Back from Ashland, OR
We returned from our annual trip to Ashland, Oregon for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, seeing 6 plays in total. We've been attending the festival annually since 1993 and while i always have a great time, mostly because we go with our good friends, i am finding the expense to be a bit much. This has become our one vacation for the year and i am yearning to be in a tropical climate, snorkeling, and drinking fruity beverages. Having said that, the plays are always enjoyable, the town of Ashland is quaint, and i do get to see a different visual world. I didn't even visit the usual galleries although, there was a new artist's coop that just opened up a month ago which i did visit. I liked it - it reminded me of Chicago where buildings were devoted to having workspace that would have organized art shows on a frequent and regular basis. The downstairs had formal gallery space along with some work spaces and the upstairs was devoted to the work spaces. The spaces were converted to mini galleries where we could walk around and enjoy the work.
Plays are great for all the visuals - staging of the actors, the costumes, the sets, the lighting. The set for "Macbeth" was unbelievable - the shimmering of the space, the feeling of obstruction on the stage, the amazing ramp/staircase. The costumes in "Henry VIII" were awesome. I usually like weird combinations of styles when it comes to costumes, but this was done in the "traditional" Tudor style. The movement and sheer energy of "The Servant of Two Masters" was fun, amazing, energizing and while i usually don't like the silly plays, i quite enjoyed this one. My absolute favorite play was "Equivocation" with it's all star cast and a totally engaging story. I noticed that this year, there was a lot more blood action, like blood spewing out in a spray from an actor's mouth. It was a bit much, almost Monty Python silliness which isn't the right effect when it is a serious play like Macbeth.
Plays are great for all the visuals - staging of the actors, the costumes, the sets, the lighting. The set for "Macbeth" was unbelievable - the shimmering of the space, the feeling of obstruction on the stage, the amazing ramp/staircase. The costumes in "Henry VIII" were awesome. I usually like weird combinations of styles when it comes to costumes, but this was done in the "traditional" Tudor style. The movement and sheer energy of "The Servant of Two Masters" was fun, amazing, energizing and while i usually don't like the silly plays, i quite enjoyed this one. My absolute favorite play was "Equivocation" with it's all star cast and a totally engaging story. I noticed that this year, there was a lot more blood action, like blood spewing out in a spray from an actor's mouth. It was a bit much, almost Monty Python silliness which isn't the right effect when it is a serious play like Macbeth.
Comments