stuart little

so I have moved to Richmond.

( i wonder how many of my blogs have the words "so i moved to..." in them. )

But i have! I have moved to beautiful warm sunny lovely happy richmond.

( home of VCU who is the glorious underdog of march madness. and yes im weirdly proud of them even though i have no affiliation with the team other than sharing a city with them for two weeks. )

so needless to say. LOVING RICHMOND. The weather is warm, the city is spunky, there is a real theatre community that thrives in Richmond. I am also living with the most wonderful family on the planet ( they come in an immediate second after my own family. ) The Cushings are so so so WONDERFUL! Not only is this an amazing gift that I can live here and not pay rent but the amount of love I have recieved living here is humbling. They are such a blessing. Mrs. Gale and granny Lorma and I play more card games than you care to know. Mrs. C even watched the finale of the bachelor with me! Mr. C is keeping me straight with world affairs and march madness while simultaneously cooking the best steak I have ever had! Granny Lorma plays double solitare with me every night ( which I think she worries I am doing for her benefit but if you know me at all I am probably taking advantage of her so I can have a game buddy!) I couldnt adore the three of them anymore than I do!

I am also so stinking thankful to be working not only in the same city but the same company with one of my bfa classmates and best friends. Payne Hopton-Jones. He has been a gem showing me around the city, the ins and outs of theatre iv, introducing me to all the actors, and all the places for good eats! ( stickyrice bucket o tots.) It is so rare to get to have experienced all we did in college and then have a contract that overlaps in the real world. He has given me a sense of confidence and security in a brand new place and I love him for it! Thanks Hoj!

I also have been enjoying theatre iv a great deal. I have a fantastic director and a great cast. I think I will luck out again with a great touring cast!

Stuart the puppet makes me a little insane. We have been having a really intense love hate relationship. I love him because he lives on my arm and I am his voice, but I hate him because he is so difficult to manuever while I am also trying to sing act move do choreography and so on. But we have come to terms stuart and I. I think when we ship out on Wednesday it will be the beginning of a beautiful thing between myself and what laura williams calls my tour boyfriend.

as I said we are shipping out on Wednesday for a tour of epic proportions. We will be going to North Carolina, New York ( more than once! Could I be more excited to get to see my new york girls and my cat? nope. couldnt be.) WI, MN, IN, all over Virginia, RI, Ann Arbor ( to see my kat and my kara! ) OH, DE, NJ, MD, Aventura Fl ( yea thats almost miami haha!) and PA!

I am going to try my best to be really good about blogging about all of these places because I havent been to any of them!

So hello world! Stu's a comin!

The King's Speech

The second moving piece of art I have seen this week was The Kings Speech.

Holy Moly this was so moving. Collin Firth plays King Henry VI who had a TERRIBLE speech impediment. Jeffery Rush is a speech therapist and gives the King technique and confidence to overcome all of the technical and emotional problems that contributed to his stammer. As an actor I understand how important a voice is and also how much it can affect you to be mocked for your voice, to be ashamed of your voice, and how vulnerable it can make you feel to need help overcoming obstacles. I went to speech therapy in college for over a year for vocal issues. I did many of the same exercises in speech therapy and in my BFA classes that Jeffery Rush took Collin Firth through in the movie. I cried off and on through this entire movie. ( If you want to know more about the personal and physical history in your life that makes up why you speak the way you do read the book The Right to Speak by Patsy Rodenberg. it will change the way you view your own voice.) It broke my heart throughout the whole movie to watch Collin Firth struggle to communicate. This movie to quote my dad " is a movie about the triumph of the human spirit

The part that moved me the most :

Linonel " Why should I Listen to YOu? "

King George without thinking screams back at him " BECAUSE I HAVE A VOICE!!!!

Lionel "I know you do, I believe you."

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice on Broadway starring Al Pacino.

Al Pacino was worth every stinking penny I paid to see this show. He played the Jewish merchant Shylock. Shylock in this show in my opinion is such a victim. He is constantly discriminated against because of his religion. It eventually pushes him into becoming obsessed with a bloody and fatal revenge. Pacino is one of the most stunning actors I have ever watched. He embodied the heightened speech and despite how outdated much of the language is it was clear every moment he was on stage everything he was feeling and everything he was saying. Breathtaking. He had me on the edge of my seat mouth agape and in tears for the entire show.

The language Shakespeare uses to express emotions or situations moves me in a way I cannot explain. It paints such a vivid picture of how heightened the circumstances are.

some of the quotes that moved me in this production :

-There is a portion of the show when Shylock is being begged not to exact his revenge and Shylock beats his chest and says the following

"An Oath an Oath an Oath! I have taken an Oath. Would you have me commit perjury against my soul."

Shylock also has been persecuted the entire play for being Jewish and he makes this speech about the similarities between the pious Christians and himself a "jewish dog"

"Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?"

(This one is my personal favorite speech in all of Shakespeare.) This speech is delivered by portia who is impersonating a judge. She pleads with Shylock to show mercy. She explains that mercy is from God and how could we ever expect to receive mercy if you cannot give mercy to others.

"The quality of mercy is not strained,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway,
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's,
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy."