Excited for Exploded Shakespeare

In just a few days, I get to travel to New York City and see Leah perform in the Exploded Shakespeare version of As You Like It.  I'm pretty darn excited about it!

The photo is not mine, obviously, but I hope to take a few shots while I'm there!

Waiting for Godot - McKellen and Stewart, Hensley and Crudup

Over the years, I have heard of the play "Waiting for Godot."  I have seen (perhaps in a class somewhere?) a brief scene, and I remember thinking "This is strange."  It's one of those plays I somehow knew I should know more about, but it's not as if it's an accessible Broadway musical comedy which is going to be part of a Civic Theater season.

Then, two actors I admire got together a production of it on Broadway.  And, we happened to be going to New York to visit Leah while it was playing, so we simply had to take the opportunity to see  it.

What an experience!

Let's get a few misconceptions out of the way:

• The cast has five actors.  Many people think of it being about two people, and certainly the characters played by Sir Patrick Stewart (Vladimir/DiDi) and Sir Ian McKellen (Estragon/GoGo) are the central parts.  But Pozzo (Shuler Hensley) and Lucky (Billy Crudup) are critical to whatever "meaning" this play ultimately has for you.  Even the Boy has a crucial part to play, small as it is.
• The play is accessible.  OK, so it's hard to describe what it's about, and there are nonsensical lines, but when acted and directed as this production was, the interactions make much more sense than they would if you just saw lines on a printed page.
• The play is funny!  Oh, it's deep, too, and dramatic, but there is plenty of opportunity for humor, and this cast did a wonderful job of giving the audience a wide range of emotional responses.

These actors played off of one another amazingly well.  The timing was exquisite.  I laughed.  I was moved.  I very quickly stopped thinking of the actors as the parts they played in other works, and started living with them as incarnations of Beckett's characters.  Certainly, there were times when an expression of Stewart's would remind me of Captain Picard, or a groan from McKellen would stir a memory of Gandalf.  But that just helped to emphasize how completely different their "Godot" characters were from those other roles.  Oh, and Billy Crudup was practically unrecognizable, so there was no chance I would think of Dr. Manhattan or his role in Big Fish (one of my favorite movies.)

Live theater is to be treasured, in part, because each performance is unique.  And because these shows do not go on forever.  Sometime in February or March, these fine actors will close down "Waiting for Godot" and "No Man's Land" (being performed in rep) and it may well never happen again.  I will treasure this memory, of seeing such fine acting, from such gifted performers, with my wife and daughters.

My only regret is that we did not plan to see both shows.  I would have loved to see this cast in another great play.

Bravo!

Vladimir	Patrick Stewart
Estragon	Ian McKellen
Lucky	Billy Crudup
Pozzo	Shuler Hensley

(I'll credit the actor who played the Boy) when I have access to the program from the performance.)

Creative Team

Written by	Samuel Beckett
Director	Sean Mathias
Set and Costume Designer	Stephen Brimson Lewis
Lighting Designer	Peter Kaczorowski
Sound Designer	Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen

Wicked Again

Last night we saw a production of Wicked! at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis.  This was now the third time I have been immersed in the musical which tells the origin stories of the two (or three) witches from the land of Oz.

I first saw (and blogged about) Wicked! just over five years ago.  In some ways, I can't believe it's been that long.  I have the soundtrack, and I listen to the clever, stirring songs from the show quite frequently.  This keeps the show fresh in my mind.  And yet, I know the first time I saw it, we were visiting New York City to let Leah visit NYU to determine if she wanted to apply for admission.  Now she's more than a year past completing her classes there.  Time flies!

Wicked is my favorite musical.  There are many strong contenders.  Wicked has the best combination of music, character and writing.  I still quote some of the lines frequently:

• "There are precious few at ease with moral ambiguities, so we act as though they don't exist."
• "Happy is what happens when all your dreams come true.  Well, isn't it?"
• "Those who don't try never look foolish."

