Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:33:06 +0100

Albeit for a very short while...

Not too much to say at the moment since it's past midnight, and I'm definitely tired :P but I'm hanging out in Philadelphia at the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation summer meeting: the first KSTF meeting I've voluntarily attended since my fellowship ended last year. What can I say? I just couldn't stay away. I love these people. Tomorrow I'm presenting with two other fellows in a seminar called "Off the Grid" in which two guys were inspired by my bike generators of a few years ago, and went on to build super sweet bicycle generators to take their classrooms off the grid. Very nice. They drove to the meeting so that they could bring their bike generator to the meeting, so people have been donating energy so that the presentation itself can be run off of the human-energy-filled battery. Best of all, these guys made shirts for us. Pictures to come.

Leading theaters around the country nominate actors for the fellowships. A review board selects the participants of this will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience of full immersion in a week of master classes.  The nine members of the 2010 class are Stephen Berenson, nominated by Trinity Repertory Company (Providence); James Carpenter, California Shakespeare Theater (Bay Area); Celeste Ciulla, The Old Globe (San Diego); Bob Davis, Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis); Laura Gordon, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre; Andrew Long, Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, DC); Pete Pryor, The Wilma Theater (Philadelphia); Jacqueline Williams, Goodman Theatre (Chicago); Larry Yando, Chicago Shakespeare Theater (Chicago).

The fellows sit in an arch across from floor to ceiling windows in Lunt-Fontanne Program Center’s theatre. Edelstein, set against a marvelous array of flora just beyond the glass, faces them. It’s as if the class is in a forest grove. The atmosphere is casual, of attentive ease.

A scene from Henry V is selected and parts divided. The young king’s advisors, Westmoreland and Exeter, and the Archbishop of Canterbury argue the merits of war with France. For Canterbury, the stakes are high – parliament wants to tax the church so war would provide the perfect distraction.

The first reading sounds tentative as the actors find their footing with the unfamiliar text. Edelstein then explains the scene, particular Shakespearean linguistic tricks, and each character’s purpose.

“Nothing in Shakespeare is an accident,” Edelstein says. He details breaking verse, the nuances of vocabulary, sentence structure, the juxtaposition of mono and polysyllabic words and the building of language from blunt to florid. All those elements charge this scene of political debate.

Other actors repeat the scene. Edelstein refines the scene.  He asks the actors about the ages of their characters, their respective social positions and motives. Another reading follows. The intensity grows; personalities emerge; conviction turns concrete. There’s more discussion of language and delivery. The dialogue contains Canterbury’s  extended metaphor comparing bees to the kingdom of England. Each word carries its weight in the speaker’s grander scheme. Edelstein takes each line, dissecting its context and meaning.

Finally, another three actors deliver the lines.  The electricity is palpable. Westmoreland’s shaky vocal timbre reflect the old man he is – he’s opposed to war. Exeter, the soldier-aristocrat, counters the argument. Then Canterbury brings on the bees and delivers the pivotal “Therefore to France, my liege.”

As Edelstein concludes, “the guy who wins the argument is the best talker.” And so Shakespeare has proved.

The week of classes culminates with a Concluding Presentation in the Ten Chimneys’ Lunt-Fontanne Program Center’s 300 seat theater on Saturday, July 17 at 8 p.m. Click here for ticket info and details.