Week 3 Session – Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor – 2 scenes – The Rehearsal Room [Video, Audio, and Transcript versions]

Juls Hoover

Welcome back to the Working Actors Journey Rehearsal room where we have the time to deeply explore just one scene over a month. Again, I’m Juls Hoover, and I’ve stepped in this month as guest host. As a reminder, we have been deep diving, spelunking and minding two scenes from Shakespeare’s Me Wives of Windsor. 

We will continue posting the weekly sessions on YouTube for free for all to enjoy. So be sure to subscribe to our channel and click for notifications. You can still support the project via Patreon and get early access to all the sessions, plus a podcast version starting at just $5 a month. 

Thank you again to our patrons at the CoStar level for and for supporting the project. Joan, Michelle, Christian, Jim Magdalene, evar, Claudia Cliff, and Jeff, if you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback, please leave a comment below and be sure to hit that like button so the algorithm can do its thing. If you all need anything, please reach out. 

You can text me too if you have my number, but I will hand the rehearsal room over to Paul. Thank you 

Paul Nicholas

so much, Jules. We really appreciate you doing this, by the way. 

Juls Hoover

My pleasure. My pleasure. I 

Paul Nicholas

know We always kid around about taking over for Nathan, but we really appreciate you filling in. Yeah, 

Juls Hoover

I love doing this. I love being a part of it in any way I can truly have fun, guys. 

Paul Nicholas

Thank you. 

Gideon Rappaport

Thank you. 

Paul Nicholas

Hello, friends. Any thoughts from last week before we jump in? Or any thoughts about this week or any thoughts in general? 

Gideon Rappaport

Michelle can’t hear you. Oh, I wasn’t, I was, I was trying to talk to my husband. Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry to interrupt. 

Paul Nicholas

Gideon, do you have any thoughts? I know that it suggests that we pick up from where we stopped last week, but did you have any thoughts res residual thoughts from last week? 

Gideon Rappaport

No. My only thought is the, the more we do it, the better it gets. And I’m highly impressed by the quality, so keep it up. 

Paul Nicholas

Well, 

Michele Schultz

Actually, I think we, we had had some technological difficulties last week, which is, goes with the Zoom territory, I’m afraid. But apart from that, I’m enjoying hearing the voices do these characters, and it’s a lot of fun. Actually. I did have a thought, which is the, the language was, and this is, it was for me, a little more different, difficult than in some of the other Shakespeare plays. It’s sort of like, I guess the Elizabethan equivalent of slang a lot of the times. That’s true. And and it’s also in prose mostly. Yes. Yes. And so it, it, the, the rules about prose versus verse in Shakespeare are not really rules, but whenever he shifts from verse to prose, he’s coming down the scale of creation in a way from the more serious and more higher rank and more public and more seriously dramatic or tragic to, in the direction of more personal, more intimate, more comical, lower rank and so on. 

That’s not a hard and fast rule, but when, when the verse, when the poetry shifts from prose to verse or verse to prose, that’s sort of the direction you’re going in. And in this kind of comedy, it’s mostly in prose because it’s a comedy, it’s about middle class people in a local environment. And, and so Shakespeare’s reaching in a sense that that particular section of the audience with their own kind of talk in a way. So that’s why you’re seeing these, these saws or sayings or cliches that appear from time to time that we are, no, many of them in Shakespeare we’re still familiar with and some invents, and we use ’em all the time, and others we’ve never heard, we don’t understand, and we have to look them up. 

And so it, it is kind of challenging in that sense. 

Paul Nicholas

What’s another comedy that’s mostly in prose is the comedy of error is mostly in prose. 

Michele Schultz

Oh, Yeah. There’s a lot of prose in as you like it. Yes. You like, Yeah. And, 

Paul Nicholas

And does he employ as many of the colloquialisms real or invented as in this one? 

Gideon Rappaport

Yeah, I would say so from time to time. Sure. It’s hard to count them because some of them have become so familiar that we don’t think of ’em in that way anymore. We just think of them as normal speech and others, the the ones we have to look up make us pay attention. But there, there, and of course sometimes he’s just purely inventing. But it’s, it’s really hard to generalize because each play is so uniquely itself, you know, aimed at the themes and the ideas and the, and the emotional qualities that it’s producing. 

And it’s really hard to generalize even when we say the four last plays, like the Romances, Parlee, Simline, Tempest, and Wi Tale. They have a lot in common, but they’re, but each one is also unique. And so, and me wives in my opinion, is unique. There’s, there’s not another, there are passages in Henry the fourth part one that are sort of like some of the things in Mery Wives and ’cause of the same characters, but it’s, there’s really no other whole play that’s like Mery wives. So I think you have to enjoy its uniqueness. 

Todd Scofield

I have a chart here, Paul, from our Tried and Trustee Pelican. 

Paul Nicholas

Yes. 

Gideon Rappaport

That’s a wonderful addition, by the way. 

Todd Scofield

Yeah. Merry Wives has the most prose by a good bit of any play. And the next top one is the next several top ones are also comedies. And the next top one is much adu, 71.7% Pros. 

Gideon Rappaport

Right. 

Todd Scofield

And then 12th Night, 61.3% pros. And then as you like it, 54.4. And interestingly, the, the other, the other two plays with Fall staff, the Histories Henry four, one and two. 

Gideon Rappaport

Yes. 

Todd Scofield

They have the bet, they have the most pros of any of the histories. I would Over 40, over 40%. 

Gideon Rappaport

That’s why, because this, the, the, we’ve got these whole scenes 

Todd Scofield

Yep. Of 

Gideon Rappaport

The, 

Todd Scofield

The comic 

Gideon Rappaport

under class talking to each other. 

Todd Scofield

Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

Never would’ve thought that 12th Night would’ve been that far up there, because even 

Todd Scofield

Yeah, 

Paul Nicholas

in 12th Night Fest, that’s Festi, right. FEI uses a lot of, of, of verse, doesn’t he? 

Yeah. 

Gideon Rappaport

But all of the, so Tobi or most of the Sir Tobi, Mariah Che stuff, and a lot of the, a lot of the Malvolio stuff was in prose. 

Paul Nicholas

I thought Che and Sir Tobi spoke in verse because they were higher class than Mariah, for example. 

Gideon Rappaport

Well, sometimes they do, but often they’re not. They’re Slumpy. 

Todd Scofield

Not always. Yeah. It’s not always that. 

Gideon Rappaport

Anyway, don’t take what I said as a hard and fast rule, or I’ll hear it from Dac and Matthews. It’s just a general quality and the most important thing to know is when it shifts from one to the other, you are getting a shift in focus and tone and so on. 

Paul Nicholas

Fascinating stuff. 

Gideon Rappaport

Fascinating as when in Our scene. Yeah, go ahead, Carina. In our scenes, is it just these four lines that mistress page addresses that are inverse? Is there, Those are the only ones that I think those are the only ones I remember. There may be one or two other lines that aren’t, but as I’m glancing through, no, there, it’s all, almost all probes. Let me look at the second scene in a second. 

Yeah. If you have your pelican or another addition like that, all you have to do is scan down the column and you can see where the lines are, are versed and where they’re pros. It’s almost all pros are scenes. Yeah. And 

Todd Scofield

86.6 merry wives. Yeah, 

Michele Schultz

That’s a lot. 

Todd Scofield

And those signs are also rhymed, which is sort of like a 

Michele Schultz

more intense version of the verse. Correct. More intense, more, more formula, more formulaic, more orderly. And that’s why Shakespeare uses rhymes very often to end a scene. Even a scene in prose will sometimes end with a couplet in verse because the rhyme kind of punctuates the end of the scene. 

Just 

Todd Scofield

another nerd out Shakespeare thing, because I I totally agree that I figured if comedy of errors would be high up in prose among the comedies, it’s the least, it’s the least amount of prose percentage wise 

Gideon Rappaport

Yeah. 

Todd Scofield

In any of the comedies. 

Gideon Rappaport

And it’s Got a lot of rhymed couplets, 

Todd Scofield

21.5% rhyme. Yeah. 

Gideon Rappaport

In comedy. 

Todd Scofield

Yeah. But only 12.7% pros. 

Paul Nicholas

Wow. 

Todd Scofield

Excuse me. 

Paul Nicholas

Fascinating stuff. 

Gideon Rappaport

Now have that all being said. I want you to banish from your minds numbers and percentages, because that just obscures what’s happening right now in the moment. 

Paul Nicholas

Yes, sir. 

Gideon Rappaport

So Shakespeare, Shakespeare is adjusting constantly to the particulars of the moment. And so you have to give him his head that way. You have to let him lead you instead of trying to fit him into these numbers and categories. That goes for the kind of play too. We distinguish between tragedies, comedies, histories, sometimes polonious is right. They’re tragical comedies and comical historical pastorals and so on, because Shakespeare is, is breaking out of molds constantly. 

Not to destroy them because he depends on our knowing them, but to, to enhance them and make the particular play dramatic in the way he wants it to be. 

Paul Nicholas

Be fascinating. I love it. Let’s read it. Are we gonna go from Mr. Ford just walked in? 

Todd Scofield

Oh, which, which Scene? 

Michele Schultz

Which line? 

Paul Nicholas

4, 2, 1 15 set down the basket villain. Now this, I’m saying suggesting that because that was a recommendation from Gideon, but if you all want to start from the top and just drive through there, that’s up to you. 

Gideon Rappaport

I don’t remember that I was instructing us about this week. I thought I was instructing us about last week, but you might be right. There’s a tape, so I can’t deny. I have no deny ability. 

Paul Nicholas

So let me ask the room, lemme ask the three of you. Would you like to start from where we left off or would you like to go to the top of four? Two, not to the top of all the scenes. Top of four, two and run. 

Michele Schultz

I would say top of four, two. Yeah, me too. And 

Paul Nicholas

run through this. 

Michele Schultz

Yes. And 

Paul Nicholas

I won’t stop you when we get to sit down the basket villain. We’ll, that, that’s when I’ll start thinking about stopping you. 

Corinna Christman

Okay. Because we have, we have not yet gone specifically into particular phrases in this the second half of the scene. So that’s why, that’s why Paul wants to do that, I’m guessing. 

Paul Nicholas

Yeah. So, so start from top of four, two and just plow on through. Unless, unless you need to stop. If you need to stop, then stop. But I won’t stop you. 

Corinna Christman

Okay. 

Todd Scofield

Mr. Ford, your sorrow has eaten up. My sufferance. I see that you are, I see you are obsequious in your love. And I profess for aquile to a hair’s breath. Not only Mrts Ford in the simple office of love, but in all the acc compliment and ceremony of it. But are you sure of your husband now? 

Corinna Christman

He’s a birding. Sweet Sir. John, What? Who Step into the chamber, sir. John. 

And now, and now. Sweetheart, who’s at home besides yourself? 

Why None. But my own people Indeed. No, certainly speak louder. 

Truly. I am so glad you have nobody here. 

