Don Juan and Other Plays (Oxford World's Classics)
This selection of seven of Moliere's prose plays includes "Precious Provincials," "The Would-be Gentleman," "Don Juan," "The Reluctant Doctor," "Scapin the Schemer," "The Miser," and "George Dandin."
Homework
There will be UAF cut (shorter), I need more time on stage for dances and fights. See DJ directory in SHOWS ("Gipsy Kings" on the sound page and Spanish guitare files). Rehearsals -- My Calendar!
Don Juan, by Moliere (Harvest Book) by Richard Wilbur (Translator)
Don Juan, the "Seducer of Seville," originated as a hero-villain of Spanish folk legend, is a famous lover and scoundrel who has made more than a thousand sexual conquests. One of Moliere's best-known plays, Don Juan was written while Tartuffe was still banned on the stages of Paris, and shared much with the outlawed play. Modern directors transform Don Juan in every new era, as each director finds something new to highlight in this timeless classic. Richard Wilbur's flawless translation will be the standard for generations to come, as have his translations of Moliere's other plays. Witty, urbane, and poetic in its prose, Don Juan is, most importantly, as funny now as it was for audiences when it was first presented.
The Age of Louis XIV: A History of European Civilization in the Period of Pascal, Moliere, Cromwell, Milton, Peter the Great, Newton, and Spinoza: 1648-1715 (Story of Civilization)
In the eighth volume of their Story of Civilization, the Durants explore the apex of European civilization to that time, the years 1648 to 1715. It is the era of the "Sun King," Louis XIV, one of the most powerful rulers in Western history. It is also the pinnacle of Dutch culture, the heyday of Vermeer and William of Orange, later King of England. All this forms the backdrop for the Durants' real focus: the intellectual character of the age. Encompassing Newton and Leibniz, among others, THE AGE OF LOUIS XIV marks a momentous transition: the passage from superstition and intolerance to science and philosophy. This is the period on which the foundation for modernity rests.
Molière : A Theatrical Life Cambridge University Press (May 16, 2002) *
Moliere's long-lost trunk of letters and manuscripts has yet to be found amidst the dust of some Parisian attic, but in spite of that, a story of his life can be told from documentary evidence, reminiscence, gossip and innuendo, and inferences from his plays. He was very much a man of his time and place, and this new biography, the first to be written in English since 1930, places the great actor/playwright in his historical context as the son of well-to-do bourgeois and student at the Jesuit College de Clermont in the 1630's, as one of a group of stage-struck hopefuls and as a vagabond actor in the provinces in the 1640's and 50's, and--from 1658 to his death in 1673--as a clever courtier, a faithful friend, a not-so-faithful lover, a successful and controversial playwright striking out against hypocrisy in religion and medicine, and a cynical survivor of the literary, cultural, and marital wars. Virginia Scott is Professor of Theater at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She has published numerous articles in Theater Survey, Theater Journal, and Theater Research International as well as writing the book The Commedia dellÀrte in Paris, which won the George Freedley Award for the best book in theater studies in 1991.
Scapin and Don Juan : The Actor's Moliere - Volume 3 (Actor's Moliere, Vol 3)
In one of Moliere's most popular plays, Scapin, that monarch of con men, puts his store of ingenuity to work, getting two lovesick young men married to the girls they pine for and, along the way, taking revenge on their grasping old fathers. Closed down after its first, highly successful run because of opposition from powerful enemies of the playwright, Don Juan was performed in a bowdlerized version for almost two hundred years, until actors, directors and critics restored the original text, recognizing it as the most ambitious and mightiest of Moliere's prose plays. Bermel's translations of the scripts as presented here have received rave reviews.
Moliere: Don Juan (Plays in Production) Few plays have generated more controversy or had a more extraordinary performance history than Moli¨¨re's Don Juan. David Whitton's study examines various ways in which this enigmatic masterpiece has been interpreted in performance through the vision of different directors and in a variety of cultural and social contexts. In a series of critical studies, key productions are reconstructed using prompt books, production notes, photographs, contemporary reviews, and memoirs. Among the interpretations discussed are those of Meyerhold and Brecht, Ingmar Bergman, Jouvet, and Ch¨¦reau. The book is illustrated with numerous photographs and contains a geographical-chronological table of productions.
