The Cast

Albany -- Allan Stoski
Curan, Knight4, Soldier1 -- Andrew Torry
Cordelia -- Anna-Maria Lemaistre
Goneril -- Beverly Wright
Regan -- Brittany Morrie
France -- Cody Porter
Lear -- Dale Wilson
Edmund -- Gino Akbari
Knight2, Soldier1, Messenger -- Ian Younie
Knight1, Soldier2 -- Igor Gorelik
Burgundy, Old Man -- John Younie
Servant1 -- Kassia Haynes
Kent -- Keiran O'Callaghan
Oswald -- Marsha Amanova
Edgar -- Max Wood
Cornwall -- Ron Sannachan
The Fool -- Tatyana Rac
Gargrave, Gentleman -- Tim Marriott

First Rehearsal: Read-Through and Discussion

And so it begins. Our first rehearsal was this afternoon, from 1-5pm. Because of Daylight Savings, one or two people arrived an hour early (not late, at least). Many cast members couldn't be there at all; I think we had 10 or 11 out of 19, plus myself and Dave B. (text coach).

We started with introductions, and we talked a bit about the schedule, which continues to evolve. I really, really hope it will have stabilized by the end of this week, because I don't like to have anyone uncertain about when they will be needed; it can lead to bad feelings and a lot of time wasted. I talked very generally about the concept of the show, and I realize now that I was probably a bit too cagey; but I didn't want to steal any of the designers' thunder (pun intended). Besides, it's the sort of present you like to have revealed a bit at a time, instead of tearing all the wrapping off at once. Right?

The read-through was smooth, clear, and unbelievably fast; the first half ran 61 minutes, and the second half only 33! They'll both be longer, of course, once we add fights and transitions, but I don't think I have anything to worry about as far as running time goes.

After the read, I asked the actors to think of two or three words which summarize what the play is all about. Here are the responses (in no particular order):

Loyalty (x3), Betrayal (x3), Fidelity, Aging, Regret, Revelation, Heroism, Social Status, Sanity, Vision, Trust, Friendship, Greed (x2), Love, Family, Truth, Discovery, Ingratitude, Forgiveness, Nothing, Price of Folly, Deeds Over Words, Responsibilities Unmet, Lust for Power, Stupidity of the Wise vs. Wisdom of Fools, Sight of the Blind vs. Blindness of the Sighted, False Pride, Ruthless Ambition, True Love, Blind Love, Learning to See, Crime Doesn't Pay, What Goes Around Comes Around

I was the one who suggested "nothing," by the way.

Then we watched Balance and I talked about staging and movement. And that was that.

Cast list coming soon, I promise.

Auditions: Come and Gone

We had two outstanding nights of auditions. 45 people came out! Many of them were longtime Walterdale members, but just as many were new to the theatre, and quite a few were auditioning for the first time ever. You have to admire that sort of courage; the very first time you try your hand at acting, and it's for Shakespeare (King Lear, no less).

My casting plot had originally been designed for 15 actors, with quite a bit of doubling and tripling. With such a large talent pool to draw from, I was able to convince my stage manager to increase the cast size to 19, which will make it easier on a number of actors (for instance, the actor playing Edgar will no longer have to scramble to appear as one of Lear's knights in Act 1, Scene 3).

I've never worked with a cast as large as this before. My SM will be responsible for scheduling them, which will be a herculean task in and of itself. But I'll be responsible for making sure they are all both a) doing a good job and b) having a good time. This might mean my own capacity for fun will shrink accordingly, but I hope not.

I'll post the cast list shortly, once we've called everyone back to confirm.

Potential Poster Art

Searching the web more or less at random, I came across the homepage of a British artist named Nicola L. Robertson (http://www.thesurrealdemon.co.uk/). She's got a nifty goth style going, something like a cross between M.C. Escher and Edward Gorey. I was especially drawn to her chess-based illustrations--not the ones that feature chess pieces devouring one another (although those are cool) so much as the atmospheric ones like "Chess Cavern" here.

I think the themes of strategy and power conveyed by the chessboard fit nicely into Lear--and the cavern, with its vortex-like design, speaks for itself. I showed the image to our poster designer, and he agreed that we could certainly find a way to use it (I still have to negotiate with the artist and my board, however). I also forwarded the link to John H. (set designer), and his response was "Eureka!"

I'm not sure what that means just yet, but I'll take it as a good sign.

Countdown to Auditions

Three days before auditions. I'm starting to get antsy. The audition process is actually pretty exciting for me--not nearly as nerve-wracking as it is for the actors. I enjoy meeting people for the first time, and thinking about how I might be able to "use" them in the show. But right now, I want to make sure I've got everything prepared, so I don't waste anyone's time.

That means putting together an audition sheet, for them to put down biographical info and details about their availability; it means finding suitable "sides" for them to read (monologues and dialogues from the play); and it means thinking, once again, about who and what I'm really looking for.

I know that, in this case, a lot of the auditioners will be inexperienced with Shakespeare. The sides won't give me a very clear picture of their potential, because they will be reading unfamiliar material filled with daunting words and punctuation. And making them read anything other than Shakespeare won't help much either; it's apples and oranges at that point.

