Today’s Date: 6/27/23

Show Title: Cymbeline

Director: Emily MacLeod

Staff Crew: Ronee Goldman, Austen Bell, Rowen Jackson, Scarlet Frishman

What we did

We began our day with lots of movement and discussion. The cast played with the architecture of the Blackfriars Playhouse, exploring what it might be like if they were in a British castle, the Welsh countryside, or a poppin’ Italian party. Then the cast broke up into groups to do some focused work on dream sequences, battles, and music! We ended the day with some group soundscape work, exploring the different acoustic ways the cast could make sound, rhythm, and music.

Quick and Quotable

• From the play (something that stood out to you particularly today)

• “You health — if it so please you, Sir.” – Arviragus to Imogen (Fidele).
• “The environment of the british castle is disabling” -Emily, when comparing and contrasting the castle with the countryside in our setting for Cymbeline!
• “The castle is magnificent but the wild untamed beauty is also magnificent” –

Production Insights 

I am so incredibly impressed by the willingness of this cast to play. Every single person participated in some way today by offering an insight, suggestion, question, or joke. That is a really scary thing to do, especially in front of a new director and new cast mates, and I hope they know I’m proud of them all already. I also learned today that I can do more than I think I can! I led the music learning group today, and I was pleasantly surprised that I communicated the ideas clearly enough that they all learned their music with ease! Or, perhaps, they are all musical geniuses. Who’s to say.