STARR KING UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH

Members went on their Annual trek to Oregon Shakespeare Festival

Ashland, Oregon March 15 & 16, 2008

A great weekend getaway - Fun, educational, relaxing.

The “Starr King Plan” included:

• Two nights lodging (with breakfast) at the Plaza Inn two blocks from the theater.
• Tickets to three plays
• A pre-trip overview of the plays
• A talk by one of the actors (for our group only) on Sunday morning.

Plays seen were:

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Shakespearean comedy
  

  This play probably needs no description, but... I will anyway. The play centers around the love tangles of four lovers, the marital disputes of the king and queen of the faeries, an actor who's head is transformed into an donkey's head, a love potion, and a whole lot of confusion, and running around in the forest.

Midsummer Nights Dream was simply amazing. I've never been to a Shakespeare performance that so well used the inherent musicality of the language to such good use. For that matter, I've never been to a performance where I so longed to stand up and dance in the aisles, because this wasn't a play. This was a concert and I wanted to yell (and did) and clap hands rhythmically (and did) and dance (and didn't – at least not until it was over).

The play opened, as it always does, with Theseus and Hypolita, sitting in these amazing, enormous chairs. Theseus dressed like a 70s gangster and talked like a mobster from Jersey. Snapping his fingers to the rhythm of his words. While Hypolita, who also played the wife in Fences later in the weekend, said little because she was that quiet center around which Theseus fluttered as he attempted to impress her. A glance or a gesture and he'd hop to it to peal her a grape so to speak.

There were a number of gender switches. Helena’s father, was now her mother. It so completely altered the nature of the discussion to have Helena's "mother" ranting about what respect she was owed. Philosrate was also a woman, and her crush on Theseus, was an interesting accent to Theseus flutterings.

The Play within a play was also one of the best presentations. Sometimes, how shall I put this, it's so achingly embarrassing to watch, that I can't stand it. However, here, with the crafsman playing Thisbe played by a woman dressed as a man dressed as woman, and the hippy VW bug bus they all road into the forest in, and our lion in a yellow leisure suit... okay there wasn't a moment that wasn't hilarious.

And then... there were the fairies.

The playbill talked about this being a "sexy" Midsummer’s and it definitely was that. The fairy's (with sole exception of Titania) were all young men in that sort of club wear you might see in the 70s, 80s, 90s - tight pants and mesh shirts and muscles. When Titania came in, she had a microphone and she shimmied in the mist of her boys and they danced around her whim.

While Oberon, good lord Oberon... club wear and cuffs of brown explosions of feathers. I couldn't have imagined feathers as so masculine, but good Lord he carried it off. The confidence of a, I'd say a preeing bird, but he didn't preen, merely took all observance as his due.

The stage was this sort minimalist, and yet hugely complex arrangement of two great horn shaped climbing structures, covered in circle lights that would flash at different cues and the fairys would climb and perch upon.

While the poor mortals, they started in white clothes that the fairies stole as they wandered, (spinning in confusion as coats and purses and shoes were whisked away) until they were down to their white underwear, which as they wandered on and off stage went into pastel. Until by the final scene everyone's wedding splendor was neon bright.

As Puck gave his final speech, when he told us to clap hands for him, he sang the words. The crowd (groundlings us all) went wild. As well we should, there was no slumbering there. ~Crystal

• The Clay Cart - A world classic from India
  

  This comedy is one of the oldest known Sanskrit plays, written in the 2nd century BC. The story centers around a love triangle between a young man and a royal courtier, who are both in love with a beautiful courtesan. There are thieves, mistaken identities, romance, twists, turns, and a lot of laughter.

The afternoon play was a little 2000 year old Sanskit play that I cannot even begin to describe the plot of. There were artist thieves (pontificating on the proper way to pry stones), a courtesan's who's description of a rain storm was hello sexy, evil officials, lost jewels, mistaken identities, three hours of plot. And dancing. And singing. And sexy.

Stage in the round. The actors would sit around the main stage on cushions and would comment on action or respond as a chorus when called. The props were pillows and clothing, and the little clay cart itself. With no real moment when the play began. A boy walked around the stage and we quieted when we saw him. Went still to see each actor come out touch the stage and ask for the blessing of the performance. Stretch and move and into the play. The actors would on occasion address the audience, asking for our help in this or that endeavor. We were a part of that city of oppressed. With it’s wicked king and generous into poverty merchant. ~Crystal

• Fences - by August Wilson
  

  Fences examines the changing African-American experience, race, and inter-family relations. This Pulitzer Prize winning play deals with an African American family in 1950s Pittsburgh struggling to find their place in the world and with each other.

Fences was presented in a more straight forward manner. All the action occurred in the same set, a dusty backyard, which served as both a public (there's no fence) and private space behind the house. It was Lear-ish. Out of joint main character and the world he spuns out of control in his disjoint. And yet, it was out of disjoint to begin with. His attempts at rejoining, cutting boards and making something were all an expression of his inability to fit.

There was this one wonderful speech in the middle of the play, where Troy Maxon’s son (and I should mention if you’re not familiar that this play is part of August Wilson's ten-part Pittsburgh Cycle focusing on the African American experience of the last century), asked his father if he liked him. His father replied with some ire that no, had no call to like him. That like had nothing to do with anything. As his father, he owed an obligation to his son. That he shouldn’t be concerned about people liking or disliking him, but rather focus on ensuring that he was treated with respect. That he was paid what he was owed.

A truely powerful play. ~Crystal

Pictures from this year's trip

Pictures from last year's trip.

2/5