Session Five: Week 38

Tuesday

Tonight we ran the first 2/3 or so of our play. The group really buckled down, getting through as much of the material as we could. Although there were hiccups along the way, we helped each other through and got a lot done. Because I was running around so much, I wasn’t able to take detailed notes, but it was a really great rehearsal. While some people are feeling a bit overwhelmed, they are being extremely well supported by the rest of the ensemble.

Thursday

As we worked through the last scenes of the play today, our Othello became extremely frustrated by how much trouble she was having remembering lines that she thought she had cold. No one in the group was impatient or angry with her; rather, everyone encouraged her to do whatever she had to do to get through the play – paraphrasing, ending a scene, leaning on the rest of us.

“We know this play so well, we can muddle through it no matter what happens,” I reminded the ensemble. And it’s true – even when people wound up paraphrasing, they got out the necessary information to move the story forward.

We finished our run and decided to use the rest of the time for our Othello to work on the scenes with which she was most frustrated. The level of support she is receiving is beautiful – the ensemble is really rallying around her and lifting her up, even as she’s being so hard on herself.

Friday

Tonight we attempted to run the entire play, and we got within about 5 minutes of doing so! This is very encouraging for all of us, as it means that with the weekend to become more sure of lines and cues, we should be able to get all the way through it in performance.

Again, I was humbled to be a part of an incredibly supportive ensemble, as we pushed our way through all challenges that arose and worked together to remind people of cues and props needed. Our Othello, still being extremely hard on herself, did not give up and made it through.

Kyle and I encouraged her to take the rest of the night off from working lines. “There’s only so much you can do when your brain is spaghetti,” Kyle said, and he was right. She is putting a lot of pressure on herself to be perfect; she feels that the others will be angry or disappointed and let down if she’s not. We reminded her that no performance is ever perfect, that everyone knows how hard she’s been working (and only for a few weeks on memorization), and that there is nothing she can do that will cause that support to go away.

Another ensemble member overheard this conversation and shouted, “You’re doing a great job!” as she left. Another approached me quietly to assure me that she’ll work with our Othello over the weekend, keep her calm, and encourage her.

I am really hoping that the weekend will bring some relief, even as she continues to work on her lines. She is really doing incredible work, and I hope that she will absorb the support she is getting rather than continuing to beat herself up over every mistake.

Session Five: Week 37

Tuesday

Tonight we welcomed another journalist to our group, taking some time to talk about everyone’s experiences and the impact Shakespeare has had on them. I won’t get into specifics since I don’t want to spoil anything that might be in the final piece, but suffice to say that, again, the ensemble members who chose to share were eloquent, honest, and enthusiastic.

Following our discussion, we launched into scene work, continuing to plug our Othello into scenes for which she missed the blocking. Even with cameras present (which make all of us nervous), the ensemble did great work, whether on stage or in pairs working on lines. Although we are in the home stretch and the pressure is on, everyone is staying pretty calm.

Our casting appears to have at last been finalized, although there’s always a chance that someone will still leave the group. While it has been empowering and invigorating for the women in our group to stick with the project through performance – it gives them a sense of accomplishment they may never or rarely have had – in past years we have sometimes had to deal with an ensemble member dropping the group at the very end of the process. We always hope that everyone will stay through the end, but it doesn’t always happen.

Thursday

We were fortunate enough to be given two Thursday afternoon meetings in addition to our regular Tuesdays and Fridays in the final two weeks leading up to our first performance, and today was one of those days.

We got to work right away, even while waiting for people to arrive, choreographing the fight between Cassio and Montano. We came up with a short fencing sequence that can be repeated until the fight is broken up by Othello. It’s looking good.

We then plowed through scene work aggressively and effectively, with our goal being to finish scene work this week and begin running the show next week. We banded together and got an incredible amount done on this extra day.

One moment that stuck out today was the arrival of our Bianca at exactly the moment she is supposed to enter the scene we were working on. Without missing a beat, she joined right in, seamlessly. Even with the limited number of times we’ve worked on her scenes, as a seasoned member of the ensemble she is on top of her lines and cues, always showing extreme dedication to the group and her work in it.

Friday

We spent some time at the beginning of today’s meeting trying on and working with props and costumes. I had initially hesitated to do this today, but as always when the ensemble’s opinion outweighs mine, we went with what the majority wanted and brought everything into the classroom we usually use on Fridays.

