It is safe to say that our final night, this past Thursday night, in Stratford will go down as one of the best nights of this trip for me. Not only did I get a very up-close viewing of Arden of Faversham (on our second showing), but by the end of the night I ended up with signatures from almost the entire cast and a picture with the amazingly talented actor Joe Bannister.
This past Thursday we all headed to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre for our final play inStratford-Upon-Avon. Heart heavy, yet still excited to see the show again, I entered the theatre prepared to see the play from a different angle, both literally and figuratively. I had a seat in row D and it was amazing to be that close to the stage. I felt as if I was part of the play at times, as the cast often gave asides to our row. It was both frightening and invigorating at times and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to have that experience. Being so close allowed me to notice the obscene amount of self-tanner on Moseby’s face. It allowed me to notice how much additional blood was added to certain scenes, and it overall just made me notice small details like the number of bracelets Alice was wearing and the Mum tattoo on Greene’s neck. Though I didn’t think the onstage energy was as great thesecond night around, I did not regret getting tickets for the second night at all. I think it just helped me shape my opinions of the characters and show further. It was also incredibly interesting to see the changes the director made from one night to another.
But after taking a final group picture in Stratford-Upon-Avon and heading to The Dirty Duck was when the night became even more memorable for me. I knew the night was going to be phenomenal the minute we approached the Duck and noticed that half of the Arden and Roaring Girl cast was out on the porch. As mentioned in one of my previous posts, I had been “fan girling” for the past week and a half, and that excitment never really wore off for me. But this night was different than the rest. I didn’t just sit back and look over at them nervously from time to time. Instead I grabbed a pint of cider, pulled myself together, and walked straight up to them with my program and RSC pen in hand and asked if they’d be willing to make me one happy American, and thank goodness they all obliged. I even got to speak to the actress who played Alice and she informed me that the accent she used in the play was actually her natural Scottish accent (which solved that mystery for me).
As the night progressed,it got even better for me. I eventually got a picture with Bannister and I was in “fan girl” heaven! Then, rounding a corner, I bumped into two actors who said hello, and with my newfound confidence I started a conversation with them. We discussed the two plays (both my perspective and theirs), the plays we would be seeing in London, what other productions they thought I would enjoy, if I had advice for their characters or scenes, and other more random things. We talked about the dissolving middle class, our similar experiences with incredibly preppy wealthy kids at school (theirs at Cambridge and mine at W&L), and even about what our parents thought of our intended career paths. It was enlightening, intellectual, and all-around just a fun conversation. And to top it off when I left I even got a kiss goodbye on the cheek. But in the end, eventually I finally realized what I had known all along, but couldn’t seem to wrap my head around: actors are people too.