Exhilarated…

So. Saturday. The Andronicus Read-Thru.

Honestly, I don’t know what the blank was I thinking scheduling this in the midst of Henry IV‘s opening weekend. But I did. And it happened.

And… I’d call it a rousing success. Great turnout. Enthusiastic participants. But even more important than that, the concept of an (almost) all-female production of Titus Andronicus works!

I knew it within minutes, if my script marginalia is any testament…

A female Titus (or as I’m calling her Tita) works. So does Marcus. So does Lucius. And the flexibility with the other characters would make for a great rehearsal period of discussion.

The read-thru cast of Andronicus…with yours truly, editing pencil in hand.

Was it perfect? Of course not, the script still needs some cutting…

There seemed to be a flag in the pacing in the second half… when–in my opinion–it needs to be even more breakneck.

NOTE: with stage directions read aloud, the first act ran at a svelte 49 minutes, the second at that same 49-minute length (and that second act’s unspoken actions will run longer than the first’s).

But, oh baby, it worked. And now what? Well, as I posted in the Facebook event page:

And now?

Who knows… but I thank you all for today.

And for the future… I’m thinking of making this a regular thing… maybe quarterly. Opening up the canon to plays that don’t often get a reading, let alone a production (Timon, Cymbeline, Pericles, Coriolanus, and Merry Wives, come to mind immediately). Maybe mixing it up with some other ideas (cue scripts, staged readings, etc). Opening it up to any of you who might want to do the same with a play of your choosing (Shakespeare is not a prerequisite).

Who’s up for that?

Oh, I’m up for that…

In fact…

nah, that’s for another day my friends…

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