Holy Shit, I finally read a play!

No really, it’s a big deal for me, because…okay, I’ve READ plays before, but not really other than back in high school, when we’d do Shakespeare in English Class and I always totally would get into whatever part I got assigned…I recall having a blast with Twelfth Night especially.  Love to do that again sometime…I’ve long had an idea for a friendly get-together called ‘Shakespeare in the Party‘, where we all bring a cheap copy of the same Zombie bill bit and drunkenly read it aloud.  If I had friends, I would SO do that!

But anyways.  In the last few years, anytime I’ve tried to sit down and READ a play, I never really made it through. Because I simply can’t read a play like I’m reading a book.  Plays aren’t MEANT to be read, they’re meant to be SEEN.  So I can only really do it if I’m reading it aloud.  And recently I found motivation, as I’m preparing to go and see the French IPHEGENIE EN TAURIDE from Fringe overlord Natalie Joy Quesnel (and you should too), and my French…well, to say it’s rusty would be like saying the cilantro in my fridge is ‘not fresh’.   So to give myself an edge in following the plot, I dug up my very own copy of Euripides’ IPHEGENIA IN TAURIS and gave it a go.  But this time, I did it like ya should…out loud, alone, and a little bit tipsy.  And I had a blast.

Okay, my performance wasn’t a knockout (although my Messenger was a fucking comic masterpiece), and afterwards I had to go and read the smart-people’s notes on the play to find out what I was missing…stuff people like NJoy already know like the back of their hands. And now not only am I really looking forward to the play even more than before, but I’m getting ready to read even more plays…I bought an armload of them at my fav’rit bookstore (Book Bazaar, yo) the other day, and I’m digging through my book collection to find ones I haven’t gotten to.  I’m actually planning on one I’ve read years ago (probably on account of the Greek connection), LYSISTRATA by Aristophanes.  I can’t wait, and I TOTALLY have a modern-day reinterpretation in mind when I’m done.  I used to write, you know…

Apologies, this post really started out as my attempt to write a review of the AGOKWE premiere I just saw, but got sidetracked.  So that’s tomorrow.   Tonite, I’m happy to let you all know that I’ve finally learned how to enjoy not only SEEING plays, but reading them, too.  Whatever the fuck you call the path I’m on…it’s still going.  And if you have any recommendations (like any of you would actually comment), shout them out. In the meantime, peace, love and soul,

The Visitor (and Winston)