Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
Danticat is one of my favorite writers, and I especially love her collection of short stories, Krik? Krak! Breath, Eyes, Memory is her first novel, and I've read this novel before, maybe 20 years ago, but most of it I didn't completely remember. This novel is our schoolwide summer read, so the rest of my family will read it eventually too, and we can talk about it. I like how the author channels the voice of Sophie and how her voice changes throughout the four sections as she ages and matures and moves and discovers herself. The novel is filled with a lot of pain, and the ending is not truly redemptive although it can be perhaps read as hopeful. As with most of Danticat's writing, though, there is a beauty that exists alongside of the pain and violence. This coming year, I will teach Krik? Krak! in Lit and Performance, and there is so much crossover between the two books that hopefully we can revisit some of the summer read themes in discussing those stories as well. And have I mentioned that Danticat is coming to our school to speak?!
Proof byDavid Auburn
In my Directing Course last week at Yale, we sat in on some acting classes, and one class was performing a scene from Proof. I had never heard of it but the scene we watched was good, so I decided to read the whole play. It's very good, very tightly constructed, and even when I get to the end, I was still questioning who was right and who was wrong and wondering what was the truth. The scenes may be too adult to use in my acting classes, but I am tempted because there is a lot of good material there: tension, conflict, pretending. There may be a film adaptation of the play -- I will put it on my watch list and maybe get to it eventually, but maybe not this summer break.
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Bandette: Presto! (recommended by my 16-year old)
This graphic novel, the first perhaps in a series, is fun and light, a perfect escapist read. The main character is a thief but also a hero who helps prosecute other thieves/lawbreakers. She comes complete with her anonymous helpers, the "urchins" who she contacts by cell phone and who innocuously play baseball or deliver food while all the time helping her catch a criminal or escape her enemies. Also populating this world of Paris (maybe?) are an evil nemesis and a thief rival/friend.
Oddly, the comic style reminds me very much of a French animated cartoon, also recommended by my daughter: the Miraculous Ladybug:
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Summer Reading
At CA, we have a schoolwide faculty read, and each department assigned a summer read as well. For the English Department, I read Why Teach?: In Defense of a Real Education by Mark Edmundson. I generally enjoy books on teaching and find them thought provoking and inspirational. However, I had a few problems with this book (the first being the question mark followed by the colon in the intro -- clunky!). It was not truly a full-length book (which is what I was expecting) but instead a collection of essays or speeches (one a transcription of a commencement speech he gave, for example). And the whole thing was rather speechy, a lot of speechifying throughout. Also, the author repeated himself a lot as if perhaps someone might just read one of the essays or the introduction alone and not feel annoyed at the repetition. I began to feel as if the author was just being lazy and recycling old ideas. There were some interesting nuggets in there that I am sure we will pull out in our department discussion and use to get us thinking productively about teaching. But as to the form, the often condescending tone, and constant references to the dangers of technology, it just wasn't my favorite.
Monday, July 25, 2016
A play about 18th century music and a musical about 20th century NYC
Amadeus
Peter Shaffer, English playwright, died in June. I have read his play Equus and have seen the film version of Amadeus, but both of those things occurred quite a while ago. This past week, I was in a class where we were discussing the dramatic setup of Equus and Shaffer's signature style, so I decided to read and re-read some of his plays, beginning with the play that dramatizes the rivalry between Mozart and Salieri. Apparently, Shaffer wrote and rewrote the climactic scene of the play at least six times over a span of 30 years, changing it for each subsequent performance and published edition; his introduction to this edition talks through all of these changes and their motivation. The play itself was good, and his flow of scenes in the stage directions anticipates the coming of digital projection -- reading his idea made me think of the various backgrounds that inhabit the world of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. Amadeus is probably not a play I can stage at CA because the main characters are male, the music of Mozart is required live to have a full impact I think, and the show is perhaps too language- and thinking-heavy. I will re-watch the film, perhaps this week, so I can compare that version to the one I read today.
