Final Session – Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” – Hermione’s arrest and defense at trial – The Rehearsal Room [Video, Audio, and Transcript versions]

Nathan
So thank you everybody for, for joining us and thank you to the artists for being here. It’s been another great month, and yes, they’ve been working on the Interest Tale.

I’ll do a quick little brief intro and spiel for anyone that’s, that’s new here. My name is Nathan Agan, and welcome to the Working Actors Journey Rehearsal Room. We started this project in June, 2020, and it came out of conversations of what artists could do with all that time during the pandemic. And fortunately we’ve been able to continue since then.

And so what you’ll see tonight is not meant to be a final performance. These artists have been working over the past month on a couple of scenes, and it just gives them an opportunity to really dive deeply and explore these in a way that very often, even in professional productions, professional work, you don’t get this kind of rehearsal time and, and a collaborative opportunity. So this is just a continued work in progress. This is just the next step and a little bit more about the rehearsal room. It’s an opportunity for artists of different generations and backgrounds to collaborate to, to learn from one another. And if I may be so, you know, philosophical, kind of to continue the lineage of, of honing this craft by doing it’s, it, it continues the great theatrical history of apprenticeship where newer and younger artists get to see closeup, how pros who’ve been doing it for 40 plus years, how they work, the questions to ask the, you know, how to explore a text, how to communicate, how to take direction, all these things that are part of the job that no matter how the technology changes the landscape, these things are always a part of the work.

So it’s been exciting to, to do that. And in this, in this medium, we can explore different kinds of casting where we’re being more conscious of gender and age and race than some theaters in-person. Theaters feel like they can be sometimes. And one of the great things about this is we can bring together artists from all over the place. Sometimes it’s people that haven’t worked together for 20 years or have never worked together, but they knew of each other. So it’s, it’s a really wonderful, it’s been really wonderful to, to, to run this and, and bring so many different people together. And if, if this is just your first time exploring this, we do have a Patreon where you can join and get all the replays of all the sessions starting just $5 per month.

I would like to thank a few of our patrons right now. We have Michelle Christian, Jim Magdalene, evar, Frank, and Claudia, thank you so much for supporting, you know, some of the, the costs to, to keep this running.

And in October, we’re gonna be doing weekly sessions of a scene from the Scottish play with actually Paul who’s here tonight. Paul will be directing and you can sign up to receive both video and audio replays. And those will typically be available on the Wednesday, the first four Wednesdays of the month. So, and that’s about everything I I wanna say about in general. If you have any questions as we’re going tonight, you’re on the call, please feel free to drop those in the chat. Or if you’re feeling so brave when we do the q and a towards the end, you can come on the mic and ask questions that way.

I’ve asked the artist to do some quick intros and our dramaturg Gideon to give you a little bit more of a context of where we are in the play in case you’re not super familiar with the beginning of the Winter’s sale or, or the play as a whole. So I think that’s all the work, all the stuff you need to hear from me, and I’ll come back towards the end, but I’ll turn it over to our director, Jeffrey Wade, and we will, we’ll go from there. But again, thank you so much for being here, and hope you have a great evening, enjoying the rehearsal session.

Geoffrey
Hi everyone, I’m Geoffrey Wade. This, I think this is the fourth one of these I’ve done. They’re really great. It’s like a luxurious four week table work where you, but really, and I say luxurious because you get to spend more time and get, delve more in depth than you would ordinarily. We, it’s definitely not a, a final performance. You’re probably gonna, I think we’re gonna get through it three times tonight this evening. I ha I have a couple of ideas I want to work with first, and then we’ll probably do a final thing. So it’s very much just another one of our sessions.

I’ve, I’ve known Nathan A. Long time.

He was at the Antis Academy when I was teaching there.

We’ve done some shows together and I think this is a great, this is a, a great, one of the, one of the many, many good things that came out of the lockdown and the pandemic. So I am going to turn it over to Shannon Lee Claire, who’s near me on the, on my Zoom picture and let you all introduce yourselves.

Shannon
Hello, I am Shannon Lee Claire. I know Jeffrey from doing The Crucible. And I, I forget we might’ve known each other before that at ints. I think I saw the performances of one of the classes that you did for classical styles that you taught.

And I am in la I grew up here.

I do a lot of things.

So yes, last night I read my first poem aloud at a poetry lounge. So that was fun. I have never presented my poetry before, so, all right, I will pass it on to Chris, who is next to me on this.

Christopher
Hi, I’m Christopher Gillnet. I I, I’m in Buffalo, New York now, but I used to live in LA and when I was there, I was in the N T S Academy and then moved into becoming a company member and worked with Jeffrey on stage. He replaced an actor in a show we were doing, and then also directed me in The Crucible where I got to work with Shannon. And I actually directed Shannon in a show at n t s.

Shannon
True too.

Christopher
Yeah. And it is very exciting to work. I love, one of the things I loved about n t s was just doing the table work, getting sitting around the table and reading plays and talking about them and picking out words. And so it’s really, it’s really lovely to, to have an opportunity to, to have a little slice of that. Again, I can’t pass it in either direction because I’m working off of my phone and, but, but I know Paul is here, so I will pass to Paul.

Paul
Thank you, Chris. Chris and Shannon did not say who they were playing, so I’m not sure I’m still playing antagonists. I may be in this scene.

My name is Paul Nicholas. I’m based in Philadelphia. I happen to be in New York City tonight.

I I, I, I’m here because I know Nathan from one of the previous iterations of this that we did, but I also happened to know Jeffrey. We were on tour with a show for 13 months and spent a lot of time together and got to know each other very well. And, and he still wanted to work with me, which is weird.

So I think the last person to be introduced who will probably kick off the dramaturg section of this introduction is Mr. Gideon Rappaport. Dr. Gideon Rappaport, I should say.

Gideon
Yeah. Thank you. So I wanna say hi to Courtney and I wanna say hi to Liz Swain. Thank you for joining us. Hi.

I’m not gonna talk about myself very much. I taught Shakespeare for a very long time, and I worked as a dramaturge in Shakespeare Productions. I’ve done the most number of plays I’ve done with one director is with Courtney Flanagan, whose name you see on the screen at the Bishop School.

My job is to introduce the play tonight. So I will say a few words about it, and that is that it’s a late play. It’s a late comedy, sometimes called a tragic comedy, one of Shakespeare’s four last group of plays just before the Tempest. It’s in a sense, a reexamination of the Othello problem, which is jealousy. But instead of introducing a character who is a demonic embodiment of jealousy and seduces Othello into jealousy, the jealousy in this play happens instantaneously after everybody is happy, jolly joyful and and perfectly in harmony. Suddenly, Leon’s is attacked by jealousy,

and my image of it is that he drops this pebble into a pond and the the waves of it just keeps spreading and spreading and spreading until finally, it, it’s, he’s accused everybody at the court and ultimately the gods. And the minute he does that, something terrible happens and the whole thing changes.

It’s, it’s one of those characteristics of those last tragic comedies is that there’s a kind of redemptive team going on. And so by the end of the play, things turn around, takes 14 years, and Shakespeare’s very daring about that, and he’s very daring in the last scene. But we won’t go into all that. We just need to know that when Leon comes into this scene, he is already in his state of jealousy. And he, he is beginning this process of accusing wider and wider groups of people until the climax of the play, which happens after our scenes. The, the main interest here is in the people who are trying to break him out of this madness of jealousy and trying everything they can think of to succeed at that.

And we’ll see what happens. That’s it. Back to Jeff.

Geoffrey
Great, thank you. Thank you so much. And now I saw there were people here, so nice to meet you all or, and have you here, Liz. Great.

Let’s get started then. As I, as I may have said, you may have heard me in my little preface there. I think I’d like to try to get through this three times today. The first time through. I had an idea, I’ve never done this one before, but I thought it’d be fun to try, which is to have you go through and para you. Everyone knows what’s going on now. We, I think we’ve solved all of our questions, whether or not sometimes we can remember some of these naughtier phrases. We’ll, we’ll, we’ll see. But I think we’ve solved questions like that. We know what’s going on. You guys know what’s going on. I thought it’d be fun to try going through, completely free to paraphrase, just paraphrase the whole thing.

It means you’re gonna be a little more in your script than certainly you were yesterday than last time. But that’s, that’s why we did. So we did it last time.

So that, for example, my first Lord scene would be something along the lines of, I, I saw them behind that tuft of trees. And I never saw men scurry like that before. I, I watched them all the way to the ships. It’s, I, I’m not bothered about the meter or scansion or anything. It’s just a way to kind of free and easily make perfect sense of this to yourself as you go through. If, if you happen to find that what’s actually written on the page is working better than anything you can come up with, great. That, you know, you don’t, this isn’t an improv class or it’s not a test, it’s just to take a slightly different look at it.

Slightly more free and easy. Along those lines, I want to encourage each of you in this right from this time, let’s not warm up to things to go a a little further with all these wonderful character choices you’ve been making. So Chris, we’ll start with you. Perhaps you can use your more contemporary language to really plumb those depths about that horrible jealousy, that thing that’s gnawing away at you. That, that thing, we’ve all e experienced this kind of uncontrollable, nasty worm-like rage that’s going on.

