King John

I have finished reading King John. I dunno about these histories....

I had no experience with this play prior to reading it. I just dove in without much context at all. Perhaps that's foolish, I can't really say.

There were parts that had me hooked. I think my favorite part was the scene between Hubert and young Arthur. Philip the Bastard has some pretty great speeches too. I need to do a lot more research and reading if I select any audition material from this.

But now I can safely say that I've read King John.

This week is Titus Andronicus--I'm already behind schedule, but I'm committed to trucking through with this challenge. This should be a relatively easy read. I've seen two productions of this, and I'm really excited to look at the Julie Taymor film. I'll save that for AFTER I've read it.

And while reading one play a week isn't the most difficult thing I've ever done, I'm pouring over other material: plays, essays, and novels.

Two Gentlemen of Verona

PREVIOUS TIES WITH THIS PLAY

I haven’t read this or seen a production of it. I did have production photos and elements of the Guthrie’s version in my head whilst reading this. But I’m not sure how that colors my reading any more or any less. I knew there was a dog in the show, and it would be really fun to see a dog that just kind of sits on stage with Lance.

All in all, this is a pretty fresh read of the play.



REACTIONS

I’m not quite sure what to write here. I don’t think it’s going to be any fun to summarize these plays. (Especially the more complicated ones).

You’ve got your basics for a Shakespearean comedy in this one: mistaken identity, young lovers, some clowns (inherent in many, if not all Shakespeare, no matter the genre), two weddings (well, they’re bound to happen in the end). Sorry to spoil it for you.




THE ENDING

It’s nearly impossible to believe all the forgiveness and pardons going off like fireworks.

You’ve got this guy (Proteus) who’s head over heels with this girl (Julia). Then he goes on some forced, educational travel and becomes even more head over heels with his best friend’s (Valentine) girl (Sylvia). At the end, Proteus is prepared to “love [Sylvia] ‘gainst the nature of love: force ye.” Then, the stage direction indicates “assailing her.”

Valentine forgives him.

I mean, I guess it's win-win for everyone, but at what cost?


MONOLOGUES

Yeah, there are a couple Proteus possibilities. I’m not convinced they’re the optimal choices. There's not much to offer in terms of talking TO someone. I better mark them just in case.

Ultimately, this is a silly, silly play with some inconsistencies (are we in Mantua, Verona, or Milan?).

The scene with the Duke and the rope was fun.




READING CONCLUSIONS

I’m not sure that stretching my reading of this play over the course of the week is the best practice. It’s kind of hard to retain all the scenes. And this is a simpler play of Shakespeare’s. I may have to be more diligent in arranging longer reading periods through this.

Shakespeare in a Year has begun!

It's not really a whole year, but I do have some buffer.
I've committed to reading all the plays of Shakespeare (all the works??) in a year.
Each Sunday, I'll start with a new play.

This week is Two Gentlemen of Verona.

No, this isn't the most difficult challenge in the universe, but it's enough of one. And I'm reading plenty of other things too.

I'll keep you posted.

------------------------------------

In other news, I woke up in a terrible mood. And I missed a box office shift. I feel awful about it. I wasn't quite in the mood to do a matinee of Picasso, but for some reason, my warmup and everything brightened the day. Thank goodness for theatre.