Why? Why woman? Your husband. It is in his old loons again. He so takes on yonder with my husband. So rails against all married mankind. So curses all eve’s daughters of whatever complexion. So and so buffets himself on the forehead, crying out out that any madness I ever yet beheld seemed but timeless civility and patience to this distemper he is in now. I am glad the fact knight is not here. 

Why does he talk of him? Of none but him and swears he was carried out the last time he searched for him in a basket protest to my husband. He is now here and have drawn him in the rest of their company from their sport to make another experiment of his suspicion. But I am glad the night is not here. Now he shall see his own foolery. How near is he mistress Paige? Hard bye. It’s street end. He will be here and on. 

Hi, am I’m undone. The night you’s here. 

Why? You’re utterly ashamed and he’s but a dead man. Oh, what a woman. Are you away with him? Away with him? That shame than murder? 

Which way should he go? How should I bestow him? Shall I put him into the basket again? 

Todd Scofield

No. I’ll come no more in the basket. May not, may I not go out Air he come. 

Michele Schultz

I last three of Master Ford’s brothers watched the door with pistols that nuns shall issue out, otherwise you might slip away air he came. But what make you hear? 

Todd Scofield

What shall I do? I’ll creep up into the chimney. 

Corinna Christman

They’re, they, they always used to discharge their birding pieces Creep into the king hole. 

Todd Scofield

Where is it? 

Corinna Christman

He will seek there on my word neither press cougher. Chest trunk. Well vaults. But he has an abstract for the remembrance of such places and goes to them by his note. There is no hiding. You in the house. 

Todd Scofield

I’ll go out then 

Michele Schultz

If you go out in your own own semblance, you die. Sir John of this, you go out disguised. 

How might we disguise him? I last the day. I know not there is no woman’s gown big enough for him. Otherwise he might put on a hat, a muffler and a kerchief. And so escape 

Todd Scofield

Good hearts. Devise something, any extremity rather than a mischief. 

Corinna Christman

My mate’s aunt, the fat woman of Brentford, has a gown above Oh my word. It will serve him. She’s as big as he is. 

And there’s her thumbed hat and her muffler too. Oh, run up Sir John, Go. Go. Sweet, sir. John mistress Paige and I will look some linen for your head. 

Quick, quick. We’ll come dress you, we’ll come dress you straight. Put on the gown, the wild. I would, my husband would meet him in this shape. He cannot abide the old woman of Bradford. He swears she’s a witch. Forbade her my house and have threatened to beat her Heaven. Guide him to thy husband’s cudgel and the devil guide his cudgel afterwards. But is my husband coming? 

I in good sadness is he. And talks of the basket too, however, howsoever, he has had intelligence. We’ll try for that. For, I’ll appoint my men to carry the basket again to meet him at the door with it as they did last time. Hey. But he’ll be here presently. Let’s go dress him like the witch Brent. 

I’ll first direct my men that they should go with do with the basket. Go up. I’ll bring linen for him. Straight. 

Hang him. Dishonest Violet. We cannot misuse him enough. 

We’ll leave a proof by that, which we will do. Wives maybe marry. And yet honest too, we do not act that often. Jest and laugh is old, but true still. Swine eats all the draw Goers. Take the basket again. 

Sorry. Ghosters, take the basket again on your shoulders. Your master is hard at door. If he bid, you set it down. Obey him quickly. Dispatch, 

Paul Nicholas

Pray. Heaven it be not full of night again. 

They pick up the basket, enter Ford and his friends 

Todd Scofield

Set down the basket villain. Come Heather Mistress Ford. Mistress Ford. The honest woman, the modest wife, the virtuous creature that half the jealous fool to her husband, I suspect without cause. Mistress. Do I 

Corinna Christman

Evan, be my witness. You do. If you suspect me any dishonesty, 

Todd Scofield

Well said brazen face. Hold it out. Come forth. Should I say since we’re not on stage and they they’re not there to do what I’m saying. Should I say hold it, hold the basket out or come or hold, hold, hold, hold the basket out. Come forth, sir. 

Paul Nicholas

Well, I’m going to say he pulls clothes out of the basket, so it might be understandable. 

Todd Scofield

Okay. 

Gideon Rappaport

I I think it just means keep it from where it’s going. Keep hold it back from it. You might wanna say hold it back ke keep it from fulfilling its function till I check it. Basically 

Todd Scofield

Hold it up, I think, yeah, it’s kind of, he’s kind like saying hold up. 

Gideon Rappaport

Yeah, that’s more 

Todd Scofield

Hold up and come forth. Surah is Yeah. Thinking that I’m gonna find him in the clothes. 

Gideon Rappaport

Right? 

Paul Nicholas

Exactly. Yeah, Exactly. 

Todd Scofield

Okay. Well said. Brazen face. Hold it out. Come forth, sir. He 

Paul Nicholas

pulls clothes out of the basket. 

Corinna Christman

Are you not ashamed? Let the clothes alone. 

Todd Scofield

I shall find you alone. Empty the basket. I say, 

Corinna Christman

Why man? Why? 

Todd Scofield

As I am a man. There was one conveyed out of my house yesterday in this basket. Why may not he be there in my house? I am sure he is. My intelligence is true. My jealousy is reasonable. Fuck me outta all the linen. 

Corinna Christman

If you find a man there, he shall die. A fleas death. 

Todd Scofield

Paul, what do you think? Do you wanna say they empty the basket? 

Paul Nicholas

Yeah, I was just thinking about that, by the way, since we stopped. I’m not gonna say he pulls clothes outta the basket. 

Todd Scofield

You’re not, 

Paul Nicholas

You say Come forth, sir. And she says, are you not ashamed? Let the clothes alone. So, and plus you’re doing this, you’re doing this. So I don’t even say, okay. 

Todd Scofield

Okay, cool. But 

Paul Nicholas

I am on stage because I’m playing John, who’s about to leave. 

Maybe I, maybe I need, maybe I need not be on stage. Maybe I need to turn my camera off so I can say Robert and John carry the basket off. 

Todd Scofield

Well, I, Robert and John empty the basket. That’s what I was thinking of. No, he, 

Gideon Rappaport

He is looking at the next line. I looking 

Paul Nicholas

At the next 

Gideon Rappaport

line They speak, Robert and John refill the basket and carry it. 

Paul Nicholas

Right. If I’m not on stage, then I can easily say Robert and John empty the basket. 

Todd Scofield

Okay. 

Gideon Rappaport

I think you can just do it with your voice. I don’t think you have to appear. Yeah, yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

I can do the whole thing with my voice. Even the line about pray. Pray it not be full of night again. 

Gideon Rappaport

Yeah, I think so. 

Paul Nicholas

Yeah. 

Gideon Rappaport

I mean, try it and see if it works. 

Paul Nicholas

Corina, I’m gonna try this. 

Corinna Christman

Yes. 

Paul Nicholas

When he says, pluck me out all the linen on 1 49, then I’m going to say Robert and John empty the basket. Okay. Before your line. 

Corinna Christman

Okay. 

Paul Nicholas

You got that Todd? 

Corinna Christman

Yes. 

Todd Scofield

Yeah. Okay. Let me, let me edit my document here. So I Well, It 

Paul Nicholas

won’t affect you. It’ll affect Karina. 

Todd Scofield

I know, but still I wanna know 

Gideon Rappaport

Carina while we’re stopped. Yeah. What does he, what does she mean he shall die of fleas? Death. 

Paul Nicholas

Yeah. 

Corinna Christman

There’s no one in the basket. He’s basically emptied it. So if there is someone there, it’s like a tiny Yeah. It’s like a sarcastic comment about, you might find like a crumb, but there’s not like, clearly there’s no human hanging out there. Yeah. Right. He’s, he’s so small. He is gonna die the death of something that small. Right. Which is doubly funny one because he is not there and he was last time and two, because he is so big, right? Yes. Yeah. So you are having fun. Okay, 

Paul Nicholas

Shall we? Where do you wanna go from Todd? As I’m a man? 

Todd Scofield

Yeah. As I’m a man. Wait, 

Paul Nicholas

let me get myself off stage. 

Corinna Christman

Ah, okay. As 

Todd Scofield

I am a man, there was one conveyed outta my house yesterday in this basket. Why may not he be there again? Hmm. In my house. I am sure he is. My intelligence is true. My jealousy is reasonable. Walk me out. Oh, the linen. 

Paul Nicholas

Robert and John empty the basket. 

Corinna Christman

You find a man there he shall die. A fleas death. 

Todd Scofield

Well, he’s not here. I seek for 

Paul Nicholas

Robert and John refill the basket and carry it off. 

Corinna Christman

What hoe mistress page come you and the old woman down? My husband will come into the chamber. 

Todd Scofield

Old woman. What old woman’s that? 

Corinna Christman

Why it is my aunt, my maid’s aunt of Brentford, 

Todd Scofield

A witch, a queen, an old ping queen. Have I not forbid her my house? She comes of errands. Does she? We are simple. When we are simple men, we do not know what’s brought to pass under the profession of fortune telling. She works by charms, by spells, by the figure and such dobby as this beyond our element. We know nothing. Come down your witch. Ya hag, you come down. I say 

Corinna Christman

Nay. Good, sweet husband. Good gentleman. Let him not strike the old woman. Miss do 

Paul Nicholas

I? You want me to say Mr. Page enters with fall staff? 

Todd Scofield

Yes, I like that. 

Paul Nicholas

I’ll, I’ll say the whole thing disguised as order. Mrs. Page. And sir Mrs. Page enters with fallstaff disguised as an old woman. There we go. 

Michele Schultz

Grand mother Pratt, give your hand. 

Todd Scofield

Ow at her out my door. Your witch, your rag, your baggage, your pole cat, you runion out, out conjure you out. 

Paul Nicholas

All staff and Ford exit. Well, I don’t need to say that. 

Michele Schultz

Oh, you not ashamed. I think you’ve killed the poor woman. Nay. He will do it is a goodly credit for you. 

Trust Me. 

Todd Scofield

Well, should I, I’m sorry. Hang on, Paul. Should I still, even though the exit is there, should I, should I still be on? Because Mistress page is directing that to me. 

Paul Nicholas

Well, that’s why I’m saying hold. 

Gideon Rappaport

I think they’re saying it as you go Out. 

Paul Nicholas

Yes. 

Corinna Christman

Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

Yes. I I would love to do it. Yeah, I would love for her to say it to you as you Oh, I’m not here. Here I am. Hello. I would love for you her to say it to you as you have left. 

Hey, hey, hey, be careful. Don’t hurt her. 

Todd Scofield

Okay. 

Paul Nicholas

And Mrs. Ford goes, oh, I think he’s gonna hurt her. And then there they have a private moment when all your friends leave. So I think what I’ll say is Faff and Ford exit and after Mrs. Ford says, has a goodly credit for you. I’ll say all of Ford’s friends exit. 

Now we know 

Gideon Rappaport

there’s A goodly credit for you is Yeah. Sarcastic and ironic directed to him. 