It turned out to be a good thing! “This just makes it seem real,” said one woman to me. “Now I’m even more excited.”

Once we had spent some time on props and costumes, we dove into the final scene of the play. After we reviewed the scene’s blocking, plugging in our Othello, we ran it. Our Othello set the tone by fully committing to the rage and sadness her character experiences, and the result was that everyone else bumped it up a notch to meet her. At one point I looked over at an ensemble member who is not in the scene, and she was weeping. “This is just so sad,” said another woman.

Our Brabantio then quietly asked if we could work her scenes, since she took over the role from someone else and hasn’t had any rehearsal time with it. “I know, and I’m so sorry,” I said. “It’s all right,” she said, “I’ll be fine as long as I can do it a couple of times.” We worked the first scene of the play, and, to our delight, she already has all of her lines memorized – she is totally prepared. It would have been great for her to have more rehearsal, but as it is, she’s making it work – and making it work well.

Session Five: Week 36

Tuesday

We split up into groups again this evening, with people branching off in groups of two to work on lines, while a few of us continued scene work on stage. We began by reading the “give me the handkerchief” scene in chairs at a table, but soon our Othello was so moved that she had to get up out of her chair and hover over our Desdemona. “I couldn’t help it,” she laughed afterward.

We worked together on blocking the give and take of the scene, finding that our Desdemona has some fight in her, and trying to find the balance between that spunkiness and fear of this new side of her husband. When should she shy away, and when should she be bolder? “Follow her like it’s a dance,” advised a longtime ensemble member.

We continued our work, and as the scene began to make sense to our Othello in the context of the play’s arc, she began literally jumping up and down with enthusiasm. “It’s clicking – I get it,” she said excitedly. And, indeed, her work was so strong and powerful that it caused many of our group members who had been working on lines to fall silent, watch, and then applaud.

Friday

Tonight we took pause to try to figure out what to do now that our Lodovico has left the group. The conversation meandered into our Othello mentioning that it seems like the previous Othello has worked out the time conflict she had, and it might be a good idea to give her the role back. The Othello who had taken on the role has a lot going on outside of the group – she is in other groups and classes, and she writes on her own. She has been concerned that she will not be able to give the part her all due to these other commitments, but has also been very firm that she will do it if it’s what the group needs. She now was wondering, though, whether it might not be better to switch back.

The woman who previously played the role stated that she’d successfully changed her shift at work and would do anything to take the role on again. She has missed playing the part and believes she can do it justice with the time we have left.

A longtime ensemble member stated her disbelief that we are talking about switching up the main character three weeks out from our first performance. Unfortunately, this led to a verbal altercation between her and our Othello, who thought her commitment to the group was being called into question. Some hurtful things were said; it was not a constructive exchange. But another longtime ensemble member stepped in, acknowledging that we’re all under a lot of pressure, but it seems like the best solution is for the first Othello to step back into the role.

Things calmed a bit then. One of the women who’d had the argument left early, I presume to cool off. Kyle and I both spoke with the other, who agreed that she hadn’t handled things well and apologized to the group for it.

All that said, we got some really solid work done. We finally staged the “drunk” scene, and our Cassio’s work was truly beautiful. She has dealt with the loss of her reputation and feels the scene poignantly, and she’s doing very well drawing on her own experience without re-traumatizing herself.

We also got started on Act III Scene I, but ran out of time to finish it. It’s where we’ll pick up on Tuesday.

We are thrilled to have been given permission to rehearse together on our final two Thursdays before the first performance. I think we’re all breathing a sigh of relief to have five extra hours of rehearsal. Even though there was a confrontation tonight, and I hope it will have a better resolution on Tuesday, the group quickly moved on from it and did not waste time continuing their invigorating work on the play. It’s always an honor to be a part of this process.

Session Five: Week 35

Tuesday

Tonight was a special night, as we welcomed a journalist into the group for a feature she is writing. I won’t spoil her story by sharing details of our conversation, but I will say that the ensemble members who chose to share were strikingly honest and eloquent about their experiences. There were both laughter and tears, and while we spent a lot of time talking rather than rehearsing, the overwhelming sentiment was that it was time well spent.

Following our conversation, we launched into work on Act II Scene i, in which the main characters arrive in Cyprus at various times. The group worked smoothly together to flesh out the scene. After working out the blocking, which is complicated when so many people are involved, one of the women encouraged everyone to step it up a notch. “We all need more urgency,” she said. “We don’t know if our general is alive or dead.”