Really, the main things are going to be looks and personality. When they walk into the theatre, do they immediately strike me as resembling one of the characters? And--more importantly--are they gregarious? Do they seem like they'd be fun to work with? Because if they can overcome their audition jitters enough to make that sort of impression...they've either got a whole lot of verve, or they're a damn good actor...and either way, I want them on my team.

Props: Inventory

Spent an hour down in the musty Walterdale props room with John Younie, scrounging items for the play. It looks like we've already got about half of what we need there:

• stools
• a throne
• a staff
• some spears
• a knife
• a bow (sans string)
• a couple of lanterns
• chains and manacles (for Kent's stocks)
• keys
• a bucket and brush (for a Servant)
• cushions and rugs

There's also a lovely folding gurney, built for a production of Cyrano de Bergerac, which we could use to bring in either Goneril or Regan's corpse in the final scene. John's going to look into building a second one to match it. We may even be able to convert one into a bed for Lear's "recognition" scene (although if we have to bring him onstage in a wheelchair, we could do that instead).

We didn't find a map, so we'll have to make it from scratch. But that's probably just as well; with props of great thematic significance, you want to be able to make sure it looks exactly right.

Music: Breaking It Down

Production meeting tonight--sort of a continuation of the one last Friday, as budgets and schedules were finalized. This time I was able to discuss music with Mark Senior, our sound designer. He has some intriguing ideas, starting with 19th century Russian music but working towards a surreal or expressionistic soundscape which would serve to represent the storm "inside Lear's mind."

Because sound is very far from my own areas of expertise, I have a hard time imagining things until I've actually heard samples. The idea of a symbolic storm (instead of a literal one, with thunder & rain) is both appealing and disconcerting, so I think I need to know a bit more about what we'd be getting into. Mind you, I haven't read of any instances of productions where the storm has been "abstracted" like that, so we might be breaking new ground--which, for a 400-year-old play, would be pretty darn cool.

Blocking: Gymnastics

Finished preliminary blocking notes on the first half of the play (everything up to Act 3, Scene 6 in the original text--or Acts 1 and 2 in my version). Almost inadvertantly, I found the blocking began with a lot of broad spirals, but then gradually gave way to more angular criss-cross movements--like a see-saw of authority across the stage.

I'm particularly looking forward to blocking the Fool and Edgar (in his Poor Tom persona). I'd like them both to be gymnastic and unpredictable, steering the movement of the play in expected directions. Maybe, as Lear sinks into madness and starts emulating those two tricksters, he can try a bit of acrobatics himself. Nothing lightens the mood like an octogenarian doing somersaults.

Props: Maps and Stocks

Had another great meeting last night, this time with representatives from props, set, and lighting. Mostly, we settled on deadlines and budgets, but we also got a chance to discuss some of the aesthetic challenges which lay ahead of us.

John Younie and Doug Verdin, my two props wranglers, are confident that most of the essential props (letters, purses, stools, etc.) can be found or modified from materials in the Walterdale props room. There are still a few challenges, of course. First, we need swords, and Walterdale doesn't have any in its permanent collection. We're going to see if we can change that.

We also need a great big map of England, and we'll need to find a way to attach the aforementioned sashes to it (and then detach them quickly). John has already done some research, and found a number of images of old maps which we can reproduce on canvas or leather.

Then there are Kent's stocks. This is going to be very challenging and potentially very rewarding. I told them I didn't want to go with the familiar arm or leg bands. What I wanted was a system of manacles that hoisted Kent up into the air, and then something unstable underneath him (like a barrel or a see-saw board). As I told them, this was one of my only chances in the play to visually literalize the theme of "imbalance"--we can't tilt the whole stage around, but we could put Kent on a "dangerous" tilting surface and leave him hanging for a bit.

Of course, it can't really be dangerous for the actor; but it has to look precarious and painful. We discussed a few ways to effect this, using a flat-bottomed barrel or a fixed see-saw. The manacles, they said, would be no problem; we already have some in props storage (man, I love theatre!).

Discussions regarding lights and set were also productive, but we're still at very early stages. I think John Henoch, my set designer, was very shocked to learn that I didn't want lots and lots of levels on my set. "A big flat plane and nowhere to run to" was all I asked him for.

Costumes: Make Mine Modular

Costume meeting with Melissa this afternoon. Damn, that lady is sharp! She's taken some very vague costume concepts from her director, mixed in a bit of research, added a healthy dose of personal style, and come up with designs which are functional & practical, yet should also please both the audience's eyes and the actors' bods.

The original concept of late Czarist Russia is still there, and it comes out particularly in the hairstyles (high rounded styles for the women) and a certain flowy element in most of the tops. The three sisters start off looking like they could be Chekhov's Three Sisters, which is perfect. Lear himself starts out in white and gold, looking more like a magician (in his own mind?) than a king.