Paul Nicholas

Yeah. I think that’s a better way to play it, especially in this environment when we have the same actor plane, full staff and Ford, 

Todd Scofield

I mean that full staff and Ford exit. Right? That’s right. After 180 5. That’s clearly, that’s put in for this adaptation for the, just this scene because Ford has some cut lines just, just a little bit later. 

Paul Nicholas

Yes. I I did that. I moved that. 

Todd Scofield

Okay. Okay. 

Paul Nicholas

I think what it said was false staff exits. 

Todd Scofield

Gotcha, gotcha. 

Paul Nicholas

Because you see down below it says Ford page chias and Sir Hu exit everybody. Right? 

Todd Scofield

Right. Yeah. And he says, 

Paul Nicholas

Ford says, follow me gentlemen, he’s gonna go beat her some more. 

Todd Scofield

Ah, 

Gideon Rappaport

Why don’t you have ball staff exit there at after 180 6 or 180 6 and then forward exit after one 90. 

Paul Nicholas

Well, to answer that question, I would like to get an answer starting with Corina. 

Todd Scofield

What do you mean by 

Paul Nicholas

tisa Goodley credit for you? 

Corinna Christman

I was wondering that, and then Gideon sort of said, it’s a sarcastic comment towards Ford, I believe. Like Right, because you’re like You. Wow. Look at you big man type. Yeah. So, so honorable beating a woman. Yeah, yeah, Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

Okay. Then I will agree that false staff should exit there and Ford can exit later. 

Todd Scofield

Cool. 

Paul Nicholas

I’m cutting that in my scripts. 

Todd Scofield

And 

Paul Nicholas

I will say false staff exits And then forward exits And then ti a goodly credit for you. Todd, would you like to say, will you follow a gentleman or would you like to just not the whole thing, just will you follow gentleman? Wait a minute. Lemme look at the whole thing. 

Todd Scofield

I’d love to say hang her witch and then exit TA goodly credit for you hang or witch 

Paul Nicholas

And, and not to worry about what you say to your friends. 

Todd Scofield

Yeah. Because I mean, we really haven’t been acknowledging We have 

Paul Nicholas

Not 

Todd Scofield

that there’s more than just Ford. 

Paul Nicholas

Well, Mrs. Ford did say, gentlemen, please don’t let him hit her. 

Todd Scofield

Yeah. We’re not trying to embody them though. 

Paul Nicholas

No, 

Gideon Rappaport

I think Todd’s right. I think you’re gonna complicate things if 

Todd Scofield

Yeah, 

Gideon Rappaport

He can exit after hang her. Which that’s what I would suggest. We restore that line and then exit. We don’t, we don’t, we’re not really looking at his relationships to the other man. 

Paul Nicholas

Well then we, you’re not wrong. But then we, the question is, what do we do with Ford’s line? We are simple men. We do not know of this profession of fortune talent. He is talking to his friends. He’s trying to tell her what to tell them what to expect. That here comes a woman who works by charms and spells and, and and numbers and blah, blah, blah. Right? He is talking to them. Right? 

Gideon Rappaport

Yeah. But it can as easily be we people of this town or this neighborhood or this level of society or whatever. You know, I, you have to remember that all that list of things he’s accusing her of are punishable by often by death. 

So he can’t, he’s gotta be meaning it, but not too literally because she would be arrested and tried as a witch. And that was not okay in the period of Elizabeth, and particularly in the period of James. So he can, he can be talking to his gentleman because earlier they mistress page said, he’s coming with this whole crowd. Right. My husband and a bunch of other people. Right. 

Paul Nicholas

So 

Gideon Rappaport

that’s in our minds. And he can be meaning that when he speaks to them, or he can be meaning it more generally. But I think Todd’s right. I don’t think we have to try to embody them too much because the, the, the interplay with him and these gentlemen is not going anywhere dramatic. The, the drama of what we are doing is all in the, in the ladies. 

Paul Nicholas

I brought that up because I believe I brought, I brought, I’m getting all confused now, but I believe I brought that up because we were talking about should he say follow me gentlemen as he exits do, are we aware as a listening audience that they are there? I think we are because the stage directions, I’m gonna say Ford and his entourage enter fine and she says, gentlemen, don’t let him strike her. And he says, we are simple men, even though, Todd, you’re gonna have to work to make that clear that you’re talking to them and not her. We are a simple man, blah, blah, blah, numbers Dobby, blah, blah, blah. So then when he’s leaving to go beat her some more, should he not say, follow me gentlemen, and then I’ll just say forward in his entourage exits. I, that’s a real question. I don’t know the answer. 

I 

Gideon Rappaport

think that’ll work fine. 

Todd Scofield

Hanger witch, follow me gentlemen. 

Paul Nicholas

Will, will you follow gentlemen? I beseech You follow? 

Todd Scofield

Will you follow gentlemen? 

Paul Nicholas

Yeah. You don’t need to say the rest of it. What do you think, Todd? You don’t want, or, and Gideon and everybody, he doesn’t need to say the rest of that line. Right? All you need to say 

Gideon Rappaport

Is, no, 

Paul Nicholas

You follow. 

Todd Scofield

Or I could just go keeping all the words in the same order. I could just go, gentlemen, I beit you follow? 

Paul Nicholas

Yeah, I’m fine with that too. 

Michele Schultz

That’s Good. I think it depends whether you want it to be civil or are you still angry at hangar Witch. So Hangar witch, will you follow gentlemen? Come and come with me and let’s go get her. 

Todd Scofield

Yeah. 

Gideon Rappaport

Or, or will you follow gentlemen? They don’t immediately do it. Now you have to beg them. And I think that complicates things in a way that, that will distract us. That’s my view. But you can, 

Todd Scofield

Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

Are you saying you like Todd’s idea of taking out the three words? Will you follow? 

Gideon Rappaport

No, I’m saying keep those in and get rid of Bessie. 

Todd Scofield

Yeah. Just hanger witch. Will you follow gentlemen? 

Gideon Rappaport

That’s it. Okay. Yeah. I like it. 

Todd Scofield

Ford exits. 

Gideon Rappaport

I think that’s cleaner. 

Paul Nicholas

I like it. I’m with it. I dig it. Hang her witch where you follow gentlemen. And I’ll say Ford and his entourage. Exit. Exit. Okay. Merry wives. Instead of going back and and picking, let’s just finish. Do you wanna have your private moment and just finish? Let’s just finish the scene and then we can go back and nitpick. What do you think? Cool. 

Corinna Christman

Yes, that works. 

Paul Nicholas

So they just left and Faff got a whooping and Ford is in his loons again and they’re all gone. 

Michele Schultz

Trust me, he beat him most pitifully Nay by the mass that he did not, he beat him most un pitifully. He thought I’ll have the cudgel hallowed and hung all the altar. It had done meritorious service. 

What? Thank you. May we with the warrant of womanhood and the witness of a good conscience, pursue him with any further revenge. 

The spirit of Wantonness is sure scared out of him. 

If the devil have him not in fee simple with fine and recovery, he will never, I think in the way of waste attempt us again. 

Shall we tell our husbands how we have served him? 

Yes, by all means. If it but to, if it be but to scrape the figures out of your husband’s brains. If they can find in their hearts the poor on virtuous fat Knight shall be any further afflicted. We too shall still be the ministers. Our warrant though, have him publicly shamed and he thinks there would be no period to the jest. Should he not be publicly sha shamed, Come to the forge with it, then shape it. I would not have things. Cool. 

Paul Nicholas

Lovely, lovely. Would you like to go first, Dr. Rappaport? 

Gideon Rappaport

Sure. 

Paul Nicholas

Starting from starting from set down the basket villain 

Gideon Rappaport

From Line 60. I wanna say something. Oh, 

Paul Nicholas

all the way back there. Okay. 

Gideon Rappaport

Not a lot. I don’t have a lot. But Mistress Ford. Yes. I’m not getting that. Each of these words is a different thing. 

You know, it’s a list, but we wanna see each thing. It’s ’cause you’re being really thorough about how Ford will search. 

So you have to see in your mind, what is a press, what is a coffer, what is a chest, what is a trunk, what is a, well, what is a vault? 

Okay. And if you want my help with any of those, let me know. 

And I would, 

Paul Nicholas

I would like to add to that, that I don’t know Karina, if she had the whole list in her mind when she started the sentence. 

Corinna Christman

Okay. 

Paul Nicholas

So she’s thinking, oh, he’s gonna ask to hide in all these places. What can 

Corinna Christman

I come up? Am I ready for this, this 

Paul Nicholas

or that or that or that or that or that or that. Yeah. None of it don’t, 

Gideon Rappaport

and It, it, it go, it gets, it gets more grandiose. So press off for chest and trunk. Trunk is bigger than a chest. Yeah. But also then a well is completely different category. And a vault is a whole separate category. 

You’re going as far as you can. Okay. Okay. Line 85. What did I mean, I would, my husband would meet him in this shape. Oh, you said this shape, you hit this. 

Okay. And I think you need to go for meat and shape it. It’s not this shape as opposed to meeting him in some other shape. It’s meeting him like this. 

Paul Nicholas

Yeah. 

Corinna Christman

Yeah. That’s, that’s how I would expect to hear it, I think. Okay. Line 91 mistress page. Just you, you said it fine, Michelle. You’re, you’re just wonderful. You’re making these lines come alive. I really love it. Everybody is, but the, the word sadness, just to be sure means seriousness and sobriety, not unhappiness. Right, right. Yeah. No, no, it’s true. I I, I I wasn’t joking. He is coming. Yeah, yeah. Exactly right. 

Paul Nicholas

I have something on 94. 

Gideon Rappaport

What? 

Paul Nicholas

I have something on 94. 

Gideon Rappaport

Okay, go ahead 

Paul Nicholas

Karina. You said we’ll try for that. Is that something that, was that just a slip or did we did last week? We say we, we would say that 

Corinna Christman

No, no, that was definitely a slip. 

Paul Nicholas

Okay, gotcha. 

Corinna Christman

Going between paper and Yeah, Todd. 

Todd Scofield

Yeah, 

Gideon Rappaport

First time you did the Ford character, your voice was a bit higher. 

Todd Scofield

Okay. 

Gideon Rappaport

And I think that’s important on this zoom, since you’re playing both parts. Okay. 

Todd Scofield

So 

Gideon Rappaport

fall staff is big and rotunda, and he’s got this lower, richer voice, which is your great voice. So I think you have to go a little, I don’t mean squeaky, but you know, just make a distinction in the register for us. 

Todd Scofield

Yeah, yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

It, it doesn’t have to be Barry White and Barry Gibb, but, 

Gideon Rappaport

And then the last one Is, that’s, 

Todd Scofield

that’s, that’s quick Paul. Good, good. 

Paul Nicholas

I was trying to get you to spit up whatever you were drinking, 

Gideon Rappaport

Todd. 1 36 4. Sarah, how did you say it? Say it again. Come forth. 

