Riba Rambles:
Musings of a Mental Magpie

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:30 PM

I'll close out what turned into Shakespeare week by posting an updated accounting of which Shakespeare plays I've seen and how often:

And here's the list of plays I still haven't seen:

Othello Timon of Athens Troilus and Cressida Two Gentlemen of Verona Two Noble Kinsmen

Henry IV, part 2 Henry VI, part 1 Henry VI, part 2 Henry VI, part 3 Henry VIII

Shakespeare & Co. will be staging Othello this summer, but catching the rest seem like a challenge.

Scanning the upcoming seasons of the local Shakespeare companies, I'm noticing the same titles over and over again. And while I appreciate the added depth I gain from seeing multiple interpretations, I'm still craving something new.

Even though Actors' Shakespeare Project has staged less than half the Bard's oeuvre, next year they're actually branching out to plays by Shakespeare's contemporaries. [Why won't you stage some of the plays I haven't seen? And if you are looking at the other Elizabethan playwrights, I'm quite partial to Marlowe...]

So consider this my wishlist. Any Boston-area company staging one of these nine above can guarantee my attendance, at least...

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:22 PM

My earlier mention of Titus reminded me of the CafePress store I created:

Checking in on the site, I noticed that CafePress is now offering several new items of black clothing, which I have added to the store.

I also created my first non-black item in the store. For how could I resist putting that slogan on a kitchen/BBQ apron?

My only regret about CafePress's merchandise is that they don't currently stock a black baby-doll.

Because that's what I want for myself.

PS: I still regularly wear the Titus baseball cap I got from ASP. If anybody asks, I say I'm rooting for the body count...

Posted by Lis Riba at 1:11 PM

Just some matters on my mind, none of which quite deserved an entry of their own:

Coming soon to the big screen, Anthony Hopkins' King Lear, with Gwynneth Paltrow as Regan and Kiera Knightley playing Cordelia. [Goneril has not yet been cast]

Anybody remember the quote from Slings & Arrows Season 3 about the importance of size when casting Cordelias?

Channel 4 is also filming an adaptation of the recent RSC production starring Sir Ian McKellan, which is due around Christmas.

And speaking of celebrity Shakespeare, Kim Cattrall is apparently in talks with the Statford Festival to play Cleopatra.

While reading up on Cardenio, I discovered three novels in which the search for Shakespeare's missing play is a major part of the plot:

• Thursday Next in Lost in a good book by Jasper Fforde
• Interred with their bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell
• Looking for Cardenio by Jean Rae Baxter

Just in case anybody else is interested.

The latter two sound like DaVinci Code derivatives, though I've read and liked Carrell's previous nonfiction work, The Speckled monster: a historical tale of battling smallpox.

I don't usually give much truck to attempts to read in biographical information from the plays.

But is the reconciliation with Rome in King John used as evidence of Shakespeare being a closet Catholic (or Catholic sympethizer)?

James Nicoll raised an amusing question the other day:

If you were going to insert a detective into one of Shakespeare's tragedies, would you go for a character like Philip Marlowe or one like Miss Marple? The Chandleresque character strikes me as more likely to live to the end of the story but Marple could be played as a kind of wise fool.

After some consideration, I think the tragedies would benefit more from a good family counselor than any sort of detective...

Still, the discussion, though brief, was entertaining.

And after imagining Lt. Columbo tromping around the stormy heath in his raincoat, stopping in the doorway of Gloucester's castle to ask "just one more thing..."

Well, my mind made one of its leaps and I suddenly pictured Fred Savage whining to Peter Falk:

And if "murdered by pirates is good," then Hamlet's got that covered...

Finally, something I couldn't quite fit into my King John review:

In one of Ian's favorite passages, Lady Constance was berating Lymoges, duke of Austria, when Philip pipes up from the sidelines and nearly starts a brawl before King John reins him in:

Keep in mind, Ian's favorite Shakespeare quote is one of the earliest recorded "yo mamma" gags.

That Shakespeare, what a hack.

Posted by Lis Riba at 12:48 PM

Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me just quoted Leon Kass, head of the President's Council on Bioethics, about the offensiveness of eating ice-cream cones in public. [Listen to Panel Round Two]

I blogged about that four years ago.

