LONELYPOND PRESENTS

Haven’t talked Shakespeare in a bit, but the calls about Merchant of Venice (#merven) auditions are already starting so it’s moving back into the mull over space in my brain. And my holdover obsession from my last reading is RINGS. Three of them: Portia’s, Nerissa’s and Shylock’s.

Shylock has a ring, you say, I missed that. If you did, go back, because I can’t get the thought out of my head that it is THE pivotal moment for his character. As Shylock is having a meltdown over his daughter’s disappearance with his goods, having only just paused that to finish his meltdown over the unfair treatment of Jews and moneylenders, his fellow moneylender Tubal reports he saw a ring Jessica traded for a monkey. Shylock’s wife had given him that particular turquoise ring before their bethrothal. Tubal’s revelation comes at the end of a scene mixing Shylock’s rage and thirst for revenge over his daughter’s betrayal with Antonio’s ill fortune and the opportunity it affords Shylock to settle a lifetime of grievances (III i) This scene changes the whole tone of the play and Shylock’s interaction with the world around him. And Shakespeare tosses in this moment of sentiment/personal history/real emotion(?) after Shylock’s totally over the top, playing to the balcony seats, possibly staged and well rehearsed rant*. So we come to the make or break scene, but while most seem to focus on the big dramatic “Hath a Jew not eyes” speech, I find myself focusing on what Shylock says after, when left alone with his only peer in the play and discussing the trigger of his raging sorrow (Jessica’s betrayal). Taming of The Shrew (#tamingshakespeare) taught me to only pay as much attention to the “BIG” speeches as the play actually requires so what I find myself wondering is not does Shylock bleed but does he shed a turquoise tear over wife’s loss and daughter’s treason.

And now to the shredding. Well, it’s going to take an exceptional actress to convince me that Portia’s not just a bubbling fountain of egocentric, self important, smart ass cruelty. What she does to Shylock could be justified as over protectiveness of Bassiano but then I stumble over the cruel trick she and Nerissa play on their newlywed husbands. First, they give Bassiano and Graziano rings and make them swear never to take them off, give them away, etc. Then, Portia and Nerissa, disguised as learned doctor of laws and his clerk, demand the men give them the rings as payment. Later in the final act, Portia and Nerissa claim to have lain with the doctor and the clerk by virtue of their possession of said rings. Oy. I must say the men show remarkable forbearance. Almost (only almost) more than finding a Portia, I worry about finding a Bassiano who can make Portia seem lovable. And Portia never bothers to explain that it might be a response to some of Bassiano’s protests of his loyalty to Antonio during the trial. Shakespeare often leaves a kick in the teeth for directors in Act V (if he hasn’t earlier aka Act I, sc ii of The Tempest, which should just be a prequel titled The Duke Of Milan).

So while many people focus on the three caskets, gold, silver and lead, that challenge Portia’s suitors, I find myself obsessed with three rings.

*I admit to pre prepping the occasional rant while pacing in my office/backyard/empty theatre; haven’t you?

Ha…that amused me. Enjoying the Olympics, although the curling tournament seems to take as long as the entire Winter Games (did you know a good set of curling rocks costs $1500 (acc. to Wikipedia) and there’s Curling for the Wii). But it’s fun to watch. Little Brother #2 only watches curling and hockey. The last Olympics he claims to have developed a crush on the Japanese curling team; I have yet to inquire about this year’s favorite.

Quick summary of stuff:

Really want to see Judy Dench as Titania in Midsummer. Once again, Sarah Hemming envy strikes. Midsummer is one of my favorite of Shakespeare’s plays and I’m developing a movie related project (or two).

There’s a new Stirfry Neon chapter. Current adventure: The Lady Lost or What Was I Thinking When I Turned That Corner.

Blink Kitty Love has been dormant for a month while I steep and work on tigers — Happy Year of the Tiger. Almost done with my tiger meditation period, including an excellent animation. Look for it here or the Twitter announcement (aka follow me @lonelypond).

