Embraced

I took my daughters to the Denver Art Museum to see an exhibit entitled "Embrace!" The museum gave 17 artists free reign of the building, letting them choose what they installed and where. Some brought in paintings or sculpture, but others transformed entire rooms into works of art so that visitors walk into the art, becoming a part of it. My favorite was a room in which an artist made a landscape of words. He asked refugees for one word that describes something they miss about home, something that surprised them about the US, etc. He then took those words - in all different languages - and made pillows out of them that visitors can pick up and move, throw, have a pillow fight with. Words hang from the ceiling as clouds and hang on coat racks symbolizing trees. The colors are vibrant greens, reds, and blues. When I walked into the room I felt connected to the piece as I thought about the words and what they mean literally, but also what they mean to the people who were involved in the project. Some of the words I noted: school, flower, brilliant, love, compassion. And because one form of art informs others, I came up with a new exercise to try with my students. Learning how to communicate verbally and physically is such an important aspect of acting Shakespeare. So every morning I will ask them a new question that they have to answer in one word. What does Shakespeare mean to you? What is theatre about? Sum up your character in one word, etc. They will write their word on nametags and wear them for the day, springboarding us into discussion, physical embodiments of the words, and other improv games and activites. I would love to do something similar to the art museum exhibit as well and have words hanging on the curtains in the theatre as a visual connection to language.

On another note, something interesting happened last night while I was reading stories to Alyssa. She had done something really funny that sent me into a fit of laughter. I was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my face. But then I couldn't tell if I was laughing or crying, the sensations of each emotion became so intertwined. I'd been a little sad all day, and somehow the sadness I'd been feeling came out in this strange, hysterical way. It got me thinking about comedy and tragedy and how - though they are opposites - the physical embodiment of the emotions is similar in the way we inhale and exhale so that laughter can turn to weeping and weeping can just as easily turn to laughter. Comedy and tragedy cannot exist one without the other. Shakespeare must have had these two constantly vieing for his attention and playing with his subconscious. Which might explain how both "Othello" and "Much Ado About Nothing" came to be written. Each play contains the slander of an innocent woman, but "Othello" ends tragically for all involved, while "Much Ado" ends with all being put right again. The plays are almost like opposite sides of a coin. Flip it and it can land on either side - tragedy or comedy.