SUMMER 2000 ----------------------------In this issue------------------------------------------ Voices in Contemporary Theatre - Assorted Quotes, and News from Providence Techie's Corner - 4th installment of Michael Powers series on Platforms Enter Laughing - Shakespeare for Cats CyberTheatre Monthly - Museums With Theater/Performing Art Information Letter from London - by way of Ann Arbor: the RSC partnership with the University of Michigan and first cycle of histories Rubin's Corner: - Sir John Gielgud remembered. The Play's the Thing - Wendy Wasserstein ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ VOICES IN CONTEMPORARY THEATRE The voices are chatty in recent weeks, here are some quotes from the mailbag, message boards and elsewhere... On writing: When I was producing I did mostly historical and content plays – and when I was teaching and mentoring, the one idea that always made students balk was that the root principles of communication applied to them – get the audience’s attention, tailor your message to your audience, etc. Otherwise, it’s for you, not for them, and the message won’t get through... On attitudes towards your audience: The hitch isn't in gentiles, jews... but in thinking of her audience as two identifyable groups with predictable mindsets, rather than as several hundred unique individuals who will each find a different meaning, based on a hundred thousand factors that have nothing to do with her. All any writer can do is tell their story and tell it honestly. Our stories are seeds. What grows out of them, if anything does, depends on the soil, the climate, the sunlight, and luck. On Fundraising: 1) identify what you have to offer, 2) define what is "priceless" to you--what you have to do, no matter what it costs, and 3) determine what you have that you can sell/do in order to make sure that the priceless thing isn't jeopardized. If your #3 can actually enhance your #2 in some way--you're golden. --Carey Perloff, ACT, San Francisco On Casting: " I’ve actually told a director, years after the fact – and someone who knew to take it as a compliment – that after he had put together a particular cast of Assassins, he was superfluous. There was suddenly this tremendously high floor beneath which the project couldn’t sink. Unfortunately, I’ve been subjected to the reverse as well – one or two duds in an otherwise fine cast and there’s suddenly this very low ceiling… "But this is conventional wisdom most theatre-folks without baggage can accept. What throws them is the next part – better no theatre than bad theatre. Y’know, for some of us a play is a living thing, and it is simply **wrong** to kick a living thing because you don’t have anything better to do at the moment. "The worst sin of a bad production is those folks in the audience – okay, big picture there are people out there for whom this could be the first time going to the theatre, or seeing a non-fluff show. So bad productions blow an opportunity to make a first experience special. But the worst offense is to the long-time theatre-goers who might have hit a bad patch and this winds up being just one bad show too many. We can lose those people for years. On character actors and making it after 40: There is a point when the days of playing the ingénue and the chiseled lifeguard are over, for women and men both, and not coincidentally this is when character actors blossom. There was an actor my husband went to college with - not handsome (i.e. no leads), not dangerous (no villains either), but quirky - he was the personification of quirky. If he'd been quirky-funny or quirky-zany he could've possibly made it young via stand-up or improv, but he was just quirky-odd. At 38 he's finally at the point where what was quirkiness in a 20-year old has started to develop into something unique and intriguing from a character standpoint. Character parts are seldom leads, and that's why it's a long shot any unknown is going to burst forth at 42. The thing with women "making it" in Hollywood specifically but also on stage, once they're of a certain age, is that Cher, Susan Sarandon, Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, and others already have their own production companies for the specific purpose of securing them those glorious scripts when one finally comes along with a strong, middle-aged, female lead. And the year the "old broads were back on Broadway" the roster ran like a who's who: Zoe Caldwell, Julie Andrews, Uta Hagen, and Carol Burnette. Not a lot of room for Margaret Rasnick however talented she might be. The hope, and it's a very realistic hope, is that as the baby boomers age we'll see more middle-age leads which are complex, exciting and sexy characters. The fear is that the baby boomers have, been reluctant to stop thinking of themselves as twenty-somethings. If