I am considering some Blink Kitty Love changes, taking things a bit more experimental and exploring the world around the band…or just exploring the world and having fun with my unique animation style and humor. I’m much better at contained stories than an ongoing soap opera kind of thing and the best Blink Kitty Loves are when I’m inspired to comment/riff on something happening now. So I’m going to take that thought and see where it goes. I had a lot of fun putting in some hard work on my Year of The Tiger animation and I think it’s the best I’ve done yet. So I’ve been considering what I could do if I put the work into a longer story. The Olympics has me thinking: what’s my gold medal event.

The Lonely Pond annual meeting surprised me — it always does, but this year it wasn’t in the good way. I’ve been mulling over what happened for a couple of months now. We stalled right at the beginning with a restructuring discussion and didn’t get to my grand plans. The rest of Team Lonely Pond wants to be involved and doesn’t want to give up the company or the name, but they don’t want to commit the energy to take us to the level I wanted to go for reinventing Shakespeare on the web. So we’ve put the company on hold and I have consultants available. So I’m scaling back to one project at a time and dealing with the realization that I can do what I want, but I have to be certain that I have the enthusiasm to carry it through by myself. Which means I’m revisiting some earlier ideas that I once loved and are sitting on a shelf for no real reason at all.

Pop Culture Reviews + News:

I like Lady GaGa — I’ve been wandering around singing Paparazzi. It’s Little Brother #2’s fault; his taste in music sometimes surprises me. Caught Justin Bieber’s cover “Love Me” of The Cardigan’s LoveFool and it’s simply ludicrous. I hate when there’s an American Idol style remake of song that rolls on Radio FlashCatFlash (yes, I mean you Adam Lambert’s Mad World. Alison Iraheta’s Someone To Watch Over Me seems to be the only one that doesn’t cause me to twitch but that’s a song with multiple covers already and might be my weakness for brunettes showing.)

The Web Files is branching out with their new Buzz edition, covering events + news around the wonderful world of web series. Host Kristyn Burtt has great energy always, but especially when she’s prowling an event with a microphone, capturing the spark of the moment.

Smallville: took a break from the Olympics to catch the Wonder Twins episode. Not bad. I think we might be back on Team Smallville, although their color and emotional palette remains a bit dark for me.

My robot loving buddy @spacehospital is showing episodes from their first season on KoldCast TV. It’s insane fun with puppets, models and special effects.

Starstruck — bah, slow, boring, a really poorly paced + badly written version of It Happened One Night where Sterling Knight plays the spoiled heiress part. Well acted but characters not believable. And let’s be honest: Brandon Mychal Smith should have played the lead in a better written movie. He had one musical number and he brought enough energy to it for the whole movie. Disney once again loses points for their lack of showcasing multiracial actors.

Haven’t seen The Lightning Thief because Gayle wants to finish the book first. Oy. Love the How To Train Your Dragon Olympic themed commercials.

OK, curling calls. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

Greetings, o most loyal and amazing blog visitors. Happy 2010. I’m going to give you a fairly thorough round up as I would really like to be taking a couple of weeks for some R + R while it’s cold and all my baser instincts are saying, “Stay under the covers, it’s warm.” I am not particularly good at the R + R things so I may be forced to resort to things like read all the Harry Potter books, read all the Sarah Caudwell books, read all the Terry Pratchett Watch themed books, read my MFK Fisher + Elizabeth David, dig out my Raymond Chandler and Peter Cheyney, read through the pile of newspapers, watch all the movies I’ve borrowed from friends (Tristram Shandy, Bubba Ho-Tep, Steam Boy), watch the movies I watch every year and skipped in ‘09 (the original 3 American Pies, Tomb Raider, Bring It On, The Bandwagon, Strictly Ballroom, etc.)

So to tide you over, there’s the new Blink Kitty Love, all the old Blink Kitty Love, the band website and this:

Lunch With Tristram Stuart who feeds people from discarded food to highlight wastage.

Article about really cool jazz pianists CD collections I can’t afford.