The production we saw last night was on par with what we saw that first time on Broadway. Small differences, but equally fun.  The other production I have seen was in a West End theater in London, and that had a slightly different flavor -- with accents from the Isles -- but was also truly wonderful.

For the record, we saw Jenn Gambatese as Glinda, and Laurel Harris as Elphaba.  Gambatese was simply perfect.  She was comfortable using physicality for humor, while keeping her femininity -- a key for the character.  And that voice!  Harris is listed as the standby for the role of the green-skinned Elphaba, but it's hard to believe.  She was completely committed to the character, put tremendous emotion into her singing without detracting from the musicality, and when she said "It's just, for the first time, I feel wicked" -- well, it was delicious.

I wish I could see it again.  Right now.  So instead, I will listen to the soundtrack.  And then listen to it again.

How NYU's Tisch Does Graduation

Our daughter, Leah, graduated from New York University (NYU) having attended the Atlantic Acting Studio in the Tisch School of the Arts.  While she was technically done with her degree at the end of the summer of 2012, she celebrated the graduation with her class at the end of May, 2013.

Tisch is a School of the Arts, so naturally their celebration was steeped in arts of many sorts.  First, the venue was Radio City Music Hall.  Here are Leah and Sherry outside getting ready to get in line for the ceremony.




During the ceremony, there were opportunities for some of the Tisch students to strut their artistic stuff.  I captured a photo as the cast of "Spring Awakenings" was performing a medley from that show.  I think I need to see the full production sometime.





One of the speakers at the ceremony was Glen Mazzara, a Tisch graduate who had just finished a stint as showrunner for the amazingly popular (and extremely well done) TV show "The Walking Dead."  He was engaging, funny, and had messages that I think were perfect for young graduating artists to hear.




With so many students graduating (it was well over 1000) there was no opportunity to see each student walk across the stage to get his or her diploma, but they did run the names across the screen. So, here is Leah's "graduation picture."




The whole experience was impressive and fun.  It was markedly different from the experiences we had at Luther, but that was fitting, because NYU and Tisch were very different as well.  Ultimately, the chance to celebrate Leah's accomplishments was the important part of the event, and we did that.  Congratulations, Leah!  We are so proud of you!

Break a leg!

Porgy and Bess and Fortune

In May, Sherry and I drove out to move Leah out of NYU - New York University - which is in downtown Manhattan.  Our Luther friend, Ruth Olson was kind enough to let us stay at her apartment for the Saturday evening we were in The City, so we suggested that the four of us take in a Broadway show. 

Leah met us at the ticket sellers, and had already provided us with options by the time we arrived.  We chose to see "Porgy and Bess."  I have always enjoyed musicals, but while I knew a smattering about Porgy and Bess, I had certainly never seen it, so I was not quite sure what to expect.  Leah had heard very good things about it, though, so we gladly bought the tickets (at half price -- which is still pretty expensive by midwest standards, but an excellent option for Broadway.)

What's it about?  From the show's website:

Set in the 1930s in an African-American Charleston neighborhood known as Catfish Row, Porgy and Bess centers on the tragic love story of the cripple beggar Porgy and beautiful Bess, who longs to turn away from her former life as a prostitute and cocaine addict. After a murder, Bess’ abusive partner Crown flees, leaving her at the mercy of a disapproving community and tempted by the seductive drug dealer Sporting Life. Bess strikes up an unlikely relationship with Porgy and gradually finds acceptance on Catfish Row—until a hurricane and the return of Crown change everyone’s lives forever.

The play was marvelous.  We felt very fortunate to have seen such an excellent production on the spur of the moment.

Later in the spring, we learned just how fortunate we had been.  We had seen the winner of the 2012 Tony for "Best Revival of a Musical" and we saw Audra McDonald perform Bess, for which she won the 2012 Tony for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical." 

I don't know who her competition was, but I can certainly believe Ms. McDonald was deserving.  This is her fifth Tony, but many TV viewers would know her from her role on Private Practice.