they don't see themselves up there on the screen and support these movies as they come along, nothing will change. The good news is this year has seen 2 such movies, the aforementioned American Beauty and the Thomas Crown Affair, and both did fine commercially. Oh, re the Hugh Heffner comment - I hesitate to suggest it but the bimbo may be equally consistent in her preference of 70+ gentlemen with 7-digit bank accounts. And um, re Marsha Norman, one of my columnists interviewed her (but not the interview quoted here) she's about fifty, but that's irrelevant. She's a woman, but that's irrelevant. She is not a woman writer or a middle-aged writer, she is a personality all her own with muses and the demons all her own that cause her to write. You can take it or leave it, her or her writing, she won't care, which is a fine way to for a playwright to be. On Art "Art is all the things that politics isn't; it's passionate, ambiguous, complex, mysterious and thrilling. It's our means of redemption, it's the image of our humanity." and "The Arts are a society’s subconscious dream-mechanism. They’re where we work through our inner issues, what is really bothering us down deep, sometimes before we’re consciously aware of those issues." On Finding Production Venues with little or no budget - public libraries and libraries on campuses - LOTS have meeting rooms available for little or no fee. I know of one instance where this became a permanent marriage between the group of actors in the workshop and the library. The actors agreed to a series of readings of classics (some were plays and some were more readers theatre style presentations of short stories) and the library gave them meeting space for their non-public readings and “hosted” the public performance – meaning they promoted it gratis. - Coffee shops and bookstores – this was easier before the explosion of Starbuck’s and Barnes & Nobles, but even these have managers that are real people. Ask, the worst they can say is No. - As for “the corporate mood” at your job, or at nearby theatres, there’s a workaround. See how the building landlord would feel about “lunchtime theatre” – I’ve known this kind of thing to be tremendously successful in those lovely older buildings that have a small little courtyard lobby nobody uses anymore – some building offers a 1-short program of readings from 12-2, the nearest coffee shop or deli sends over a cart and sells drinks or sandwiches, and otherwise uptight, too-busy-to-breathe routinemeisters stop to see what’s going on. At that point it’s the material’s job to be interesting enough to keep their attention and bring ‘em back nexttime. - Have you tried: a community rec center or an upscale food market? - If you're a Dramatists Guild member, the Frederick Loewe room at the Guild goes pretty cheap during the afternoon. - I used to live in NYC . Back then, there were a few places that were open to readings and such. ABC noRio, Dixon Place, the Knitting Factory. You might look up poem readings and see if the place hosting the reading would allow you. Also, ask your actor friends if they know of anyplace. We used to perform in an art gallery, a club, and a food co-op. We also used space at a health club. What's new in Providence? Rhode Island's 2nd Story Theatre Is On The Verge Of A New Adventure Off-Trinity Theatre presents the mystery/adventure ON THE VERGE, by Eric Overmeyer, at Tiverton Four Corners in July and August Continuing a tradition of fine summer theater in Rhode Island, The Tiverton Four Corners Center for Arts& Education recently announced that they will be hosting a new production of the popular ON THE VERGE or The Geography of Yearning by Eric Overmeyer. Produced by 2nd Story Theatre and directed by Jen Swain, ON THE VERGE is a hilarious swirl of language, adventure stories, Victorian ways and even pop culture — for audiences of any age. Marking 2nd Story Theatre's newest theatrical outing, ON THE VERGE centers on three Victorian women trekking through the wilds of the farthest end of the Earth—Terra Incognita. These intrepid female explorers defend themselves against yetis and trolls, trek over deserts, ice, through the thickest of jungles, and find many strange artifacts along the way. Slowly, but quite definitively, these three proper Victorian ladies discover that they have mysteriously gained the power to travel forward through time. "This is a perfect play for the Tiverton Arts Center, it really conveys the spirit of the local community, not to mention the history. The area is beautiful and impeccably unique—dating back past the nineteenth century" states director Jen Swain. As for the sense of fun in the production, Swain explains "This play takes you back to your childhood explorations. In the style of Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew, this