The FT’s this year in culture quiz…

Stefan Stern’s suggestions for movies to watch and pick up business tips from this season (for the rest of you who don’t do R + R).

Very cool story about a native Gypsy theatre experiment/troupe in Spain. I am always amazed by the effect theatre can have on both audience and performers.

Umberto Eco’s latest looks to land on a list of fun reads.

Hoping to catch Nine at the local cinema…doesn’t look like Orson Welles and Me or The Station will make an appearance here; bumped Moon to the top of the Netflix queue and may soon give in to the buy Star Trek and/or Wizards of Waverly Place The Movie DVD urge…also on that list, the Cary Grant double feature — The Bachelor and The Bobby Soxer and Walk, Don’t Run, which I just saw on TCM and laughed at the frequently priceless moments.

TV: Zeke and Luther’s I, Skatebot episode looks cool, a bit worried about Wizards vs. Werewolves (Wizards of Waverly Place) — perhaps too soon after Wizards vs. Vampires and what will be left for Max, Wizards vs. really grumpy mythological creatures left out of the Twilight series — not really watching much on Nick at the moment except for late night What I Like About You, Top Gear kicks off a new season soon (Gayle very excited), I still miss Warehouse 13 and I really need to spend more time reading.

Merchant of Venice (#merven) planning not kicking into gear — but it’s early yet. Trying to get an artist for the logo, Gayle’s scheduling shows, I’ve decided to have people audition with their cool electronic gear (cell phones, laptops, etc.) Need to read through the play again; concerned about the Bassiano/Antonio axis –and no, I don’t mean in the gay way, just in the everybody’s always so concerned about Portia and Shylock, but hey without these two, I’ve got two right side wheels on a vehicle that needs two on the left as well.

The Lonely Pond Productions, Inc. annual meeting went in unexpected directions. But Google Wave worked well when the snow prevented travel. I need to put together scripts for a short live action adaptation and a few animations. And mull over movie related issues some more.

And Sarah Hemming’s “Twelfth Night” review left me grumping about people who weight down comedies with misery so I have been considering exactly how tragic the characters of Malvolvio, Sir Andrew, Wile E. Coyote, Elmer Fudd, et al are. And her Rope review makes the show sound like an excellent experience to have in a theatre.

Speaking of Hitchcock, there was a Vanity Fair photospread (thanks @njtam, a fellow Hitchcock fan) of modern stars in classic Hitchcock scenes…the women do better than the men, who seem to suffer from not being Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart.

My current favorite breakfast is oatmeal with hot apple cider for a drink, my current most likely to be worn shirt is this one (it amuses Gayle) and I heard this amazingly goofy song at one of our favorite restaurants that Google has been no help with finding the title of…the lyrics as we can remember go something like this: “you’re good cause you don’t do things like (or that) you should…you’re cool cause (cuz?) you don’t do things by the book.” Sounded like a guy singing, it was a Spanish-Peruvian restaurant where music usually has spanish lyrics, it was chanty, and if you drop the title/artist in the comments, there will be a reward.

And I think that gets you up to date — and should tide you over for awhile. Wishing you the best of 2010’s. Stay warm.

P.S. Cool toasters…I need one.

Peter Aspden on the problem defining cool + if Miles Davis is the solution.

Fashion Bloggers in the front row…Nicola Copping on how bloggers (example @bryanboy) are gaining influence with designers. Fashion Blogs I follow, well @meandmarisa found me on Twitter and I’ve been enjoying their photos and fashion thoughts.

Sarah Hemming talks to set designers about…set design.

Mexican left-wing printmakers took on church, politics + culture. Review of exhibit at British Museum.

Christine Lagarde, French Finance Minster, ranks #1.

Vanessa Friedman on how dressing for the EU President job will be almost as difficult as landing it.

And to end w/ a dinner tomorrow thought: a pumpkin risotto recipe. Also must make single serving apple crisps in these deep, white ramekins we have — feeling inspired by the season and the big nubbly apples sitting in our fruit bowl.

Saturn picture.