Feel free to get as to go as far out on that limb as you’d like.

Paul, similarly with you, you were finding some really great stuff with antagonists last week. If, if his, again, you know, let the language free you, I’m not trying to make this an obligation. The idea of using this language is to free you to go as perhaps a little too far in that character. You were finding the one who, who is, you know, willing to mutilate his daughters to disown them to do really, really horrible things because of how important this threat to the state in general and to him personally is or are. And Shannon, same with you.

Always. I think, you know, a little a trap with Hermione is making her too calm and pulled together perhaps because, you know, she famously says, I’m not, I’m not gonna cry and don’t let that turn you against me. And, and she does. She has this wonderful, calm presence. Let’s see how much of that battle between what you talk about the, the what, whatever it is, the fire I have inside me. The rage is so intense that it’s drowning. It’s putting out the tears. It’s not that I can’t cry, it’s like I got this blowtorch of e questioning bafflement. I’m trying to avoid the, the word anger as always. I’ve got this blowtorch going on and that’s what’s putting out the tears.

It’s not that I don’t have tears, right? So that, that conflict, the more that that plays out, the better. And if it gets, and if this time through it gets the better of you and the tears come up, fine, fine. Right? There’s no obligation to do anything the way you think it should be done or the way we’ve done it in the past. And the one last thing I want to do is when we get to the beginning of each of our beats or the sections in the scene that, that we mapped out and gave names to, I’m just gonna say them out loud.

For those of you who are watching, we, I went through and broke up the scene into sections about a page long, whatever that amounts to usually, I don’t know, 35 lines or so, depends. Sometimes they’re short, sometimes they’re longer.

And try to give a name to each of those sections so that we all know kind of what’s going on in the, in that little bit.

Now different characters will have different approaches to that, or they might be more active than reactive and it might switch over the other time. But I do try to give a name to each of these. So we’re just gonna remind ourselves of that as we go through. Alright, everybody cool? Everybody good know what’s going on?

Paul, can you up your mic a little bit? It seems a little low. It.

Paul
Was muted.

Geoffrey
Yeah, but even when, even when you were talking, can, can you give us a.

Paul
How’s that?

Geoffrey
Just say, say something a little more than that.

Paul
This is my microphone that I’m testing. That’s.

Geoffrey
Better. That’s better. Thank you. Lemme.

Paul
See if I can up it some more.

Is that better?

Geoffrey
Yeah.

Paul
Okay.

Geoffrey
Great. So let’s start, I call this first section affirming the truth.

Christopher
Was he met there and his people and, and Camillo too. Yeah.

Geoffrey
Behind the tufts of trees. I saw them never, I I’ve never seen men so skittish as they went along, I watched them all the way to the ships.

Christopher
Hmm. Well how, how, how lucky can I be in what I think? In what I know?

Ah, only I knew less.

It’s how a cursed in being so blessed. You know, there may be in your drink spider and you can drink and leave and you don’t think anything of it because you don’t know it’s there. But if someone shows you it’s there and, and you see it, and then after you’ve drunk, you wretch and puke.

’cause I’ve drunk and seen the spider. Camillo helped him.

The, there’s a plot against my, my life and my, my crown and everything you can’t believe is true.

That liar, who I employed, was employed by the other guy. And, and he figured it out. And so now I’m a, a squeezed, I’m a I’m, I’m a toy for them to play with. Like, how, how did the gate get So, get opened so quickly.

Geoffrey
By his command. I mean, he has the authority to do it. Whi which yeah. Has, it’s happened no less than time because of what you said.

Christopher
I, I, I know that Joel, well, gimme the boy. You know, I’m glad you didn’t nurse him. I mean, look, he looks a little bit like me. There’s way too much of you and him.

Shannon
Are you teasing?

Christopher
Say, get the boy out of here. He shall not go anywhere near her away with him and let her play with that thing inside her because it’s ese who knocked you up.

Geoffrey
Hang on one second. This next section we call fighting for the truth. As I see it go on.

Shannon
I would declare that that is not true. And I would expect you to believe me. However strange you seem.

Christopher
You my lords look at her like, really look at her, right? And write as you’re gonna say. Well, I mean, she’s a, she’s a good woman and, and your hearts know, but will add, what’s a shame? She’s a liar.

Has no honor. But, you know, praise her for how pretty and upright she is.

Which I mean, I know she is, but that doubt that, Hmm. That, ah, I don’t know, right? That tho those, those things that, that slander slip in and Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. Mercy slips that in slander will burn virtue.

But like, those, those, hmm. Those, I don’t know that, Hmm. Right. When you have said she’s great, they’ll come between that, that goofed up.

It’s hard to paraphrase this when you said she’s goodly comes between before you can say she’s honest.

But let everyone know from the guy, at most concerns, he’s an adulterous.

Shannon
If a villain said that the worst villain in the entire world, he would be that much more a villain. You my lord do. But mistake.

Christopher
No, you have mistaken me for publicies. You.

You’re a i I can’t even say what you are, you know, unless the, the, the world fall apart. And there’s no difference between who’s high and who’s low.

I’ve said she’s an adulterer and I’ve said with whom? And she’s a traitor with Camillo who helped her and knows what she’s done. Ugh. And, and, and, and the the biggest thing, she’s a cheater and she’s the worst cheater. Whores couldn’t give her a worse name anyway. And she knows how they left.

Shannon
I know none of this, this will make you so grief filled when you come to clearer knowledge that you have told everyone this, my Lord, you scarce can do right by me than to tell them you made a mistake.

Christopher
N no, no. If I’ve made a mistake in these ideas that I have, then the center’s not big enough for a i a toy.

Get her out of here to prison. And anyone who speaks up for her is just as guilty as she is.

Shannon
There is something wrong in this moment and I will wait it out until there is something right.

My lords I am not prone to crying as many women are. So perhaps you will find it difficult to pity me, but I have that honorable agony here, which hurts worse than tears. I beseech you all.

Judge me with your charity.

Let your charity lead you.

So let the kings order be carried out.

Christopher
Is anyone gonna listen to me?

Shannon
Who can come with me? My women can come with me. ’cause you see, my, my state requires that, oh, do not weep. There’s no reason. Weep for me when you know that I deserve to be in prison, then weep. When I come out for this action, I go on now.

This is to cleanse me of a wrong, I have not done goodbye. My Lord.

I never wished to see you full of regret. But I trust I will. Now my women come. You have my permission.

Christopher
Go and do what I told you to do. Get out.

Geoffrey
Your highness. Call the queen back.

Paul
Sir. Be certain of what you do in case the punishment that you have handed out turns out to be abuse, abuse against three people of high ranking you, your queen, your son, the prince y.

Geoffrey
You know, for her, for her I’d, I’d lay my life down. And, and, and I’ll do it. I’ll do it. If you accept it, I’ll lay my life down that the queen is perfectly innocent in the eyes of heaven. I mean, she’s innocent of this that you accuse her of.

Paul
If I find out she is other than that, I will lash myself to her. I wouldn’t, I will not trust her farther than I can see her or touch her.

For every woman in the world, every inch of woman, every piece of woman in the world is false. If she is false, shut.

Christopher
Up. Both of you.

Geoffrey
Cut. But cut my Lord, please.

Paul
We’re speaking for you on your behalf. Not for for ourselves. You’ve been somehow lied to or tricked by somebody, some sort of like trickster that’s gonna go to hell for it. Man, I wish I knew him. If I knew that trickster, I would. Oh, I would curse his, curse him right here on earth. If she, if her honor has any flaw to it. Listen, I have three daughters. The oldest one is 11, the others are about th nine and five.

If it, if it’s true that she is dishonest, my daughters are gonna pay the price for it. I swear to you, I’ll,

I will. Can you geld a woman?

I don’t know. But I would cut out their ovaries. That’s what I would do.

They would not live to see 14 because I would not want them to bring more women into this world because Stop.

Christopher
Stop enough. God, you guys can smell a plot as well as a dead man. But yeah, I can see what’s going on. I can hear what’s going on as easily as you would feel it if I smacked you upside the head and you looked at my hand.

Paul
Listen, if that’s true, then we don’t have to bury, kill and bury honesty because it’s already gone. There’s none of it. None of it across the whole wide world.

Christopher
You, you can’t take my word.

Geoffrey
Yeah, I, I wish I could take your word, my Lord. Right on. You know, right here. And, and nothing would contend, nothing would make me happier to have her honor True. Her honesty, her virtue. True rather than your suspicion. I I don’t care how much you’re blamed for it.

Christopher
Why do I need to talk to you about this instead of follow my own instincts? I, I, my, my, I’m the king. I don’t need your counsel.

My being the king lets me do this and you stupid or looking stupid because you can’t see what’s going on.

I you won’t see the truth. You won’t inform yourself. I don’t need to take your advice. Everything about this what I lose, what I get, how it works out. It’s all on me.

Paul
And I Yes. And I wish my king that you had thought about this more before, before saying what you said out loud.

Christopher
And how could I do that? But either, either you’re stupid ’cause you’re old or you were born stupid.