Todd Scofield

Well said brazen face. Hold it out. Come forth, sir. 

Gideon Rappaport

Okay, so you’re saying, sir, the way we say, sir. 

Todd Scofield

Yes, 

Gideon Rappaport

But I want them more of an I there, sir. 

Todd Scofield

Okay. I mean, I’ve always been taught it’s, sir, have you sir and sir. 

Gideon Rappaport

Okay. Then do it that way. 

Todd Scofield

Okay. 

Gideon Rappaport

While we’re doing, so 

Todd Scofield

I talked to somebody who was alive then and heard them say it out loud. So 

Paul Nicholas

You please do not disparage Michael Kahn in that way. Todd. 

Gideon Rappaport

Okay. That’s it, Paul. 

Paul Nicholas

Okay. Oakley, Doley Oakley Doley brazen face is a horrible thing to say to your wife. Is it not? Yeah. 

Gideon Rappaport

Brazen means brass made of brass meaning shameless. 

Paul Nicholas

That’s, but to say that to your wife in front of other people is horrific. And that should shock. 

Todd Scofield

Well, because she’s lying right to my face. 

Paul Nicholas

Right. So that should, should shock you Mrs. Ford, that he went that far. I mean, I think you’re sorry. I think you’re enjoying the fact that, that he is fooled by this. But to call you brazen face in front of his colleagues, that’s, that’s a horrible thing to do. 

Corinna Christman

Okay. Yeah. 

Todd Scofield

MIT has it as imp imp impudent person. 

Gideon Rappaport

Yeah. And you know what prudent means? Pdo comes From 

Todd Scofield

I do not, 

Gideon Rappaport

PDO is modesty, sexual modesty. 

Todd Scofield

Oh, 

Gideon Rappaport

The Venus holding her hands before her genitals is Venus pdo. 

Todd Scofield

Oh, I don’t 

Gideon Rappaport

know what the phrase is in Latin, but that, but so impudent means without, 

Todd Scofield

Is that where we get pudenda? 

Gideon Rappaport

Yes. Okay. And also when he says brazen face, he’s using it as a nickname. So it’s not exactly called, I would say it’s not exactly like saying in public. I am calling out my wife as a brazen faced hussy. 

She is, he is calling her by this nickname because he’s afraid she has earned it. Yeah. 

Todd Scofield

And it is, it is 

Gideon Rappaport

awful. But there’s also, it’s not like I want a divorce. You braise and face hussy. 

Todd Scofield

Yeah. 

Gideon Rappaport

Yeah. Because I haven’t proven this yet, but I’m really suspicious. And he’s seeing what she’ll do and say when he says that. 

Paul Nicholas

Okay. So it’s not as bad as if it were today. And he called her a slut. I thought it was that bad. Is it not that bad? 

Gideon Rappaport

Well, it depends on how you call someone a slut. If you say before a bunch of people, my wife is guilty of betraying me, she’s a slut. That’s bad. But if you say, oh, good point, slut, it’s more personal. It’s still nasty. It’s very nasty. 

But it’s just got a different quality to it. Anyway, I might be asking for too much from Zoom, but 

Paul Nicholas

No, and and Todd can play that. Todd can play that. Todd. Yeah. I, I said, I moved the line, Robert and John empty the basket and I realized that it might have messed up your rhythm. 

’cause when she said he should die a fleas death, would you prefer the line there? So you have a moment to go? Well, he is not here. I seek for Is it weird to jump to to, 

Todd Scofield

I’m sorry, what line are you at? 

Paul Nicholas

Well, he’s not here. I seek for, is it, do you prefer to pick up the cue there? I mean, to take a beat before you say that. Would you prefer the, the stage direction right before that line? 

Todd Scofield

Yeah, I do. I think that would be better. 

Paul Nicholas

Okay. I’ll put it back where it was. 

Todd Scofield

They empty the basket. Well, he’s not, yeah. Yeah. That’s good. I like that. 

Paul Nicholas

Okay. 

Todd Scofield

My husband will come into the chamber. 

Paul Nicholas

Okay, let’s deal with this passage here. Mr. Schofield. She comes of errands. Does she, what do you mean by errands? 

The Oxford says he means on a Go-Betweens business. 

Is it really that simple? 

Todd Scofield

I think, I think he say she comes of errands. Oh, she’s just visiting, huh? She’s, she’s not here telling fortunes. 

You’re trying, you know, she’s telling fortunes and she’s doing all that devilry and witchcraft in my house under my roof. 

She comes of errands. Does she? Sure. 

That’s what I thought it was. 

Paul Nicholas

Good. Now you turn to your boys and you say, we are a simple man. We do not know what’s brought to pass under the profession of fortune towing. Meaning what? We 

Todd Scofield

don’t know all the stuff that goes on with that terrible practice, meaning we just know it’s not any good. 

Paul Nicholas

Right. It it could be something like we don’t know the half of it. 

Gideon Rappaport

We don’t know how bad it can be. 

Paul Nicholas

Yeah. And, and, and there may be, there may be a a, a fairly large dose of fear in his voice. I don’t wanna say that. Yeah. I do wanna say fear. Yeah. Fear. 

He beats her with whatever, a cudgel, a broom, whatever he is got his hands on. 

Todd Scofield

Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

Because He is afraid of her. 

Todd Scofield

Right? 

Paul Nicholas

Or am I wrong? 

Gideon Rappaport

I think you’re half right. I mean, you’re right. But it’s, it can also be, we don’t understand what goes on with this magic. And we know it’s bad and wrong. And also we don’t know what’s going on in our house behind our backs. And this just adds to it. Like, I don’t know what my wife is doing. I’m suspicious, I’m jealous. And that the, that this spell worker is here. What’s she up to? Yeah. It’s all, it’s all of that composite. 

Todd Scofield

Yep. 

Gideon Rappaport

So it’s my, it’s fear, but also anger that she’s put you in this position. 

Paul Nicholas

She works by charm, spells by the figure. Well, instead of give me, giving you what I think this line means, you tell me what you think. He’s saying the whole thing, all the way to element. 

Todd Scofield

She works by charms, by spells, by the figure, by such dobby as this is beyond our element. 

Paul Nicholas

So Dobby, I looked up Dobby and it says it means pretense, which seems, 

Gideon Rappaport

It means very simple recently means to cover with clay. But it comes to mean giving a false show, putting on a false show. Right. 

Paul Nicholas

And what I think he’s saying is this whole thing that my wife is doing is a show. And we don’t know under all this show behind the curtain of this show, what the heck this witch is doing here. 

Gideon Rappaport

Right. 

Paul Nicholas

It is beyond our element, beyond our understanding. Gideon. 

Gideon Rappaport

Yeah. Beyond the world we live in. We don’t live in that wor world. Yeah. Witchcraft. It’s a legitimate sphere of activity and knowledge or beyond our feeble understanding meant ironically as in out of one’s element. 

Paul Nicholas

Yeah. And I think Todd, that I, I don’t know that I’m right here, but I think the Anne such dore as this is, is parenthetical. She works by this, by this, by this and way beyond our understanding. And then parenthetically, he sticks in there under the guise of this performance that my wife is putting on. This is way beyond what we understand. That’s what I think. But I don’t know. But it’s almost like the word with is missing and with such dobby as this is, But I I could be completely wrong. 

Or maybe’s, it’s, he’s talking about the costume. Maybe he’s talking about what she’s wearing, but he doesn’t know it’s a costume. So I don’t think that’s what he’s talking about. The dobby, 

Gideon Rappaport

I think, I think the word buy is understood here. It’s still by, she works by means of pretense. 

But the, this is the question. Do you mean this as all of these previous things? Or do you mean this as this situation that my wife is as and I that she’s showing me, my wife is in. 

Paul Nicholas

And when you say all these previous things, you mean the things that he has listed? 

Gideon Rappaport

Yeah, the charms. The spells the figure. 

By the way, figure is diagram. So, you know, in the black magicians would make diagrams, you’ve seen them of stars and other images. They draw it on the ground in chalk and make a circle around it and so on. 

Todd Scofield

He’s, I think he’s like painting the picture for his, for everybody else that’s here to let them know, to understand why I feel so strongly about this woman who I think is a witch. 

Gideon Rappaport

And it’s very funny that you’re so worked up about that. 

Todd Scofield

Yeah. I mean, 

Gideon Rappaport

because We know it’s false now. 

Todd Scofield

Yeah. 

Gideon Rappaport

And you’re not thinking about the infidelity anymore. You’re thinking about how you don’t want this woman anywhere in your house. 

Todd Scofield

House. You, you wouldn’t believe what this woman does. 

Gideon Rappaport

Right. 

Todd Scofield

She steals the neighbor’s pets and eats them. Right. So, So 

Paul Nicholas

then Todd, so then is is do you agree with me that beyond our element is the sort of summation of that list? Or is 

Todd Scofield

It beyond our element? Me It is it, I don’t, Hmm. I don’t think it’s quite a summation. I think it’s, Or are you re We don’t even know what she’s up 

Paul Nicholas

Toing what you said before that 

Todd Scofield

It’s reinforcing it. We don’t even know what she’s up to. We can’t understand it and therefore it’s dangerous. 

Paul Nicholas

Okay. 

Gideon Rappaport

And we know nothing is then got a tinge of sarcasm about it. It’s not that we know nothing, but we don’t know what she’s really up to and therefore we don’t trust her. 

Todd Scofield

Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

What I’m trying to identify, just grammatically is what the phrase beyond our element connects to what 

Gideon Rappaport

Charms, spells figure dobby or all beyond our element. Our element. So You don’t, we 

Todd Scofield

we work, we work with we’re simple men. We work with things with wool and wood and metal. And 

Paul Nicholas

So, so you don’t think that and such dory as this is, is parenthetical. ’cause if, if beyond our element is referring to the things in the list before, then the way it makes sense in my head is if and such dory as this is, is sort, is sort of like to highlight what I’m about to say about that list I just said, 

Gideon Rappaport

I, I don’t hear it that way. I think the, and shows that it’s a, it’s the fourth element in the series. It’s the fourth item in the series. 

Charms spells the figure and such dobby as this is 

Paul Nicholas

As whatever. This is 

Gideon Rappaport

All of those being beyond our element. We don’t know anything about those. And then he starts to, then he speaks to her calm com, come down you, which you ha you now that he’s got justification for what he’s gonna call her. Okay. 

Todd Scofield

That’s 

Gideon Rappaport

how I see it. I’m not, I’m not saying you have to do it that way. That’s how I hear it. 

Todd Scofield

I do think that last comma is is misplaced. The one after I think compositor B or whatever may have gotten that one wrong. She works by charms, by spells, by the figure. And such. Dobby is, this is beyond our element and such strawberry as this is beyond our element. 

Paul Nicholas

Huh. That’s a third way to think of it. Okay. As long as it sounds like it makes sense to you, I’m happy. 

Cool. 

Todd Scofield

I think there was a smudge of ale or grease on the copy he had. And we just got the comma mixed up. 

