Much Ado about Shakespeare...

Hello dear friends,

Well, it's my second week in and that means my second blog,...yippee!

I will say straight up, that I am writing this at 11pm on a Sunday night after a very big weekend, so my thoughts are a little rattely, but it's ok!

So, what's been happening? I must say, this week gone by has gone very fast indeed!

We have been starting all days this week with Shakespeare workshops with one of my tutors, Nick Hutchinson. Nick started as an actor with the RSC and now mostly directs. He has a lot of knowledge and he's one of those teachers that gets you up to do something, proves his point and then talks like as in a lecture for the next 20 minutes, says many interesting things and then gets you up to do something else.He is very ope to questions and is incredbly funny!

What was great for me this week was Nick talking about the Church scene in Much Ado About Nothing. He loves the play and has directed it at least twice I think, so he knows the scenes and the characters very well. In the end it's his opinion, and Nick makes that very clear, but none the less, very interesting opinions!

As Nick has been saying, it doesn't matter what you want to do, but what an actor needs to do is ask the Right questions and you will find what you need from Shakespeare writing about what you can do and where you can go with the text.

So, back to Much Ado About nothing.

Do you know the play? Well, if you don't..in a nutshell, there's this guy called Benedick who's a bit of a larrikin, and there's this chick called Beatrice who's a tad harsh on men. Both constantly tell others around them that they will never marry. They have a bit of wit though between them and it seems there's some attraction going on...in fact, Beatrice has the line “I know you of old” which can tell the reader that her and Benedick have actually  possibly shared some intimate moment before but for whatever reason, Beatrice has been hurt and has blocked all men out of her heart, and most definitely has blocked out Benedick.

The comedy of the piece is that both Benedick and Beatrice's mutual friends decide they will make them fall in love with each other, by letting them both overhear that the other loves the other. Does that make sense? Benedick hears that Beatrice loves him, and then he realises he loves her! She hears the same and realises that she loves him! A happy ending! Not yet...Shakespeare knows how to make much more drama than that!

So, her cousin, Hero, falls in love with this other solider which happens to be Benedick's mate, Claudio and a wedding happens. With a whole lot of plot in between that I can't write all here, Hero is shamed at her wedding by Claduio as Claudio is led to believe that she has cheated on him.She hasn't of course, but he's pretty cetain and leaved her for dead! Ok, she isn't dead, but um..sorry, that's another plot line.

So, Beatrice is left in tears after the wedding. For the first time in the whole play, after all the other guests have left, Benedick and Beatrice are alone.

Nick went through with us what as a director, he thinks the audience want, and what the characters want.

The funny thing, is that I then saw Much Ado About nothing last night, starring Catherine Tate and David Tenant playing the leads at the West End. So what was great, was that after the class I had, I was watching this scene with particular joy!

What does the audience want? We know they love each other. We want a LOVE SCENE!

What does Beatrice want?

Her first opening lines are...blunt. She is telling him to go away! WAIT? Where is our love scene?

Benedick: Surely I do believe your fair cousin is wronged.

Beatrice: Ah, how much might that man deserve of me that would right her!

Benedicl: Is there any way to show such friendship?

Beatrice: A very even way, but no such friend.

Here Benedick has a choice. He loves her. She has told him that he can't help her and really, to leave her alone. Either he can go, or he can prove his love.

Benedick then lets out one of the most famous Shakespeare lines

“I do love nothing in the world so much as I love you, is not that strange?”

And yet...we still don't have a love scene. Although Benedick has confessed his love,he just seems to makes thigns harder for himself. By ending the phrase with “ Is not that strange?” in some way, holds back his total commitment of his love. It's not because he doesn't feel it, it's because, Shakespeare has written this in the most human way....He is scared!!

Beatrice then it seems does not know how to respond.

“As strange as the thing I know not. It were possible for me to say I loved nothing so well as you, but believe me not, yet I lie not. I confess nothing nor deny nothing. I am sorry for my cousin”

Benedick still wants a love scene and here, she has really still told him to leave her alone. Although she is tangling her words with the fact that she may love him, after what's happened, it really isn't the time!

Then, he continues. He tells her he knows she loves him, but he still doesn't get it! He needs to say the words clearly for Beatrice will take no less.

“Will you not eat your word?” Swearing your love is not enough!

Then finally.

Benedick: I protest I love thee.

And we have a love scene!

This was so enjoyable to watch last night. Catherine Tate and David Tenant just made the changes so clear and the feelings so strong. They made the stakes high. And Shakespeare knows how to make them go higher!

After Beatrice decalres her love back, we are all happy. The characters are happy, the audience are happy.

 Benedick says he will do anything for her. Then,...

She asks him to kill Claudio for shaming her cousin!

Ouch.

Not such a love scene anymore. Oh Shakey, how you tricked us!

I could keep going on...but I think this scene, amongst many others of Shakespeare's love scenes, Shakespeare has many, may of his leading men, needing to prove their love before the woman accepts it. They need to come up to the woman's emotional intelligence level. His women are so uinbelievably funny and smart women. Smarter than you or I! The men, well...are, well, a little behind. Benedick, Orlando, Orsino, and many more, all have to prove their ability to be with a woman who is usually yards beyond them.

Anyway, by the end of this scene, although Benedick tries to explain to Beatrice there is no way he could kill his best friend for her “We'll be friends first!”

he knows that this is what he must do. Because she has asked, that is enough. And with this, they both know, that really, him going to a dual with Claudio is almost near certain death.

But he does.

Of course, he doesn't die-it's a comedy thank goodness! And in the end, everyone gets married and is happy.

There's a lot more that can be said, but, I think it's enough just looking at that ONE scene and the many levels it has in it, yet again, proves that Shakespeare truly is a master!!

And now for something not so interesting! My daily schedule!

Thought I would write out what on average one of my days are here so you have an idea!

7:10 exactly- Wakeup

7:20- Yoga,and getting ready, packing books, especially the Complete works!

8:00- Eat Breakfast!

8:20- Leave for RADA

8:30- Sign on on Cheines st RADA office

8:45- Stretch and warm up in class room before teacher arrives, go over lines learning

9:00- Class starts punctually with Shakespeare Workshop

1055- Language and Style

1300- Lunch

1345- Character in text

1500-Alexander class

1645- Stage Fighting

1800- Finish class

Some days we have then onwards.

18800-2030- Monologue work

up unitl 2100- Tutorials with one on one work with teachers in Alexander and Voice

2100- Eaten dinner somewhere in this time, read homework, learn lines

2300- Bed!

We also have classes in Sonnets, Physical performance, Voice into text, last scenes, singing and soon, Elizabethan dance.

Latest news this week- For my Monologue I will be doing a piece from King Lear- Goneril. A character I doubt I would ever be cast as, so I am going to enjoy working on her.

Then, we have found out our major show, our 1.5 hr Shakespeare production will be Loves Labours Lost! I have never worked on that script before, so once again, it means a big learning curve for me, discovering another play.

In the end, I realise this blog was all about one scene, but it really was the moment for me this week that encapsulated everything I'm learning and seeing it done well in practice!

More news soon...I now have some more reliable internet access, so I might try and do some more frequent and shorter blogs to get more information out that I am learning! Might be easier for you to read aswell..

hehe

Thanks for reading, hear from me soon!

xxClaire