More advice to the players; don't eat onions right before a performance.      Like many people, this was my first exposure to Romeo and Juliet

I should sleep

Thursday june 14.

as we read tonight , I was taken in by how he wrote for women (well men playing women, no, that's not right..women)

That short scene with Lady Capulet, the Nurse and Juliet-- in just a few lines we know who these women are and what their relationships are.

Again , I am stunned by how smart and sophisticated Juliet is. How sharp her logic is, but she, like everybody is going to make some real bad choices....soon.

I thought more about that moment when Lady Capulet sends the Nurse away only to bring her back two seconds later-- perhaps she picks up on a moment of petulance from Juliet, a sigh or an eye roll, or just a thick quiet-- and at that moment knows that she does not want to face her alone.

The characters are so rich, the story is important, but it takes a back seat to the people.

Ohhhhhh, yeah- same idea of the looooong lines- this is cool because the verses start off short and percussive but after 1:25 (the guitar break) the lines become longer and more complex. And most importantly, the end of the lines are as strong as the start.

I add this because as I listened to it the other day, It dawned on me that it's a good illustration of the looooooooong lines in the play. We have to continue the lines from start to finish.  The opening line of this song goes on and on.

Francesca Woodman -- Sea of Love

a bit more

On Being An Angel 3/4

This video is a bit long and static but it features the photos of an incredible young artist named Francessca Woodman.  I got it in my head that Juliet is an artist and very sophisticated. In the balcony scene her thoughts are more nuanced than Romeo. Woodman was very young ,but her work was thoughtful and fully formed, she was about 20 when these photos were taken,

Tragically she committed  suicide when she was 22. I look at her work and I imagine these are the kind of pictures Juliet would take- self portraits but somehow removed and hidden.  (I don't think Juliet would be quite so comfortable with nudity)

I like the grand sense of doom and lush romance.  Bad things are all around. Like reading someones diary.