Where the Heck Has Andrew Been?

Sorry for the long pause, folks. It's been a crazy week since coming back from STAA. I don't have time to write the seven long posts I'd like to, so here are a few bullet points.

STAA was a lot of fun this year. Last year, I was miserable much of the time, and this year I had a blast. I felt like I actually had something to contribute to the discussions, people remembered my name and were actually glad to see me, I sat in a training committee with Tina Packer and Jim Volz and didn't freak out or start to cry.

Somehow, I became co-chair of the training committee with Rebecca Ellis of Chesapeake Shakespeare, under chairperson Jan Powell. I pitched a research project examining the disconnection between the Shakespeare training theatre programs give and the training Shakespeare theatres require. I learned about the 220. I met Patrick Spottiswood from the Globe in London, and I made Tina Packer laugh. And I met a man named Paige who runs the Shakespeare Theatre of South Africa, which performs for people who have not only never seen Shakespeare before, they haven't seen theatre before.

I even found an afternoon to visit Zion National Park. Words don't begin to do it justice:








It is definitely the most beautiful place I have ever seen, and has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. I took over 200 pictures and videos; you can literally point your camera blindly in any direction and come out feeling like Ansel Adams.

Rehearsals for Measure for Measure are proceeding apace. This is my fourth time sharing Richmond Shakespeare's stage with Liz Blake, but the first in which we've really worked closely together. It's a good thing she's so fabulous, because we both agreed last night that we need to work as much on our two scenes together as on the entire rest of the play combined. James Bond is deftly holding parts back while pushing others forward; I have a feeling he has some amazing stuff still up his sleeve that I haven't even guessed at yet. The show is starting to take shape, and I know I say this every time (actually I don't, it just seems that way), but Measure for Measure is going to be a very special show, very raw and challenging for both actors and audiences alike.

That's all I can think of for now. Thanks for reading my ramblings. I may put up more Zion pictures later. I wish you could all have been there.