Gideon Rappaport

You’re imitating all of the, all of the brazen faced editors of Shakespeare. 

Paul Nicholas

Compositor B gets the blame for everything. 

Gideon Rappaport

Poor guy. He was much better than C and D. 

Paul Nicholas

Okay, let’s move on. Come down, you witch, come down. You hag Mrs. Ford. I think this is a, a great performance by you, a great piece of acting. This next line, because I believe you want nothing more. But to have him strike her, him have him strike false death. 

Gideon Rappaport

In fact, giving him the idea to do it. 

Paul Nicholas

Yes. 

Gideon Rappaport

Corina, you’re carina, you’re ma you’re muted. 

Hello? Yes. Am I planting the seed for him? Thank you. Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

Michelle, make sure we hear Pratt that her name is Mother Pratt. And give me your hand. What’s a runion Gideon? Oh, 

Gideon Rappaport

That’s a good question. 

Todd Scofield

Can I tell you something that I found fascinating? It’s not in the Schmidt, it’s not in the lexicon. 

Paul Nicholas

The Word runion. 

Todd Scofield

Runion. 

Paul Nicholas

Wow. 

Todd Scofield

There’s a word not in it 

Paul Nicholas

I find. 

Todd Scofield

Unless it’s like, unless there’s a, oh maybe it’s in the supplement. They, he does have supplements. 

Gideon Rappaport

It might, might have, might have been spelled differently too. R-O-N-Y-O-N. Yeah. 

Todd Scofield

It might have been, 

Gideon Rappaport

It’s probably from Nia in French, meaning mange or kerf. And give us, kerf gives us the word scurvy, but it’s the OED isn’t certain. 

What about that? So it’s, it, it’s, they say an abusive term applied to a woman. 

Paul Nicholas

And the ox, the Oxford Shakespeare says it’s a term of contempt of an obscure origin. Yeah. Yeah. 

Gideon Rappaport

So do you remember the Rumped runion in, where is it the Rumped Runion cries? Is it Romeo and Juliet? I can’t remember. 

I think it’s, anyway, it’s, it’s just one more in this list of words he’s trying to come up with to, to insult him. 

Todd Scofield

Yeah. Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

All right. Blah blah blah blah blah, blah, blah. 

Okay. Michelle, how do you feel about, I think you have killed the poor woman. I think it’s fine. I think it’s fine. Nevermind. I withdraw the question. And we already talked about is a goodly credit for you. Todd’s gonna say, hang her witch. Will you follow a gentleman? I’m gonna say they exit and now you ladies, the wives can have a very good laugh, an even bigger laugh than after the first time. 

Corinna Christman

Okay. 

Paul Nicholas

Corina, you get the joke with your line. Right. 

Corinna Christman

That it was un pitiful. Yeah. Not, yeah, 

Paul Nicholas

I 

Corinna Christman

guess I had a question. I feel like Master Ford can be abusive and so like, I was try trying to think how much she’s like cracking up and how much Yeah. Should I just play it? Like, it’s really funny to see him beat up someone else. I feel like sometimes there’s references in, not in our scenes, but in other scenes where it sounds like they have a past relationship that’s, that can be physically abusive. And so I was trying to figure out what the tone would be. Am I playing to that or am I just saying this is hilarious? He beat up that old woman. So funny. 

And it was false staff. Yeah. I, I guess that was my question there. 

Paul Nicholas

Yeah. Sadly, that’s not an inappropriate question to ask. I wonder how that played back then. Gideon, I wonder, 

Gideon Rappaport

I think, I Think 

Paul Nicholas

men hitting their wives was commonplace back then, 

Corinna Christman

Right? I think, yeah. And I think it gives the wrong note to the comedy of the scene. Okay. So it’s just hilarious to see him beat on someone else. Yeah. And I don’t think he actually physically beats you. At least not in anything we’re looking at. So, right. Not in our scenes. No. Yeah. I think it would, I think it would complicate things. And also I wanted to say about, trust me, you’re not trying to convince her to believe you. You’ve both seen this. So it’s like an automatic phrase. It’s like, boy oh boy. Did he Right? Yes. And the and the thing you pick up, the thing that Mistress Ford picks up is Pitifully Pitifully. 

Yeah. So Mistress Page is not saying, believe you me, like you have to believe me ’cause you didn’t see it. No. She’s saying, oh boy did he beat him Pitifully. And then you go ha un pitifully. And then she goes further with his, this hallowed cudgel. You 

Paul Nicholas

can have a lot of fun with that Karina. It could be, yeah, it could seem like you are, you are trying to literally disagree with her for real. 

Corinna Christman

Right? 

Paul Nicholas

Oh, no, no, no. You’re very wrong. And then land the joke yourself. 

Gideon Rappaport

Right. 

Paul Nicholas

And then Mrs. Page picks it up as 

Michele Schultz

Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

As Gideon says and takes it further. Yeah. 

Corinna Christman

And, and Mrs. Page knows what she’s doing. It’s not like she’s taken in by that first part of the line. They’re, they’re in cahoots. They’re thoroughly in cahoots. 

Yes. Okay. 

Paul Nicholas

And then Karina, you can take, you can alter the rhythm a little with what do you think? Should we do it again? Yeah. 

Corinna Christman

Yeah. Okay. So we’re kind of laughing basking in the glory of this last endeavor. And then let, what should we do now? Yeah, okay. And I think here’s where they slightly divide for a moment. 

Should we go to a third version of this? 

And Mistress Ford says, I mean Mistress page says, no, we don’t really need to unless the unless he’s really of the devil’s party, I think this has done it. Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

And I think, tell me if I’m wrong, Gideon, I think what, what Mrs. Ford is saying under the, under the banners of womanhood and good conscience, should we do this again? Right? Is it, would it be too much? Would it be violating good conscience and 

Corinna Christman

Yeah. A 

Paul Nicholas

woman’s honor to do it again? Is that what she’s saying? 

Gideon Rappaport

Yes. And particularly because she uses the word revenge. And that edge is, again, that edge is away from justice and toward revenge, which in Shakespeare is always wrong. And that’s why Mrs. Page is saying, no, we’re not gonna go as far as, you know, lit, literal revenge. We’re just trying to correct him so he doesn’t come after us again. But I also say that if once we tell our husbands, if our husbands wanna go forward through it, we’re in. Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

Yes. 

Gideon Rappaport

Yeah. Right. And this is, this is what that word, that false death says. Obsequious is implying if the husbands knowing everything that’s happened, if the husbands wanna go further and and use the wives to, to trap him more, they will. So that’s obedience to the husbands. 

And she thinks we don’t, we’re probably not gonna need to do that. But if they say so, it’ll be fun. And is 

Paul Nicholas

Mrs. Ford saying, she’s not saying, when she says, shall, shall we tell our husbands, she’s not saying, what do you think? Should we tell them? She’s saying, why don’t we go tell them? Right. Yeah. 

Gideon Rappaport

Because deaths telling them is not a suggestion. It’s like 

Paul Nicholas

telling them is not up for debate. We’re gonna tell them, yeah, 

Corinna Christman

Yeah. Let’s do Well that’s part of the cream of the joke. Right, right. To get the husbands to realize what they’ve done and that also reinforces their virtue. So, but they’re on the same page, shall we tell them? Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

Good. I want to go back a little bit. 

The spirit of Wantonness is short, scared out of him if the devil have him not in fee simple with fine and recovery. So if the devil, if he doesn’t, does that mean if the devil doesn’t own him? If he doesn’t, if, if he is not beholden to the devil. 

Gideon Rappaport

Yes. Correct. Fee simple. If the devil 

Paul Nicholas

does not have him in fee. Simple. 

Michele Schultz

Oh, Fee simple means complete absolute possession 

Paul Nicholas

That, you know, I saw that phrase in another Shakespeare play not that long ago. What the hell? I don’t remember what play it was fee simple. 

Gideon Rappaport

There’s a lot of lot of that kind of stuff in Hamlet about the lawyers. But I don’t think fees, I don’t think fee’s simple. I can’t, I don’t remember. We can look it up. 

Paul Nicholas

I think it was Hamlet. But with fine and recovery. What does that mean? Like, fine, like, like, like a legal fine. 

Michele Schultz

I think that, I think that means without recourse was the way I read it. Like So 

Paul Nicholas

he has no recourse against the devil. Right. If the devil has him without recourse, 

Michele Schultz

Yes. 

Paul Nicholas

If that’s not the case, he won’t ever attempt this again. Right. What does in the way of waste mean? 

Michele Schultz

Ah, It’s another legal term and it’s un unauthorized act of damage or destruction by a tenant who does not have full legal ownership and so correctly applied to false staff’s relations with the mery wives. 

In other words, he is, 

Paul Nicholas

And it’s not about his relationship with the devil. 

Gideon Rappaport

No. This is now about his relationship to them. He will never in the way of waste, meaning in the way of harming us without authorization trying to sleep with us and as we know, get our money without the right to do so. ’cause he is not, we’re not married to him, so he’s not gonna try to seduce us Again. 

Paul Nicholas

The o the only way he would do that is if the devil had him in his clutches completely. Which we know he does not. 

Gideon Rappaport

Right. Okay. 

Paul Nicholas

It’s a very complicated sentence, but it’s beautiful. 

Gideon Rappaport

It’s a, it’s a, it’s basically disjunctive proposition. If this, if not this, then this. Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

If 

Gideon Rappaport

the devil doesn’t own him, he won’t do it again. 

Paul Nicholas

So Mr. Page says, if our husbands want to have him be further afflicted, we too will still be the ministers. Like we will come up with a plan I warrant. They’ll have him publicly shamed. Ah. And there would be this joke. He needs to be publicly shamed for this to have a period for this joke 

Corinna Christman

to come to an end. So Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

And Michelle, you get the, the last line to the forge with it then shape it. Right. 

Michele Schultz

Right. Yeah. In other words, we’ve gotta go, we’ve gotta basically strike while the iron is hot. Is the Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

You gotta make the sword. 

Michele Schultz

Yeah. Let’s shape the plan. Now I don’t wanna have things cool off when you can’t shape it. 

Paul Nicholas

And also this, the sword has to be carved and shaped and sharpened before the metal gets cooled. 

Michele Schultz

Right. 

Paul Nicholas

Else you won’t be able to do it. 

Gideon Rappaport

And the plan is to, is what the husbands are going to do. They’ve already done what they’ve going to what they’ve done. 

So come to the forge with it means let’s go tell our husbands and then shape what’s gonna happen. And I’ll warrant Mistress Ford at line two 20. I’ll warrant means, I assure you, I’m sure. 

Paul Nicholas

Which ties back into Karina. It ties back into you asked her, should we do it to him again? And she said, no, he is had enough. He is, he’s learned his lesson. It still ties back. And then Michelle said, but if our husbands wants to do it again Sure. And then Yeah, you, so this ties into, and I’m, I I guarantee you they will wanna do it again. They’ll wanna put it, they’ll wanna shame it in public next time 

Gideon Rappaport

And, and then plus we will not feel that our whole endeavor has been completed unless he’s publicly shamed. 