In The Heights
My daughter has been playing this soundtrack in the car lately, and although the music recalls Hamilton in an early draft kind of way, some of the songs stick with me through the day. Unlike Hamilton, this piece is not a full-through musical but has a substantial book. I wanted to read the full book so that I could get a better sense of the plot that is absent when simply listening to the soundtrack. It's good. Christopher Jackson, who played the original Benny, said (when I heard him speak last week in NYC) that high schools should do this show because it builds the cast into a family. However, I am not sure if we could pull this off. Lots of Spanish speaking and Latin rhythms that are hard for some of my international students and some of my domestic students -- perhaps because my music director admits that the timing is hard for her. But I would consider it depending on the cast because it would be a fun show. I am also going to be on the lookout to see a college or high school production to attend because that always helps me see if it would be something I can see us doing here.
Peter Shaffer, English playwright, died in June. I have read his play Equus and have seen the film version of Amadeus, but both of those things occurred quite a while ago. This past week, I was in a class where we were discussing the dramatic setup of Equus and Shaffer's signature style, so I decided to read and re-read some of his plays, beginning with the play that dramatizes the rivalry between Mozart and Salieri. Apparently, Shaffer wrote and rewrote the climactic scene of the play at least six times over a span of 30 years, changing it for each subsequent performance and published edition; his introduction to this edition talks through all of these changes and their motivation. The play itself was good, and his flow of scenes in the stage directions anticipates the coming of digital projection -- reading his idea made me think of the various backgrounds that inhabit the world of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. Amadeus is probably not a play I can stage at CA because the main characters are male, the music of Mozart is required live to have a full impact I think, and the show is perhaps too language- and thinking-heavy. I will re-watch the film, perhaps this week, so I can compare that version to the one I read today.
In The Heights
My daughter has been playing this soundtrack in the car lately, and although the music recalls Hamilton in an early draft kind of way, some of the songs stick with me through the day. Unlike Hamilton, this piece is not a full-through musical but has a substantial book. I wanted to read the full book so that I could get a better sense of the plot that is absent when simply listening to the soundtrack. It's good. Christopher Jackson, who played the original Benny, said (when I heard him speak last week in NYC) that high schools should do this show because it builds the cast into a family. However, I am not sure if we could pull this off. Lots of Spanish speaking and Latin rhythms that are hard for some of my international students and some of my domestic students -- perhaps because my music director admits that the timing is hard for her. But I would consider it depending on the cast because it would be a fun show. I am also going to be on the lookout to see a college or high school production to attend because that always helps me see if it would be something I can see us doing here.
Thursday, July 7, 2016
4 Plays and a Novel
This week, I am preparing for various theater-related activities:
1) I am going to see The Color Purple on Broadway on Sunday as one of the shows for the Broadway Teacher's Workshop professional development I am participating in, so I thought I should re-read the novel. It was just as raw as I remember, and I suspect the musical is not as frank in its use of language and discussion of sex and abuse. Before I go, I want to see the film version with Oprah since I've never seen it.
2) I am directing School of Rock at CA next winter and have started planning for it already. I received the libretto as an advance in the mail and read through the script. It will be a fun show for us!
3) I am taking a directing course at Yale, and we had to read three plays that we will use as texts over the 9 days of coursework: The House of Blue Leaves by John Guare, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, and As You Like It by William Shakespeare. I am very familiar with Menagerie since I have read it many times and performed it in high school, but it is an enjoyable re-read. I have read the Shakespeare before too and it is a fun, zany read. The Guare was new to me (I have read his other play Six Degrees of Separation but this one was darker and weirder). It is a black farce that has an underlying social message and a tragic ending, but throughout the play, you may forget that in the comic antics that distract you. This makes the ending/message more poignant. I recommend seeing rather than reading, though, because the tone of the play is not expressed best on the page -- it is a play to be best experienced on stage.