Including Miss Manners' writings that certain desserts "may be properly eaten on the sidewalk."

Posted by Lis Riba at 12:20 PM

Videos: Dancing Dog Terry, the Talking Raven A talking budgie

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:40 PM

So, we caught an 8:15 pm screening of the new Indiana Jones movie. [I texted an entry from my cellphone while trying to ignore the pre-movie commercials, but it appears to have gotten lost in the ether.]

Most of my observations about the film would be considered spoilers, so I'll hold off on those for now.

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:04 PM

Can this be true?

I just saw on Tom Smith's LJ that Robert Lynn Asprin passed away.

His Myth Adventures series were among my favorite books when I was in high school.

I feel gobsmacked...

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:25 PM

To make up for my whining a moment ago, how about a double-helping of I Can Has Fenway Franks:

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:15 PM

Just posted a whole slew of updates to Bard in Boston, with everything from the major company's summer schedules to public school productions, and even a couple casting calls thrown in. [I found several more listings for small-town events occurring in July and August, but I'm holding off on those until they're a little closer.]

I really need to work on a more organized system for finding and posting these updates, and possibly see if I can't recruit other interested volunteers to help keep the listings up-to-date.

I'm also looking into updating the style for the site. While I like the ability to show the most recent entries in full, with briefer summaries of older posts, the style offering that feature lacks many of the newer updated options.

I'm almost tempted to buy BiB a paid account for a month or two, customize the style as I like it, and then let the account lapse. [According to LJ's FAQ, I'd be able to keep the style, just couldn't edit it further.]

But that may be for another time, when I have the time...

Which may not be for a while.

I'm just pleased I managed to post these updates.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:00 AM

All Shakespeare every day may give the wrong impression of my generally eclectic nature.

It's been a while since I've posted some of these:

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:30 PM

Now, to the opposite end of the Shakespeare spectrum.

I found the most delightful books at PlayTime in Arlington (MA):

Coloring Books by Bellerophon Books:		Paper Dolls by Dover Publications:
A Shakespeare Coloring Book	Queen Elizabeth I Coloring Book	Great Characters from Shakespeare	Queen Elizabeth I Paper Dolls	Mary Queen of Scots Paper Dolls

The three books by Dover feature original color illustrations by Tom Tierney. Mary's also includes figures for all three of her husbands, and an incredibly effeminate image of James, age 16.

Bellerophon's coloring books are somewhat more interesting, because they've transformed existing artworks into line drawings.

And how could I resist an oversized coloring-book version of Peacham's drawing of Titus Andronicus?

Hee!

Posted by Lis Riba at 6:54 PM

Just saw this entry on The Shakespeare Post, and thought some of my academic readers might have something to contribute on the subject:

London Conference to Discuss How Monarchs and Power Were Portrayed on Shakespeare's Stage

Globe Education and the Universita di Padova, with the support of the Fondazione Cariparo, will be hosting a conference titled, "Role and Rule: History and Power on Stage" at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre February 6-8, 2009. The sponsors are accepting proposals for twenty-minute scholarly papers through July 15.

The conference will discus the various ways that monarchy was represented on the Elizabethan and Jacobean stage. Specifically, it will focus on how dramatists portrayed English monarchs and the role of Majesty and wrote about the relationship between power and people. In addition to examining plays of the period, the conference will discuss masques, allegorical representations, and other theatrical forms such as public speeches and proclamations. Professor Stephen Orgel of Stanford University will open the conference.

Suggested topics for proposed papers include Shakespeare's history plays, representations of female rule and self-representation by Elizabeth I and James I. Proposals should not exceed 500 words and should be accompanied by a short CV and a list of publications.

Meanwhile, categorize this under things that make me go oooh!

The American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) will be holding their conference in Boston, November 5-9, 2008.

Within the organization, the Shakespearean Performance Research Group provides "an ongoing home for the study of Shakespearean performance," and have just issued their call for papers:

For the 2008 conference, to be held in Boston, November 5-9, we seek papers that address issues relating to our three subgroups:

1. Shakespearean Performance Histories;
2. Shakespearean Performance Theories; and
3. Shakespearean Performance Practices.