Camilla left there. They’re be noodling, which just looking at it is enough to think it happens. It’s like everything else.

That’s how I know, that’s why I’m doing this.

But

to be for a second opinion. Because to arrest the queen, something this’s important, probably shouldn’t go off half-cocked. I have sent some messengers to Del Foss, to Apollo’s Temple Ese and Dion, who, who you know, are good enough.

And from the oracle, they will bring a proclamation and some counsel and whatever the oracle says, I’ll do good enough.

Geoffrey
Good enough, my Lord.

Christopher
And I know what’s going on and I don’t need anymore. But what the oracle says, we’ll put everyone else, give them peace of mind.

Especially those idiots who can’t see what’s actually going on. But we thought it good as king that she should go to prison. So that’s the plot that they were, I can’t think of the word conspiracy. Conniving. They were hatching. She can’t do. So come with me.

We have to announce this to the people. And the kingdom will be better off by it.

Paul
Kingdom will be a laughing stock the way I see it, if everybody finds out the truth.

Geoffrey
Nice one. Guys. That was harder than it looked.

Paul
It was hard. It was fun though. It.

Geoffrey
Was, yeah. Good, good. Once. I know it was really hard for Leonis, but God, here goes my voice again.

Th there there were some really wonderful passages. It was great. Where, where you really got on a roll. I I only have one small thing I want to say too.

And I also realized I forgot to after the first couple, I, I forgot to mention all the sections that we had set out. So, but it was going so well, they didn’t want to interrupt. I’ll put it that way, Chris. I just wanna make sure that early on when you say just pity she’s not honest. That that means in a, in a sexual way, not honest in a business kind of way.

That words used several times. I hear you. Pardon?

Christopher
I hear you. Yeah.

Geoffrey
Okay, good. I.

Christopher
Wasn’t, I wasn’t taking honest as specifically as that. I was taking it as more of a, her global honesty is in question, but I see, I see what you’re saying about her.

Geoffrey
Yeah. It, it ha it really has to be that it, ’cause we’re going from honesty to adulterous antagonists talks about honesty. It it’s, it’s a, it’s apl place placeholder. Not necessarily for virginity. ’cause obviously she’s not a virgin, but you know, that virtuous sense, you know, and and word is chastity. Chastity, you know, the, the old, the old joke is, you know, you know, you marry someone in those days, they’d say you married to make an honest woman of her. Because when she’s honest, then she’s having sex within marriage. And it’s, that’s okay. So that, that’s, that’s a long thing. But it’s not a global thing. It’s very specific.

I mean it’s anatomically specific. Yeah. And, and honestly, the more you know, this is, this is part of the fun, as I’m sure you all know of being an actor, is you get to at least think things and sometimes act out. But you get to, I imaginatively go places that are forbidden in, in our everyday life where civilization has moderated in us. It’s not that it’s not there, it’s just we, we deal with it in certain ways. And, and the, that, that brittle veneer of civilization has, has sort of broken around leonis. It’s, it’s cracked. And the, the more you rummage around in imagery that you, that you Chris, find difficult to deal with, the better. I mean, he’s, he is tortured by those visions that, that, I don’t know, come up. I know you walk in and, and your, your partners with someone else, you know, it’s, it’s like a knife and, and it keeps, it keeps coming back in your head. And it doesn’t need, it doesn’t have to be that it’s, you know, it can be, you know, I don’t wanna get too methody about it, but any, any betrayal, those, those things that keep you up in the middle of the night and think, you know, why’d they do that? Why didn’t I get that job? Why didn’t I, why didn’t I get that? I deserve it. All those things. We, we, we get this kind of wonderful license to explore that un unpleasant side of ourselves. So keep going. There. You, you are going there.

Go further. Good. Anybody else? Anybody have any observations? Anything they wanna say about that?

Gideon
I just wanna say that I realize the value of the exercise and I’m thanking God for Shakespeare’s verse.

Geoffrey
It, it, yeah. You know, it’s, it’s a real lesson in how powerful it is. You know, when when you’re you, he, he gives you those images to work with and to think about and Yeah.

Christopher
Yeah. I was just say it’s

when I’m working on the text, I try really like it, I try really hard to, lemme back up a, that as a young actor approaching classical text, I would sort of superimpose what I thought the word meant on top of the word when I was performing it, rather than to make the word I’m actually saying have that meaning. It sounds like a little subtle distinction, but it, it, like in my head it’s not because.

Geoffrey
You don’t, it’s very good.

Christopher
And you know, you don’t have that, it, it makes the word sound hollow if you’re saying one thing, but thinking the, the other thing. So very good to undo that.

And to go back to.

Geoffrey
I’m sorry.

Christopher
Some of it was really hard to do.

Geoffrey
I drove you back.

Christopher
It was like, oh, I know what this means, but I’ve forgotten how to say it in, in modern English.

Geoffrey
That’s a very good thing. That’s a, that’s a very good thing. And, and I I I, you’ve got absolutely right. I you, you don’t need to translate it because the word has become the word. Maybe that’s why that one, that one thing that stuck out was honesty.

You muted yourself.

Gideon
You muted yourself.

Geoffrey
I muted myself. I gotta stop using my hands so much. Yeah. Just that, that’s very interesting. And, and absolutely right. I mean, that’s a great process where you, you know, you’ve reached a point where there is no other word. I don’t need to substitute a word because that is the correct word.

So I, I appreciate you. Everyone’s making the effort. It was.

Gideon
I i I just wanna support that. I, my motto is, if if you want the audience to mean their applause, you have to mean what you’re saying. And my sense of your struggle was that you were more struggling to come up with the prose version of Shakespeare then you were struggling to be leone’s worrying about her mind. Yeah.

Christopher
Yeah.

Gideon
So, so your, your image of the superimposed meaning versus the reading, the meaning out of the word itself is profound and great. Yeah. And if we could, if we could send that message to every actor of Shakespeare, the level would go up astronomically.

Geoffrey
Very good. Anybody else? Otherwise, we’ll move on to this, this next thing that I wanna try, which is to do our.

Gideon
In Spanish this time.

Geoffrey
In Spanish. No, I was thinking Italian. The, the famous Italian rehearsal, which I assume everybody knows what we’re talking about.

Christopher
Before you, before you move on. Did you, did you want to do that same exercise with the second scene?

Geoffrey
Oh yes, of course. Thank you. I knew there was, I knew I’d forgotten something. Yeah, I kind of would like to do it.

Shannon
Okay, now I get all the talking.

Geoffrey
All the talking.

Shannon
Or a bunch of it.

Christopher
Yeah, either, either you’re welcome or I’m sorry Shannon. We’ll find out.

Geoffrey
And again, I mean Chris, Chris has come up with a, a, a profundity that, you know, maybe, maybe the best one of the whole four weeks. So bravo on that.

And, and as, as I did say at the beginning, if you find that it’s easier and it makes sense to do exactly what’s written there, exactly what’s, what Shakespeare gives you, that’s fine too. It’s, it’s a bit of Spanglish. I don’t know if you can say that anymore, but you know, the the wonderful thing you used to hear on the subway in New York where, you know, a person be talking in Spanish and then they’d use the, the words in English that were the, they took like the best words in each language to, to say what they’re saying, which I think is a fantastic, a fantastic kind of language. So let’s, let’s have a go at this again.

See what you can get out of it. No, it’s not a test and, or, or a contest. So, and I, and I won’t even try to, to, to, to name the beats that we’re going through. So carry on.

Shannon
I think you have the first line of the scene.

Geoffrey
Yeah, Chris, but.

Christopher
For God’s sake I hear, I am waiting for you.

Geoffrey
It’s good. It was a moment tension. So good. Shake your shoulders out. Start from my narrow yet.

Christopher
Y yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey, gimme a second.

You know what, you know what this exercise is doing for me? It’s making me realize that I haven’t, this, this line is still, I’m kind of skating on the top of the line top. ’cause as I’m looking at it, like, how do I say that and how do I paraphrase that and I’m.

Geoffrey
Give it a go. And if it takes you, you know Yeah. Twice as many words to say it’s, you know, just, just have a go at it. Or indeed use the words that are written there if you think that’s clearer.

Christopher
I have,

I’ve never known anyone who did what you’ve done to worry about lying about it because you could do it in the first place.

Shannon
That’s true. But that, that’s not a saying from me.

Christopher
But you won’t own up to it.

Shannon
I won’t own up to more than my own faults for Publicis who I’m accused with. I will confess that I loved him honorably with the kind of love you asked of me with exactly the love that you wanted me to give him, and that he deserved from a lady like me.

You told me. And I would not disobey you or be ungracious to you and to your friend who loved you from the very moment he could possibly speak those words.

He told you that he loved you. And as for this conspiracy, I don’t know how conspiracy tastes, even if someone put it in front of me for me to try.

The only thing I know is that Camilla was an honest man and why he left your court. Even the gods, if they know no more than I are ignorant.

Christopher
You knew he left. And you know what you’ve done in the conspiracy while he’s been gone.

Shannon
Sir, you speak in a language that I do not understand in my life, which I will lay down for you is the target of your dreams.