Stefan Stern on underappreciated management thinker Russ Ackoff; next time I hit the library, I’ll track down Management f-Laws.

Do The Chump, yes do The Chump, chump (amusing myself, no offense intended)…my friends @TheWebFiles interviewed Jeremy Redleaf of Odd Job Nation last week so I checked out his show and darn funny. Watched all three episodes and by the time they were doing The Chump at the end, I wanted more.

James Altucher, yes James Altucher has not disappeared; he has immigrated from the FT to a column for the New York Post, Huffington Post and various other venues. You can also find him on Twitter.

And I’m in the middle of a conversation about Shakespeare with new Twitter friend @feignedmischief who reviews plays and other fancies here.

So, this’ll have to cover you for a bit…TV reviews later. The Big Bang Theory both hits and misses (or should I say fumbles) and has iCarly lost all of its charms in a cloud of mean mischief and shouting. You’ll want to know. Stay tuned.

Have been meaning to write a post about Merchant of Venice (#merven) and costuming thoughts for awhile, definitely since Vanessa Friedman’s excellent coverage of this year’s Paris + Milan Fashion Weeks. Gayle and I have been talking clothes. We’re thinking very modern so we may have to add an iron to our usual touring gear and hit up consignment shops in Baltimore and Philadelphia for some suitable ties, if not entire suits. I can imagine the thrill that will be felt by the actors wearing business suits outdoors in the end of July heat.

Merchant of Venice is striking me more and more as a sleek, ruthless play of marble chess pieces in sharp edged modern suits, always on the go, accumulating, communicating, sifting, betting, collecting, judging. I ordered the Oxford edition . The Pelican, my choice in the past, is only available as a Kindle download. And there is always the Riverside as a constant, but it’s not portable. So the Oxford is my carrying around copy. I don’t remember liking the Arden or the Folger and I won’t have anything to do with an edition that has anything to do with Harold Bloom. I do not like his commentaries. I’m a Northrop Frye kind of director.

The Oxford’s simple cover graphic — a balance/scales — also appealed. From a quick perusal of the commentary, that item is an excellent choice because Merchant seems to be more about capital letter CONCEPTS: Justice, Mercy and their cousins, than it is about any of the individual characters. Perhaps that’s another reason for Portia’s disguise: not only can she save the day, she can represent a quality.

I am directing/exploring Merchant because I have had so many reactions to it. As a child, Portia was my favorite Shakespearean heroine. I loved how she manipulated logic and legal concepts while riding in to save the day (I also loved the Lone Ranger). So I had good memories of Portia. Then, several years ago, I reread Merchant as a possible choice for the next summer’s Theatre Under The Trees (”yes, sir, that’s my baby”) and was repulsed by Portia’s cruelty. I had this sudden vision of Alicia Silverstone in Clueless and Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde but without any warmth or heart or humor — shearing sharpened pink sabers.

Plus, there’s the Jew thing. You can’t get around the “gentle Jew” problem. Once I had a vision of doing an indoor adaptation titled Merchant of Hong Kong, with dark woods, harbor motifs, Chinese Mandarin robes and a British Shylock. Jew switched for Brit. There’s high concept for you.

York has a troubled history with racial and other forms of discrimination so the inciting a race/religious war concern will remain present. I know I’ll have to be prepared for cast questions/discussions. And honestly, I don’t know what to say. That’s why I want to direct Merchant. Shylock has this incredible speech that not only humanizes him but explains his behavior is as the Christians taught him. Gayle’s theory is that the play is anti-banker, although she hasn’t read it recently. Bankers are right now, here in 2009, the villians of nearly every piece. The only way I know to figure out if my first or second impression of Portia is the more accurate one is to direct the play, with no idea how it will turn out. Shakespeare’s truths show in performance.

