The Challenge

The Challenge —

Day 2 of table work and things are getting juicy. I mentioned yesterday that the cut of the Othello text was lean and forward leaning. Well, such an editing job does not come without costs and trade-offs.

Another very important aspect of table work on a Shakespeare play is that it is the actors first opportunity to challenge the cut, request restoration of certain lines and even negotiate for restoration, offering to cut other lines in a one to one exchange. In that way it is an introduction, an exploration, AND a rehearsal.

Just a word to all you civilians out there that may be reading this. Modern productions of Shakespeare in America all involve cutting the text for speed, sense and in recognition of the ever diminishing attention span of the US audience. It makes for a better experience believe me. Shakespeare’s audience was from a culture that was fascinated with language, they loved to hear the wordplay, the puns and double entendres, the new words and the linguistic acrobatics that Shakespeare and his contemporaries delivered in the form of plays that took an entire afternoon to play.

The modern American audience is more concerned with story, images and gestures that with language and they like those stories told in 2 hours or less. Fortunately Shakespeare told great stories and with so much language that a good portion of the words can be jettisoned without harming the narrative. That is what we call “cutting Shakespeare” and it’s a challenge to do it well. That is what table sessions are all about. (**NOTE – with the advent of long form television and the binge watching that comes with it, we may see more long form Theatre to appease audiences who hunger for more depth and detail in the stories they follow)

In the best of all worlds, the table sessions are an opportunity to validate the cut and put on the final polish. In this production of Othello we are seeing a full-on devotion to the idea of everyone having a voice as we grapple with this amazing text.

Most of this afternoon was spent in debate over a particularly risky and attention getting edit to the text that our Director wanted from the outset. There is no doubt in my mind that this edit will be written about in the national press, discussed, second guessed, hailed and vilified from the moment we begin previews. I likes it and believe in it from the outset and now even more so because the actors most affected by it challenged our director and our Shakespeare scholar on the merits of the edit and one player even went as far as to present a suggested rewrite that would smooth out some of the disruption that this very gutsy edit would cause.

It’s a credit to Ruben Santiago Hudson, our director and James Shapiro, our Shakespeare Scholar that they welcomed the suggestion and even took some time for a reading of the potential new pages. We then discussed the player’s suggestion and we all really weighed in on the pros and cons of this kind of amendation. It is such a thrill to be a part of a process that is truly inclusive and collaborative. I won’t discuss the nature of the edits I’ve mentioned. If you want to know for sure, come to the Delacorte this summer and find out for yourself.

Tomorrow is our last day at the table. When it is over our company will have a deep understanding of the story we are telling and some deep emotional and intellectual buy-in on the text we are using to tell this timeless story of love, war and race.

More to come.

The Text

The Text —

Today was our first day around the table diving into the text of Othello. Oh and there is no bottom to this story. Othello is as deep and rich as the Mediterranean sea. We spent the entire day, as a company, reading the play and breaking it down word by word. Guiding us was the New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare Scholar in Residence James Shapiro, who is a professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. Shakespeare is his speciality and boy does he know how to take folks to the furthest reaches of a text by our good friend William. We spent 2 hours on Act I Scene i going word by word, line by line, discussing meanings, context, and the differences between the Quarto and the Folio versions of the text. We discussed historical context, and the intrinsic impact that a particular word has on the arc of the story. Did you know that the word “love” appears in Othello 80 times?

It was an intellectual feast and even as we were sitting at the table in academic mode the knowledge we were gaining was informing our performances. My colleague Peter Jay Fernandez knocked be back on my heels with a particular line reading that came completely out of our discussions, and those same discussions made available to me a response, that was equally powerful. Our scene in Act I is taking shape to be exceptional not because of unexpected choices or actor trickery, but as the result of a close examination of the text.

I got big-winged butterflies that I had not felt since my early days as a young player.  I was so happy to be a student again and so glad that the young people in the company got to see two old pros reveling in the tough, painstaking bookwork that serious acting demands. To all my young colleagues I can only say that talent is not substitute for hard work. Talent will get you noticed for a while, but hard work will earn you a career.

For a long time I was always the youngest person in the room. I was one of those young players who had good fortune early on and was chosen to work in wonderful and difficult productions with experienced veterans. I kept my mouth shut and watched and listened and tried to copy the behaviours of my betters. Now that I’m so much further along on the journey I can see that part of my duty as a journeyman player in the classical theatre community is to set a good example for the generation to come. I’m doing my best and trying to remember the great players of my youth. I think of Charlie Durning, who I met at the Public Theatre and who I was lucky enough to do a film with. He was a large man with a florid face stamped with the map of Ireland. He showed us what ease, and clarity looked like. Louis Zorich, showed every young player at the Public Theatre how to have fun while never losing focus. Margaret Whitton taught me the value of constantly questioning and studying and working on a performance. Nothing was “set” for her. She always wanted more. Jean Stapleton showed me that focus, intensity and devotion can go hand in hand with kindness, generosity, and love. Yes I have been a lucky player. If I can teach anything to the younger generation coming after me it would be that one must never “know” anything. “Knowing” things leads to a cessation of learning. The other thing to remember is to always check your fly before going on stage.