Christopher
So wait, what you’ve done, I dreamt you had a bastard with pulis, and I dreamed that you, you are, you are the worst.

And everyone who’s done what you’ve done is as bad as you. You, you, you’re, you’re, you’re past you, you, you couldn’t tell the truth.

You, you, you, you couldn’t tell the truth to save your life.

And just like that bastard that I’ve kicked out, which I mean it doesn’t have a father now, and that’s way more your fault than it’s, you are going to feel our justice.

And the best that you can hope for is to die.

Shannon
Oh, well, don’t bother to threaten me with that. If you threaten me with that, what if you threaten me with something that I, I seek. What is life to me?

The, the center of my comfort and my love, your love I find is gone. I know not how My second joy, the first thing that came out of my body, I am told I cannot see as if, as if I’m infectious. My third comfort start, most unluckily cursed from the moment it came out of my body pulled from me to murder.

On every post I am proclaimed an adulterous, a whore, a trumpet.

I am pulled out here from my child that the thing that all women, no matter their station, are granted. And I am hurried into this courtroom before I even have strength to stand here.

So my Lord tell me why I should fear to die, get on with it, but hear this and I’m not speaking for my life. I’m speaking for my honor, which I would preserve if I am condemned on these accusations that are based on no proof and only your jealousies. Then I tell you this is tyranny and not justice.

So all of you honors,

I refer you to the oracle Apollo will be my judge.

Geoffrey
Very nice, very nice and deep. Again, any questions, comments?

Am I muted? No, no. We just have nothing to say.

I found it so interesting. I I don’t really take notes. Also, it didn’t really pertain to notetaking, but Chris, your first, the, the, the very first thing you were wrestling with, you know, I, I don’t really know what’s going on here. I thought it was perfect. It was a perfect start. It made, it made total sense to me

and so good.

Right Then let’s, let’s try a, an Italian run through.

And I just wanna, once again, it’ll, it’ll be hard not to stay in your scripts, but we’re, we’re gonna do this at least a third time and there’ll be much more opportunity to interact with each other as much as is possible. Zoom.

And lemme just say this about these kind of Italian run throughs. The idea is to go through as quickly as possible, but somehow still maintaining the acting, right? The intentions are still there. They gotta be ramped, amped up a little bit.

The, the pauses and switches we found, I mean those in particular, there’s a couple of missing feet lines I think around give me the boy and stuff like that. Those, those little pauses. I’m, you know, take ’em. But instead of three beats, it’s one beat. Just so that you have that moment to refocus your mind. It, Italian rehearsals I often find frustrating frankly, because if, if people are just zooming through by rote it, it doesn’t really accomplish its task. It it, we we’re trying to get through as quickly and trippingly on the tongue as possible. But your intentions are still there. They actually have to be more focused. Okay, everybody clear what we’re looking for here? Yes.

Good.

Let me just adjust my script so I can

get ready for you. Alright then everybody just kinda do a little seat dance here.

Zoom how I don’t miss you. And Chris, whenever you’re ready.

Christopher
Was he met there is train Camilla with him.

Geoffrey
Behind the tuft of pines. I met them. Never saw a men scour. So on their way, I eye them even to their ships.

Christopher
Blessed am I in my just censure in my true opinion for lack, for lesser knowledge. How cursed in being so blessed? There may be a cop, there may be in the cup of spider steeped and when we drink depart and yet particular no venom for his knowledge is not infected. But if one present the abhorred ingredient to his eye, make known how he has drunk, he cracks his gorgeous sides with violent hefts. I have drunk and seen the spider. Camillo was his helping this his pander. There’s a plot against my life, my crown. All true. That is mistrusted. That false villain who I employed was pre employed by him.

He’s discovered by design and I remain a pitch thing. He had a very trick for them to play at will. How can the posts so easily opened.

Geoffrey
By his great authority, which often half no less prevailed and so on your command.

Christopher
I know it’s too well gimme the boy. I’m glad you did not nurse him though. He does bear some signs of me, yet you have too much blood in him is.

Shannon
This sport.

Christopher
Bear the boy hands, so shall not come about her away with him and let her s support herself with that. She’s big with Princess Es has made the swell thus.

Shannon
But I’d say he had not. And I’ll be sworn you would believe my saying. How are you lean to the ward?

Christopher
You my Lord, look on her. Mark her well, but be about to say she’s a goodly lady in the justice of your hearts. Well thereto add to pity. She’s not honest, honorable, praise her. But for this or out outdoor out, praise her. But for this or outdoor form, which on my faith deserves high speech and straight the shrug, the, hmm, the ha. These petty brands that count Duse. No, I am out that mercy does for county will see her virtue itself. These shrugs, these HMS and Haws. When you have said she’s goodly, come between here, you can say she’s honest, but be it known from him that has most cause to grieve.

It should be she’s an adulterous.

Shannon
The villains say so the most replenished villain in the world, he were as much more villain. You my Lord do. But mistake.

Christopher
You have mistook my lady ese ese for the aunties of that thing, which I’m not call a creature of my place, just barbarism making me the precedent. Should a like language used to all degrees and manly distinguishment leave out betws the prince and beggar. I have said she’s an adulterous. I have said With whom? More She’s a traitor. And Camilla was a ary with her and one that knows what she would shame to know herself. But with her most vile principle that she’s a bed swer. Even as bad as those that vulgar give both titles, I am privy to this. Their late escape.

Shannon
No, by my life privy to none of this. How this will grieve you. How this will, how will this grieve you? When you shall come to clearer knowledge that you thus have published me. Gentle my Lord. Your scarce can write me throughly then to say you did mistake.

Christopher
No. If I mistake in those foundations, which I have built upon the center is not big enough to hold, to bear a schoolboy top away with her to prison. He who shall speak for her is a far off guilty. But that he speaks.

Shannon
There’s some ill planet reigns. I must be patient till the heavens look with an aspect more favorable. Good. My lords I am not prone to weeping as our sex commonly are the want of which vain you per chance shall dry your pities. But I have that honorable grief lodged here, which burns worse than tears, drown beseech you all my lords with thought so qualified as your charities shall best instruct you, measure me and so the kings will be performed.

Christopher
Shall I be heard?

Shannon
Who is that goes with me. Beit your highness. My women may be with me for you see, my flight requires it. Do not weep good fools. There is no cause. When you shall know your mistress has deserved prison, then abound in tears. As I come out, the action I now go on is for my better grace ado my Lord. I never wished to see you. Sorry. Now I trust I shall my women come. You have leave.

Christopher
Go do our bidding. Hence.

Geoffrey
Be seat your highness. Call the queen again. Be.

Paul
Certain what you do, sir Lester justice. Prove violence in the which three great ones suffer yourself, your queen, your son her.

Geoffrey
My Lord I dare my life. Lay down and we’ll do it. Sir, please you to accept it that the queen is spotless of the eyes of heaven to and to you. I mean in this which you accuse her.

Paul
If it proves she also she’s otherwise I’ll keep my stables where I lodge my wife. I’ll go in couples with her. Then when I feel and see her, no father trust her. For every inch of woman in the world, I every Dr of woman’s flesh is false. If she be.

Christopher
Hold your pieces.

Geoffrey
Good, my Lord.

Paul
It is for you. We speak not for ourselves. You are abused. And by some put her on that will be damned for it. Would I knew the villain I would land damn him be she on flawed. I have three daughters. The el citizen is 11, the second and the third nine and some five. If this proved true, they’ll pay for it by mine honor. I’ll gel them all. 14. They shall not see to bring false generations. They are co-heirs and I had rather glib myself than they should not prove then they should not produce fair issue.

Christopher
These no more. You smell this business with a sense as cold as a dead man’s nose. But I do see it and feel it as you feel doing thus and see with all the instrument that feels.

Paul
If it be so. We need no grave to bury honesty. There’s not a grain of it. The face to sweeten of the whole dungee earth.

Christopher
What lack of credit.

Geoffrey
I had rather you did lack than my Lord upon this ground and more it would content me to have her honor true than your suspicion. Be blamed for it. How you might.

Christopher
Why what need we commune with you in this, but rather follow our forceful instigation. Our prerogative calls not your councils, but our natural goodness imparts this, which if you or Sufi or seeming so un skill cannot or will not relish a truth like us inform yourselves. We need no more of your advice. The matter, the loss, the game, the ordering on is all properly ours.

Paul
And.

Speaker 8
I wish my lead you had only in your silent judgment, tried it without more overture.

Christopher
How could that be either that lot more ignorant with age or that word born a fool cami’s flight added to their familiarity, which was as gross as ever touched. Conjecture that lacks sight only not for affirmation, but only seeing all other circumstances make up to the deeded. Do push on this proceeding yet for a greater confirmation for an act of this importance to are most pious to be wild. I have dispatched in post to sacred del flows to Apollo’s, temple, Clemans and Dion, whom you know of stuff sufficiency now from the oracle they will bring all whose spiritual counsel had shall stop or spur me. Have I done well.

Geoffrey
Well done. My Lord.