Bess is a very difficult role.  She's caught in a life which offers no real security, and while she wants to change her circumstances, she has finds it necessary to make very hard choices just to survive.  McDonald has to show great versatility, and she succeeds.  There is a heartbreaking scene or two in this show, and Bess is the heart of those scenes -- the heart of the show that breaks more than once.

Norm Lewis plays Porgy, which should be more than a "by the way."  He is a match for McDonald, and the two play extremely well off of each other.  We care about him, and her, and them -- and that makes the whole show work.

I am very thankful that we had the good fortune to see this play.  Should you ever get the chance, I highly recommend it.  So does Tony.

What I Saw This Weekend - Trojan Women & Leah

 Leah, at the Atlantic Theater Company.

The stage is seven stories below ground.  (Or maybe only four.  It was a long way.)

She and some of her classmates performed "Trojan Women" by Euripides.

A Greek tragedy, it has a large part for the Chorus.  There were five Trojan Women as the Chorus.  The director assigned most of the Chorus lines to specific Trojan Women.  This allowed them to differentiate themselves.  It worked amazingly well.  One of them, for example, also played Athena, so when she was also a Trojan Woman, the audience realized she was really Athena in disguise.  Very mythic.  Leah's Trojan Woman was obviously the youngest, most defiant of the women who were to be claimed as prizes for the Greek officers.

The play itself is very sober.  It deals with the effects of the Trojan War (and indeed any war) on the women who are left behind on the losing side when the war is over.  It asks questions about the place of fidelity of a woman to her husband, before and after death.  It strongly deals with the actions, or inaction, of The Gods.  And if it's well-acted, as this production was, it is an emotionally draining experience.

I am so proud of Leah, and so happy for her that she and her classmates are up to the challenge of such a piece of art.

[But other than the time she was on stage, she spent pretty much every other moment we saw her with a smiler on her face.  So did we.  Kids will do that to you, y'know.]

Fall, Winter & "Trojan Women"

I love it when our backyard looks like this.



And I love it when our backyard looks like this..



The top photo resembles what the view behind our house has looked like for a few weeks, but the wind, and time, are doing their natural best to clear those beautiful leaves from the branches. So, very soon, I will long for some snowy whiteness.

But not until after we fly to see Leah in the production of "Trojan Women" at the Atlantic Acting School at NYU next week.

Have I ever been more excited to see a play? I seriously doubt it.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Shakespeare - Great (of) Course

My latest Great Course was William Shakespeare: Comedies, Histories and Tragedies, taught by Dr. Peter Saccio. 

Back at Luther, I took a Shakespeare class from Dr. John Bale, and it was one of my favorite courses.  Over the years, though, I have forgotten more than I remember from that class.  And, after all, in a one semester class, we could only read a few plays.

Fifteen plays are covered in this Great Course, each of the comedies and histories gets two lectures, as do three of the tragedies.  Then, the Four Great Tragedies (Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth) are each covered in three lessons.

And, since this is a Great Course, no lecture is the same as any of the others.  Dr. Saccio examines various attributes of the plays, and of Shakespeare as a writer, by using the plays.

Now, I have seen or read some of the plays covered in the course, but not all of them.  Yet I was able to follow every single lecture, and to appreciate the incredible richness of the scripts, because of the insightful Dr. Saccio.  He is not only a professor, but also an actor, so his readings of various lines in the plays added depth and context one might not get from another teacher, and are almost certain to miss from just a reading.

Dr. Saccio convincingly argues that the "tragic flaw" theme taught by so many English teachers, and taught to so many young people, is simplistic at best, and quite misleading at the worst.  He shows the pervasiveness of Christian imagery in many of Shakespeare's most powerful soliloquies.  He explains the bleeding of comedy into tragedy, and both into history plays.  In the end, I learned a tremendous amount from this course, and I am anxious to see some of these plays, again, or for the first time.