play is a mystery—the audience is invited to scramble along and figure it out alongside the adventurers." Swain also encourages the audience to come early, "feel free to pack a bottle of wine and a picnic, and join us for a pre-show acoustic performance from local musicians on the Arts Center lawn." 2nd Story has assembled a seasoned cast of local Off-Trinity actors to fill the Victorian boots of the adventurous leading ladies. Doubling also as producer for 2nd Story Theatre, Alyn Carlson-Webster (Westport, MA) will be playing Alex, the "tomboy" of the group. Ms. Carlson-Webster is also known as co-founder of Westport Theatre, founder of Cry Baby Playhouse and was last seen in Tiverton in 2nd Story's much acclaimed Tennessee Williams Festival last summer. The role of the group's den-mother, Fanny, will be played by Off-Trinity actress Marilyn Dubois (Cumberland, RI). Ms. Dubois is an actress, director and teacher with The Perishable Theatre in Providence and has performed extensively throughout N.E. with their children's tour. Tackling the role of Mary, the leader of the group is Kate Lester (Providence, RI), a recent MFA graduate of the Trinity Repertory Conservatory. Ms. Lester has appeared in numerous productions at Trinity Rep and at Perishable Theatre. Rounding out the cast (and portraying eight roles that range from a yeti to a lounge singer) is a second year Trinity Repertory Conservatory student Brian Monahan (Providence, RI). Director Jen Swain (Jamestown, RI) also hails from the Trinity Rep Conservatory where she directed Guinevere for the Trinity New Plays Festival. Ms. Swain also directed the very well received world premiere of HyperActive as part of Perishable Theatre's 7th Annual International Women's Playwriting Festival which the Providence Phoenix dubbed "..a hilarious comedy, an intelligent knee-slapper that audiences will be talking about for years." This is the second season of creative partnership between the Tiverton Arts Center and 2nd Story Theatre, having produced a very successful run of Tennessee Williams One act plays last summer at The Meeting House. 2nd Story Theatre was founded by Pat Hegnauer and Ed Shea in 1978 above a harbor front restaurant in Newport (hence the name-2nd Story). Pat Hegnauer states that the their main goal was to create "an ensemble of actors who would create intimate theater productions -- those with a small group of characters and a large dose of passion." This is the same goal that stands today. 2nd Story Theatre's current venue is the flourishing Tiverton Arts Center located in Historic Tiverton Four Corners, one of Rhode Island's registered historic sites. Providing visitors with a uniquely unspoiled view of Nineteenth century Rhode Island, the history of this rural village dates back three hundred years. Today, Tiverton Four Corners boasts not only the Arts Center with its indoor and outdoor art installations, but also historic houses, antique galleries, gourmet food and the now famous Gray's homemade Ice Cream. Tiverton Four Corners is located within a one hour drive of Boston, Providence, Newport, Cape Cod, and the communities of southeastern Massachusetts. ON THE VERGE or The Geography of Yearning by Eric Overmeyer, will run July 20 thru August 6, 2000 -- Thursday through Sunday evenings at 8:00 pm -- at The Meeting House, Tiverton Four Corners Center For Arts & Education , 3852 Main Road, Tiverton, Rhode Island. Tickets are $12.00 in advance / $15.00 at the door. For Reservations/Information Call: 401-624-2600. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TECHIE'S CORNER Platforms Part IV Hello again, and welcome to the Techie’s Corner. In the last three articles we have looked at a number of different types of platforms. Not every type, just some of the most used and the most well known. Now we are going to look at how to elevate or leg these platforms to the height needed for our show. There are more ways of legging a platform than there are of building the platform itself. What makes a legging system right for you depends on your particular situation. Do you have storage space for “stock” leg pieces? Do you have skilled carpenters or do you rely on a group whose skills vary from pro to rank beginner? Do you build your units on stage or in a shop off site? Look at the costs, time, skills, available tools, etc. and decide which system is best for you and your theatre. Before we describe specific legging systems we need to define just what a legging system does and how it does it. What is legging? Legging is: A system of raising a platform to a desired height, spaced to prevent sagging and with sufficient cross bracing to prevent lateral movement. The function of any legging system is to transfer the load on the platform to the structure it rests on, whether that is the permanent stage