Tour has begun! We had our first show Wednesday in Hermosa Beach. One of our favorite places! We’ve been going there forever and they are a very supportive community. Thank you Hermosa for another wonderful turnout on a Wednesday, no less!
Our final show in Pt. Fermin on Satuday felt like I hadn’t done the show in two weeks. Funny. I guess that will teach me to take a day off again. But we will miss the old bandshell for the next several weeks.
Between loading the truck on Saturday and unloading it and carrying it down the hill yesterday, my body is already in agony. If you were wondering just when I’d be too old to carry heavy platforms, this is the year where I am officially too old to keep up with the kids. Luckily I can still make myself useful, but I do miss the days when I was carrying all the stuff.
People seem to be really digging Henry this year. It’s really a wonderful play! I never thought much about doing it, since I aged out of Henry many years ago, although I do want to do every play in the canon. I knew that The Chorus had some beautiful speeches, but I’m drawn to characters, not necessarily big speeches. Because without a character, what’s the point of beautiful words? So, my challenge was finding out just who the hell this guy was, and why is he telling the story of the play, that you all are watching? Steph helped that process enormously by double casting me as Exeter (Henry’s Uncle and right hand man). And it has become a really fun challenge to live in both the world of the play, as Exeter, and the world looking back on this play as The Chorus.
And I’m finding new things every night. The idea of “who am I to be telling this story?” is very strong in the lines Shakespeare has given, coupled with my admiration for Henry and how it grows through the play has led to many break-throughs. And people are responding very well to those moments when I break out of the scenes to set up the next, or insert myself into the scenes I’m talking about.
People are also digging the fights. I’m glad that Olivia is getting a real hero moment in the fights. Last night several people came up to me telling me that the boy’s fight was the best thing ever. And it was designed to be that, because that is the moment that breaks Henry. So much is just war and soldiers, but the injustice of this kid fighting French soldiers does something that isn’t just war. It’s personal.
So, hopefully we’ll see you down in Rossmoor on Saturday night for our next show, or somewhere else down the road!