Christopher
Though I’m satisfied and need no more than what I know yet shall the oracle give rest to the minds of others, such as he whose ignorant fragility will not come up to the truth.

So have we thought it good from our free person, she should be confined lest that the treachery of those two fled, hence be left her to perform. Come follow us. We gotta speak in public for this business will raise us all.

Paul
The laughter as I take it, if the good truth were known.

Geoffrey
Where am I? There we’re, that was superb. Let’s not talk about it and go on to the second scene. Yes.

Christopher
No, I was gonna start speaking and then I realized I should ask Shannon if she’s ready.

Shannon
I I am.

Geoffrey
Great. Let let’s me and Paul leave and off you go.

Christopher
All right. I never heard yet that any of these bolder vice wanted less impedance to gain, say what they did than to perform it first.

Shannon
That’s true enough though is a saying, sir, not due to me.

Christopher
You will not own it.

Shannon
More than mistress of which comes to me in name of fault. I must not at all acknowledge for publicities with whom I am accused. I do confess I loved him as in honor. I he required with such a kind of love as might become a lady like me with a love even such so and no more as you, as yourself commanded, which not to have done, I think had been in me both disobedience and in gratitude to you and toward your friend whose love had spoke even since it could speak from an infant freely that it was yours. And now for conspiracy, I know not how it tastes though it be dished for me to try.

How all I know of it is that Camillo was an honest man at why he left your court. That Gods themselves wadding no more than I are ignorant.

Christopher
You knew of his departure as you know what you’ve entertained to do at his absence.

Shannon
Sir, you speak a language that I understand not my life stands in the level of your dreams, which I’ll lay down.

Christopher
Your actions are my dreams. You had a bastard by politicy and I but dreamed it as you, as you were past all shame. Those of your fact are so sopas all truth, which to deny concerns more than to, than avails for us, for us, like bratt has been cast out like to itself. No father owning it, which is indeed more criminally in me than it. So thou shall feel our justice in whose easiest passage. Look for no less than death.

Shannon
Sure. Spare your threats. The bug that you would frighten me with, I seek to me can life be no commodity. The crown and comfort of my life. Your favor I do give lost for I do feel it gone. But no, not how it went. My second joy, the first fruits of my body from his presence, I am barred like one infectious. My third comfort starred most unluckily is from my breast. The instant milk and it most innocent mouth hailed out to murder myself on every post proclaimed a trumpet with immodest hatred. The child bed privilege denied, which longs to women of all fashion. Lastly, hurried here to this place in the open air before I have got strength of limit.

Now my leash tell me what blessings I have here that I should fear to die, therefore proceed. But hear this, mistake me. Not may mistake me, not no life. I prize it. Not a straw, but for my honor, which I would free if I shall be condemned upon surmises, all proof sleeping ELs. What? But what? Your jealousies awake, I tell you his rigor and not law. Your honors. All I do refer me to the oracle Apollo. Be my judge.

Geoffrey
Man. I love doing these things because y’all are so good.

I, I have a couple things I wanna say, but let, let’s let you guys go first. I mean, any reactions, feelings, discoveries, likes, hatreds. Go Chris, start.

Christopher
You know what I like about doing this is that it really forces you to hit the operative words to like, you know, the guideposts along the way and you have to just trip past everything else. And, and, and it like, it really can clarify what’s going on where, you know, when you go slow and you’re like luxuriating in all in every single word, when every word is important, then none of them are, you know, and you can’t do it when you’re doing the Italian. You just gotta.

Geoffrey
Absolutely. I I I thought you, I thought all of you did a really splendid job of executing what I, what I asked for. And I I could tell you all felt the benefits of it. The primary one of which is what, what Chris just said. It, it forces you to, I think he even said trippingly, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s hamlets instructions to the players. You, you trip through it, the audience gets it. We understand, you understand it. So we understand it. Even if, even when it’s slightly thinking is slightly convoluted. And we hear what you’re saying. So, great Chris, great observation. Anything more? Anybody else?

Anybody? I’ve got a couple of notes. Okay. Let let me just put in a few and then now I’ll let you go.

What did I write here? This whole first thing, how blessed am I in my just century? My true opinion. I just wanna be good over the, the first half of that. It was terrific.

Here, here’s a good example in Leone’s speech where he says, praise her for, praise her, but praise her. But for this, ooh, that’s one of those joke lines. Praise her. But for this, her without door form, which on my faith deserves high speech. The, the way you made that a parenthetical clause was great. I mean, it’s, it’s, you, you basically threw it away. But it’s a, it’s a, it’s a great little character thing. It’s like, say she’s pretty and she is fucking pretty. The fucking just makes me even madder. And then you get back to the main thing. It was a, it was a great little illustration of how useful this can be.

What were you gonna say?

Christopher
Well, I, I, I mean, I, I don’t, I don’t see it as, and it makes me mad that she’s so pretty. It that’s a little bit and I still fucking love her.

Geoffrey
What, what? Whatever. I, I’m not, I’m.

Christopher
It’s like she’s still, I still think she’s beautiful. I she’s like all, all of this. And what hurts is that I still want her, I still.

Geoffrey
Excellent. Excellent. That’s exactly right.

Christopher
It’s all right. It’s all in there. That’s, that’s the one place I get to say it.

Geoffrey
Exactly. Exactly. Good. It’s, it’s great. Absolutely. Well, I wrote a little later on you say, do you say but no, you say.

Christopher
I said I I accidentally said no instead of o I amount I just made it. No. Oh.

Geoffrey
Just because I was make as much of, of, of that o as you did when you said no, you went, no, I, you can do the same thing. I mean that’s why he writes that’s why he gives you an o. Yeah. Often, you know, young, young pe young actors in particular, they, they try to skirt them. But you, you must embrace it. And the way you embrace that was fantastic. Oh no, wait a minute, I made a mistake. That’s great. Don’t, don’t do my reading, but.

Christopher
No, no.

Geoffrey
Feel free to.

Christopher
Embrace exactly like that though.

Geoffrey
Feel free to embrace the o’s. That was great. Susan. Anything else

around one? No, around like one 10, what should she shame to know herself, but what she should note. But she should shame to know herself. But with her most vile principle that she’s a bed swer, the way you hit vile and bed swer her was fantastic.

Again, you, the, the way you use bed swerve it, it, it conjured up a picture, which is what we want. We want the want words, we want those images. Right? Which was great.

Irv, I circled burns and drown. That was great. You really picked that antithesis out there.

And I like the way you, you connect, you helped us see that it’s with thoughts. So qualified measurement.

So I’m just trying to give you guys props for all these good things that you did.

Leon, she’s we’re still

sorry.

Oh, with that she’s big with

it still it still doesn’t quite sound right

with that thing she’s big with.

Gideon
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Think of, think of it as, think of it as with that with which she’s big.

Geoffrey
Oh, dammit. There was some other,

I don’t know. There, there was something else. But here’s, here’s another shout out. How could that be outta that word? The art most ignorant by age or that word Born a fool. It was great. I really got the joke there. I ran, I got the insult. Okay. Wasn’t funny. Wasn’t a funny joke.

Pardon? Wasn’t a funny joke. It’s not a funny joke. It’s not funny to you. It make, it makes me laugh though because I’m a terrible person. Gideon, what? What do you know? You’re not young enough to.

Gideon
Find it funny. Okay, First thing is it was really good. It’s like, in one sense it was the best that you’ve done it so far because all the energy was in the right place. So I really enjoyed it a lot.

And I’m only pointing out things which may have just been because you were speeding or they, they may be ’cause you’ve got ’em in your head.

But I, I just want you to know what I heard and then deal with it. So line 54 leone’s the abhorred ingredient. The e e d is not a separate syllable.

The abhorred ingredient to his eye make known.

Christopher
Okay. I mean, I didn’t think I was doing that, so thank.

Gideon
You for pointing it out. Okay. Okay. I, I think you anyway, I thought I heard it. So Shannon, line 1 21. That was really good. You nailed the then really for the first time. Exactly right. So whatever you did, do it.

Let’s see, line 1 74 antigens.

I would hit Lan. So treat dam as bad enough, but Lan dam is worse. I think that’s the, we, since we don’t know what this phrase really means, I think if you hit dam again, it’s, you’ve already hit dam for it. So hitting it again weakens it. So land on dam harder and that maybe that’ll help it. Okay. 1 92.

Oh no, this is Jeffrey. Yes, you hit the did I want you to hit the you to make the antithesis. I’d rather you did lack than I What you said is, I’d rather you did lack than I. Oh, did I? That’s a mistake. I know. Just calling your attention rather. You did lack than I, my Lord. Yes. Yep.

Two 10 Leonis you said more and it’s most ignorant. Either our most ignorant.

You with me?

Christopher
Yep.

Gideon
Okay. Next. Scene line 63.

Oh Shannon, when you did your paraphrase, you said, due to me meant coming from me.

I just wanna make sure that you get that it means applying to me. It’s a true saying, but it doesn’t apply to me. Yeah, yeah. Okay. I, that, that was based on the paraphrase from before. So line one 14.

Oh, you left out the word alive. That’s just ’cause you were doing it so fast.