Paul Nicholas

Right. 

Michele Schultz

Right. Our goal is not just to have got where we are, he’s gotta be publicly shamed. And of course then he is later on. 

Paul Nicholas

Let’s just do that last bit again. From, from, are you not ashamed? Everybody with me. 

Gideon Rappaport

Give us a line. Oh, there it is. Line 180 7. Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

So you got a couple of lines, Todd. 

Todd Scofield

Okay. 

Michele Schultz

Are you not ashamed? I think you’ve killed the poor woman. Nay. He will do it to his goodly credit for you 

Todd Scofield

Hanger. Which will you follow? Gentlemen? 

Michele Schultz

Trust me. He beat him most pitiably Nay by the mess that he did not, he beat him most un pitiably. He thought I’ll have the cuddle hallowed and hung all the altar. It has done meritorious service. 

What? Thank you. May we, with the warrant of womanhood and the witness of good conscience, pursue him with any further revenge. 

The spirit of Wantonness is sure, scared out of him. 

If the devil had him not in be simple with fine and recovery, he will never, I think, in the way of waste, attempt us again. 

Shall we tell our husbands how we have served him? 

Yes, by all means. If it be but to scrape the figures out of your husband’s brains, if they can find in their hearts the poor and virtuous fat knight shall be any further afflicted, we too will still be the ministers. 

I warn, though, have him publicly shamed and me thinks there would be no period to the jest. Should he not be publicly shamed, Come to the forge with it, then shape it. I would not have things cool. 

Paul Nicholas

Nice. Lovely. Oh my gosh, that was so good. So good. As my friend Gideon always says, it’s so good when you know exactly what you’re saying. 

Gideon Rappaport

I got a couple things to say. Yes 

Paul Nicholas

Sir. 

Gideon Rappaport

One 90 Mistress Ford. Don’t hit the pronoun you give. Give us the full sarcasm on Oh, good. Show that. Okay. This shows you in a great light. Yeah. Okay. Something like that. Line two 13 similarly, mistress page Don’t hit the attempt us again. It’s not, we, we know he’s attempting you to. 

I I would go for attempt. Yes. Okay. That the rest of that line was great by the way. Perfect. 

Paul Nicholas

Yes. 

Gideon Rappaport

But then you just landed on the pronoun in a way that distracted us. 

Line two 16, just to point out if, but if it’d be but to scrape the figures out of your husband’s brain. That’s the same word that her husband has or Mr. Ford used about the witch. So false diagrams, false images of your betrayal, which isn’t true. And then the last thing was still two 19 mistress page. We too will still be the ministers still has the sense of not continuing to be, but always like, whatever gets done to him, we will be the ones ministering it. So it just, in Shakespeare still almost always means, always. Ah. Got it. That’s it. Good work. I agree. 

Paul Nicholas

Mrs. Page, when she says, shall we tell our husbands your yes. I don’t think means. Oh, that’s a good idea. There was always the plan. What she’s saying is, is now the time to go tell ’em. So I think you’re saying Yes, I agree with you. Let’s go, let’s go tell ’em. Okay. I wanna try something. If we have time, it’s nine 20. This is primarily for the wives. 

We can just try it or we can, we can talk through it first. I would like to go from when, sorry, lemme just find my spot. 

It’s when Mrs. Page first comes in in four two, I would love to try to see if it can work. That mistress page actually saw Ford out on the road humming with his friends and talking about a basket. And mistress page has come in and said, oh my gosh, it please don’t tell me he’s here because your husband is actually coming. And Mistress Ford thinks, wow, your acting skills have really picked up. 

Corinna Christman

This 

Paul Nicholas

is wonderful. Good job. And so you’re saying, and you’re saying, oh my God, is he here? And she’s saying, no, he is not. I don’t know what your line is. And she goes, speak louder. I love your acting, but you know, let’s hear it. And Mrs. Page the whole time is going, no, no, no, no, this is for real. Your husband’s coming. And Mrs. Ford is thinking, man, you’re a great actor. And, and Mrs. Ford is acting and Mrs. Page is not acting. 

Michele Schultz

Okay. 

Paul Nicholas

There Are, there are certain lines that will, that will destroy this convention. But I’d love to try it and see where we come in. We, we slam into walls. Wow. There are certain lines that support this idea. And there are certain lines that deflate it. 

Gideon Rappaport

You, you just have to decide when she shifts, it’s a shift. So you have to decide when she doesn’t, when she is surprised at what mistress page is saying and when she now wants to say things louder. So fall staff will hear it as a plot. So there, there you can’t have it both ways. So you’re gonna have 

Paul Nicholas

No, what I’m gonna, 

Gideon Rappaport

You’re gonna have a place where you have to decide where the shift comes. Well, 

Paul Nicholas

I was wondering if the whole time Mrts page is saying she’s not, she’s not saying it unfortunately. But Mrs. Page is really reporting what she saw. 

Michele Schultz

No, I understand what you’re saying. Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

Yeah. 

Michele Schultz

So that, that, so that would change the line. Truly. I am so glad you have nobody here. I’m not doing that for Shakespeare’s benefit. I mean for, for full false stops benefit. I’m doing it for, oh gosh, thank God you didn’t get it here because, 

Paul Nicholas

So thank God he didn’t come for the second trick because your husband is coming. 

Michele Schultz

Right. 

Paul Nicholas

And then when false staff disappears to go put on the gown and she says to you, but is my husband coming? You go, yes. For real. He is coming. Okay. But there were, like I said, we’re gonna come across certain lines that make you go, wait a minute, that can’t work. Yeah. I don’t know, but I’d just love to try it. Sure. 

Corinna Christman

Okay. So most of this, I just think she’s acting and I’m 

Paul Nicholas

Really, well, her acting has Picked up. 

Corinna Christman

She’s doing Really? Yeah. And I’m just playing along. Okay. 

Paul Nicholas

So 

Corinna Christman

I Think she’s been really 

Paul Nicholas

Go from how now, sweetheart, so you’re already gone, sir John. Okay. 

Michele Schultz

How now, sweetheart, who’s at home besides yourself? Why none but my own people? Oh, Indeed. 

Sorry, I think I froze for a second. Yeah, 

Paul Nicholas

you did go again. How now sweetheart. How 

Michele Schultz

now sweetheart. Who’s at home beside yourself? Why none but my own people Indeed. No, certainly speak louder. 

Truly. I am glad you have nobody here. 

Why? What my Woman, your husband is in his old loons again. He so takes on yonder with my husband. So rails against all married mankind. So curses, all eve’s daughters of whatever complexion. So air. And so buffets himself on the forehead crying, peer out, peer out that any madness I ever yet beheld seem, but tameness civility and patience to this distemper he is in now, I’m glad that that night is not here. 

Why does he talk of him? I’ve not but him and swears he was carried out the last time we searched, he searched for him in a basket protest to my husband. He is now here and have drawn him and the rest of their company from their sport to make another experiment of his suspicion. 

But I am glad the night is not here. Now she shall see his own foolery. How near is he mistress Paige? 

Hard by at street end he’ll be here an on I’m undone. The night is here. Why? Then you’re utterly ashamed and he’s but a dead man. What a woman. Are you away with him? Away with him? Better shame than murder. 

Which way should he go? How should I bestow him? Shall I put him into the basket again? 

Todd Scofield

No. How come no more in the basket? May I not go out? There he come. 

Michele Schultz

Last three of Master Ford’s brothers, watch the door with pistols. That nun shall you out. Otherwise you might slip away as he came. 

But what make you here? 

Todd Scofield

What shall I do? I’ll creep up into the chimney. 

Corinna Christman

They, they always use to discharge their birding pieces Creep into the kill. Ho, 

Todd Scofield

Where is it? He will seek their just and 

Corinna Christman

goes to them by his note. There is no hiding. You in the house. 

Todd Scofield

I’ll go out then 

Michele Schultz

If you go out in your own semblance, you die. Sir John, unless you go out disguised. 

How might we disguise him? I last the day. I know not there’s no woman’s gown big enough for him. Otherwise he might put on a hat, a muffler and a kers hip and ship. And so escape 

Todd Scofield

The parts devise something any extremity rather than a mischief. 

Corinna Christman

My maid’s aunt, the fat woman of B Brentford has a gown above On my word. It will serve him. She’s as big as he’s, and there’s her thrummed hat and her muffler too. Run up Sir John, Go. Go. Sweet, sir. John mistress Paige and I will look some linen for your head. We’ll come dress you straight. Put on the gown, the gu. I would, my husband would meet him in this shape. He cannot abide the old woman of brentford. He swears she’s a witch. Forbade her my house and half threatened to beat her Heaven. Guide him to thy husband’s cudgel and the devil guide his cudgel afterwards. But is my husband coming? 

I in good sadness is he And talks at the basket too. Howsoever. He has had intelligence. We’ll try that for, I’ll appoint my men to carry the basket again to meet him at the door with it as they did last time. Me. But he’ll be here presently. Let’s go dress him like the witch of brentford. 

I’ll first go direct. I’ll first direct my men what they shall do with a basket. Go up. I’ll bring linen for him. Straight. Hang him. Dishonest Violet. We cannot misuse him enough. We’ll leave a proof by that, which we will do. Wives may be married and yet honest too. 

We do not act that often. Just in laugh his own. But true still. Swine eats all the draft. 

Paul Nicholas

Okay, that was very well. What a very thorough and quick adjustment. Thank you Michelle. Thank you Carina. 

Your thoughts, Gideon watching that, could that work? 

Gideon Rappaport

I think they, 

Paul Nicholas

I wrote down some lines that get in the way, but what do you Think? 

Gideon Rappaport

I think they acted it beautifully and I think it doesn’t work. And the reason, tell me why. 

Paul Nicholas

The reason 

Gideon Rappaport

is ’cause they’ve plotted this second trick and, and it takes away the humor of the double entendres that Mistress Ford is saying because she’s, she, she’s reinforcing everything she says is to make false staff in the other room petrified. And if it’s about Paige, knowing what Ford doesn’t yet know, it changes the drama from that, from, from disjunction between the wives, from fall, from the disjunction with false staff to disjunction between the wife. I think they did it beautifully. And I think it could, it would read. But I think the, I think it’s a shallower kind of humor. 

That’s my impression. I kind of agree with, with with, with Gideon. It was really fun to play it that way. But I think there’s so much more where, where things are just designed to, to scare full stuff out out of his wits. You know? And I, I think it’s kind of funny, you know, it, it is a, there’s a, it it is a bit funny when all of a sudden she kind of said, oh, you know, is he really coming? Oh, that’s, yes he is. You know, and but, but because we’ve been playing this scene, so, so well Oh my God, yes. There really is real danger. But we’ve been having so much fun scaring the bejesus out of full stop. 

Yeah. In other words, it comes on top of, of the intentional fooling false staff rather than Right. As a complete revelation. Right. 

