Critique of Love's Labour's Lost

So, I thought that the play overall was quite well done.  My favorite parts were Costard's.  It just really helps to have a character like him come to life.  He is definitely the biggest reason, I feel, that this play is a comedy.  He just has so many lines, and I thought the actor did alright portraying him as a mischievous individual.

Let's talk about the setting.  It was interesting to have it set in the 40's, but I thought it fit very nicely.  It was very interesting too to have so much of it revolve around the United Service Organization radio show.  Although I never really did see much of why the "Duke" had so much sway and influence, nor did I see them really stay away from women AT ALL during the play, I thought just about everything else fit in perfectly well.  After all, Don Armado was supposed to be good at entertaining, so he fit into the radio show host quite well.

Reading through the director's note, I can especially see why this fit well.  After all, many of Shakespeare's romantic comedies end with a marriage scene, or scenes as the case may be.  However, in Love's Labour's Lost they don't end in this way.  In similar manner, none of the characters married at the end of this production as they didn't want to marry someone who'd just go off and die.  Although the director's grandparents did get married beforehand, I can definitely see how this ties in rather well.

I also thought that the use of props and accents went over quite well.  Especially in Don Armado's case.  It really added to the humor of it all.  Just a last thought on the setting they were all placed in.

I really liked how they revolved around the canteen for the actual set.  All transitions seemed to go really well, and they kept it very simple.  I especially liked how the mirrors were simple wooden frames.  We could all tell what they were, but with very little to help us out.  This definitely made moving them a lot easier!  And we could still see them.  That probably had a bit to do with it too. But I liked how they could just pull up or drop down a few things to make it all work, and that all the other scenes were either inside or outside of the canteen area.  It is also fun to note that I don't think the musicians ever had to move, but you never really noticed them when they weren't in the scene.  Very well done.

So, those are just a few of my impressions from the play.  It seemed to go very streamlined both in action and in going along with the original.

Shakespeare discussion panel

So, am I terribly evil if I kind of envision our Shakespeare panel as this?

And now, to justify it:

I really like how serious they are about it. They bring in names, statistics, etc. as well and they do cover a few vital issues concerning their topic. So, as a Shakespeare panel, we should definitely be similar in these ways to them. I do like going at it with two for, two against, and one mediator.

For Kent

As the title implies, this is mostly for Kent. :)

Originally, I had wanted the audio for this, but I can't quite figure out how to get that working. Basically, I think I need to get some other software on my computer first. But I haven't had the time to look into it yet. But, here it is without the audio (which is probably better for all of you, as I can't sing--I mean seriously, how many times have you gone Christmas caroling and had their dog come out and howl along with you???). 

So, since we did some recording on Saturday, I was thinking about how nice it would be if I had Kent's experience and confidence in acting. So, I quickly came up with this little song about it:

 If I could be like Kent

 I would give anything

 Just to spend one day

In his shoes

I figured the song choice was fitting for what we were doing. And yes, I am getting pulled off the stage there because my singing is so bad. If you want a second opinion, I'm sure Anne and Emily would agree.

Sickly-sweet tones of a hopeless romantic

I'll just start this post off by expressing how happy I am that we will be watching this play. Mostly because I can see how fun a lot of this dialogue is going to be. It's just that it is so hard to read through all of these poems and letters that the men are writing!!! Ah, it's just too much!!!

So, finishing this play made me think: what do women really want when a guy comes to court them? Especially the ones in these plays--many of them seem to be wealthy and well-to-do. After all, if somebody wanted to make an impression on me, spouting poetry all day every day would lead me to the same fate as poor Katherine: killed by love.

Now, the ideal response to this question would definitely be to have all the girls who read this comment on what they (or their "friend") would most like to give the guys a better picture. Unless of course they do what this sickly-sweetness that I felt was overly-represented in this play. I don't know. I personally feel that such lines and phrases can be dynamite when used sparingly and in timely situations.

But, I guess I could share what I think girls want most. Correct me if I'm wrong.

1. Girls are crazy. Just don't even try to guess what they want.




But really. It sometimes is like that.





I guess, in general girls want someone they feel secure with, someone who always picks them up when they are down and makes them feel like they are someone others want to be like and be around (AKA the best thing in the guy's life is her), someone who will spoil her (is that just sometimes, or all time?), someone who helps her be her best, someone she is comfortable with, etc. Something like that, right?

Anyway, I just wanted to post about this today because I got so tired of the love poetry over and over and over and over and over and over and...kind of like you might already be tired of this repetitive sentence. :)

Anyway, what do all of you think? I do definitely want to have some comments on what people think about this, either on what girls (and guys for that matter) really look for, or what people thought about the poems and love letters in Love's Labour's Lost.

Star-Crossed overall plot

So, I just wanted to put this up for all to see. What does everybody think of this as our overall plot for Star-Crossed?