And lastly, 1 22, I would go not on undo, but refer. It’s not I do as opposed to don’t. It’s that I do refer. That’s it. Those are my notes. Really good work. I enjoyed that a lot. It shows you all the work and thought that, that you’ve put into this over the last three weeks is, is gelling and, and it’s there in the performance. So bravo.

Geoffrey
My salon. Yeah, just terrific. Everything that, everything that that Gideon said I think is true too. Let’s do it one last time and keep the energy and that, that wonderful forward motion you got in this Italian, this need to make your points, this need to make your accusations stick leonis or this need to save the world as you see it, Angus or sh sh hermione. You’re struggle just to know what’s going on. And then when you find a place to stand to, it’s like you’re standing on an island in the midst of these snapping alligators of accusations. You know, when you find a place, stand there. But, but that’s, that’s a drive too. It’s, there’s nothing relaxed about it.

It’s something you have to try to understand and then take your action, which is to, which is to go to prison still asserting your place. So all these, all these things are, are actions that you’re trying to accomplish. Nobody retreats in this at all the possible exception of that one Lord who says, yeah, great, you did very well, my Lord. That’s, that’s me.

So let’s, let’s do it again. And by the way.

Gideon
Jeffrey, that’s just not a nothing line. When you say he did well, you’re very relieved because you trust the oracle.

Geoffrey
Yes. Yes.

Gideon
And you’re hoping that as you guys have not been able to do, which is correct, Leon aunties the oracle will and, and Hermione reinforces that at the end when she says, I refer me to the oracle, thank you. So don’t think of your line as just a throwaway. It’s not.

Geoffrey
Thank you. Good. So let’s, let’s take a, a last go at this. You, you know, if you, it’s so difficult on zoom. I, I a hundred percent recognize that.

See if we can both combine the urgency and the trippingly spoken quality of the Italian one that we’ve just done with connecting as much as possible with your scene partner. You know, try to see what’s going on with her or him. So if, if you don’t, if you don’t pick up a line immediately, it’s not the end of the world. Again, not a, not a performance. The connection now with will be, is our, our last little bit of frosting on this delicious cake you’ve made. Great. Once again, do a little chair dance, shake it out a little bit and

start again when you’re, when you’re ready. Chris.

Christopher
Was he met there, his train. Camilla with him.

Geoffrey
Behind the tough tta pines, I met them, never saw a man scour. So on their way, I hide them even to their ships.

Christopher
How blessed am I in my just censure in my true opinion, a lack for lesser knowledge, power burst in being so blessed.

There may be in the cup the spider steeped and when they drink to part and yet to partake, no venom for his knowledge is not infected.

But if one present the abhorred ingredient to his eye, make known how he has drunk, he cracks his gorge, his sides with violent habits.

I have drunk and seen the spider.

Camilla was just helping in this his pander. There’s a plot against my life. My crown all’s true. That is mistrusted. That false villain whom I employed was pre employed by him.

He was, he is discovered my design and I remain a pinched thing. Yeah, very trick for them to play It will how came the posturing so easily opened.

Geoffrey
By his great authority, which often have no less prevailed than so on your command.

Christopher
I know it too well give me the boy. I’m glad you did not nurse him though. He bears some signs of me yet you have too much blood in him.

Shannon
What? What is this.

Christopher
Sport? Bear the boy hands. He shall not come about her away with him and let her support herself with that. She’s big with Fortis Es has made these swell less, but.

Shannon
I’d say he had not. And I’ll be sworn you would believe my saying how air you lean to the nay word.

Christopher
You my lord’s look on her mark her well be but about to say she’s a goodly lady and the justice of your hearts will there to add to pity. She’s not honest, honorable praise her. But for this her without door form, which on my faith deserves high speech and straight the shrug, the hmm moha. These petty brands that calmly docus, oh I am out that mercy does for colony will sear virtue itself. These shrugs, these moons And ha when you have said she’s goodly come between air, you can say she’s honest but be it known from him that has most cause to grieve. It should be she’s an adulterous.

Shannon
Should a villain say so the most replenished villain in the world, he were as much more villain.

You my lord do. But mistake.

Christopher
You have mistook my lady ese for leones ing which I’ll not call a creature of thy placeless. Barbarism making me the precedent. Should a like language used to all degrees and manly distinguishment leave out betws the prince and beggar. I have said she’s an adulterous. I have said with whom more she’s a traitor and Camillo is a ary with her and one that knows what she should shame to know herself. But with her most vile principle that she’s a bed swer. And even as bad as those that vulgar give bolts titles, I am privy to this their late escape.

Shannon
No by my life privy to none of this. Oh, will this grieve you? When you shall come to clearer knowledge that you thus have published me, gentle my Lord, you scarce can write me throughly then to say you did mistake.

Christopher
No. If I mistake in those foundations which I build upon the center is not big enough to bear a schoolboy’s talk away with her to prison. He who shall speak for her is a far off guilty. But that he speaks.

Shannon
There’s some ill planet reigns. I must be patient till the heavens look with an aspect more favorable good. My lords, I’m not prone to weeping as our sex commonly are the want of which vain you per chance shall dry your tear your pities. But I have that honorable grief lodged here, which burns worse than tears. Drown Beit, you all my lords with thought so qualified as your charities shall best instruct you, measure me And so the kings will be performed.

Christopher
Shall I be heard?

Shannon
Who is that goes with me. Beseech your highness. My women may be with me for you See my plight requires it. Do not weep good fools. There is no cause. When you shall know your mistress has deserved prison, then abound in tears As I come out this action I now go on is for my better grace at you. My Lord.

I never wished to see you. Sorry. No I trust I shall my women come. You have leave.

Christopher
Go do our bidding, hence Bess seat your highness. Call the queen again.

Paul
Be certain what you do sir. Lest your justice prove violence in the which three great ones suffer yourself, your queen, your son for.

Geoffrey
Her. My Lord I dare my life lay down and will do sir please you to accept it that the queen is spotless in the eyes of heaven and to you, I mean in this which you accuse her.

Paul
If it proves she’s otherwise I’ll keep my stables where I lodge my wife. I’ll go in couples with her then when I feel and see her, no father trust her. For every inch of woman in the world I every Dr of woman’s flesh is false. If she be hold.

Christopher
Your pieces.

Geoffrey
Good my Lord.

Paul
It is for you. We speak not for ourselves. You are abused. And by some put her on that will be damned for it. Would I knew the villain I would land damn him be she on her flawed. I have three daughters. The eldest is 11, the second and the third nine and some five. If this proved true, they’ll pay for it by mine honor. I’ll gel them all. 14. They shall not see to bring false generations. They are co-heirs and I had rather good myself than they should not produce fair issue.

Christopher
Geez. No more. You smell this business with a scent as cold as a dead man’s nose. But I do see it and feel it as you feel doing thus. And see with all the instruments that feel.

Paul
If it be so. We need no grave to bury honesty. There’s not a grain of it. The face to sweeten the whole dungee earth.

Christopher
What lack eye credit.

Geoffrey
I had rather you did lack than I my Lord upon this ground and more it would content me to have her honor true than your suspicion. Be blamed for it. How you might.

Christopher
Why what need we commune with you of this but rather follow our forceful instigation. Our prerogative calls not your counsels, but our natural goodness imparts this which if you are stupefied or seeming so in the skill cannot or will not relish a truth like us inform yourselves. We need no more of your advice. The matter, the loss, the gain, the ordering of is all properly ours.

Paul
And I wish Myles you had only in your silent judgment, tried it without more overture.

Christopher
How could that be? Either thou are more ignorant by age, or thou were born a fool.

Camillo’s flight added to their familiarity, which was as gross as ever touched. Conjecture that lacked sight only not for approbation, but only seeing all other circumstances made up to the D do bush, do bush on this proceeding yet for a greater confirmation for an activist importance to her most pious to be wild.

I have dispatched in post to sacred del fos to Apollo’s, temple Es and Dion, whom you know of stuffed sufficiency now from the oracle they will bring all whose spiritual counsel had shall stop or spur me. Have I done well.

Geoffrey
Well done, my Lord.

Christopher
Well. I’m satisfied and need to know more than what I know. Yet shall the oracle give rest to the minds of others such as he whose ignorant credulity will not come up to the truth.

So have we thought it good from our free person, she should be confined unless that the treachery of those two foot hence be left to her to perform. Come follow us. We are to speak in public for this business will raise us all.

Paul
The laughter as I take it, if the good truth were known.

Geoffrey
Excellent. Let’s continue on to the next scene please.

Christopher
I near heard yet that any of these bolder vices wanted less impedance to gain say what they did than to perform it first.

Shannon
That’s true enough though, to the saying, sir, not due to me, you’ll.

Christopher
Not own it.

Shannon
More than mistress of which comes to me in name of fault. I must not at all acknowledge for publicies with whom I am accused. I confess I loved him as in honor. He required with such a kind of love as might become a lady like me with a love even such so and no other as yourself commanded, which not to have done, I think had been in me both disobedience and in gratitude to you and toward your friend whose love had spoke even since it could speak from an infant freely that it was yours.