By 5PM we were all exhausted, and broke for the day, tired, happy and better players than when we arrived. We are back at it tomorrow and I can hardly wait.

So it begins….

So it begins….

Getting to sleep last night involved a hefty dose of melatonin, mindful breathing, a very relaxed Savasana, sound cancelling headphones, the RainRain IOS app, and counting sheep. It was worth it though, as I felt rested and refreshed when my alarm went off. I eased out of bed, broke fast on boiled eggs and greek yoghurt, dressed, packed my lunch and when I was ready I was an hour ahead of schedule.

The Citibike ride to the rehearsal hall was pretty smooth. 9th avenue traffic was heavy but the bike lane was open. I was a good citizen and obeyed traffic rules throughout the trip. Cycling on New York City streets is exciting and convenient and quite invigorating. It’s faster than walking and a lot more fun than the subway, and you still get the benefits of all the sights, sounds and smells that being on the street affords. But you still have to keep your wits about you. Disaster can come from any direction.

I arrived at the rehearsal hall and boarded a rickety elevator that has been used by Dancers and other Broadway nomads for decades. I stepped off the elevator entered the rehearsal hall and basked in the smiles and embraces of my colleagues. Company Manager, the amazing Liza Witmer, hugged me hard and welcomed me back to the Public Theatre. More hugs, smiles and words of welcome came from Production Stage Manager James Latus, his lieutenant Rachel Zucker, Director, Playwright and Tony Winner Ruben Santiago Hudson and fellow actors Peter Jay Fernandez, Thomas Schall, and the amazing Corey Stoll.

Liza took me aside and told me that she had been catching up on old episodes of Beverly Hills 90210, and literally screamed when she saw me on her TV screen. “I could not believe I was seeing the ’90’s Miguel.” We could not stop giggling about my role. I guested on that show for a few of episodes playing a bad guy who was really a good guy in disguise and who intimidated the heck out of Dylan, played by Luke Perry.

It was like coming home. After plenty of laughter, hugging and chatting we did our day one paperwork, received presentations from the production team, set designer (the amazing Rachel Hauck), costume design team, dramaturg and Public Theatre leadership. After that Ruben stood up and let us know that this telling of the Othello story will focus on Love. This is going to be a great show.

We took a short break, and then did our first read through. The cut of this play is lean and forward leaning. It’s a nimble and streamlined cut that does not stint a bit on story. It reminds me of what Franco Zeffirelli said about opera, “…it is like a river, always moving forward.”

After the reading there was more chat and I had my first bona fide senior moment. I was talking with Ruben and James Latus, reminiscing about prior adventures. Then I turned to James and proudly pointed out to him that, “I was Ruben’s understudy when he did Henry VIII in the park back in the day”. James smiled and replied, “I know Miguel, I was production stage manager on that show. We all laughed and Ruben patted me on the shoulder and said, “No worries, we’re all having senior moments these days”.

Well this senior felt like a young, fresh player today as we began this adventure. More to come.

Othello…again!

Othello…again!—

Tomorrow is the first rehearsal day for Othello. I’m totally stoked and somewhat nostalgic. This is not my first Othello. In 1982 I was hired to play Lodovico in a production of Othello mounted by the Camden Shakespeare company in Camden, Maine. I was hired as an apprentice actor and that meant I got a place to sleep and $25.00 a week. Not only did I act in two shows, but I also built sets, sewed costumes and did some stage management duties. I had no complaints about the money, the work, the multiple hats. I was happy. I was working. I was doing Shakespeare in a beautiful outdoor amphitheater in a scenic New England town, living with a company of actors in a big house that had once been a boarding school, jogging around a beautiful lake, rehearsing on a big lawn in the shade of an ancient oak tree.

Tomorrow I begin rehearsing the role of Brabantio, the father of Desdemona. A meatier part than Lodovico, also it’s a role for a grown up man, a man of a certain age, a certain worldliness.  In brief, Lodovico is a role for a good-looking young fellow, which I was. Brabantio is a part for an old guy, which I have become. I’m good with that. I’m content. A player in Shakespeare, if they stick around long enough, will play roles that match their age as they mature. Take a look at the canon. The seven ages of man are covered in almost every play.

I’m excited. I probably won’t sleep tonight. I’ll be seeing some folks tomorrow that I haven’t seen in many years.  I had the pleasure of working with our director, the great Ruben Santiago Hudson, on a production of Henry VIII in the Park in 1997. I had a small role and the big job of Understudy to Ruben. Also in that production was Peter Jay Fernandez, who will play the Duke of Venice in Othello this summer. These men are great players and great talents. I feel so proud to be in a show with them.

It all begins tomorrow. I’ll let you know how things are going.