Like a Careful Mother

My wife, Kim (left), and
daughter Margaret (Young Elizabeth);
Justin Snyder (Bishop of Ely) in background

During last night's performance I finally saw the images that have been stuck in my head for the last 20 years. The last fight/ghost scene was, for me at least, electric (and for my wife, too, I think—she was holding her breath). I'm so grateful for a cast and crew that persevered through this long process and delivered in a big way. Theatre artists have to work on their art and then hand it over to other artists to present it. I am thankful for the wonderful cast and crew that presented "our" art last night.

Every actor brought his A-game to the show. Ron Pyle (Richard III) was on fire. The other cast members rose to the occasion and turned in fine performances. The tech people were spot on, too. After the show, it felt like a celebration in the green room with the Wednesday monkey off our backs.

There's another show and a big webcast tonite at 8 PM. I'm looking forward to the feedback about that. (But if you live within driving distance do not miss the live performance. There is nothing like live.) The webcast will feature five HD cameras and lots of behind-the-scenes stuff including the documentary film made by cinema students about the production. And my lovely wife, Kim will be doing the live chat during the webcast! New territory. Can't wait. 

See you at the show!

Invocate Thy Ghost

Richard (Ron Pyle), about to strike,
is haunted by the ghosts of those he murdered.

Last night was our SMART (Sharing Masterworks of Art) program for high schoolers. It was technically our final dress rehearsal. The run of the play was first-rate. I was pleased with every aspect of the production—from tech to acting to audience response. (Hey, if a bunch of high schoolers stay engaged with one of Shakespeare's histories, something's going well.)

I was perhaps most happy with the six "goons" (the guys who move the furniture/props and act as extras). As my wife so aptly put it, "Those goons totally rocked the doors." Which, being interpreted, means that they hit their marks and performed the intricate opening/closing door movements (you'd have to see it to fully appreciate the complexity) with near-perfect precision . . . no small feat, I assure you.

Opening night is now only a day and a half away. Bring it on.

Divided York and Lancaster

Richmond (Philip Eoute), our hero, prays before battle.

We're using a lot of plastic in this production—another way in which I'm trying to bring a modern element to Richard's world. I've already posted about the grey "corrugated" plastic sheets that I chose for some of the doors on the set. (See "Enter KING RICHARD" post from September 26.)

There's also a fair amount of white-ish opaque plastic sheeting used. Here's the thought: Richard is such a bloody person that he needs his surroundings to be able to be cleaned easily and frequently. The plastic is so clinical, sterile (in the sense of barren/unfruitful), slick, cheap, fake—all words that describe Richard and his reign.

The curtains/dividers of plastic are drawn to create different locales of the play. In the previous (November 5 post), you can see an entire room of plastic behind the throne.

Here's another thing about plastic. It glows. Enough said.