floor or other temporary stage platforming. To tell you just how legs and bracing perform that task will require some drawings, a brief explanation of the geometry of a triangles and the ability to multiply by 50. First let’s look at the leg itself and that number 50 that I mentioned. Any leg will be very stiff in short lengths, but every leg will become flexible when it gets long enough. A piece of ¾” x ¾” pine will support 1,000 pounds when it is only one inch long. A 12” steel I-beam will barely support it’s own weight at 100’ tall, a stiff wind will bend and collapse it. How tall or long can a leg be and be safe? A standard formula that works for theatrical use is a 50:1 ratio. That is 50 times the narrowest cross section of the leg is the maximum height that leg can be without some form of bracing to prevent buckling or bending. This formula will work for all materials used in general stagecraft, wood, steel tube, pipe etc. For example a simple 2” x 4” leg can be 45” tall before it needs bracing to prevent buckling or bending. The calculation is simple, the nominal 2” thickness which equals 1 ½” times 50 equals 75” or 6’-3”. If you nail two 1x4 boards together to form an “L” or “T” section, the narrowest dimension is 3 ½”. Fifty times 3 ½” equals 175” or 14’-7”. Now, this DOES NOT mean you can build a 6’tall platform with 2x4 legs or a 14’ tall platform with “L” legs and no cross bracing. The leg is actually fastened to the platform in a very small area and the length provides a very effective lever when the platform sways the least bit. Twenty pounds of sideways push will cause the 6’ platform to fold sideways and the legs to split or tear out the fasteners. It would only take about 5 pounds of sideways push to topple the 14’ unit. Now it seems like I have contradicted myself. I said that you could build a platform with a leg 50 times taller than it is thick and then I tell you that it will collapse. The 50:1 leg will support the platform and the load, but only if the weight is completely still and there is no sideways motion caused by walking actors, dancers etc. Our next task is to brace the platform to stop any swaying or sideways motion and this is where the triangle comes into play. The triangle is the only geometric form that can not change its shape without breaking either a side or separating a joint. Triangular bracing is what makes tall buildings, bridges, the Eiffel tower and other construction possible. Look at a bridge or a building under construction before the bricks and facing are added. What you see is a series of triangles in some form or another. In addition to being a very ridged shape, triangles also allow us to transfer force or weight from one place to another and from one direction to another. The famous flying buttresses of the medieval churches such as Notre Dame in Paris are an example of this. Now, how do we go about bracing a standard 4x8 platform? The most common form of stock 4x8 platform requires 6 legs. One at each corner and one at the mid point of each long side. For a group of platforms, this makes a floor pattern of 4’x4’ squares with a leg at each corner. This same pattern of 4’x4’ squares is also a good rule of thumb for general cross bracing of platforms. To determine the size and material for the bracing we go back to the 50:1 ratio. The length of the diagonals should not exceed 50 times its narrowest dimension. The reason is that some of the diagonals are in compression, just like platform legs are in compression. If we have determined to put vertical legs and horizontal braces in four foot squares then a diagonal brace across each square is approximately 5’-6” long or 66”. To determine the thinnest board that should be used for a diagonal, divide 50 by 66”. The result is .75” or ¾”, so diagonals could, in theory, be 1x1. In practice however we find that boards in other than a vertical position tend to sag slightly under their own weight, increasing the tendency to bow under stress. For practical purposes we find that 1x2 is the smallest size of lumber that can be used in the examples shown above, and that just for low action, no singing/dancing/sword fighting etc. For platforms subjected to physical action I recommend 1x3 or 1x4 for the diagonals. If you are using one of the many leg systems that fit inside the frame of the platform, I suggest using lumber the same thickness as the frame for the horizontal braces. This will give you a surface even with the platform for attaching facing panels or fabric. As you can see, the general rules for bracing are quite simple. In any given case, use common sense, use enough bracing to make the platform stiff and stable in it’s intended use. A platform for Juliet to long wistfully for Romeo needs relatively little bracing. If it is the same platform that Romeo clambers