Now, for conspiracy, I know not how it tastes though it’d be dished for me to try. How all I know of it is that Camilla was an honest man and why he left your court. The gods themselves wading no more than I are ignorant.

Christopher
You knew of his departure. As you know what you’ve tained to do’s, absence.

Shannon
Sir, you speak a language that I understand not my life stands in the level of your dreams, which I’ll lay down.

Christopher
Your actions are my dreams. You are a bastard with Es and I’ve dreamed it as you were past. All shame though of your, those of your facts are so and so past all truth, which to deny concerns more than avails for as thy bratt have been cast out like to itself. No father owning it, which is indeed more criminal in thou, in thee than it. So thou shall feel our justice in whose easiest passage. Look for no less than death.

Shannon
Sir, spare your threat. The bug which you would frighten me with. I seek to me, can my life be no commodity. The crown and comfort of my life. Your favor I do give lost for I do feel it gone. But no, not how it went.

My second joy, the first fruits of my body from his presence, I am barred like one infectious.

My third comfort starred most unluckily is from my breast. The instant milk in its most innocent mouth, hailed out to murder myself on every post proclaimed a trumpet with imm modest hatred. The child bed privilege denied, which longs to women of all fashion. Lastly, hurried here to this place of the open air before I have got strength of limit.

Now my le tell me what blessings I have here alive that I should fear to die, therefore proceed that here. But yet hear this mistake me. Not no life. I prize it. Not a straw, but for my honor, which I would free if I shall be condemned upon surmises, all proof sleeping else. But what your jealous is awake, I tell you tis rigor and not law. Your honor’s all I you refer me to the Oracle Apollo. Be my judge.

Geoffrey
Well, that was lovely start to finish. I’m not gonna say anything more. We got about 20 minutes in case in case people who are watching or not have any questions. Nathan, you still there? You still with us?

Nathan
Nathan has been joining every, every moment of this each, each version was just so different and, and kudos that you guys got so many runs in such a short period of time. It’s, it’s great. But I loved, I loved what each, each approach brought to the scene. It was, yeah. And, and you guys have already, you know, talked and discussed a little bit about it, so I won’t, I won’t rehash everything, but as a fly on the wall, it was really fascinating to feel like I’m understanding the scene a little bit better, whether you’re paraphrasing or doing an Italian run or, you know, bringing all that together. So that, that’s, that’s really exciting for me as an audience member. You know, not living with these characters as deeply as, as each of you are, but still feeling like I am, I’m really following this and really becoming very engaged in what’s going on.

So, so yeah, no, it was great. Wonderful, wonderful work.

And yes, for, for those on the call, if you, if you have questions, feel free, you can either drop a note in the chat and I can ask the questions or you can come on the mic. I, I did wanna make a note. Liz Swain, who was here earlier, she, she had something else come up. She had to leave early, but she wrote to me saying, great to see you all working so beautifully. So she really en enjoyed the work you guys were doing. And it, it has been announced that she’s actually working on the winter’s tail. She’s doing production of it next spring. So I’m, I’m sure she was here gathering ideas and trying to accelerate her own work and for that production production’s.

Geoffrey
Stealing from us.

Nathan
Well, you know, as they say, and, and this used to be the in model where, you know, you do double casting, you steal what works. You know, if you, if you see it and you’re like, yep. That I, why would I try anything different that works.

Geoffrey
Like, like Liz Sway needs our help.

Nathan
Well, I would, I would love to, you know, just jump in with a, with a few questions. And the first one that comes up, Jeffrey, what made you choose these scenes? And ultimately, you know, you added added one, the second one for, for for Shannon to have a little bit more to do. But what drew you to either the play in general or, or these characters? Could you speak to that for a a second?

Geoffrey
Well, I, I, in general, I think the play is fascinating and I, I really like it. I like, it’s, it’s sort of metaphysical qualities. I’m, I’m sure Gideon has a a better word for it. But those, those, those magical qualities in this one and the tempest, their, they’re interesting to deal with. Just, they seem to engage the, the audience. Not everything is explained or explained logically. So it, it involves that the audience in that, that thing we’ve talked about how, how they will sometimes do the work for you. They’ll, they’ll put scenes together for you, find meanings that you didn’t know were there. So I, I find the play interesting. And then just sort of mechanically, I wanted to, you know, I like these fascinating characters of Leonis and Hermione, but I, I couldn’t do a scene that had too many people in it.

’cause I figured it would be too hard to just, a, it’s too hard to find enough people who, who are free. And b, the more people you have on a zoom, the, the not the quality, it just gets, it’s, it’s too much. It’s too hard to do. It’s, it’s just too hard to do. So that’s why I picked perhaps not the most climactic scenes, but interesting scenes. There were basically two or three handers.

Nathan
Yeah. Well, and, and then I know you guys talked about this in the, in the first week and, and this occurs, you know, in other parts of the play, but scenes with some extraordinarily dense language, which, which I thought, you know, you know, gave the actors a lot to work on and work with and figure out what am I really saying here and what, what does this mean? And, and even it, you know, I think even this week’s exercises brought some, some additional clarity to, to what was going on. So I, you know, it’s, it’s wonderful that, you know, even though it might not be the, the, you know, the climax of the play or anything like that, there’s still still much to, to discover in these scenes for, for all involved. So that’s, and like I said, it’s always, it’s, it’s fun as an observer to, to get that as well.

Shannon, I’d, I’d love to hear from you, you know, your, your thoughts and experience of working on Hermione. If you had, you know, so many, any kind of preconceived ideas or if you’d seen the, the part performed, if had some, you know, thoughts of your own going into this and, and how the weeks of work have allowed you to kind of create your, your own version of Hermione, you know, you know, could you speak to that a little bit?

Shannon
I mean, fortunately it’s been so long since I’ve seen this play performed that I didn’t have any strong, like someone else’s performance in my brain. Sure.

Which, you know, could be a blessing or a curse, I suppose. Sometimes you see a performance and you’re like, oh yeah, I had lots to steal.

I mean, I, I just used one of the monologues from the scene for an audition the other day. Oh, cool. So, so it, it’s certainly, yeah, it feels, it feels good. I’ve, I’ve enjoyed the process.

Nathan
Yeah. What, was there any particular week or exercise that you felt helped you kind of more drop in fully or, or something clicked or anything like that?

Shannon
I liked the Italian. I felt like there was a little, there was like a little period in the beginning where we were sort of exploring like her love and her femininity. And a lot of my instincts are her, like regalness and her strength. And so when we hit the Italian, I was like, yeah, this is what I wanna do.

Nathan
Oh, great. That’s great. That’s wonderful. Good to hear. And, and Chris, I remember when I reached out, you know, you were, you were very enthusiastic to, to work on Leons. And so I, I was, I would love to hear a little bit more about what, you know, what, what interests you particularly about this part and what you discovered about this role by actually getting a chance to work on it.

Christopher
So I, I’ve always been fascinated with how he just flips into this jealous rage that consumes him and then flips back out of it again. Like this, this kind of instant, a moment where blinders go on and then they, and, and then they, they come off and

it’s not in this, in the scenes we’re doing, but I’m, I’m interested in finding how to redeem him.

What he, what he does here is kind of unforgivable, but ramin does, in the end, come back to him in a, in a

and, and I have perhaps experienced in my life some similar like, instant blind jealousies, especially in my youth. And it’s always fun, as Jeff said earlier in the, in the session, it’s always fun to sort of poke at bits of you that aren’t necessarily okay to express in day-to-day life or in the real world, or to sometimes poke at something like, oh, I know I have this in me. Let’s pull on this string and see what, see what comes out. And that was certainly happening in the, in this scene. It was kind of fun to, to, to see how deep I could get into that, into that feeling.

Nathan
Very cool. Very cool. No, that, well, and thank you for, for sharing you, you know, how personal it, it it became for you to, to to work on the character. I really appreciate hearing that. And, and, and, and Paul, I’d love to hear y you know, I know y you know, you guys had conversations early on about Anis passion and, and his differences from Hermione, you know, in terms of how they, they speak to Leon Aunties. I, I’d love to hear what what surprised or challenged you about the character of Antis?

Paul
The challenge that’s easier to answer the challenge was trying to remember my position in the court and my relationship to him, and doing my best antis, doing his best to keep his passion in check and to keep his anger in check because it’s, it’s hard to deny that he is angry at what has happened. He has so much respect for Hermione and so much reverence for her and, and admiration for her and her honor that he is angry by what has happened. He’s ashamed, he’s angry, but he has to try to keep it in check as much as possible because he is talking to the king. That was certainly a challenge. And I, and I guess a, a bit of a surprise as well.

Nathan
Okay, great. Well, yeah, yeah, it’s always, it’s always interesting to hear because as an observer, you, you know, we may be projecting different things on the characters. So it’s always, it’s, it’s, I really appreciate you sharing what, what, what you were working on, you know, on these, on these weeks. So, and he also.

Paul
He also has great admiration for Leons up until this point.

Nathan
Right.

Paul
So this is, this is very a, it’s, this is a surprise for antis. Not so much for Paul, but a huge surprise for antigens.