=========


Interesting word fact:  "Assassinate" is coined in Macbeth.  While "assassin" came into English the previous century, Macbeth says "assassinate" during a soliloquy when he is deciding whether or not to commit the murder which begins his rise and fall.  As he considers the deed, he doesn't want to call it "murder," and so he creates a new verb from an obscure, exotic noun.  Brilliant psychological writing.



[999]

An Advent Weekend

What a weekend! It was very "Advent."

Friday night we attended a party and got to eat lots of yummy goodies and have nice conversation. [Thanks, Dave & Jolene.] OK, then Sherry had to go back home to study, but that's also part of Advent, this year.

Then we drove through the first big snow of the year to get home. Safely tucked away in our house, we just watched the inches pile up. In the morning, I had the chance to get out my snowblower and clear the driveway of just under a foot of beautiful, white fluffy snow. The first big snow of the year is always special. I hope the weather stays cold and we just keep this around through Christmas!

Later Saturday Mom & Dad came up, bearing half-baked Mabe's pizzas. This is quite a treat! The boys and Marisa came over for dinner, and we had fun talking about plans for California, and fantasy football, and Sherry's experiences at school, and D&D [OK, Sherry, Mom & Dad didn't talk much about D&D.]


Then, we all went to "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" at the Rochester Civic Theater. Sherry and I attend most Civic Theater shows, but we had a larger group because Lee was a member of the chorus.

We had never seen a stage production of White Christmas. It was really good! [Go see it, if you live in/near Rochester and can get a ticket.] The chorus is on stage quite a bit, which was really fun. The leads were quite good. We had a great time.

Then, after enjoying a Vikings game [38-14 win -- it was fun to see] I came home and set up the Christmas tree while listening to some Christmas music. I will wait a day or two to decorate it -- to make sure I have the lights where I want them -- and then see how much more Christmas decorating I can get done without Sherry around.

All-in-all, an excellent weekend, with quite a bit of family, some fun theater, and lots of music, Christmas and otherwise.

I love Advent.

Quotes - Madness and Art

"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it."
Robin Williams

I found this quote in the Kid in the Front Row blog. The blog is about filmmaking. I loved the quote, because it's about much more than filmmaking.

And then, right above where the blog author put that Robin Williams quote, he had this marvelous paragraph.


The world may seem like it's run by the people who greenlight superhero movies, and maybe it is. But meanwhile, there's a lot we can be doing and we don't need to feel oppressed, or depressed; or like outsiders. Instead, we can just make art and whether our audience is ten million people, or ten; that's exactly how it's meant to be right now and that's enough. Those ten people love you, and they're gonna tell all their friends, and their friends are gonna do the same.

Earlier this week, my good friend Mike needed to hear this message. And there are times when I think Lucas would be helped by it. And I am quite sure Leah will. In fact, we all do -- all of us who indulge our creative desires, as well as all those who don't indulge them for fear of too small an audience.

Just make art.

Good News! "Wicked" again.

I saw Wicked for the first time just under two years ago. As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I was with two colleagues in London last week, and we saw Jersey Boys on Wednesday evening, intending to leave Thursday for sightseeing. Well, we saw sights! Oh boy, did we see sights. We also walked for over 6 miles, and by late afternoon, we were ready to stop walking. So we decided that seeing another show was the thing to do. Neither of my companions had seen Wicked, and I loved the idea of seeing it again.

We had to take a couple of underground lines to reach the theater from the Leicester district where we bought the tickets, but we had just enough time and then we settled in for an amazing evening of theater.

Some of my friends are greatly affected by opera. I haven't had that experience, and may never, but now I can truly appreciate how this is possible. I was blown away the first time I saw Wicked, and now -- knowing the story and the music so well -- I just immersed myself in the performances. It was very interesting hearing the principles speak in various UK accents (Boc was Scottish, for example) and replacing a few words with English equivalents ("We were classmates at Uni") and Elphaba was played with more of a chip on her shoulder from the beginning than what I remembered in New York, but each of these was just a slight variation in the production that made it unique, even as the overall experience was much the same.