It’s worth noting that, with years of directing, teaching, and coaching actors under my belt, after four years of working with the prison ensemble, I find that I frequently do not have to give the kind of notes I normally would because ensemble members who’ve been part of the group for awhile give those notes themselves. It’s this kind of thing that is so empowering for the members – when someone gives a note on a scene, and someone else takes it, and it works, both of those people get a boost of confidence, and the ensemble as a whole take on that feeling. As a theatre artist, it’s a beautiful thing to be a part of.

The evening ended with our Othello jokingly ending the scene by beckoning to Desdemona and saying, “Come, sweet cheeks,” and everyone in the room dissolving into laughter. We had also welcomed the Deputy Warden of Programs and a Communications Representative from MDOC, and it was wonderful to have them be part of such an uplifting evening.

Friday

After our check-in and warm up, we continued our work on Act Two. We began with our Herald, now played by the woman who used to play Othello. She has been feeling down about giving up the role, even though it was the right thing for her to do with her work schedule, and we encouraged her to give this brief speech her all. Her energy is infectious when she’s on a roll, and she brought such spirit and vigor to the Herald that it’s entirely possible she’s going to steal the show. The more enthusiastic she got, the more we loved it.

We began to revisit Act II Scene iii, in which Cassio gets drunk and assaults first Roderigo and then Montano, eventually being fired by Othello. Unfortunately, several of the main players had to leave early, and we were forced to stop work on the scene. This is frustrating even though it’s common, but we’re all hopeful that at some point we’re going to have everyone we need to work this scene. It’s been quite a long time.

We moved on to the Emilia/Iago section of Act III Scene iii, in which Emilia takes up Desdemona’s handkerchief and gives it to Iago. We helped our Emilia figure out how best to give her soliloquy to the audience, and she became more and more effective as she refined her approach.

Moving into Iago’s entrance and their back-and-forth, we asked our Emilia what she wants from him. She settled on “I want him to love me.” One of our ensemble members asked our Iago to pretend to give the affection that Emilia so desires until the handkerchief is handed over. “Yeah,” responded our Iago, “I’ve been starving her on purpose, so I’ll give her what she wants till I get what I want.”

We refined the blocking, with Iago actually embracing Emilia briefly in order to take the handkerchief, rather than having her hand it to him. This caused a great emotional fall for Emilia as she asked for it back and then was rejected and told to leave. The scene had become incredibly sad, which is what we all feel it should be. Truly beautiful work had been done.

Session Five: Week 34

Tuesday

Tonight was another “divide and conquer” night. Several pairs of people split off to work on lines, I worked with our Desdemona on her song, and the majority of the group worked together to refine blocking in Act One, including plugging in our new Othello, who powered through admirably despite being extremely tired. Her commitment is inspiring.

The group is working together extremely well to prepare for our first performance at the end of May. There is the usual “under pressure” feeling we get each year, but, rather than letting this stress us, we are focused on just getting the work done as best we can.

I didn’t take many notes this evening, as I was working separate from most of the group for much of the time.

After we had gotten through all of Act One, we had a little time to spare. Rather than beginning Act Two, for which we were missing some of the main players, we decided to play a game. This provided a much-needed opportunity to blow off steam and laugh together. We ended on a positive note.

Friday

There was some concern at the beginning of tonight’s session about absences, late arrivals, and early departures. This is normal for us at this time, as some people get into programs or work schedules that start to preclude their attendance at our group, others begin to feel under some pressure due to the upcoming performances, and others’ morale begins to suffer because of these circumstances.

I reminded the group that if we lose anyone at this point (and we always have, although of course this year could be different), I am ready and willing to jump into any role (as I always have thus far).

Some members of the group voiced their nervousness and frustration with those whose attendance is holding us back. A long time ensemble member reassured them and encouraged them not to stress about other people, as she used to. “Don’t worry about the people who aren’t here – focus on who’s in the room,” she said. “If the ensemble is strong, we’ll be all right.”

Because many of the primary actors in Act Two were missing, we decided to work on the long scene in Act Three in which Iago manipulates Othello to the point of wanting to kill Desdemona and Cassio. We worked on the scene’s dynamics, making sure we understood the words, and stage pictures/movement. Our Othello and Iago did great work, taking notes from each other and the ensemble, committing fully to their roles and taking great risks. “This is the most connected I’ve felt in awhile,” said our Iago. And we all agreed that we felt connected as well.