Nathan
Right? Yeah. Somebody that you deeply admire and would do anything for. And, and, and yeah. Suddenly this happens, right? And how do you, how do you process everything that you’re experiencing and feeling while, like you said, remembering your place in the court? Yeah, it, it, it’s a, you know, as a, as I mentioned, a, it’s a very, it’s a very dense and, and, and kind of naughty scene textually, you know, just to kind of pull out all the imagery. So, but then you have all of these very complex emotional things going on between the whole dynamic. Yeah. It’s really a, a very, very fascinating scene.

Now, Gideon, I I, I know you’ve spent a lot of time with these scenes and, and these plays.

Was there anything that you discovered or that, you know, that you, that that may be, I would say you realized even more fully just by seeing, you know, seeing all these artists work on them or by diving more deeply into the language. Anything come up for you over the weeks?

Gideon
I don’t know if I would say, I don’t know if I could say yes to what you said, but I did learn, again, which I always do learn in these sessions, how wonderful it is to work with good actors. Because my goal is to be true to the text and bring out as much as possible of the meaning that Shakespeare’s put into the poetry. It’s not just Shakespeare’s words, it’s not just old language and metaphors and antithesis, but it’s poetic handling of them.

And the challenge for me is always to make clear for the actor what the, what the potential power of the meaning is in the structure of the verse itself, and the, and the relation of the words.

And when I work with good actors and stumble around trying to point things out, and they get it, and then I hear it the next time through, it’s just, there’s just nothing more satisfying. And the reason is that Shakespeare is so good that, that when you get what he’s doing when, when what he’s doing comes through the medium of a good actor, it’s, it’s ecstatic. It’s just thrilling. And, and I never tire of it. And of course every performance is different, but, but every good performance is the same. And in being just coating with light and meaning and power. So that’s just always a great pleasure for me.

I will also say that I’m not done with these guys if they’re not done with me, because I have a couple notes that I discovered this time through of things that could be done more meaningfully. And that’s, that, that’s, I’ll just say one more thing, which was when I was in graduate school studying literature and getting my degree, I had to choose what to focus on. And when I discovered the fullness of Shakespeare or some of the fullness, I thought to myself, Shakespeare’s gonna wear me out before I wear him out. And, and that is always true. There’s always more, there’s always deeper. There’s always richer to go to when you’re paying attention to, to his language.

And it’s so much fun to work with actors who can bring that out because then it’s, it’s, it fulfills what the Elizabethans meant when they said they went to hear or play.

Nathan
Well. And, and I imagine, you know, even though you, or you’ve worked on, you know, all the plays and and studied all of them, is it for you that, and I’m kind of paraphrasing that, that that quote out there, that the one you’re enjoying the most is the one that you’re currently working on that like, you get to actually, you get to really enjoy the winter sale probably right now more than ever, because that’s the one you’re actually engaged in.

Gideon
Yeah. I mean, that’s al that’s almost always true. There are, yeah. Some plays of Shakespeare that I really love more than certain others. Sure. If you wanted me to work on Titus Andronicus, you’d have to pay me a lot, even though I would do it. ’cause it would be a lot of fun and I’d learn a lot. Yep. But working on this play is just, you know, it’s, it’s so great and so deep that it’s like, it’s a hot knife through butter. It’s just Oh.

Nathan
Good. Good, good, good.

Gideon
It’s just so good to be doing it.

Nathan
Well, thank you Gideon. And, and, and I’m so grateful that we can, we can involve a dramaturg in this and, and you know, in a lot of theaters, that’s one of the positions that is, is first cut. You know, they make sure that we have setss and customs and lights. But you know, if you know what you’re saying, that would be helpful, but not necessary. Yeah. The.

Gideon
Result is boring Shakespeare.

Nathan
Right, right. You know, and it always amazes me, you know, you guys are great, you know, that’s why you’re here. But just to see the growth from week one to week four, I, I’m never, never not surprised at how fuller it becomes and richer it becomes, you know, in our, in our closing minutes here for any of you, did you notice that too? Were you surprised at how far you were able to come in just a few weeks of rehearsal?

Paul
The only reason I was not surprised is that I’ve seen it happen before in this room.

Nathan
Yeah.

Paul
But it’s, but it’s thrilling to see the progress. Yeah.

Nathan
Cool.

Christopher
I, I’d say I wasn’t, I wasn’t super surprised that it would happen because I’ve worked with Jeffrey before.

Shannon
We were all expanding wonderful things. Jeffrey.

Geoffrey
You’re all too kind. I, i surprised is, is isn’t quite the appropriate word. I was delighted. I realized at one point that the camera was still on because, and I couldn’t see myself ’cause the script was over my picture, but I realized I was, I was reacting to what, what you guys were saying, the way I, I would, if I were sitting in a dark theater as a director, I was like, completely inappropriate for the, for the Lord. It’s, it’s, no, I wasn’t, I wasn’t surprised. I was absolutely delighted. And, you know, it’s, it is, it’s, it’s really, it’s really kind of thrilling. I I I just, I do wanna say that

e everybody really, I thought, you know, knocked it outta the park in the last one. But Chris, particularly when you were talking about how, how you were relating it to some personal stuff, it was, it was a really, really interesting pules y you know, you can, y you don’t, I I I could imagine sort of writing pules off a, as an audience member if, if he weren’t played by somebody like you. There’s.

Nathan
Oh, you mean Leonis Jeffrey? I’m sorry Leon.

Geoffrey
I’m like, Leonis, of course you could just write ’em off as a nut and kind of not, not listen to it, but, but the stuff you were bringing made him somehow a, a believable monster in these couple of scenes. So well done. And, and Paul, you were talking about this interesting tension between needing to save Hermione and, and the Leones and your anger at him. And that’s, again, that’s what makes, that’s what made it so interesting, you know, not just being angry or not just, not just trying to be, you know, achieve that goal of, of understanding or saving Hermione. ’cause that’s something you can do.

You can’t just be angry at somebody. But that, that tension is what, what makes it interesting. And, and again, everybody, all this stuff came through all the, all the complexity of human beings, which is why we like doing Shakespeare. ’cause he, he doesn’t quite simple characters.

Nathan
Yeah.

Geoffrey
Flawed. The perfect people are all screwed up, you know, it’s fantastic. Right.

Nathan
Fantastic. And, and, and I’ll add to that, you know, so enjoyable watching the end of the second scene to see how much is Hermione getting through to her husband, you know, just to, just because you’re, you’re waiting to see like, is this going to register at all? Like, you know, ’cause he’s talking to this woman as, as, as we discussed that he still loves, he still finds beautiful and she’s talking and it’s just like all of that have this moment. Yeah.

Geoffrey
All of that is, I, that’s just, you know, basic acting. It’s like, can you make sure, yeah. This time it’ll be different this time she’ll talk it, talk him out of it. This time Antigone will bring him around, you know, and the play will end now. It, it, it’ll be this time. And when you get people like this, it’s like, is it, it sounds like she’s gonna convince him. Oh no. Right.

Nathan
Well, you know, it’s, it’s basic.

Geoffrey
Acting. We watch a play that we know backwards and forwards, essentially. Yeah. Know exactly what’s gonna happen. And you still wonder if this time it’ll be different.

Nathan
Yeah.

Geoffrey
It’s, it was great Shannon. Yeah, Shannon, just once again, because I just let, but the way you went from, from that, that first line, what, what is this sport like, are you kidding? To, you know, your last speech that, that was a, a, a great arc. It’s, you know, there was, there was some bafflement in there, there was some, you know, who the fuck do you think you’re talking to in there? It was, it was great. But there.

Shannon
Was, and I hope that my comment earlier did not imply that like, oh, why did we spend all that time exploring her feminine side and her love? No, that was all helpful. No.

Geoffrey
Feminine side. No, no, no. I mean, that’s all, it’s all part of the deal. But in the end, again, you know, the, the other sort of acting thing that I always try to remember when I’m on stage is, is put off knowledge as of what’s going on as long as possible. That’s why the scene goes on for, you know, a hundred lines instead of 50. It’s, it takes that long for the realization to hit or the penny to drop or, you know, and whether it’s drama or comedy, that’s what it always has to be.

Nathan
Yeah. And, and you know, the irony is, you called it basic acting, but it’s some of the hardest acting to do. And you actually have an impact on the other person.

Geoffrey
All the, all the rules are fairly simple. It’s the execution that’s always kind of hard.

Nathan
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, this has been great. Thank you guys so much for your, for your time. I, I will kind of end the, the public portion of our presentation and, and our final session here this evening. So thank you again so much for being here. Just another quick plug, we start again next week with the Scottish play.

Paul will be directing a scene from Macbeth. You can be sure to send out information via email if you’d like to be part of our Patreon and support that and get, you know, the replays of each week. Very excited for that scene coming up. And so we hope to see you back here for another session in the near future. Again, thank you so much to all the artists, all everybody on the, all of the artists. If you guys can just stay, put those in attendance, you can either drop off the call or I’ll send you back to the, the, the lobby. We don’t need to call it the waiting room. But thank you again so much and you have a great night and we’ll, we’ll see you again some other time in the rehearsal room.