I would see this musical over and over, and I cannot wait to see it again with Sherry.

I've also learned to appreciate how great these "Day Of" ticket places can be. I would gladly spend a week in London or New York buying whatever tickets were available on the day of the show and just breathing drama every evening!

Oh What a Night! "Jersey Boys"

On Wednesday, June 16, two colleagues and I arrived in London on our way back home from a conference. We planned to spend a day in London doing sightseeing. We decided, if we arrived in London soon enough, we should see a show in the West End on Wednesday night, leaving all of Thursday for seeing the sights.

Which show to see? There are so many? We selected "Jersey Boys" as our top choice, though none of us had seen it or even knew what it was about. We got ourselves down to Leicester Square ("Lester" is how they pronounce it -- don't ask me!) went to the first "Half-Price" window we saw, and procured three tickets for about $50 each. We grabbed some ice cream as we waited for the tickets, then walked to the theater, about three blocks away.

And then it started. Wow. The story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. So that's what it's about! And Wow. They had a lot of music I recognized. Of course, I knew about "Sherry" -- their first big hit -- but I had no idea how it came into existence. And I knew nothing about the other members of the Four Seasons, or how long they worked to become singing sensations, or how much trouble they had in their lives. And then, to find out that they were the originators of "Oh What a Night" -- well, it surprised me.

The actors had to have great voices, of course, but most importantly, the actor playing Frankie Valli has to have the right look and the "voice like an angel." He did.

The house was only about 2/3 full, but it didn't matter. We all had a great time, and I've now seen another musical that I can recommend to everyone.

Review - The Story of Snow White

We saw the Rochester Civic Theater production of "Snow White" on Friday night. Though not at all the style we expected, this version, written by Glasgow Koste, was quite entertaining. In this version, the villain, the evil vain Queen, has a split personality -- literally. Much of the dialog takes place between the Queen and Herself, played by two actresses. Their dialog is quick & sharp, sometimes rhymes, and is always clever. This is not a simple script, with allusions and words that would fly past children, but the kids in the audience seemed as taken by the performances as we were, a testament to the acting, and the direction.

This play's enjoyable version of the seven dwarfs draws from the dwarf involvement in many of the legends of old, particularly in Norse mythology. Still, as in other versions of Snow White, the most accessible comedy involves these seven "brothers" but they are also thought-provoking, as they encounter a child for the first time in their long lives.

Having studied fantastic literature earlier this year, I was reminded of the purposes of "fairy tales" by the ever-present voice of Snow White's mother, speaking to the young girl, and then the young woman, as she encountered her well-known difficulties and temptations. And the themes of aged power attempting to cling to youth by destroying the young, and of youth passing through perils into sexual maturity, though hidden carefully in the Disney version, were only lightly covered in Koste's script.

We have had season tickets to the Rochester Civic Theater for years, and we are quite forgiving of uneven performances, knowing that the acting talent is almost all volunteer. There has been no need for such forgiveness recently, however. And certainly the cast of Snow White was all up to the script and the atmosphere. The set was beautiful again, and the stationary design allowed for a smooth flow from one scene to another. It also put the wicked Queen and Herself one one side, the protecting Mother-spirit on the other, and Snow White's trials directly in between. Everything worked to tell a familiar story in a very new and entertaining way.

Review - A Practical Handbook for the Actor

Title: A Practical Handbook for the Actor
Author: Bruder, Cohn, Olnek, Pollack, Previto, Zigler

When was the last time I read a textbook?

As some of you know, my daughter Leah is attending New York University. She's in the Tisch School of the Arts, specifically part of the Atlantic Theater studio.

When she received her books before classes began, she read this book, and told me I should read it if I wanted to know what she'd be learning. Of course, she had to take it with her to school, since it is a core book for the acting training at the Atlantic.

Well, after her first semester, when she was home for Christmas, she handed it to me again and recommended it.