DON JUAN: What! would you have a man bind himself to the first girl he falls in love with, say farewell to the world for her sake, and have no eyes for anyone else? A fine thing, to be sure, to pride oneself upon the false honour of being faithful, to lose oneself in one passion for ever, and to be blind from our youth up to all the other beautiful women who can captivate our gaze! No, no; constancy is the share of fools. Every beautiful woman has a right to charm us, and the privilege of having been the first to be loved should not deprive the others of the just pretensions which the whole sex has over our hearts. As for me, beauty delights me wherever I meet with it, and I am easily overcome by the gentle violence with which it hurries us along. It matters not if I am already engaged: the love I have for a fair one cannot make me unjust towards the others; my eyes are always open to merit, and I pay the homage and tribute nature claims. Whatever may have taken place before, I cannot refuse my love to any of the lovely women I behold; and, as soon as a handsome face asks it of me, if I had ten thousand hearts I would give them all away. The first beginnings of love have, besides, indescribable charms, and the true pleasure of love consists in its variety. It is a most captivating delight to reduce by a hundred means the heart of a young beauty; to see day by day the gradual progress one makes; to combat with transport, tears, and sighs, the shrinking modesty of a heart unwilling to yield; and to force, inch by inch, all the little obstacles she opposes to our passion; to overcome the scruples upon which she prides herself, and to lead her, step by step, where we would bring her. But, once we have succeeded, there is nothing more to wish for; all the attraction of love is over, and we should fall asleep in the tameness of such a passion, unless some new object came to awake our desires and present to us the attractive perspective of a new conquest. In short, nothing can surpass the pleasure of triumphing over the resistance of a beautiful maiden; and I have in this the ambition of conquerors, who go from victory to victory, and cannot bring themselves to put limits to their longings. There is nothing that can restrain my impetuous yearnings. I have a heart big enough to be in love with the whole world; and, like Alexander, I could wish for other spheres to which I could extend my conquests.
A comedy with a tragic end, if we take DJ as a hero. Anti-hero?
[ make a new poll ] The Cast & Crew must subscribe to eGroup: Comedy & BM
Sex, God & Comedy
Religion v. Sex (morality & flesh):
Christianity and Sexual Revolution -- naked man on the cross! God as man, body (but under control of mind) -- weak individual will needs "group support" (church). Nevertheless, sexuality is recognized and aknowledged. Not only the procreation, but the sexual desire (commendments).
Moliere -- Theatre's POV
Street (Commedia) + Ideology (Neoclassicism) = new stage forms.
Misanthrope and Other Plays, The : A New Selection (Penguin Classics)
The Misanthrope, Moliere's richly sophisticated comic drama is accompanied in this volume by The Would--be Gentleman, another tale of a dangerously deluded and obsessive hero. Tartuffe dares to take on the subject of religious hypocrisy. Also included are Such Foolish Affected Ladies and Those Learned Ladies, both newly translated for this edition. Finally, The Doctor Despite Himself is a hilarious example of Moliere's long-standing vendetta against the medical profession...
Commedia, Venice
In Sicily? Port-city.
Mattaccino
5 acts breakdown [ still have no name for act 4 ]
French scenes names?
* What other characters (besides Death) should I introduce on stage? ...
Directing/Acting Review on Don Juan
Although never having seen the entire show, I thoroughly enjoyed what I have seen of it. (Often from the wings or peeking through a hole in the curtain.) While I was on stage I never had more fun interacting with, and yes watching the other actors. It was hard not to laugh while sitting in the wings (or sitting on someone.) This is a combined review because I¡¯m just too tired, and confused to write a separate review for acting, and directing, while pretending not to be the actor who was directed. So here is a really long overview of the things I saw, liked, and hated.
Starting with the opening scene between Sganarelle and Gusman the audience was immediately engaged. The dances (and I am not saying anything about the quality of the dances themselves) were manipulated to add to instead of detract from each scene. At first I thought having the two actors on the balcony at the same time as the dance would distract people, I later noticed how the dancers were acknowledging the presence of the actors and it all just seemed to blend. In my own mind, it seemed believable that these two fellows were on the balcony of some bar in Spain maybe, and they noticed some peasant women having a dance down by the town fountain. This directing choice worked well for me.
I really enjoyed what Jon W. And Andrew C. came up with before the script even began. I don't think Jon was ever told to use the phone book in any way other than as a prop bible, and I think his comments on dentistry won the audience over every night. Within the first five minutes of the show, the audience knew they were allowed to, and required to laugh out loud.