Paul Nicholas

Do you have thoughts, Todd? 

Todd Scofield

No, I mean I really, it it doesn’t really affect what I’m doing. It didn’t, didn’t seem, didn’t really feel like, so whatever you guys think. I don’t Yeah. What 

Paul Nicholas

I meant as an audience member. Do you have thoughts? 

Todd Scofield

Oh no, I mean I wasn’t even thinking about it as an audience member. Sorry. I was just, I mean, I think it could work either way. So, but 

Paul Nicholas

See, I think logically we would have to make too many changes to make it work. But I think it’s funnier when she is being real. 

And we still achieve the goal. The wives still achieve the goal of scaring the bejesus out of fall staff. ’cause he’s hearing her right saying for real. Oh my gosh, here he comes. 

Gideon Rappaport

So you’re locating the drama in Mistress Ford’s discovery rather than in the audience’s pleasure at the, the two levels of hearing what she’s saying hers and fall steps. 

Paul Nicholas

Yes. If if we, if I were to direct it and do it that way, yes. Because we’ve already seen them go, oh, my husband’s coming. Oh no, what are we gonna do? We’ve already seen that one. And if, if this one is, oh my God, your husband’s coming. Your husband’s coming. Oh yeah. What are we gonna do? No, no, no, no. He’s really coming. Oh, it’s so terrible. That I think is a different version of the, of the foolery. 

And I think it adds a layer of comedy. But you know what, we would never know until we actually saw it. We would never know. And then we’d have to make so many adjustments because aren’t, aren’t I right Gideon? Don’t they actually say to the audience, well, not to the audience, but didn’t the audience heard them plot this whole thing about the the maid’s gown 

Gideon Rappaport

Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

Before he got there. 

Gideon Rappaport

Oh, I don’t remember that. Is that true? Like, 

Paul Nicholas

I was looking for it. I don’t, I can’t find it, but I have a feeling that they 

Gideon Rappaport

said It. I don’t think so. I don’t think So. I don’t think it’s on stage that they say that. Yeah, I thinks, I think it’s news. I think it’s news in this scene. 

Paul Nicholas

Okay. So we wouldn’t have to change that. No. 

Gideon Rappaport

If 

Paul Nicholas

we were gonna do it. I’m not saying we’re gonna do it, by the way, I’m saying like, if we were doing a staged production and we were gonna do it that way, we wouldn’t have to worry about, well, wait a minute, how would Mrs. Page know about that plot? Because the audience never heard that plot. 

Gideon Rappaport

But then you have to think about what is false staff hearing when that happens. 

So if, if one of them is bringing news to the other one that’s real, what is false staff here and how much, you know, why isn’t he that? I think it just alters the, the joke of what they’re doing for his sake. And the first scene that we did, the three three, at the end of that, we, we both agree, oh, we’re gonna do this again. We’re gonna, we’re gonna, we’re gonna get him to, to to come back again. And, and, and we’ll, we’re gonna up the ante. And, and this is, I think the what, how that works out. So I think, so it is something that we plan to do. I mean, not necessarily with, with the dress and stuff like that, possibly, but definitely the idea of having him come back again and, and, and, and, and, you know, gulling him again was, was part of the, and humiliating him was part of the, of the plan. And part of the fun of that is that these two women are in cahoots. Like yes, they understand each other. 

Yes, that’s right. We, we, we were definitely, we definitely came up with this plan together. Yeah. One thing I did like about just the, the dynamic was, you know, mistress Page seems so sincere and so real and so Mistress Ford is just like, ’cause they’re, they’re performing for full staff, but they’re also performing for each other ’cause they’re, you know, so she’s like, oh, let’s do, you know, so I liked that dynamic in it. But you could still, You could do that anyway in the sense That yeah, you could still play that anyway. Yeah, You could play it anyway. ’cause Mistress Ford’s an even better actress than, I mean, mistress Page is an even better actress than Mistress Ford. 

Right. So you could be inspired by how, And I, I think it’s possible that you could, there could be a note of uncertainty in the audience while they are fooling false staff. We might be saying, wait, is he really coming or not? And then we are confirmed when she says, no, truly he’s coming. So that may be for the audience’s sake rather than for mistress Ford’s sake, sake. 

Paul Nicholas

And please understand by the way, that all this pushback 

Todd Scofield

I’m, 

Paul Nicholas

I’m doing, I’m not advocating that we do it that way. I just really want to like 

Gideon Rappaport

Explore, discuss. Yeah, Absolutely. 

Paul Nicholas

I think, I think, I think that that what Gideon just said is funnier when the audience is thinking, oh shoot, he’s really coming. And Mrs. Ford thinks that she’s acting, but he is really coming. ’cause by the way, as an audience member, we just saw Ford say, come with me. I’m gonna go to my house and catch him. So we know he is coming as the audience member. And here’s Mrs. Page saying, oh my God, he is coming. And Mrs. Ford thinks that she’s acting and we know that false staff is actually there hiding. I think that whole thing is funnier. But again, it would be, so we’d have to make so many ad adjustments to make it work. There’s certain lines like, let me find my notes there. 

The line, why, what a woman are you? 

That doesn’t make sense. If Mrs. Page is not acting to me, that doesn’t make sense. Yeah. 

Gideon Rappaport

Right. Right. 

Paul Nicholas

Michelle, what would that mean? 

Michele Schultz

Right, right, right. I wouldn’t not acting. 

Paul Nicholas

Yeah. 

Michele Schultz

That that it, it, yeah. I agree. I agree. That has to be, I I wouldn’t be, you know, shaming her for something that we set up. Right, 

Paul Nicholas

Right, right. If you, if you were not acting and she goes, he is here and you go, oh my God, he is here, you, I don’t see that. You would say, why? What a woman are you? 

Michele Schultz

Yeah. And anyway, she wouldn’t say, oh my God, he is your in that way because she wants fall staff to be caught. 

Paul Nicholas

That’s another good point. She does want him to be caught. That’s the other, that’s the other part of it that makes it not work is that she wouldn’t be going, she wouldn’t walk in and go, oh my God, I hope he’s not here because your husband’s coming to kill him. She would be going, I hope he’s here. ’cause your husband’s coming to kill him 

Gideon Rappaport

Because that scares him more. And that’ll keep And That’s exactly what we 

Paul Nicholas

Want. 

Gideon Rappaport

Yeah. Can I give three notes on what I heard this time? Yes. Mistress page line 23. You keep saying of what? Of Eve’s daughters of whatsoever complexion. So, or whatever complexion. So it’s of what complexion. So, So curses all Eve’s daughters of what? Complexion. So That’s it. Line 99 is Mr. Ford. 

Can you give me the longer vow on aisle instead of all Aisle? Okay. I aisle first direct nine minutes. It’s just that it, it’ll read better for the audience. Okay. And then 1 0 7, oh, it’s, it’s 1 0 6. Actually we do not act mistress page. We do not act that often. Justin laughed. I didn’t, I didn’t get the meaning of that from the way you said it this time. Okay. What, what does it mean? 

It means that we may joke about, you know, ha having fun and, and, and you know, maybe cheating. But we, we, we really wouldn’t do anything that, that would impute our honesty. Yeah. And I don’t think it’s just, and laugh about cheating either. It’s about anything. Okay. But just In general, Just the fact that just the fact that we’re lighthearted as opposed to serious and modest Doesn’t mean that we are light morally. Yeah. So we do not act immorally even though we tell jokes and have fun. Yes. Yes. Okay. So, got it. I think you have to bring out the contrast, the, the antithesis between act and just and laugh. 

Yeah. Those people who just laugh don’t necessarily act badly. Understood. Badly. Yes. Good. That’s it. 

Paul Nicholas

Cool. By the way, just to finish up this thing, the other two lines that would be troublesome if we were gonna do it that way. The other one is three of Mr. Ford’s brothers watch the door with pistols. We in the audience know that that’s not true. And she wouldn’t say it if she wasn’t acting. 

And the other one is when fall staff comes out, she says that what make you here? Right. 

Gideon Rappaport

She wouldn’t say that if she was not. 

Paul Nicholas

Yes. 

Corinna Christman

Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

Okay. I think, I think we can go early tonight, but just to shake that, that one out of our brains, let’s just do it again. The the old way. Do we want to do the all of four two or do we just wanna do from Yeah, why don’t we just do all of four two. It’s not that long. What do you think? 

Michele Schultz

Sounds good. 

Paul Nicholas

And, and I won’t stop you. Oh, and I’m gonna blah blah blah. I am going to say Mrs. Ford, just so you know, after ti old, but true still, swine eats all the draft. I’m going to say that stage direction. Mrs. Ford enters with Robert and John who bring the basket. 

Corinna Christman

Okay. And 

Paul Nicholas

Mr. Ford, I’m going to say you that you enter with your entourage or your friends. I find I’ll find a nice way to say it. 

Cool. Here we go. And then we go home. 

We are home. 

Todd Scofield

Mistress Ford, your sorrow has eaten up. My sufferance. I see you are obsequious in your love. And I profess for a quietal to a heirs breath. Not only Mrts Ford in the simple office of love, but in all the accoutrement compliment and ceremony of it. But are you sure of your husband now? 

Corinna Christman

He’s a birding. Sweet sir John. What? Hell Step into the chamber, sir John, Very sweetheart. Who’s at home beside yourself? Why none But my own people Indeed. 

No. Certainly speak louder. Truly. I am so glad you have nobody here. 

Why? Why woman. Your husband is in his old loons again. He so takes on yonder with my husband. So rails against all married mankind. So curses all eve’s daughters of what? Complexion so and so buffets himself on the forehead crying. Peer out, peer out. That any madness I ever yet beheld him but his and patience to this, this his he is in now I am glad the is here. 

Why does he talk of him? Of none but him and swears he was carried out the last time he searched for him in a basket protests to my husband. He is now here and has drawn him in the rest of their company from their sport to make another experiment of his suspicion. 

But I am glad the night is not here. Now he shall see his own foolery. How near is he mistress Paige? Oh, by at street end he’ll be hearing on, Hi, I’m done. Knight here. Why is it you’re utterly shame? And he’s but a dead man. Oh, what a woman. Are you away with him? Away with him? Better shame than murder. Which way should he go? How should I bestow him? Shall I put him into the basket again? 

Todd Scofield

No. I’ll come no more in the basket. May not. I go out air. He come 

Michele Schultz

Ala three of Master Ford’s brothers, watch the door with pistols That nun shall issue out. Otherwise you might slip out away air he came. 

But what make you here? 

Todd Scofield

What shall I do? I’ll creep up into the chimney. 

Corinna Christman

They’re they always used to discharge their birding pieces Creep into the kill hole. 

Todd Scofield

Where is it? 

Corinna Christman

He will seek there on my word neither PEs coffer. Chest trunk. Well vaults. But he has an abstract for the remembrance of such places and goes to them by his notes. There is no hiding. You in the house. 