up to see her, it needs a bit more bracing. If it is the platform that handles the duels with Tybalt et al, the bracing needs to be stronger yet, and if you are doing Riverdance on it, it needs a whole heck of a lot more bracing still. Specialty bracing, such as that needed for a Riverdance type of action, is always in context with the specific type of legs used, so we will cover that after we look at specific types of legs in our next article. Next month I will be on vacation so this column will run for two months. In my next article we will begin to look at specific methods of adding legs to platforms and how to build those legs. That’s it for this month, keep the green side up, don’t sweat the small stuff and remember, ….. It’s all small stuff! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ENTER LAUGHING Shakespeare for Cats To go outside, and there perchance to stay Or to remain within, that is the question: Whether 'tis better for a cat to suffer The cuffs and buffets of inclement weather That Nature rains on those who roam abroad, Or take a nap upon a scrap of carpet, And so by dozing melt the solid hours That clog the clock's bright gears with sullen time And stall the dinner bell. To sit, to stare Outdoors, and by a stare to seem to state A wish to venture forth without delay, Then when the portal's opened up, to stand As if transfixed by doubt. To prowl; to sleep; To choose not knowing when we may once more Our readmittance gain: aye, there's the hairball; For if a paw were shaped to turn a knob, Or work a lock or slip a window-catch, And going out and coming in were made As simple as the breaking of a bowl, What cat would bear the household's petty plagues, The cook's well-practiced kicks, the butler's broom, The infant's careless pokes, the tickled ears, The trampled tail, and all the daily shocks That fur is heir to, when, of his own free will, He might his exodus or entrance make With a mere mitten? Who would spaniels fear, Or strays trespassing from a neighbor's yard, But that the dread of our unheeded cries And scratches at a barricaded door No claw can open up, dispels our nerve And makes us rather bear our humans' faults Than run away to unguessed miseries? Thus caution doth make house cats of us all; And thus the bristling hair of resolution Is softened up with the pale brush of thought, And since our choices hinge on weighty things, We pause upon the threshold of decision. -- Shakespaw ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CYBERTHEATRE MONTHLY Museums With Theater/Performing Art Information A.A., Bakhrushin State Central Theatre Museum Moscow, Russia http://moscow.lvl.ru/culture/museum/teatral/teatral.html American Vaudeville Museum Cyberspace, WWW http://www.vaudeville.org/ Andres SareviKortermuuseum Tallinn, Estonia http://www.tallinn.ee/sarevamuuseum/ Attleboro Museum Attleboro, MA USA http://attleboromuseum.org/ BARNUM Museum Bridgeport, CT USA http://barnum-museum.org/ Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry Storrs, CT USA http://www.sp.uconn.edu/%7Ewwwsfa/bimp.html Biblioteca e Raccolta Teatrale del Burcado Rome, Italy http://www.theatrelibrary.org/ Cabaret Mechanical Theatre London, England http://www.cabaret.co.uk/index.html Center for Arts in Natick Natick, MA USA http://www.natickarts.org/ Chicago Cultural Center Chicago, IL USA http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Tourism/CulturalCenter/CulturalCenter.html Circus World Museum Baraboo, WI USA http://www.circusworldmuseum.com/index.htm Dance Museum Stockholm, Sweden http://www.dansmuseet.nu/indexeng.htm Dderhultarmuseet Oskarshamn, Sweden http://www.oskarshamn.se/axel.htm Deutsches Tanzarchiv Cologne, Germany http://www.sk-kultur.de/ Eesti Teatri Musikamuuseum Tallinn, Estonia http://www.tallinn.ee/teatrijamuusikamuuseum/ Empire State Theatre and Musical Instrument Museum Syracuse, NY USA http://www.empireexpo.com/exhibits/theatre.museum.html Illinois Shakespeare Festival On line Museum Cyberspace, WWW http://orathost.cfs.ilstu.edu/shakespeare/museum/default.html Kentucky Center Art Collection Louisville, KY USA http://www.kca.org/ Lewis Grizzard Museum Moreland, GA USA http://www.newnan.com/lg/ Marionettmuseet Stockholm, Sweden http://hotel/telemuseum.se/stockholmsmuseer/Shthlmmus.sv.2M.html#34 Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts Annapolis, MD USA http://www.mdhallarts.org/ Museo Teatrale Carlo Schmidt Trieste, Italy http://www.retecivica.trieste.it/cultura/musei/civicimusei/schmidl/schmiframe.htm Museum and Study Centre of the Greek Theatre Athens, Greece http://www.culture.gr/4/42/422/42202/42202o/42202o1.html Museum of Middle Eastern Dance Cyberspace, WWW http://www.belly-dance.org/hi.html Museum of Theater History Vienna, Austria http://www.theatermuseum.at/museum/m0.html National Museum of Dance