For the next two weeks, I may not have the opportunity to read too much because I will be seeing many plays/musicals (including Hamilton!!) and attending workshops and classes. I had a brief moment of imagining starting a new blog to chronicle and review all the shows I see but maybe that is a challenge for next year.
1) I am going to see The Color Purple on Broadway on Sunday as one of the shows for the Broadway Teacher's Workshop professional development I am participating in, so I thought I should re-read the novel. It was just as raw as I remember, and I suspect the musical is not as frank in its use of language and discussion of sex and abuse. Before I go, I want to see the film version with Oprah since I've never seen it.
2) I am directing School of Rock at CA next winter and have started planning for it already. I received the libretto as an advance in the mail and read through the script. It will be a fun show for us!
3) I am taking a directing course at Yale, and we had to read three plays that we will use as texts over the 9 days of coursework: The House of Blue Leaves by John Guare, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, and As You Like It by William Shakespeare. I am very familiar with Menagerie since I have read it many times and performed it in high school, but it is an enjoyable re-read. I have read the Shakespeare before too and it is a fun, zany read. The Guare was new to me (I have read his other play Six Degrees of Separation but this one was darker and weirder). It is a black farce that has an underlying social message and a tragic ending, but throughout the play, you may forget that in the comic antics that distract you. This makes the ending/message more poignant. I recommend seeing rather than reading, though, because the tone of the play is not expressed best on the page -- it is a play to be best experienced on stage.
For the next two weeks, I may not have the opportunity to read too much because I will be seeing many plays/musicals (including Hamilton!!) and attending workshops and classes. I had a brief moment of imagining starting a new blog to chronicle and review all the shows I see but maybe that is a challenge for next year.
Monday, July 4, 2016
2 Related Works of Nonfiction
Summer Reading has officially kicked into gear. As has summer listening (podcasts) and summer watching (films and plays). It's very different from the school year because I can just read and watch all day and night and listen to podcasts as I take a walk. What a life.
I was listening to a podcast (maybe Theater People) interview with Sierra Boggess (who currently plays Ms. Mullins in School of Rock on Broadway but who also has played Christine in Phantom and will do so again this Fall in Paris), and she mentioned that the Winter Garden Theater used to be horse stables as she read in the book Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway. Because I like history and theater, I thought it would be a perfect summer read, and Amazon suggested simultaneously reading The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows are Built (Amazon knows me well). So I read both and enjoyed both.
The first was simply historically interesting and enjoyable, but the second may have classroom use as well in that it discusses the structure of a show and how various types of musical numbers come together to craft a perfect show (using musicals as varied as Oklahoma!, Gypsy, The Producers, Music Man, and Book of Mormon). My Lit and Performance students sometimes benefit from that type of instruction in stagecraft when designing their literary stage adaptations...so maybe I will copy some bits or work them into an activity.
In 2 weeks, I am taking a course and the required reading is three plays, so those are next on the list for summer reading (although I may throw in some other things as well since why not?)
I was listening to a podcast (maybe Theater People) interview with Sierra Boggess (who currently plays Ms. Mullins in School of Rock on Broadway but who also has played Christine in Phantom and will do so again this Fall in Paris), and she mentioned that the Winter Garden Theater used to be horse stables as she read in the book Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway. Because I like history and theater, I thought it would be a perfect summer read, and Amazon suggested simultaneously reading The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows are Built (Amazon knows me well). So I read both and enjoyed both.
The first was simply historically interesting and enjoyable, but the second may have classroom use as well in that it discusses the structure of a show and how various types of musical numbers come together to craft a perfect show (using musicals as varied as Oklahoma!, Gypsy, The Producers, Music Man, and Book of Mormon). My Lit and Performance students sometimes benefit from that type of instruction in stagecraft when designing their literary stage adaptations...so maybe I will copy some bits or work them into an activity.
In 2 weeks, I am taking a course and the required reading is three plays, so those are next on the list for summer reading (although I may throw in some other things as well since why not?)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)