To wit:

• What makes a "Shakespearean performance" count as "Shakespearean"?
• Is this a genre of performance that is particularly defined/deformed/undone by textuality, authorship?
• What kinds of analytic strategies seem required by this genre of performance?

Selected papers will be assigned to one of the three subgroups and the conveners will organize on-line communication of subgroup members before the conference. At the three-hour conference session, papers will be discussed first within the subgroups, after which the groups will come together to exchange ideas. We will seek to continue discussion of the work of the group's members after the conference, in an on-line forum moderated by the group's conveners.

I am such a geek, but I wanna go...

Do conferences like these offer media passes?

Posted by Lis Riba at 2:48 PM

Court rules U.S. currency discriminates against blind people

WASHINGTON - The U.S. discriminates against blind people by printing paper money that makes it impossible for them to distinguish among the bills' varying values, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upholds a decision by a lower court in 2006. It could force the Treasury Department to redesign its money. Suggested changes have ranged from making bills different sizes to printing them with raised markings.

The American Council for the Blind sued for such changes but the Treasury Department has been fighting the case for about six years.

"I don't think we should have to rely on people to tell us what our money is," said Mitch Pomerantz, the council's president.

The U.S. acknowledges the design hinders blind people but it argued that blind people have adapted. Some relied on store clerks to help them, some used credit cards and others folded certain corners to help distinguish between bills.

The court ruled 2-1 that such adaptations were insufficient. The government might as well argue that, since handicapped people can crawl on all fours or ask for help from strangers, there's no need to make buildings wheelchair accessible, the court said.

"Even the most searching tactile examination will reveal no difference between a $100 bill and a $1 bill. The Secretary has identified no reason that requires paper currency to be uniform to the touch," Judge Judith W. Rogers wrote for the majority.
     [...]
The appeals court also ruled that the U.S. failed to explain why changing the money would be an undue burden. The Treasury Department has redesigned its currency several times in recent years, and adding features to aid the blind would come at a relatively small cost, the court said.

Other countries have added such features, the court said, and the U.S. never explained what made its situation so unique.

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:05 PM

It was a dangerous time for the English monarch:

The challenges Queen Elizabeth faced are relatively well known.

So how much more daring for Shakespeare to recount the parallels in King John's lifetime?

---

In his director's notes, Ben Evett writes:

[King John] has more plot than most Shakespeare plays -- so much, in fact, that it is easy to get lost in its twists and turns. But what happens in this play is less important than how it happens. ... [I]f you find yourself getting a bit lost in the labyrinth of events, don't despair: the characters are just as lost as you. Focus instead on the moments between characters.

Despite this warning -- or perhaps because of it (and the directorial choices it implies) -- I had no problem following the unfolding plots and machinations.

To aid with understanding, Shakespeare provides an entertaining outsider to help guide you through the court intrigues. Bill Barclay plays Philip Faulconbridge: "good old sir Robert's wife's eldest son." Or, as he's known in the text, Philip the Bastard.

He's alternately bemused and befuddled as he observes the ongoing events, quick with a quip and deadly with both words and weapons. He definitely prefers the direct approach to diplomacy, but his frequent asides definitely keep things from bogging down. [Although I do wish his expression while standing on the sidelines was a little less gobsmacked. I know it's in character, but it got tiresome after a while.]

This is the second time I've seen King John -- I also caught Tina Packer's 2005 production (which I reviewed here).

But each version focused on different aspects, creating a very different experience.

King John and his mother, Queen Eleanor:
Shakespeare & Company, 2005: Allyn Burrows and Annette Miller	Actors' Shakespeare Project: Michael Forden Walker and Janet Morrison

Shakespeare & Co. presented a costume drama focused on questions of honor.

ASP's version is a modern-dress look at back-room political wheeling and dealing.

As King John, Michael Forden Walker's lives the adage that it's lonely at the top. Effectively isolated by the demands of the job, he has more cocktails than close confidants. But there's a strength to the portrayal that makes his inevitable fall magnetic.