I just finished it, and I'm very glad I took her recommendation. OK, so I haven't acted in decades, and I may never do it again, but at least now I understand the approach she will take when preparing for a role.

The approach described in this book is very analytical, and at the same time very personal and human. It also convinces me that it just might be possible for someone to become an actor without going somewhat crazy. I doubt I could ever do the rote learning of lines required of an actor or actress, but at least I could picture myself analyzing a scene to determine:

1. What is the character literally doing?
2. What is the essential action?
3. What is the action like to me?

The authors use examples from plays I've seen or read (Hamlet, and A Streetcar Named Desire for example) which really help illustrate to me how an actor can use this analysis technique to approach a scene and give a good performance, without trying to become the character or forcing themselves into a specific emotion.

I'll still be impressed when I see Leah -- or anyone else -- do a good job, because it's clear that the preparation is hard work. But now I will at least understand at a basic level how they got there.

And then I can just sit back and enjoy the play.

Wizards and Hors d'oeuvres and Vikings, Oh My!

Happy Monday, all!

What a weekend!

Friday night, we ate dinner with friends at a Rochester landmark cafe (Mac's) [we hadn't ever been there in almost 25 years living here] and then attended "The Wizard of Oz" at the Rochester Civic Theatre. Oh my how fun and funny that was! The stage production has more humor than the movie (the Wicked Witch even had some funny lines) and it's my opinion that the actor who played the cowardly lion made the character much funnier and more likeable than the movie did (of course, he had Bert Lahr's performance from which he could start.) Anyway, thanks to Sherry for setting up the evening, and to David & Ann for joining us and suggesting Mac's!

Saturday, I got some typical chores done, but also got labels ready for Christmas cards, and then Troy helped me complete the outdoor Christmas lighting (love those lighted garlands on the light posts) and put up and deck the tree while Sherry & Sarah & Lee made oodles of Christmas goodies. [Hurray for Christmas!]

Saturday evening, Eric & Tracy hosted their annual wine tasting party. It's the most wine I drink all year (perhaps amounting to a full glass over the evening -- I just don't drink much) but it was tasty, and we had yummy hors doeuvres and met some nice new people. Excellent evening.


Sunday: Vikings game! 30-10 over the Bengals -- a real, talented team. [This year.] And when we got home, Sherry & Lee & Marisa had finished making lefse, (thanks, ladies!) and Sherry had dinner for all of us. (I'm thanking Sherry a lot this weekend.) It's been great to have this time with Adam, Lucas & Dad.

And we finished the weekend off with "Up." That'll be micro-reviewed sometime soon. But suffice it to say that I had a very good weekend!

Here's hoping some of you had wonderful weekends, too.



[Now, to get rid of this heartburn. Small price to pay, I suppose, but I still want it gone!]

Sarah and the Music Man

Two weeks ago, we went to visit Sarah & Troy in their town. The inciting purpose of the trip was to see the high school production of "The Music Man."

Little-known fact: The Music Man was the first musical in which I ever appeared.

Lesser known fact: I can pretty much sing every lyric from that show -- at least, from the movie version starring Robert Preston and Shirley Jones.

In any case, I love the show, and this was a chance to see it again, only this time! This time, it was assistant/co-directed by my very own daughter!

(The primary director is a choral director and admits he knows nothing about blocking or the rest of that "drama stuff" so that's what Sarah got to do.)

It was really fun! We had a great time. And I got to see Sarah interact (as "Mrs. K." -- which is still a little weird to me) with her students. If you know Sarah, you know she was born to be in charge. To see her working with these students -- many of them taller than she is, and that will always be the case -- and seeing the respect and admiration they have for her --- well, it just warms a father's heart.

So, Sarah, great job! I look forward to more events with you and your music man in the future.

Weekend! Plays, Family, Guests, Football!

At the end of this weekend, I should be tired and happy.