First, we begin with Ariel and Puck hanging out, pulling pranks and whatnot.  It should be a very fun scene and we are all working individually this week on pranks that they could pull. I should have mine up tomorrow.

Second, Oberon begins to notice Puck. He wants him to be one of his attendants. At this time, he learns of Puck's romantic engagements, and so he comes up with the idea of giving Puck a magical potion of some sort that will make him forget of his love. He then has Puck go get it for him, and we read of Puck's adventure in doing so.

Third, due to a miscommunication (possibly due to one of Puck's pranks), Puck thinks that his love has left him, though she really hasn't. Oberon responds by offering the potion to him, which he then takes. We then are thinking of ending with Anne's quote, as a monologue by Puck's love. It's pretty legit. :)

So, that's basically what we are thinking off right now.

Just a start

So, this is really ONLY a starting point. I still need to make it sound more Shakespeare-like and I need to check iambic pentameter, rhythm, etc. But here's my first draft of a scene:

Ariel: Well met young Puck. I feel we have much in common. Come, away with us my boy. Our first feat will be to tamper with the affairs of those hapless creatures in the local village.

Puck: And what shall we do there master?

Ariel: Why, I generally leave that up to how I feel in the moment. I give myself a lot of room to work in.

Puck: Such as?

Ariel: Sometimes I hide their clothes. At other times, I get them to fall asleep and I move them somewhere else. And sometimes I change their appearance and watch the reactions of those around them.

Puck: Aye, that sounds gloriously entertaining!

Ariel: On then, young lad. Let us get to it.

Ariel: Well, here we are young lad. Does anything catch your eye?

Puck: Hmmm. I suppose that the young lass over there looks like she could use some more cheer in her day.

Ariel: That would be a dog. They aren’t as much fun to tease as humans. I can tell this is your first time.

Puck: Ok, so a human then. How about that foolish looking lad. He looks like he’d be easy enough.

Ariel: Fine then. What sort of trickery do you see in store for him?

Puck: Hmmm. He does seem to be a bit of an idiot. Perhaps we should get him to follow us somewhere?

And then I'll have them do something. So, I know it needs a lot of editing, and I'll do that very soon. Content-wise though, what do you guys think? I know that the writing is terrible and I really need to flesh out some 3D characters for it, but do you all have any thoughts as to what Shakespeare would do for that or how he would really make it come alive now? 

I think I'm a little behind...

So, I've heard we have a wiki where we are collaborating for our final project. Where is that exactly?

Anyway, I am definitely behind the times.  Thank you Emily for trying to catch me up. In your email to me, you mentioned how we wanted a background story for Puck, tying it into an Aladdin-esque theme. So, how about this?

Aladdin was an orphan, so we can say that Puck was found in the forest as a young one. He was reared by a fairy under Oberon (so a slightly better life than Aladdin--we could also just have him live alone until he is older and that is why he likes pranks so much-->because he's finally around people or something like that), and this fairy is a very humorous fairy. His life beforehand is largely a mystery--he was found with absolutely nothing but the clothes on his back, and he was too young to remember much. He is happier now though. Perhaps he had some memories of a bad domestic influence in his early years. But we'll never know.  Such is the life of us peons.

Anyway, we need a love interest.  And an unrequited one at that. So, perhaps we could have a fairy friend of Puck who totally digs him.  But he sees her more as a sister the entire time, and also doesn't want to mess up their friendship at all (maybe another friend dated a close friend and it ruined their relationship recently). Anyway, since he had some bad upbringing pre-Oberon, maybe he doesn't want to lose the warmth of such a good relationship. Also, Puck has his eye on a high-standing fairy, as per my original idea. She is a pretty amazing fairy, and she is also very influential. But, as he is a low-standing fairy, he doesn't have a chance to catch her eye. So, we can have a bit of a chase going on here.

This is only something that I am thinking of as I type, so it could definitely be improved. And I have no idea what we have already done.  So I apologize if there are any repeats or anything I wrote was already discussed.

So, again, I know that this is pretty bad. But I'm just throwing it all up here in order to get the creative juices flowing. Once I have a better understanding of what direction we are heading in, I'll be able to focus it better and drastically improve the quality.  As it is now, though, I do not have any idea what we are shooting for. I am sailing without a compass as it where.

Pythagorean influence?

So, I keep coming back in my mind to the first act of Love's Labour's Lost.  In it, the king is trying to set up an academy where the men do nothing but study.  It is interesting to note some of the similarities this shares with the brotherhood that Pythagoras established.

 

As per Wikipedia, some of the characteristics were:

Candidates had to pass through a period of probation, in which their powers of maintaining silence (echemythia) were especially tested, as well as their general temper, disposition, and mental capacity.


There were ascetic practices (many of which had, perhaps, a symbolic meaning) in the way of life of the sect.^[65] Some represent Pythagoras as forbidding all animal food, advocating a plant-based diet, and prohibiting consumption of beans.
There appears to be some historical discrepancies regarding this, but temperance of all kinds seems to have been urged. 


