle. (The sonnets used are essentially limited to those appropriate to the YM commenting on the love triangle.)

I am not sure whether to take the play as a story about this woman, who then uses the sonnets to express herself; or whether to imagine that it had its genesis in a thought process much like that for the plays I am working on: how do you provide a context for a performance of some of the sonnets? What can you say about � or how can you construct -- a story from which the sonnets emerge? From this point of view, the play, OtWtT, provides the back story of the Younger Woman, explaining her life as she comes into this love triangle in which � as a professor teaching the sonnets � she uses them to express herself. (In the play, she is now, actually, a no-longer-younger woman, looking back over her life.)

Talking more about OtWtT for a moment: This is quintessential "experimental" theater. The set is just one slightly raised area in a black box theater, with an object on it that serves ingeniously as a bed, a couch, a chair, a make-up stand, and a closet. There is but one actress. She is dressed in a white pajama-like outfit, which makes a striking contrast with the black set. She is well lit and makes the most of her physical life on the stage, providing a series of visual tableau, that bring a variety of places around the globe to life.

Somewhat less successful are semi-abstract images projected on the wall behind her -- they are interesting, but mostly not very interesting. Sometimes the text of sonnets she is performing are projected on the back wall; but they don't really help clarify what she is saying, because it is easier and more satisfying to watch and listen to her, than it is to try to read the sonnets on the wall. And, I confess, I did not understand the end, when she puts on black-face, and dons an Elizabethan gown over her white outfit.

A musical background composed and performed -- on a Chinese instrument called the pipa -- by Min Xiao-Fen is quite beautiful and special, and never fails to be interesting and appropriate, although the insturment has no special direct relevance (so far as the play reveals) either to Shakespeare (as it might be if the instrument or the music were Elizabethan) or to the character (as it might be if it were African) . (The instrument does seem to have some sort of distant resemblance to both a lute and African instruments.)

The OtWtT script is well written, and interesting. Much of the play consists of stories the character tells, the actress shifting clearly and flawlessly from one person�s voice to another. It does contain a few too many clich�s for my taste � most of which seem to be there deliberately, though, as something the character would say.

The script often centers on Selene�s sexual life with language that is unflinching; as a one-woman show, the sexuality is essentially in the words and the stories, not on stage in the action.

In talking about the possibly autobiographical nature of the sonnets and the role of the DL in Shakespeare as either symbolic or as a historical black woman, I think it should probably be noted that some sonnets contain strong echoes of dialog from some of Shakespeare's plays, suggesting that the sonnets could reasonably be taken as speeches by characters, rather than by Shakespeare himself. In particular, there could be a relation between the DL sonnets and Othello, casting some light on what Shakespeare had in mind when he wrote about the DL. Also, while a replica of (the fossil) Lucy�s skull (as black woman/ancestor/eve) makes an arresting prop, the most interesting ancestor -- according to current scholarship -- is probably not Lucy, (who lived about 3 million years ago, and was not a direct ancestor) but a woman (or at most a few women) who lived a few hundred thousand years ago, from whom all modern humans may be descendent.

OtWtT, then, crafts a very effective one-woman play around the notion that Shakespeare�s sonnets � those that describe an affair between a man and the DL, disrupting the relationship the speaker has had with each of them -- can be performed as being spoken by the woman who is the man�s long time friend/lover and the DL�s lover as well. And OtWtT is the story of her life.

The short play I did, and the new play I am developing, involves similar characters, but focuses exclusively on the sonnets as dialog, and the description of their lives as revealed in the sonnets. There is no back-story described, other than what is in the sonnets; and all the words are those of the sonnets themselves, telling the story of this intense triangular affair.

One thing is clear about the sonnets: they tell a fierce, sexual and powerful story, in eloquent and beautiful and poetic language; to realize the sonnets on the stage, the performance must engage each of those elements and reach the heights for all of them.

There have been other plays inspired by the sonnets, including Shaw�s �The Dark Lady of the Sonnets� and a collection of short plays done at The Public Theater a few years ago, called �Love�s Fire.� More about these later.