Post-Sleep No More

I wondered at the production of it; I wonder how they put it all together. There was so much precision timing involved, a need for characters to go from totally different places and activities to converging on a location in precisely the right moment to act out another scene together. And that venue, the abandoned school, was not small; they used four floors of it. I can't imagine what rehearsal must have been like. Or what directing it entailed. I guess they blocked it in pieces, though I suppose there was no way to see the finished product in its entirety.

I love the idea of it. It was basically silent actors going through a series of interlocking, highly stylized scenes in a cyclical pattern that roughly followed the story of Macbeth. The environment was enormous and detailed, and there was so many things to watch and see. The set dressing was gorgeous and so detailed, the way they constructed all the rooms to look like bedrooms, living rooms, gardens, the heath, a forest, a banquet hall. What effort, thought, and cost they must have put into it. I would have loved to have had the time to take a closer look at it all. I wished the lighting had been better, partially for this reason; I have practically no night vision, and I know it was supposed to be atmospheric, but I just couldn't see things well enough. I liked the masked element in theory-- it was really creepy to see lots of people standing around in faceless masks --but in practice it was kind of painful to wear over my glasses. Unfortunately typical. Ah, well. At least it made it easy to distinguish audience from performer.

( Random things I saw, cut for spoilers. )

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I know Macbeth quite well-- been in it twice --and even I had a tough time sometimes figuring out what was supposed to be going on in the scenes. I enjoyed the puzzle, but i feel I got more out of the scenes whose story I grasped. I feel like I missed a lot, so I kind of wish there had been a way to know where to go so I could have seen more, but I enjoyed the wandering aspect of it. Each scene went through its cycle three times I think, which gave an interesting detached-from-reality feel, as if they were ghosts haunting the house. I kind of wish there had been a way to know where to go to see things, though.

Overall, a very enjoyable and fun experience, though I wish I had understood it better and it had been better-lit. Loved how detailed it was, and I'm glad that somebody was willing to go to all the time and effort to put something that complicated together.

Happy birthday Frances!

Wishing a happy twenty-third birthday to the beautiful soul and favored leading lady that is Frances! I'm so lucky to have had you in my life. :-)

E-mail subject: "Comfort Food"

An e-mail sent to me by my dad:

Tyler Florence Beef Brisket Au Jus, Parsnip Pureè, Balsalmic Roasted Onion, garnished with Watercress - Oh My Eaten in front of a blazing wood fire! Love U & wish U could have joined us! Mom is the best!

My mom is the chef I aspire to be. :-) It makes me smile when they send me pictures of dinner plates. They do this frequently.