I think Merchant might turn on Bassiano, the character I’d forgotten. There’s always a character who matters more than you think, the way in for the audience, the point everything pivots around, the weather for the play. In Twelfth Night, it’s Olivia; in Midsummer, it’s Oberon. They’re the characters who bring all the pieces together. And I had forgotten Bassiano. You remember Shylock, Portia, even Antonio. But I think Bassiano might be the one who makes it all work. But that’s just my first THIRD impression, after a quick read. I’m sure there’s a few more to come.

The FT’s* exploring mentoring and how artists learn w/ the sponsorship of Rolex and the two articles so far on participants in the program have been good.

Martin Scorsese talks about how he works, what movies inspire him and how he was treated when he was trying to learn the craft of movies.

Kate Valk describes the interesting and masked approach The Wooster Group takes to theatre as they develop performances.

Peter Aspden has been knocking out excellent columns. This week he talks to Martha Wainwright about interpreting Edith Piaf, Wainwright’s musical family and how she maintains her individual drift.

Several weeks ago (yes, I still have a pile of newspapers I’m working through), Peter Aspden wrote aboutPatti Smith now, and her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe then. I remember seeing “The Perfect Moment” Mapplethorpe exhibit - there was a clarity and an aggression that made them more vivid than any other photos I’d seen to that point. I think that’s when I realized photography could be art.

*Financial Times, my current newspaper of choice.

Because that’s what you’re here for, right?

Robots: my friend @kristynburtt, the creator and host half of my friends @TheWebFiles (@SPWrite the director + producer half) is in Texas at the Texas State Fair running across robot + bird sculptures. So, of course, someone helped her solve the mystery + we have a link to The Traveling Man.

Shakespeare + Sarah Hemming, because those two names seem to go together, here and in The Financial Times. This past weekend she interviewed Mark Rylance, director, actor and theatre extraordinaire type. The interview made me nostalgic for The Tempest, which I swore I would never direct again (just read Act I, scene ii and you’ll know why — Shakespeare should have just written a prequel titled The Duke of Milan instead of that scene.) The actress playing Biondello this summer told Gayle she wanted us to do it + now I’m getting the urge again. We far exceeded our reach for the second year of a program + I got to put magic tricks in — remind me to tell you sometime about a half ton trunk, small children dressed as dogs and why they should never be combined in the same scene. Or about the 15′ tall mast that was magnetically attracted to swimming pools or the producer who had to hold down half our set by clinging to a rope thrown down from the stage…The Tempest seems conducive to epic stories, as the Rylance article reminded me. Hmmmm……

This afternoon’s alternate office discovery (thanks to Wired magazine): How about The Elements — yes, of the Table of Perodic fame. Theodore Gray has written a book about them and it looks great.

And @flyingmonkeyair linked to the site he did for Mizna, the Arab American arts journal/events promoter, where I found a book I must track down, The Night Counter.

What else…Great Vanessa Friedman article about fashion, Rio, Paris runways, no more one liner designs and everything else.

That should keep you busy for a bit. Bon soir.

Some fun sites + serious thoughts I’ve run across in my internet ramblings recently.

Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues in a wordle. I like to limit my political controversy + ranting exposure to election periods, but it looks like we’re in for a full four years. So perhaps it’s time to pay attention to some of what the Founding Fathers have left us. I suggest a strong dose of tranquility for everyone. And throw in some tolerance, darn it, even though it’s not listed.

Jimmy Carter is a courageous man and a former president setting a great example for everyone. His suggestion that racism may be part of the irrational healthcare debate is a point to consider. I am very tired of people thinking politics and government is a place to pick sides and behave like ill mannered sports fans.

Fun stuff, as promised: Warehouse 13 — watch, darn it. Here’s a spoiler free review of the last two episodes from the folks at io9. SyFy’s having an all day marathon next Tuesday, September 22nd, starting w/ the pilot at 9 a.m. At least watch Duped at 5 p.m. Incredible directing, solid writing, excellent performances, real suspense and just a touch of disco fun. Claudia is becoming one of my favorite TV characters ever so I’m really hoping she isn’t the quisling. Warehouse 13 has already been picked up for a second season + it would be GREAT if they don’t fall into the Eureka trap and have a complete tonal change for the second go round. I can take some more suspense, but PLEASE leave in the quirk and the fun. And if Claudia actually is developing a minor Myka crush, bonus points.