Saratoga Springs, NY USA http://www.adirondacktrust.com/dancetours.htm National Theatre Prague, Czech Republic http://www.anet.cz/nd/index_us.html O'Carney Web Museum Theater Cyberspace, WWW http://www.lastplace.com/page166.htm Palacio de Bellas Artes Mexico City, Mexico http://mexico.udg.mx/Arte/mexicodf/palacio.html Pauline Johnson Archive Hamilton, Canada http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/%7epjohnson/mock.html Puppet Theatre Museum Radebeul, Germany http://www.staatl-kunstsammlungen-dresden.de/english/muspup.htm Reiss Museum Mannheim, Germany http://www.mannheim.de/reiss_museum/index.html Spathareion Museum of the Shadow Theatre Athens, Greece http://www.culture.gr/4/42/422/42202/42202q/e42202q1.html Teatro Amazonas Manaus, Brazil http://www.internext.com.br/demasi/index2.html Theater Museum Oslo, Norway http://home.sn.no/~teaterm/teater.html Theatre Museum of Waseda University Tokyo, Japan http://www.waseda.ac.jp/enpaku/index-e.html Theatregeschichteiche Sammlung und Hebblesammlung Kiel, Germany http://ikarus.pclab-phil.uni-kiel.de/daten/deutsch/litwiss/dat_lit/Theasa.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LETTER FROM LONDON by way of Ann Arbor ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY ANNOUNCED FIVE YEAR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SHAKESPEARE’S HISTORIES STAGED EXCLUSIVELY IN AMERICA IN ANN ARBOR Four new productions of Shakespeare will be staged exclusively in Ann Arbor following an innovative artistic partnership announced by Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company, the University Musical Society (UMS) and the University of Michigan (UM). Henry VI, parts i, ii and iii and Richard III, the second sequence in the RSC’s extraordinary new cycle of Shakespeare’s history plays (The Histories) will be performed at UMS’ Power Center in March 2001 immediately prior to a London premiere. Shakespeare’s Histories will be the first of a number of collaborations between the RSC and the UMS over the next five years. This new venture cements the RSC’s on-going commitment to take its very best work to cities across the US. The Company staged a three play season at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (The Family Reunion, Don Carlos and A Midsummer Night’s Dream) in New York; its landmark production of Macbeth at the New Haven International Festival of Arts and Ideas in June; and The Taming of the Shrew tours to the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. RSC Artistic Director Adrian Noble commented: “This will be a ground-breaking partnership, reflecting the very natural links between the worlds of learning and theatre. We aim to nurture creative relationships across all aspects of our organisations: amongst artists, academics and educationalists, and staff.” The partnership intends to produce exciting initiatives with educational and artistic communities, as well as audiences, in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Speaking at a press conference in New York, Kenneth C. Fischer, President of the University Musical Society, said: “The History Plays provide many opportunities to connect their rich content to a wide range of academic disciplines and to compelling issues that many nations, including England, face today. We’re delighted that the RSC, one of the great theatre companies of the world, shares our commitment to provide the depth of contextual programming that these works stimulate. We invite theatre lovers from throughout the nation to join us in Ann Arbor for a rich and rewarding immersion into these great works of Shakespeare.” University of Michigan President Lee Bollinger added: “I am personally pleased on behalf of the University of Michigan to join forces with the University Musical Society and the Royal Shakespeare Company in bringing Shakespeare's History Plays to Ann Arbor. This collective effort should afford the University and the community a rich marriage of scholarship and theatrical performance. In every way, this is a sensational achievement for the University." The RSC presents HENRY VI, Parts I,II, III and RICHARD III Four new theatre productions will be the first project in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s innovative new partnership with the University of Michigan and the University’s Musical Society. Henry VI parts i, ii and iii and Richard III; the second sequence in the RSC’s extraordinary new cycle of Shakespeare’s landmark history plays, The Histories, will be performed exclusively in the United States in Ann Arbor next year, prior to a London premiere. RSC Associate Director Michael Boyd will direct all four productions at the Power Center in Ann Arbor from March 10-18, 2001. An innovative Shakespearean director, Michael Boyd’s outstanding production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is