The transition scene with the two brothers on horse back, and Dona Elvira following crying was a good way to introduce the brothers and show that they were being sent off to avenge the wrongs done against their sister. But the scene always lacked clarity. The added transition scenes, this one, the drowning scene, I would say needed direction with a firmer hand, preferably while holding a blunt object. Since there were no rules or guidelines for these transitions, they got a little out of hand. The comedic timing was totally lost in the brother/sister transition. (As Elvira, I knew this, and still couldn't save it. At moments like that I prayed for direction for myself and fellow actors.)
The incorporation of Don Juan and Dona Elvira (OK, I guess I will talk about myself.) in the second dance (the Bull Fight) seemed like a good way to show the game between Don Juan and Dona Elvira, but it was never developed enough. (I think Dona Elvira felt stupid while miming the dancers.) Like with everything else, if there was only more time to work out the choreography it could have been very funny, and added to the audience's comprehension of the play. The dancers dabbled in acting during this dance, when each night I saw them engaging the audience more and more with slight gestures and innuendos.
The clowns deserve big kudos for taking the brunt of any and all the audience's discontent with the actors. I would have been terrified if I received direction to "Go and make them laugh!" Bo and Charlie flopped a few jokes, but for the most part kept the audience engaged during transitions and moments of awkward silence. (Yes, there were a few.) My only suggestion would have been to buy them a joke book (simply for inspiration), or get them drunk every night. (Because we all love Drunken Bo.)
So, my point is the dances gave the show some variety and some much needed femininity (cleavage), the improve was witty and sharp, and the technical aspects of the play were simple but effective in conveying the messages of time and location. But, as far as the direction of the actors maybe the reign should have been pulled in on a few places. I got a little annoyed myself when one scene went on five (or ten) minutes longer than it should have because the improve (although side splitting) was never given limitations. I was so impressed by the cast members for reaching what I once thought was an unattainable goal, and for making something out of nothing. Meaning, what Mike K. did to the father scenes. I never thought they were funny, and by the end they were the scenes I always looked forward to listening to. The attitude Chip gave DJ, made him such an attractive, and funny character it made me giddy! (My favorite line: "You're not drowning in there, there's no water!") Way back when, after reading the play I thought, "What a bastard!" after watching (hearing) the show I really saw the attraction in the DJ character, and yes, pitied him to. He is alone, and rejects the only women who really loves him (yes, I think Elvira really did.) and for all his belief in a higher power he gets sent to hell. DJ really is a tragic character behind all the humour, bravado and flare. I think the battle between God and DJ was understood by both Chip and Anatoli, and I understood it better because of them.
This play was a success, flawed, but that's why I love it. I remember thinking three months ago, "What the hell am I getting into?", and honestly didn¡¯t know if the show would make it. It is the least to say that it has surpassed my hopes, I have gained richly from the experience of working with cast, crew, and director. This review does not give due credit to everyone in DJ, and associated with it, I only hope it gave some analytical insight from my point of view.
-Rose Jensen
MASCARILLE: Your love is like porridge, which by too fierce a fire swells, mounts up to the brim, and runs over everywhere! Everybody might have seen it. At table, when Trufaldin made her sit down, you never took your eyes off her, blushed, looked quite silly, cast sheep's eyes at her, without ever minding what you were helped to; you were never thirsty but when she drank, and took the glass eagerly from her hands; and without rinsing it, or throwing a drop if it away, you drank what she left in it, and seemed to choose in preference that side of the glass which her lips had touched; upon every piece which her slender hand had touched, or which she had bit, you laid your paw as quickly as a cat does upon a mouse, and you swallowed it as glibly as if you were a regular glutton. Then, besides all this, you made an intolerable noise, shuffling with your feet under the table, for which Trufaldin, who received two lusty kicks, twice punished a couple of innocent dogs, who would have growled at you if they dared; and yet, in spite of all this, you say you have behaved finely! For my part I sat upon thorns all the time; notwithstanding the cold, I feel even now in a perspiration. I hung over you just as a bowler does over his ball after he has thrown it, and thought to restrain your actions by contorting my body ever so many times!
[ THE BLUNDERER, A monologue from the play by Moliere. This translation by Henri van Laun was first published in The Dramatic Works of Moliere. New York: R. Worthington Publishers, 1880. It is now a public domain work and may be performed without royalties. ]
* What other characters (besides Death) should I introduce on stage? ...