Here’s a fun commuter trains of thought graphic my friend Denise linked to on Facebook.

And a lovely piece of music for a slightly overcast day that bestows mellow happiness and memories of Fred Astaire.

And because, it’s fun + wacky…introducing a potential new celebrity: The Spork, who may or not get his/her/its own shirt this weekend.

Oh, and I have a bunch of FT links in my head + scattered across my desk that need to be cleared out, but for right now, props to Sarah Hemming for an excellent review of Judgement Day and an interesting interview with Rupert Goold.

Hope to catch up some more on the weekend (+ watch Adventureland, which is sitting in its red NetFlix envelope on top of the TV). The Informant looks funny — Matt Damon earned a spot on my favorite funny movie cameo list with Eurotrip , but I’m saving up for SPX next weekend.

This was just going to be about me swearing off entering film festivals, considering film festivals, reading about film festivals, worrying about film festivals, et al on the advice of Gayle who remembers me complaining about nearly frying my computer every time I think I ought to enter one. So Blink Kitty Love is going to continue its merry musical way without the imprimatur of the Nick Animation Fest — which does look fun + is free to enter so points for them (entries closed for this year; try next if that’s your flavor). But there I am looking for approval or safety or a production deal again, and I’m not sure that’s what I’m actually trying to conquer — not that I’d turn down a production deal ; ) And I really do nearly fry my computer every time.

But (second half swearing off reference, cue segue)…

Entertainment Weekly listed its top 20 animated films ever and not only do they have Chicken Run in (instead of Fantasia for instance), one of the main criteria seems to be will it make you, the viewer, cry. The goal is not even like that of old school tragedies — will you learn a lesson while someone’s eyes are being plucked out offstage and tears are being rent unwilling from yours or as you just stare at the stage in horrified understanding, just maudlin basic level Dumbo separated from his Mom issues. The easy stuff. That and September 11th references + articles, made me remember when and why I swore off tragedies for the summer Shakespeare Theatre Under The Trees experience.

September 11, 2001 I had a touring show rehearsal (acting) in the morning, Gayle had a day off, Beau was a little past teenager + living with us…I walked into the theatre some time after nine (I am not prompt in the morning; rehearsal started at 8:30 a.m. Diane plans around me). There was an atmosphere I hadn’t felt since the watching the Challenger disintegration at Northwestern’s student center or the couple of times I listened to the World Series on the radio (one of those times was in college, in an effort to study while it was happening — total fail; the other was grade school when I had a manic Phillies fan as a teacher). All of the parents were huddled around the table, a news type voice was saying something about Logan airport and I remembered my sister lived in Boston. And so I jumped to the conclusion that something had happened there. Then the full + awful story unwound while the rapt silence continued. I found a phone to call the still sleeping Gayle, so glad that both she + Beau were safe and that I knew where they were. I was still worried about the Boston branch of the family. My father watched the Towers fall from the roof of the plant he worked at in Rahway, NJ, came home that night and hung up an American flag from the eaves.

So that summer, the plan was to do Julius Caesar. I had even applied for a Nike grant — I thought football uniforms and a sports theme might add an interesting flavor. But one afternoon, I just decided not to watch people die on stage. If I did it well (and I planned to), it would be riveting + horrifying. That wasn’t what the universe needed. I asked myself, because it suddenly seemed possible, if the world were going to end, what play would I regret not doing. I had always loved Beatrice + Benedict; the wonderful wordplay that was their relationship. So the summer of 2002 turned into the summer of Much Ado About Nothing. And I continue to shake my head at gifted comedians who would rather play Ophelia than Beatrice or Rosalind or Olivia(although one of them recently told me she’d rather play Gertrude than Ophelia; it’s a much better part.)

September 11, 2001…so much happened then + since. My thoughts are with the victims’ friends + families and the soldiers who fight for our country. I often think they all deserve better politicians.