Craig and I are taking some time off from the Blog. Like….. the month of July. Hey, it’s summer time. You don’t really want us locked up in the office do you while the sun shines?
Hmmmm, don’t answer that.
We know that a little brain break, along with some rest and relaxation, will have us primed and pumped for more continuous blog posts. We’re pretty pleased that we’ve been able to keep this up and we’re already looking forward to August. See you then!
Aaaaaand another International Thespians Festival is over just like that! I turned around and it was Saturday. When did that happen? Some final thoughts….
Hi! Welcome to this week’s Spread the Love. This week we are talking about Mmmbeth. Mmmbeth. Not the other thing that it is called, because we don’t do that, we call it ‘The Scottish Play’ or Mmmbeth which of course this is an adaptation of The Scottish Play by Allison Williams our intrepid Shakespeare adaptor and we just so happen to have her here, isn’t that funny, here at the Florida State Thespian Festival.
Hi there! We’re in Florida. It’s really hot and humid.
We like it though because we’re from Canada and it is very cold . I am from Canada. Actually you’re from Canada.
I am from Canada. I still hate the humidity.
Mmmbeth is in our catalogue, first of all because it turns Shakespeare on it’s ear which we love. And also, because it really retains the darkness of the original. This is why I love the play, because it is funny -
I’ve never heard this, this is cool.
Yeah, you’ve got to come and you’ve got to learn these things, this is why you’re in this catalogue. This play is in this catalogue because it is sharp, it is funny and yet retains the darkness of the original and I love that. I love that it combines all of those elements into this tiny little lovely package. And since we have the author here, tell us what you love about this play.
Well, at the time I wrote it, I was directing a production of The Scottish Play and it was at that time the forth production of The Scottish Play that I had directed and man so much crap happens to me every time I direct The Scottish Play. It really does. And for me it is not so much a play of great tragic bad happenings, it is a play of constant small bad happenings. My plane gets fogged in. I lose my wallet in Arkansas. You know, I accidentally curse in front of a whole room full of very conservative students and have to send an apology letter home. And it’s those things that happen to me when I direct this play. So I wanted to write a play that was about all the superstitions and all the bad things that happen to you when you do The Scottish Play. And I like that even though it’s a comedy it still has all the death of the original in it. The floor is just covered in blood. It’s awesome.
Ok we’re putting that next time, we’re going to put that on the back – ‘The floor is covered in blood.’ It’s all good. Ok. And I have to tell you, she is not kidding because I remember when we were working on this play and the number of minute tragic things that were usually associated with The Scottish Play were happening almost daily, on a daily basis of trying to get this play out there. But now it’s good and now it’s happy and we love it.
The students of West Billings High School performed Drop Dead Juliet at the International Thespians Festival two years ago, and I’ve had a great time this year talking to a number of them; they’ve performed a lot of our plays. One student, Keri, used Wait Wait Bo Bait as a Forensic piece and I talked to her about it after a workshop…
One of the best things when I go to conferences is meeting teachers and students who have directed or been in my plays. It thrills me to hear them talk about how the shows have gone and their experience.
Yesterday, a student just happened to over hear my name and came running over to the table – he had directed a production of Emotional Baggage and his concept was so cool I had to share it……
Another great day in Nebraska at the International Thespians Festival. Workshops started today – I love teaching them, even though I sound beat off my feet in this video!
Ok, so I shot a lovely video for today. Forget the fact that the people in the booth across the way kept looking at me and wondering why I was talking to myself. Forget them. I had a very sweet and touching experience today, my first day here at the International Thespians Festival, and I was very excited to share it directly with you.
But for some reason, my video does not want to download and be shared with the world. I suspect it realizes how hot it is and would rather stay inside the camera.
If I can figure out the issue, I’ll post the video, but here’s the gist.
I had a great conversation today with students from Blaine High School, who this year performed my play Pressure. It was a thrill to talk to them and they really seemed to enjoy the script. That means a lot to me.
The play is thirteen years old. That’s a lot of years, the students who were in the first production of the play are nearing 30 now. In the initial version, two characters exchanged ‘a tape.’ It means a lot that words, dialogue, scenarios and characters who resonated over a decade ago, still resonate today.
There’s no greater gift you can give a playwright, than to tell them that their words still mater all these years later.
Here’s hoping I can coax my little video out tomorrow….
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Ok, so I shot a lovely video for today. Forget the fact that the people in the booth across the way kept looking at me and wondering why I was talking to myself. Forget them. I had a very sweet and touching experience today, my first day here at the International Thespians Festival, and I was very excited to share it directly with you.
But for some reason, my video does not want to download and be shared with the world. I suspect it realizes how hot it is and would rather stay inside the camera.
are nearing 30 now. In the initial version, two characters exchanged ‘a tape.’ It means a lot that words, dialogue, scenarios and characters who resonated over a decade ago, still resonate today.