currently playing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. His acclaimed production of Troilus and Cressida visited the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven as part of the 1999 International Festival of Arts and Ideas. Featuring an ensemble of thirty actors, the productions will come directly from the RSC’s home in Stratford-upon-Avon to Ann Arbor. Two of Britain’s rising classical actors are to play the title roles. David Oyelowo plays Henry VI and Aidan McArdle plays Richard III. David has just completed a highly acclaimed season with the RSC, playing three roles in productions of Volpone, Oroonoko and Antony and Cleopatra. He was also nominated for Britain’s prestigious Ian Charleson Award, an honour given to the best theatre actor under the age of 30. Aidan McArdle is just about to complete a season with the RSC, and is currently playing Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. These four plays in The Histories are some of Shakespeare’s most powerful and potent,yet are rarely seen in their entirety in a single series. This unprecedented theatrical event, staged in association with the University Musical Society and the University of Michigan, will launch the University Musical Society’s first theater series in its 122-year history, fulfilling its commitment to presenting the world's best performances across multiple artistic disciplines. The plays are Shakespeare’s vision of sixty years of England’s bloody and most turbulent history. They begin with the funeral of Henry V and the premature coronation of his young son. Following plotting and scheming, battles and politics - including the rebellion of Jack Cade and the burning of Joan of Arc - the plays chart the fall of the House of Lancaster during the infamous Wars of the Roses, and the country’s descent into anarchy. The cycles of history and fate culminate in the murderous usurpation of the throne by Richard III and his defeat in turn by Henry Richmond, the founder of “modern” England, and the Tudor dynasty. Adrian Noble, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, commented: “The RSC first performed Michigan in 1913, during the Company’s first ever visit to the US with Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. I am certain that these four plays will be a theatrical tour de force and I am delighted that The Histories are, once again, heralding the start of an important new partnership between the RSC and North America. I am deeply grateful for the support and vision of both the University Musical Society and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.” Cycle 1 Cycle 2 Henry VI, part i Saturday 10 March 11am Saturday 17 March 11am Henry VI, part ii Saturday 10 March 3pm Saturday 17 March 3pm Henry VI part iii Saturday 10 March 8pm Saturday 17 March 8pm Richard III Sunday 11 March 5pm Sunday 18 March 5pm Performances take place at the Power Center for the Performing Arts, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor www.ums.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ RUBIN'S CORNER Sir John Gielgud, A Live in the Theatre Sir John Gielgud, one of the legends of the English-speaking Theater and a veteran of more than 100 movies, died last month in his home outside London. He was 96 years of age. Every major newspaper in the United States and all over the world carries stories about his accomplishments. There is no reason why our TRE should be any different. EDITOR'S NOTE: TRE covered the death of Sir John Gielgud in its news page. See Below His first major role was in 1925 as Trofimov, the perpetual student in Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. He was best known for his Shakespearean roles, notably Hamlet. He first performed the role in 1930 in London at the age of 25. At the time it was considered radical to have such a young Hamlet. He wrote that he considered his best Hamlet as the one he did on Broadway in 1936 with Lillian Gish as Ophelia. He played the part over 500 times during his career. Gielgud was a frequent and beloved figure in American. He stared in and was the director of many productions in the U.S. during the 1930’s. His most controversial production was during the 1940’s in a production of Hamlet in modern-dress that starred Richard Burton. Gielgud played the ghost and did not appear on stage. When I saw him in the 1980’s he felt that he and Laurence Olivier considered themselves lucky to have been able to play the bass roles in Shakespeare. Guielgud himself acknowledged that his style of acting was Romantic, which he feared was out of step with the changing times. Nevertheless, he appeared in many modern plays in London and New York: Edward Albee’s Tiny Alice in 1964, David Storey’s Home in 1970 and Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land