Then, as power starts to shift, the women's styles become more ostentatious; coronets and drippy pearls appear, necklines rise (Goneril) or plunge (Regan), and the muted colours of the opening tableau give way to bright, dangerous reds (for the English faction) and blues (for the French). The only character who really defies this colour scheme altogether is, of course, the Fool. Melissa sees him in a green velvet coat over a traditional Russian peasant's outfit. A link to the past, or just a defiant gesture to separate him from the existing power structure.

The most interesting feature of her design is the use of "modular" costume pieces: accessories which will move from character to character throughout the play, acquiring new meaning when used by different people in different contexts. We already discussed the use of heraldic sashes to represent G and R's new authority; these sashes come from Lear, and may end up in the hands of others (Edmund?) by the end of the play. Another example might be the Fool's green coat, which he gives to Lear during the storm. Or Edmund's black cape, which he swaps for Edgar's nice (high status) coat when he's "helping" him escape (the cape might become a cloak or loincloth for Poor Tom). Or Oswald's gloves, which are stripped from his body and then used by Edgar (in disguise) to challenge Edmund to the final duel.

This modularity might confuse or frustrate actors early on (whose costume piece is it, really?), but once they sort it all out, I think they'll find it tremendously useful to be able to invest these items with significance and status. And as the audience sees the same items appear again and again in new forms, they'll start to understand that the Lear world is one of scarcity and subjectivity: there aren't a lot of resources to spread around (hence the "houseless poverty" of Poor Tom), and one man's trash is another man's treasure. Hence Lear:

Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are,
That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm,
How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides,
Your looped and windowed raggedness, defend you
From seasons such as these? O, I have ta'en
Too little care of this. Take physic, pomp,
Expose thyself to feel what wretches feetl,
That thou mayst shake the superflux to them
And show the heavens more just.

New Week; Different Play

At the end of this week, I'm meeting again with props, lighting, and set designers. We're going to settle on some deadlines, and assign some budgets.

Between now and then, all thoughts of King Lear will have to wait, since Walterdale's first production of the season is opening on Wednesday. It's Tomson Highway's The Rez Sisters, and it's going to be a blast! Come and check it out--more info here.

Naughty Edmund

Thinking about Edmund's first soliloquy...

Thou Nature art my Goddess, to thy Law
My services are bound. Wherefore should I
Stand in the plague of custom, or permit
The curiosity of Nations, to deprive me?
For that I am some twelve, or fourteen Moonshines
Lag of a Brother? Why Bastard? Wherefore base?

The scene comes hard on the heels of Act 1, Scene 1, which ends with Goneril and Regan alone onstage ("We must do something," says Goneril, "and i'th'heat."). My high school English teacher, Mr. Carson, described this sort of moment as the "Shakespearean Revolving Door" in action. Characters enter and exit simultaneously, giving them a chance to catch a glimpse of one another as the scenes overlap. A good director would be a fool to pass up this early opportunity for flirtation between Edmund and the queens.

So, Goneril says "We must do something..." to her sister...but her sister is already stalking off-stage, offended at being told what she should & should not think. Goneril allows her gaze to drift over to this strapping young lad who's just come onstage, and the second part of her speech acquires a naughty double meaning. "...and in the heat..."

Edmund is about to heat things up considerably. But that doesn't mean he can't afford to gloat a bit first. What if the first line of his speech is a reference to Goneril...or to her magnificent caboose, as it sashays off the stage?...or maybe even a glib reference to his own manhood, swelling up at the sight?

"Thou, Nature, art my goddess," he says, gleefully acknowledging that he is subject to all the same hormonal and instinctual laws as any base creature. "Wherefore should I stand in the plague of custom?" he asks, referring now to his father, Gloster, whose bluffness about his infidelities barely fail to mask his shame. "Or...permit the curiosity of Nations to deprive me?" Now, perhaps thinking again of the queen's delightful rump, he asks: why can't I have my cake and eat it?

Gloster lets his shame define him, and that's what has kept him down for so long. But Edmund, whom the whole world knows to be a Bastard, can afford to be direct about his sins. He can trumpet them to the world. He will ride his unlicensed sexuality all the way up the hierarchy, until he is within spitting distance of the throne.

At the end of his speech: "Now, Gods, stand up for bastards!" Maybe one more naughty reference to erections? Yes, Edmund definitely needs to lead from the 'nads.

Suddenly, A Timeline

We've booked our "out-of-venue" rehearsals (all our rehearsals before Christmas have to take place outside the Playhouse, because other shows are going on), and ads for auditions have gone up (some responses, I think, but my SM is handling all the bookings, bless her heart).

I have an assistant director, now--Liz Johannsen, with whom I worked only tangentially when she performed in Sound & Fury's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (I produced the show, but didn't direct). Welcome aboard! In a perfect world, her schedule and Dave's (text coach) schedule would complement each other, and I would always have help onhand. We'll see.

The next official production meeting is in 3 weeks, but I'm trying to meet with some of the designers beforehand, to clear up some scheduling questions. It's a bit strange, going from a free-floating day-dream approach to having an actual schedule. But I'm a big believer in deadlines, so I have to set a good example early on.

If there's any more daydreaming to be done, it will have to be done on the fly.