It's a complicated dance, and I'm missing some steps, but GOD it's good to dance again....

As most of you well know, I enjoy a good academic discussion.

I don't get many of these, anymore.

In my younger days, when I was of academia, I had infinite opportunities at academic discussion, and I, of course, did not want to limit myself to my strong suit; in fact, if I could avoid talking about the theatre on ANY level, I would, in favor of such things as Russian Literature, Civil War History, the Creation of the New Deal, or even, the ongoing discussion over the merits of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

All this, over seemingly endless slices of pie. Yes, I said pie. Not cake. I am an equal opportunity baked goods consumer; and if there's pie, I will have pie.

With that in mind....

There is so much to discuss upon the subject of Elizabethan drama, you could start to day and finish the day you die, and still not be finished, except for the fact that you're not breathing anymore and probably having dinner with Jesus AND Shakespeare. And I bet the conversation would continue in Heaven, with Jesus laughing at some idiot thing you said, and Shakespeare saying, "They did WHAT to HAMLET? It was a f***ing GHOST STORY, for the love of GOD!"

And then, of course, God would chime in, but let's move on...

With so many interpretations, and no author to go to, short of the actual text (which is where you really NEED to be going, for all your character needs: That's right, folks, come on down to the TEXT, where we've got characterization just waiting for you to try!) it's a garden of joy for me to get involved in a good old-fashioned academic discussion.

I need to reiterate to you all: I AM HAVING A GREAT TIME. And I say that with the full knowledge that between last Sunday night and last Friday morning, I had exactly FIVE hours of sleep, and four shifts at work, and three rehearsals. And even in those rehearsals when I felt that I was literally halfway between heaven and hell,and it could go either way....I was STILL having a good time. The allowance to find a rhythm, to try different things as I make my way, to actually feel laughter bubbling up from me with every really good choice my castmates make....it's divine.

And you can really forget that when you haven't done it for a long time; and you can really take it for granted when you've done it too much.

But there was something that happened the other night that brought together my abilities as an actor and my experience as an academic.

I saw something. It was just a little moment; a look, and a sound. And if I hadn't been focused upon the work, I maybe would never have noticed it. But in that moment, I knew I had to say something to the director.

I like Erin, the director; she has so much to do, and she handles it with a kind of aplomb that you usually don't see very often. She enjoys what she sees, and when she doesn't, she adjusts it with a kindness that belies the kind of deadlines she must surely be coming up to. She has a nice laugh; the kind of laugh that makes you want to do something interesting to hear it again. And, I don't like to burden her too much with my academic crap, because, frankly, I'm full of s**t most of the time, and who wants to endure that?

Sometimes, when you get so involved, you forget that the destination is out there, but you need to look at the road that leads there, as well. And in this particular piece of road....well, from my vantage point, in this particular scene, something didn't sit right....

Petruchio has brought Kate home, and he's railing at his servants, and basically supplying her with one hand and denying her with the other, and she's looking at him, rightly so, like he's out of his mind. And then, with a word, off they go to the marriage bed....

And Kate made this sound; and she made this look. And at that moment, a sickening feeling came over me, and I knew that if I caught it, the audience might catch it, as well....so I told my director that I didn't think it would be good if the audience felt that Kate was being raped in the bedroom.

She agreed.