in 1976. Sir John had no patience with the American actors in Hamlet who questioned him about their character motivation. He once said, “That doesn’t matter if Lear had two wives, once of whom died in childbirth”. His golden voice enabled Gielgud to continue his career on film and TV well past the age at which actors retire. His voice is the legacy he leaves to the public. To most Americans, the role for which Gielgud will be remembers best and forever remembered is Hobson, which earned him his second Academy Award nomination. The first for Lewis for which he won an Academy Award was his Louis VII. He may be gone, but his voice and theater work has been preserved as an important resource for our young students. REPRINTED FROM TRE NEWSDESK: Remembering John Geilgud "We are all deeply saddened at the news of John's death. John made a crucial contribution to the Royal Shakespeare Company, being one of the key members of the Company during a legendary period in its history. His work at Stratford between 1949 and 1961 has become part of theatre history, impacting on performers and directors the world over. He will remain a inspiration to many performers and his dedication to the theatre will always be remembered with great fondness and admiration" --Adrian Noble Artistic Director, Royal Shakespeare Company May 22, 2000 Editor's note: John Gielgud acted and directed with the RSC between 1949 and 1961 in productions including Measure for Measure (Angelo), King Lear (Lear), Macbeth (Directed), Twelfth Night (Directed), The Tempest (Prospero) and Othello (Othello) as well as The Cherry Orchard (Gaev). JOHN GIELGUD tribute statement from Peter Hall "It is the end of an era. John Gielgud dominated the British Theatre for most of the 20th Century with his grace and wit, his style and his genius. He was a great actor - perhaps the most perfect Hamlet I have ever seen - and the most musical and witty of speakers of Shakespeare. He was also an inspirer of actors as a director and supreme man of the theatre. He had the confident conceit of all great talent. But because he was such a gentle and humble man, he, by example, reminded every actor that the essence of theatre is co-operation and mutual support. The grandest star is always dependent on the Second Messenger. He was mercury - quicksilver in his wit, always ahead of the audience, always changing his mind, always reassessing his performances. In a sense, every performance of his was an improvisation (it is what gave his work its tremendous immediacy); but it was an improvisation within calculated limits, carefully prescribed by the text. He was witty, yet naive; perceptive, yet instinctive; innocent, yet very, very wise. Personally, I shall never forget the unflinching support he gave me when I opened the National Theatre. He was the example to all of us." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE PLAY'S THE THING Wendy Wasserstein The bad news is that some technical difficulties prevented our bringing you this summer's article on Wendy Wasserstein. The good news is, we can at least set you up with Yvonne's thorough and ecclectic collection of links: Wendy Wasserstein Short Biography http://www.ntcp.org/compendium/WENDY.html Women Writers, includes a Wasserstein bibliography, biography, literary analysis. Interview with Wendy Wasserstein http://www.pbs.org/lflc/backstage/may5/wasserstein.htm THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG and other plays writeup from Dramatists Play Service Feature on "An American Daughter," Seattle premiere http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/extra/browse/html97/altwass_042497.html New York Times Archives http://archives.nytimes.com/archives/ About "The Festival of Regrets," a one-act opera for which Wasserstein wrote the libretto, New York City Opera http://www.nycopera.com/centralpark/festival.html The Object of My Affection, screenplay by Wendy Wassersten, Official Film Web Site http://www.foxmovies.com/theobjectofmyaffection/ Other Wasserstein articles and talks Excerpts from Wendy Wasserstein's 1999 Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy http://www.artsusa.org/advocacy/wasser.html A Place they'd Never Been: the Theater. A New York Times article by Wendy Wasserstein on why adolescents should see plays. http://www.tdf.org/communications/wendy.htm And of course: Pamela's First Musical Wasserstein's children's book in which Pamela's aunt takes her to the Russian Tea Room and a Broadway musical for her 9th Birthday Afternoon of a Fan - discusses Wendy Wasserstein's love for ballet. http://www.current.org/why/why414w.html Talk at Public Television Annual Meeting on role of public broadcasting http://www.current.org/why/why414w.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyrigh 2000, Mersinger Theatrical Services