It is also stated that they had common meals, resembling the Spartan system, at which they met in companies of ten.^[70]

Ten, of course, was the most sacred number. They even prayed to it. :)

So, when Ferdinand creates a law that those who study with him for the next three years must inhibit their time with women (even though women were included in Pythagoras' brotherhood), food, and other such pursuits, it really reminded me of this.  In their search for further knowledge, they wished to be bereft of all worldly influences.

This also seems to follow after ancient views of knowledge.  After all, when Pythagoras or the Jains of India sought to learn more about the abstract qualities of numbers, they also felt that in so doing they would unlock a spiritual aspect of themselves.  They felt that understanding numbers would lead them to understanding the divine. Why else would Pythagoras' adherents assign meaning and gender to numbers, even praying to the number 10 as the "most holy"? Why would the Babylonians use a base 60 number system to correspond to the numerical rating they gave to their highest God? People in these times believed that numbers were divine, and that deep study of them would bring one closer to their God(s).

So, that last paragraph was me largely throwing out a lot of ideas regarding the ancient's views on numbers, but I would definitely say that this still had some influence in the minds of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. If we look at Shakespeare's other plays and remind ourselves that this was still near the time of the Renaissance, we can easily see it creep into his works. After all, if numbers and other types of learning were not seen as "divine" or god-like, how could Prospero hold so much power based solely on his learning from his books? How could witches exist? It seems that much of the supernatural things humans can do in plays are attributed to their learning. I find it very interesting.

 

Isn't it an interesting book? We have Prospero's magic mixed with learning. Go figure! Fits this post perfectly!

Anyway, that's what it got me thinking about.  The play's about love, and I think about math and magic. Go me! I'll probably be single for a long time because of that. :)

Out of the ashes...

So, I've been gone for quite a while!  It's been a while since I was that sick.  I'm feeling quite a bit better now though, so I'll be getting a lot of stuff up now in the next few days!!!

More on Final Project Ideas

So, I was thinking yesterday about how I could possibly put some more common Shakespeare themes into my idea of a play where Puck is the main character.  From this, I began thinking about how a lot of the plays that I have read have something to do with loyalty of friends or family.

Basically, what if Puck had begun as a lowly underling, but then started dating a high-up fairy?  This would mean that Puck would probably have had a very different personality at the beginning as a young-un, but that he was just beginning to blossom and this higher-up fairy had seen that.

But then, what if she dies, or leaves him for something else, etc., and he becomes sad.  However, then his family and friends kind of shun him--even though right before this they had all held him in high esteem (but, it turns out, it was only because he was gaining prestige)--and he then is left sad and alone (think of Job too here).

After this point, he could go through everything I had in my initial blog, Oberon takes a liking to him, and he rises in prestige yet again.  Now, his friends and family try to return to him, but he refuses and shuns them (maybe have some of a revenge theme here?).  Nobody speaks of the painful points of Puck's transformation after this either as they do not want him to relapse.

I think that this will be what I develop first then.  I'll put some writing down on my post Saturday, unless I somehow get it done by tomorrow.  I'd definitely appreciate it if you all looked it over and gave suggestions!  That, of course, includes this post.  Does anybody have any other ideas for this?  Anything you think should change or could be improved?

Now, here are a few other ideas for it, represented in a more user friendly format:

This makes me think of Shakespeare's fairies mixed with those wood things in Princess Mononoke.  So, one like this could gear us towards a more "cutesy" play.

This is similar to the first, but maybe a little plainer.  If we can't think of enough to flesh out the characters, or just want a "cutesy" play without the sometimes-crazy interpretations in anime-styled things like Princess Mononoke.  :)

To me, this "Alone" just spells out a tragedy...

Tragedy, with hope on the horizon?

Alone, but with mystery (Romance genre). So, something happens/comes to him to get him to go to Ariel? It becomes an important, magical mission?

We could make it really freaky...Asian horror films sure do capture that...

Now, here's something I found just searching "Alone" on YouTube. I thought it could also be interesting to give Puck an awfully dark history. Say his girlfriend cheats on him, and his feelings are similar to those of this song. Then, to turn it all around at the very end (maybe after he brings about her death--revenge plot), we could switch the girl from being a terrible person who trampled on his heart to someone who always did love him and under some circumstances had to/was forced to do that to him for his own good or from magic, etc. Now, Shakespeare generally ended his plays with all dying after this, but what if she asked him to live on and he did for her, or he chose not to die in order to face up to what he did to her as a sort of penance? And he is such a trickster now because it is his way of forgetting what happened but staying alive and trying to be what he could have been before this all happened (to be what he was becoming before it all). Or maybe Oberon could give him some "Forget-Me" juice. In any case, I think this would be a pretty tragic beginning!!!