Todd Scofield

I’ll go out then 

Michele Schultz

If you go out in your own semblance, you die. Sir John, unless you go out disguised. 

How might we disguise him A last the day? I know not there is no woman’s gown big enough for him. Otherwise he might put on a hat, a muffler and aker chip. And so escape 

Todd Scofield

Good hearts. Devise something. Any extremity rather than a mischief. 

Corinna Christman

My maid’s aunt, the fat woman of brentford has a gown above, Oh my word. It will serve him Jesus big as he is. And there’s her th thumb hat. And a month or two run up a John. 

Go. Go. Sweet, sir John mistress Paige and I will look some linen for your head. Quick, quick. We’ll come dress you straight. Put on the gown the wild. I would, my husband would meet him in the shape. 

I cannot abide the old woman of red foot. 

Sorry. I would, my husband would meet him in this, this shape. 

He cannot abide the old woman of Branford. He swears she’s a witch. Forbade her my house. And I threatened to beat her, Have him guide him to thy husband’s kle and the devil guide his cu afterwards. But is my husband coming? 

Oh good. Sadness is he and talks at the basket too. Howsoever. He had had intelligence. We’ll try that. But I’ll appoint my men to carry the basket again to meet him at the door with it as they did last time. Yeah. But he’ll be here presently. Let’s go dress him like the witch of brentford. 

I’ll first direct my men what they shall do with the basket. Go up. I’ll bring linen for him. Straight. 

Hang him. Dishonest Violet. We cannot misuse him enough. 

We’ll leave a proof by that. Which we will do. 

Wives may be married and yet honest too. 

We do not act that often. Est in law. 

Ti old but true still. Swine eats all the draft. 

Paul Nicholas

Mrs. Ford enters with Robert and John and the buck basket 

Corinna Christman

Goers. Take the basket again on your shoulders. Your master is hard. A door. If he bid, you set it down. Obey him quickly. Dispatch, 

Paul Nicholas

Pray. Heaven it be not full of night again. Enter forward and his entourage 

Todd Scofield

Set. Sit down the basket villain come hither. Mistress Ford. Mistress Ford. The honest woman, the modest wife. The virtuous creature that have the jealous fool to her husband. I suspect without pause, mistress do I 

Corinna Christman

Heaven be my witness. You do. If you suspect me in any 

Todd Scofield

Well said brazen face, hold it out. Come forth sir. 

Corinna Christman

Are you not ashamed? Let the clothes alone. 

Todd Scofield

I shall find you a nun. Gotta empty the basket. I say 

Corinna Christman

Why ma’am? Why? 

Todd Scofield

As I am a man. There was one conveyed out of my house yesterday in this basket. Why may not he be there again in my house? I am sure he is. My intelligence is true. My jealousy is reasonable. Fuck me out all the linen. 

Corinna Christman

If you find a man there he shall die. A fleas death. 

Paul Nicholas

Robert and John empty the the basket. 

Todd Scofield

Well he’s not here. I seek four. 

Paul Nicholas

Robert and John refill the basket and carry it off. 

Corinna Christman

What hoe mistress page come you and the old woman down. My husband will come into the chamber. 

Todd Scofield

Old woman. What old woman’s that? 

Corinna Christman

Why it is my maid’s aunt of Brentford, 

Todd Scofield

A witch, a queen, an old cousin named Queen. Have I not forbid her my house? She comes of errands. Does she? We are simple men. We do not know what’s brought to pass under the profession. Fortune telling. She works by charms, by spells, by the figure. And such. Dobby as this is beyond our element. We know nothing. Come down your witch Yag you come down. I say 

Corinna Christman

Good, sweet husband, good gentleman. Let him not strike the old woman. Come Mother Pratt. Come give me your hand 

Todd Scofield

Out. Pratt her out my door. You witch. You rag you baggage. You poke. Have you run out, out, out. I’ll conjure you out. Fortune tell you. Ah, 

Paul Nicholas

Full staff exit. 

Michele Schultz

Are you not ashamed? I think you’d kill the old woman. Nay. He will do it. His goodly credit for you. 

Todd Scofield

Hanger witch. Will you follow? Gentlemen? 

Paul Nicholas

Ford and his entourage exits 

Michele Schultz

Beat him most Yay by the mask that he did not beat him. Most un me. Thoughts? I’ll have the cudgel hallowed and hung all the altar. It has done meritorious service. What? Thank you. May we with foreign to womanhood and the witness of good conscience pursue him with any further revenge. 

The spirit of wantonness is sure scared out of him. If the devil had him not. And be simple with fine and recovery. He’ll never. I think in the way of waste, attempt us again. 

Shall we tell our husbands how we have served him? 

Yes, by all means. If it be but to scrape the figures out of your husband’s brains. If they can find in their hearts the poor on virtuous fact, knight shall be any further afflicted. We too will still be the ministers. 

I warn thou have him publicly shamed and me thinks there would be no period to the Jess. Should he not be publicly shamed, Come to the forge with it, then shape it. I would not have things. Cool. 

Paul Nicholas

Fabulous. Fabulous. 

Gideon Rappaport

Wonderful. 

Paul Nicholas

You got anything Gideon? 

Gideon Rappaport

Yes. I have five notes. Line 32 mistress page. I think it’s protests rather than protests. 

Line 32. Hold on, let me find it. Protests to my husband, he is now here. 

Ah, protest. Okay. Protests to my husband. D is now here. Yeah, I think it Sounds better. It works better. Yes. To the, 

Todd Scofield

it’s that old verb noun. 

Michele Schultz

Rule. 

Todd Scofield

Noun. 

Michele Schultz

Pro protest is a noun. Protest is a verb. Yes. Got it. Line 80. Mistress Ford. 

I don’t know if it was the freezing of your image or something else, but several times you pause after she says Run up Sir John, it takes forever for us to hear you say Go. Go. Sweet Sir John. And I don’t know why I did today, so I’m just calling your attention to that. Okay. It 

Paul Nicholas

was freezing occasionally. So that might have been it. 

Gideon Rappaport

I think it was partly freezing, but it’s happened a couple times when it didn’t freeze. So, okay, line 1 0 5. 

That was beautiful. Wives may be married and yet honest too. We do not act that often. Oh, you’ve got it. You nailed it. Line 1 34, mistress Ford. I wouldn’t hit the me, I would hit suspect. Okay. And dishonesty. Got It. Yep. More in, more interesting. 

’cause all along we’ve been talking about you. So that’s not, it’s not okay for him to suspect other people. That’s not an issue. Right. Right. And then the last 1, 180 5 Ford. So you are not literally saying, I’m gonna engage in magic. 

Todd Scofield

Right. 

Gideon Rappaport

It’s, oh, you’re a conjurer. I’m gonna conjure you. Oh, you’re a fortune teller. I’ll fortune tell you. Right. It’s that tone. So I heard it in the second one, but I didn’t hear it in the first one. 

Todd Scofield

Okay. 

Paul Nicholas

That that was gonna be one of mine. That was gonna be one of mine. That you can violate the pronoun rule for those lines. 

Gideon Rappaport

Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

And the other, the other quick, quickly, Todd, before you say we are simple men, do you mind if we just add the word gentleman so it’s clear you’re talking to your friends? 

Todd Scofield

We are gentlemen, we are simple men. 

Paul Nicholas

Yeah. How you feel. It’s not clear on Zoom. It’s really hard to make it clear that you’re not talking to her. 

Todd Scofield

Okay. How about gentlemen? We are simple or we are simple folk. I’m just not, I just don’t like the gentleman. We are simple men. I 

Paul Nicholas

Don’t like it either. Come up with a better word. My friends, 

Todd Scofield

Gentlemen, my friends, we are simple. No, we do want it to be them and not the women. Gentlemen, we are simple folk. 

Gideon Rappaport

You are not. Think of it for next week we’ll come up with, For middle class. We’re running out of time. 

Paul Nicholas

So we’ll come. 

Todd Scofield

Right. But I still say it. I mean, 

Paul Nicholas

Yeah. 

Gideon Rappaport

Yeah. 

Paul Nicholas

I, I don’t want to cut the men. We are simple men. I like that. Okay. 

Todd Scofield

But a way to, I’ll, I’ll, I mean I can put it in there. 

Paul Nicholas

Figure some, we’ll figure something out. Finally, this is primarily for Michelle, but I want Gideon’s input and everybody’s input. Let us make a decision. If we’re saying kill hole or kill on hole, I have to tell you, I don’t have a preference. I think they both work. 

Gideon Rappaport

I don’t have Preference. I’ve, I’ve been saying kill hole. Yeah, I, I’ve been trying to say kill hole without the n 

Paul Nicholas

You. And that’s your preference. You prefer kill Hole. 

Michele Schultz

That’s, yeah, that’s it. It, it’s fine for me. 

Paul Nicholas

Gideon, you have a preference? 

Gideon Rappaport

No, either way is fine. 

Paul Nicholas

I think either one works. They mean different things, but it works 

Gideon Rappaport

Well. Well one’s a single meaning. One’s a double meaning. Right. 

Paul Nicholas

And the fact that he says where is it so quickly makes it funny. Yes. 

Gideon Rappaport

Whichever one. 

Paul Nicholas

Yeah, because he can’t fit into either one. He doesn’t even know what a keel hole is. And he is saying, where is it? That’s hilarious. 

Gideon Rappaport

Good. 

Paul Nicholas

You guys are awesome. I cannot believe 

Gideon Rappaport

you Are. You’re really, really good. It’s such a pleasure. Thank you. This is so fun. I’m learning so much in the conversations. 

Paul Nicholas

I could do this. If I could get paid to do this for 12 hours a day, I would just to talk about Shakespeare and what the hell we’re saying and what does it mean? I love it. Hmm. Jules, do we have to stop? 

Juls Hoover

I know I kind of, I feel I have this like thing now when I appear I’m like, I feel guilty ’cause I feel like I’m infringing on this amazing experience. 

Like I, I regret coming in here now, but it’s an amazing you no 

Gideon Rappaport

I’ll absolve. It’s 

Juls Hoover

amazing To hear you guys. It’s amazing to hear just the exploration of the text and thinking about these words that you know would go, would fall to the wayside otherwise, you know, 

Paul Nicholas

And it’s so much better. As Gideon has said several times, it is so much easier to perform. Yes. When you know exactly the minute detail of every word and every punctuation mark and then know exactly what you’re saying. 

Gideon Rappaport

Bravo. 

Juls Hoover

Hmm. Beautifully said. With that, thank you everyone. And next week is our final week. Very exciting. It’s amazing how September has flown by. 

Looking forward to it. Make sure to like and subscribe to the rehearsal room and we will see you all next week for the final performance. But again, just a reminder, this is always a work in progress. So this is the rehearsal room and we’re constantly exploring. 

Thanks guys 

Paul Nicholas

So much. 

Gideon Rappaport

Thanks Jules. Thanks everybody. Thank you everybody. 

Todd Scofield

Be next week. 

Michele Schultz

Much fun. 

Juls Hoover

Next week.