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xiphiasTomorrow afternoon/evening, at 1700, in Arlington, at Robbins Farm Park (right near the water tower -- you know, the one with the big steep hill that's fantastic for sledding, and from which you can see the Boston fireworks on the Fourth of July), the New England Shakespeare Festival will be putting on The Comedy of Errors.
Now, New England Shakespeare Festival is gimmicky -- their gimmick is that they put on the plays without rehearsal (except for the fights and dances), and trade parts randomly before each performance, so NOBODY knows their lines. They work from attempting to memorize their lines before each scene, and from cue scripts they carry with them.
They CLAIM that this is more authentic to how Shakespeare and his troupe performed, since they had DOZENS of plays in repertory, in rapid rotation, never playing the same thing two days in a row, and, therefore, the actors had to cram, memorize fast, and cheat from rolled-up cue-scripts called "rolls", or "roles" (hence the term "role" in a play).
In reality, I doubt that what they put on really is all that authentic, but it IS a hell of a lot of fun.
In general, they do poorly with the dramatic stuff, but extremely well with the funny bits -- and Comedy of Errors is nothing but funny bits. Of all the plays in the Shakespearian canon, I think that this is the one that plays to their strengths best.
So who wants to go with us? We've talked Mom into going, if she can get out of a phone meeting at 1630, which would probably last until 1800. We think we're meeting![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
felis_sidus, too. Who else wants to come? Maybe we can get pizza afterward: my favorite pizza place is Nicola's in Arlington Heights -- the pizza joint around the corner from where I grew up.
And after that, Lis and I are going into Harvard Square, to the Brattle, to see Meatballs, a movie which Lis loved as a kid, and which I have never seen. She rather hopes that it's as good as she remembers it to be. . .
Now, New England Shakespeare Festival is gimmicky -- their gimmick is that they put on the plays without rehearsal (except for the fights and dances), and trade parts randomly before each performance, so NOBODY knows their lines. They work from attempting to memorize their lines before each scene, and from cue scripts they carry with them.
They CLAIM that this is more authentic to how Shakespeare and his troupe performed, since they had DOZENS of plays in repertory, in rapid rotation, never playing the same thing two days in a row, and, therefore, the actors had to cram, memorize fast, and cheat from rolled-up cue-scripts called "rolls", or "roles" (hence the term "role" in a play).
In reality, I doubt that what they put on really is all that authentic, but it IS a hell of a lot of fun.
In general, they do poorly with the dramatic stuff, but extremely well with the funny bits -- and Comedy of Errors is nothing but funny bits. Of all the plays in the Shakespearian canon, I think that this is the one that plays to their strengths best.
So who wants to go with us? We've talked Mom into going, if she can get out of a phone meeting at 1630, which would probably last until 1800. We think we're meeting
felis_sidus, too. Who else wants to come? Maybe we can get pizza afterward: my favorite pizza place is Nicola's in Arlington Heights -- the pizza joint around the corner from where I grew up.And after that, Lis and I are going into Harvard Square, to the Brattle, to see Meatballs, a movie which Lis loved as a kid, and which I have never seen. She rather hopes that it's as good as she remembers it to be. . .
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-08-12 01:05 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-08-12 01:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2007-08-12 04:09 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-08-12 04:47 am (UTC)In any case, Robbins Farm Park is off of Park Circle in Arlington Heights. Your best bet is to take the 78 bus from Harvard Square (runs hourly on Sundays). The bus leaving at 4:10 from Harvard Square is supposed to get to the corner of Park Ave and Park Circle at about 4:30 or so.
You get off there. It's at the water tower. The water tower is a big, cylindrical structure which sits in the middle of a big grassy circle. It's at 42 deg 24 min 53 sec N, 71 deg 10 min 48 sec W, if you want to Google Earth it to get a feeling for what it looks like. And the bus stop is on the north side of the circle.
On the southeast side of the circle, there is a footpath which leads from the watertower to the road. If you keep walking in the same direction, you find yourself walking down Eastern Ave. After about two hundred yards or so, you will see a big park/field on your left.
That's Robbins Farm park, where the stuff is happening.
If you wanted to take the 77 bus, which runs every 15 to 20 minutes on Sunday, you'd have to walk about a mile, mostly uphill. It's doable, if you're in shape and like walking -- when I was a teenager, it's what I used to do, but I was in a LOT better shape then.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-08-12 01:43 am (UTC)Certainly if I don't go, I'll be looking forward to a review from you and/or Lis.
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Date: 2007-08-12 02:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2007-08-12 03:55 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-08-12 05:58 am (UTC)Hope to see you all next Saturday for my birthday and lets try to do a Sunday RPG at my place as well.
Cause someone will have to eat the left over food.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-08-12 07:43 am (UTC)Oh well, one day transporter technology will be available. I look forward to enjoying it vicariously through your review.