Saturday, April 16, 2011

Is Not that Strange? (30 DPC: Day 20)

"I do love nothing in the world so well as you; is not that strange?" -William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 4 Scene 1

Day 20: a photograph of your most prized possession

Before I begin to delve into the story of today's photographs (and it is a lovely story, if I may say so myself) I want to take moment to thank you, dear reader. As of two days ago I officially reached over a thousand page views. That is insane- thank you all so very very much for thinking my musings here to be worthy of your time in what surely are your very busy lives! 

Alright, enough freaking out. To the story.

Today's pictures are of my most treasured gift and possession; my director's chair. 


As aforementioned in this blog post, in high school I ran a theatre company for two years with some incredibly talented people. My proudest accomplishment with this company (and in theatre in general, really) was directing William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. I am quite the Shakespeare geek- have been since I was twelve and in A Comedy of Errors. Directing was something I had always wanted to do and in the fall of my junior year I made this dream a reality. 



It was the biggest project I have ever undertaken and it was essentially my life for three months. But they were some of the best three months of my life- and some of the hardest. Learning what it means to be a good leader meant making huge personal sacrifices in my own life for the sake of the best show possible. I poured everything I had into that show- my time, my tears, my effort, and my creative energy. When we had three sold out shows and, more important to me, a cast incredibly cemented together and with amazing focus, I knew all those months had absolutely paid off. 

The whole cast after giving me the chair! :)
Why is why when, at the curtain call of the final show my cast called me forward to present me with two bouquets of sunflowers and a director's chair, I stood in front of a sold out theatre crying like a blubbering fool, immensely humbled and awed and so proud.




The whole cast signed the chair, and Justine (who played Margaret) embroidered my name and did the incredible sunflower detail. Sunflowers, my absolute favorite kind of flowers, had littered the stage and set because we'd set the story in an Italian garden. The =  is a reference to something I used to use when taking notes during rehearsals/full runs. When a cast member delivered a line a certain way or did something with their character that I really liked I would scribble an equals sign with heart to remind myself to praise their good work during notes. It became something of a badge of honor in the cast. Months later when I sat in on a rehearsal taking notes for another production I doled out a few equals hearts and a member of that show yelped with glee, declaring that to be a "huge compliment!" Really, it was just Lizzie shorthand, but it was so sweet that it kind of caught on.


Covering the arms and legs of the chair (though perhaps fading now) are quotes from the show, lines from our favorite warm-up games, and thank you notes. I love this chair. It is seriously the most thoughtful and kind gift I have ever received. Sitting in it always reminds me that we are all capable and that, while theatre is not as much of a priority in my life anymore, it once was something that dually gave me great joy and made me grow into being a better leader. 

And, because I want to and because I think you'll have a little kick out of it, here are some of my favorite photographs from the show: 


 



During the final dress rehearsal the cast played a prank on my by all coming out in each other's costumes for the final scene. It was HILARIOUS and the fact that they did the whole scene without even so much as a blink in the direction of their outrageous attire told me they were ready for opening night. 
Alright, dear reader. Thank you for your kind support and a special thank you to all of you who participated in Day of Silence yesterday!
---
current jam: "moskau" dschingius khan (it. is. so. catchy.)
best thing in my life right now: WAFFLE CARNIVAL (foryougracie)
days until departure: 46

3 comments:

  1. Lizzie you are absolutely amazing and I am always in awe of your wonderful cheerfulness and vivacity! Sunflowers are my favorite flower, too, and they perfectly match your bright personality. :)

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  2. Yayyyy Lizzie!!!! I miss you!!! What a great post! Your blog is quite excellent by the way. I'm so impressed! You're a very talented writer. I miss the much ado cast! I think I bonded with that cast most out of any show I've done, and I think that was because YOU were so keen on having us all connect and focus our energy towards the work of art we were presenting and spending time with each other.

    I've been a lousy friend and haven't kept up with you since I left for college! I don't know if I came up to you after I saw dracula or not, but you were incredible and by far had the best performance of the night. I'm so proud that you are becoming an active humanitarian. I wish I were as brave as you are and wish I better understood the ideologies around the globe. I'm taking a global issues class right now and its sorta kicking my butt, hahaha.

    Anyways... call me when you're back in town! I hope you're doing well. Seems like you are, and always will be... :)

    -Donovan

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  3. AWWW!
    This is so sweet. I'm actually wearing my Much Ado shirt as I write this :D
    I love your blog, even if I never find the time to comment, and it's so nice that you wrote about us.
    Much Ado is probably my favorite theatre memory, and it's largely thanks to your wonderful directing.
    Lizzie = <3
    I had such a great time when I came to visit you. Miss you!
    -Anya

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