Phoebe has wanted to attend a Shakespeare play for years, but we could never make it happen. We finally found a play going on in town that seemed appropriate for kids and was real Shakespeare ~ not "The Complete Works of Shakespeare in One Hour" that I'd been finding. The Classic Theatre of San Antonio was featuring A Midsummer Night's Dream. Phillip was a theatre guy in high school, so Phoebe and I invited him to go along. :-)
They had a little pre-show entertainment with the actors sort of mime-dancing in masks and cloaks, reminiscent of the Water Ballet in Revenge of the Sith. They would come up behind you and stare over your shoulder..... Or at your face. That part was a little unnerving, but watching them was oddly enjoyable. I got a couple of pictures before I read in the program that cameras were not allowed. Ooops.
We all enjoyed it immensely! The Classic Theatre was a cute little theatre connected to a larger one. The tickets were reasonably priced. The acting was lively and well-done. We were close to the action. We will definitely be looking at more of what they have to offer.
A Midsummer Night's Dream would not be my first Shakespeare choice, but I so enjoyed it! They included the "play inside the play" with Bottom and his crew. Phillip thought that part wasn't relevant to the main story and should have been left out. It did prolong the play, but I was glad they included it. I only found out recently that the "play within the play" was even a part of Midsummer Night by reading Bruce Coville's children's version to Harrison. By the way, Bruce Coville's versions are so excellent for introducing kids to Shakespeare.
Little, impish Puck was played by a lady who teaches high school. He was Phoebe's and my favorite. Phillip loved Helena (the love-jilted friend of Hermia); she included much body language and gestures with her speaking which made it easier to understand the meaning of her words. Shakespeare is fun- I'm enjoying him more and more each year- but he's still hard to understand.
It was a long night - 2.5 hours of play with intermission and pre-show. The heel broke on my shoe on the way into the theatre and I had to limp along. But I definitely want to do more of this.
Oh, and I never realized that this line is original to Shakespeare:
"Though she be but little, she is fierce."
Who knew!?
And then yesterday afternoon, we went skating. Phoebe has also been begging to do this for a while. Harrison still sticks to the wall and my hand, but he's much better than before. Phoebe hurt her bum, so didn't enjoy it as much as she could have. Liz gave a good go, but was mostly the Watcher of the Purse and Holder of the Bench. And I, who haven't been roller skating in years, got a pretty good workout on the floor. Fun stuff. I love skating too. Shakespeare and skating. You can't get much better than that.
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