The first half of the story is driven by two powerful women. Constance (Jennie Israel), King John's widowed sister-in-law, passionately believes that her son is the rightful king of England.

Constance may have the laws of primogeniture on her side, but John has a more powerful ally -- his mother, Queen Eleanor (Eleanor of Aquitaine, Katherine Hepburn's role in The Lion in Winter).

BASTARD:	Madam, I'll follow you unto the death.
ELEANOR:	Nay, I would have you go before me thither.

As played by Janet Morrison, Eleanor reminded me of women such as Margaret Thatcher, Leona Helmsley, or the matriarchs from the prime-time soaps of the 1980s. She was a force to be reckoned with, and woe to those who stood in her way.

As if to compensate for the absence of these characters during the second half of the play, Ben Evett cast Sarah Newhouse as Hubert de Burgh, changing a few pronouns here and there to render the role female.

And with that simple twist, King John's expressions of admiration to his loyal retainer gain an added sexual dimension:

Come hither, Hubert. O my gentle Hubert,
We owe thee much! within this wall of flesh
There is a soul counts thee her creditor
And with advantage means to pay thy love:
And my good friend, thy voluntary oath
Lives in this bosom, dearly cherished.

And this begins Hubert's character arc of mutual betrayals and rediscovered trust.

What's impressive about this company and this play is that there aren't any throwaway characters. Even when playing minor roles, the actors imbue them with depth. They aren't bodies occupying the stage like human props -- I got the feeling that every one had a story to tell.

Speaking of which, we couldn't help but notice John Greene, whom we've previously seen in Harvard student productions of Romeo & Juliet and Titus Andronicus. He played Lymoges of Austria and doubled in several other minor parts. Of course, after watching him repeatedly bear the brunt of the Bastard's wrath (along with a knee to the groin from Hubert), I began to wonder if this was some kind of company hazing ritual. "Welcome to the ASP. Hope you survive the experience!"

In short: If you're looking to see Shakespeare on stage this month, ASP is still the best around.

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:05 PM

Look like there's a new film adaptation of As You Like It.

Pete Shaner's "As You Like It" Starring Victoria Mature, Elizabeth Mander-Wilson, Terence Burke, James Steinberg and Featuring Music by Rule 11

YouTube has three trailers:

• Trailer 1
• Trailer 2
• Trailer 3

They all conclude with the promise "Coming Summer 2008" (though given the numerous delays the last film version was subject to, I'm not holding my breath).

Still, what do you think?

Posted by Lis Riba at 6:54 PM

First of all, here are some quick photos taken of my new badge chain:

To the left, a closeup of the beads, and below, showing the adjustable lengths.

Unfortunately, there's a possible flaw in my design -- and not where I expected.

I was concerned that I incorrectly closed the jump rings or crimps, and that I'd suddenly lose everything in a shower of loose beads. [Which reminds me, I ought to put a ziplock baggie in my purse as a precaution.]

But this is something more fundamental.

See, it's a little heavy.

Giving me a bit of a neckache, as a matter of fact.

Back to the drawing board?

[Suggestions from more experienced beaders always welcome.]

PS: Oops. While slipping off my badge, it came apart at one of the jump rings. No loose beads -- that one was between a crimp and another jump bead, but...

Posted by Lis Riba at 1:05 PM

Though I'm not much for jewelry, I do wear a badge to work every day.

And I started thinking maybe I could come up with something nicer than a lanyard around my neck.

Among my requirements:

• Has to be sturdy,
• Relatively neutral colors to coordinate with most wardrobes,
• Nothing too femme or frou-frou,
• I wanted an adjustable length:
  • A 36" circumference is good for work (to reach the card-readers)
  • But at conferences, I prefer something shorter so people can see my name (eyes up here, bub!)
• As to my own preferences, I prefer rounded beads to faceted, and didn't want anything that would jingle or make noise.

I'll try to post some pictures later.

I strung black, brown, and tan beads upon a thin black leather cord, connecting it to a thicker leather cord for the back of the neck.

I used two spring clasps, and the full length can be either 38" or 27", depending where I connect them.

I still don't feel totally confident in the jump rings holding bits together.

But this was my first attempt. I still have plenty of beads left if I want to redesign...