(an artistic rendering, of course) and thank my lucky stars that I get to go to a school that's so gorgeous in autumn.
However, smack in the middle of October and two weeks before Halloween, THIS IS UNCALLED FOR, STATE COLLEGE:
That's right. Snow. And I'm not talking a few flurries either--that's a picture from when I went to dinner, and it's kept going since then. And they say it'll keep on till Saturday. It's supposed to stick around until next week, when the temperature will suddenly shoot up into the 60s.
Sheesh.
When I was little, I said snow was God's dandruff (which, in retrospect, is pretty gross). If that so happens to be true, USE HEAD AND SHOULDERS, GOD.
Of course, while I existed in various degrees of dampness and gloom today (the whole "Snow! It's so pretty!" thought process lasted for about five minutes, after which I had to walk several miles downtown to get dresses hemmed. Not a great idea. I actually took the bus there, which I warned you before is an ordeal in itself. For some reason, I decided to walk back, which was an even worse idea.), I couldn't help but congratulate myself for going to see the School of Theatre's production of Romeo and Juliet last night.
I didn't take that, by the way, although I wish I'd brought my camera, but that is a real picture from the event. You can find the whole write-up here.
But really, it was an excellent version of the classic love story, even though I could barely stand to walk away at the end. For the first time, even having performed in it, I felt emotionally connected to the tale of the star-crossed lovers. Of course, it was all senior theatre majors and MFA candidates, so they've been pretty rigorously trained.
Still, though--still. At the end, I felt something tugging at my cynical heartstrings. Also, I think there's something in the original play where the Capulet and Montague families reconcile at the end. They didn't have that here--which leaves the ending uncertain if Romeo and Juliet's death taught them anything. I really liked that aspect.
The reason I could barely stand, in case you haven't read the write-up, is because it was outside--like a Shakespeare in the Park event, except it was at the Alumni Center. They built a stage and a trellis in front of the Alumni House, and for the balcony scene, Juliet sits on a window sill from inside and Romeo climbs up the trellis to talk to her. For another scene in Juliet's bedroom, her bed was center stage and Romeo climbs "in" from the house. Excellent scenic design.
And, of course, there was the surreal experience of watching a show where you could recite every line of a particular character and knew exactly what he would say next. This, of course, was Mercutio, whom I portrayed in my high school's production last year. (That's a completely different story.)
I actually completely forgot where he came in, until everyone was dancing to the Capulet party (and this was where I wished I had my camera: there was a contagious Mardi Gras feel, with a giant jester's head on a pole, and people dancing a la Sandstorm and singing).
What was it like? Well, first of all, this 'Cush (as people fondly called me) had an awesome top hat. I was jealous. Apart from the hat, it was intriguing to see how the actor--who is an MFA candidate and a TA in my theatre class--took the same part that I had and created a whole new character.
From Theatre 100, I knew the guy could be funny, and he was. He interpreted some lines differently than I did (he even caught an innuendo that I hadn't and played it up), but I was surprised by how much we did the same. We both had some of the same sarcastic moments, teased Romeo in the same way... it was surreal.
I expected, after seeing it, to worship his portrayal and think about how I could have done this and that...but strangely, I didn't. I think we both played the character well to fit in with our directors' interpretations of the show. For instance, some of the choices he made--like being extremely hungover and hiding from the SWAT team after the Capulets' party--would not have gone over in our version, which was post-Civil War Texas, North vs. South.
Is that conceited, to like his and my interpretations equally well? I was more of a hothead. He was more of a clown. I feel like you could take the character either way. In any case, I'd be fascinated to discuss it with him--and since he's my TA, maybe I'll get a chance to.
I'm quite willing to discuss this more (Lord Capulet, for example, was brilliant), but I won't go on and on--if you want to hear more about it, comment/message me. Trust me in knowing it was well worth losing the feeling in my legs for.
However, their performance tonight was cancelled, due to the snow. What is it with snow wreaking havoc on Romeo and Juliet? Last year, our opening night almost got cancelled and we were missing some actors due to an unexpected snowstorm.
The lesson here: if you want to put on R&J, do it in the summer. In Miami. Or, if you just want to see Penn State's version, go here. You'll have to install Silverlight, but it's not that big of a deal, and it'll be well worth it.
Rumor was they were putting it on at the Playhouse Theatre tonight (a good thing, since Juliet wears a slip for most of the show), and although I'd have loved to see it again, I'll settle for the webcast. A day and night in the slushy snow does not a happy Laura make.
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