Tonight: Dinner with sister Deb & her family, and then we get to see nephew Walter in "Romeo and Juliet!"

Tomorrow: We get to see brother-in-law Ross in "Don't Hug Me Christmas Carol" and then host some new friends for dinner [Thanks for cooking, Sherry! How can I help?]

Sunday: I'll attend another Vikings game -- with son Lucas, Dad & Mom this time. And I think I'll see brother Eric, as well!

Then home for a movie or something with Sherry.

Now that is a weekend!

Let's get to it!

[P.S. This is a bonus entry. For NaBloPoMo we are supposed to write 30 posts in 30 days, but I just had to start my "Favorite Foto Fridays" and I still wanted to exclaim about my upcoming weekend, because it promises to be so cool. So today, I do two. 31 posts in 30 days. I'm exceeding expectations, not breaking any rules!]

Here Comes the Weekend

Dinner with friends, followed by a Civic Theater production of "Don't Drink the Water."

Then....

Taking in a nephew's baseball game and eating lunch with Deb & the family (& Sarah & Troy?), followed by a bit of Twin Cities shopping before a night of Texas Hold 'Em!

Then....

Two services of the Choir Cantata followed by another nephew's piano recital. And, perhaps, if we're not too tired, followed by "Angels and Demons."

Sounds like a pretty full weekend, to me.

[Do you think I can just ask the grass to stop growing until next weekend?]

Ides of March

March 15th arrives every year and reminds me of 6th grade.

Why?

This is one of those silly things that no one knows about me. I could use it when I'm forced into one of those ice-breaker exercises at a party or a day long meeting. You know the kind. "Tell us something that no one here knows about you."

In sixth grade, so that was in 1972 or so, I was in my first year attending school in Decorah. So I was a "new kid." My class was studying ancient Rome, or something, so my teacher had us stage a few scenes from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. In that play, if you didn't know, Julius is warned to "Beware the ides of March." The "ides of March" is the 15th day, and it was a prophecy that Caesar would be killed on that day.

I was chosen {or maybe I volunteered -- I can't remember -- it's hard to imagine that I would have felt comfortable, being new, in offering myself up for this, but I can be pretty overconfident at times, and I did like impressing teachers now and then} to play Marc Antony. I remember getting to learn the famous speech:

"Friends, Romans, countrymen -- lend me your ears."

If I remember correctly, Julius Caesar was not one of the plays we read in my college Shakespeare class. Someday I should go back and read it, in full.

Oh, it would be fun to end this little reminiscence by saying that something really dramatic happened as a result of my part in this classroom play. Perhaps I earned the respect of my peers? Perhaps I was beaten up by the bullies who hated new kids and hated smart kids?

I don't think either of those happened though.

I just remember the famous line. And wearing a bed sheet as a toga. [far off grin]

Turning Points: Leah is Accepted

On Monday, we got the news that Leah has been accepted into Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

Ever since she started researching the best places to attend college in order to prepare herself for a life in theater, she knew Tisch/NYU was atop the list. We went to New York City on vacation this summer largely so we could visit NYU and Julliard. She loved NYU. She took a few days away from school this fall to travel to NYC and audition as one of the 1000 applicants for early decision. She knew the competition would be fierce, but she prepared audition pieces (two monologues, two songs) and put herself on the line.

Then we waited for a month, knowing that the resulting decision would greatly affect the course of her life. Would she go to New York, likely only coming home to Minnesota once a year, or would she remain in the Midwest? Would she be committing to an early adult life owing large sums of money as a result of huge student loans, or would her debt be more manageable? Would she start her post-college career with a network of contacts in the New York theater scene, or would she have to try to break in as an "immigrant?"

There is no guarantee of success with admission. But given how hard Leah works, and how talented she must be to have been accepted, I think we can be pretty certain she will have a great experience and learn a lot. And, it's the next step in her dream.

How could a parent not be happy with that? I'm so happy, my buttons will burst and my smile muscles will be sore for days.

Congratulations, Leah!