Serious Shakespeare, Scotland’s Specialties and A Star Trekking Saturday

One more week! One more week of rehearsals for ‘King Lear’ and then opening night will be upon us! Friday I spent the whole day with ‘Lear’ as the ‘Caesar’ cast had the day off. I’m in both shows so I didn’t get the day off but that is fine by me as I had never seen the show and we open a week from tomorrow! I have to say my classmates are doing a fantastic job. They should all be very proud of themselves. The show is in a great shape for the final week of tweaking. It was really good for me to get a chance to see it and get a better understanding of the shape and flavor and figure out where I fit in the scheme of things. One more week of ‘Lear’ rehearsals also translates to two more weeks of ‘Julius Caesar’! ‘Caesar’ follows on the heels of ‘Lear’, opening the very next week. It’s all coming together and these are exciting times! I will say I feel the costume supervisor, Hazel, has her work cut out for her though. Working on a skimpy budget she has over seventy costumes to pull together for ‘Caesar’! That’s a lot of duds! It’s a big show. The ‘Lear’ cast will come over to ‘Caesar’ when they are done and fill out the smaller parts and crowd scenes. Lots of people, lots of scenes, lots of clothes! Good luck Hazel!

This past weekend gave me a break from Willie’s wild world and allowed me to ‘Enjoy the Taste of Scotland’. Saturday and Sunday brought Scotland’s largest food and drink event to George Square here in Glasgow. I popped in on Saturday and sampled much of the local fare. I had some fabulous cheeses from local producers. There was a nice assortment of breads, some fruits and even a mushroom farm handing out free ‘shrooms (the cooking kind). Free samples of Haggis were available but I, being a vegetarian, skipped Scotland’s most famous cuisine. I did however, have a few samples of the local brews. I’m not really a drinker but how could I live in Scotland and not even try the whisky? Free shots! I had a triple malt that was so sweet I thought maybe it was actually pancake syrup with a kick. The single malt I tried next was much more what I expected. I also tried a few swigs of some local ales and lagers. It was interesting. Booze aren’t really my thing so I really can’t compare. But I do seem to remember mainstream American beers being a little less potent. After the alcohol tasting I sought out the free samples of bread to help prevent, how shall we say; side effects. I did have other things to do that day!

And the other things included ‘Star Trek’!! Yes, I’ll admit it; I go to the movies a lot. But hey, for me, it’s career development. ‘Star Trek’ was AWESOME!! You must go see it! I grew up with Captain Kirk and Spock and Bones and the rest coming through in syndication on our television. My Dad always enjoyed the show so we watched the re-runs fairly often. I wouldn’t consider myself a Trekkie but I too enjoy the creations of Gene Roddenberry. But whether or not you know the original series, this latest installment is made for everyone. A few of our movie going group have never seen an episode and they enjoyed the film just as much as those of us who have seen the show. But, if you are familiar with the original series the film is peppered with throw backs and tributes to the original cast and their creations. ‘Star Trek’ is just a good ‘ole summer blockbuster. So grab some popcorn, take a seat and boldly go where no man has gone before. Except the billion people who saw it with me this weekend.

Tune in next week for more on our shake up of Shakespeare and quite possibly, another movie review.
Take care!
-m