a magical night: morgana's play

beth, or william shakespeare's macbeth, adapted and arranged by morgana, (who also goes by morgan and the pronoun "they" - i will be taking turns with both names and pronouns in all future blog posts) opened this evening on a very rainy day. the day was so grey and rainy that barbek (morgan's lead actor) suggested morgan pick up several umbrellas in case the skies opened up during the performance. the wet trees and damp air made for a perfectly wonderful and dismal setting for macbeth. (for this production morgan rearranged several scenes, included scenes that are often omitted, and omitted scenes that are always included, and also wrote a monologue for lady macbeth at the end.)

these are the only photos and movies i have of the production, and they are so poor that i'm not sure you can get a good sense of the cohesive energy and ensemble work of the actors. morgan did a wonderful job bringing everyone together, and i thought the casting choices were innovative and impeccable. i think the age range of the show went from eight years to forty five years. it was fun having our young friends in it.

i filmed this section at the very end, when the skies finally opened and a fine drizzle grew into a steady rain. everyone watching opened their umbrellas and the patter of the drops blended in with the gentle pounding of the drums and the last words of the actors. as our friend steven said, it was a magical night and the best performance of macbeth he had ever seen.

brava, morgan - director, scene designer, lighting designer, props master, writer, stage manager and . . actor! (on the last minute morgan had to step in as lady macduff).

 pics from wednesday's final rehearsal (waiting for the moms to pick up the younger actors) with (from left to right) lucia, hudson, anika, charlotte, morgan and jenny, morgan's girlfriend. it was so nice that jenny could be here for the rehearsals before returning to london. she was in the states for a maths conference in ann arbor, michigan, and visited with us for almost two weeks.

 i think they were discussing aspects of the rehearsal in the courtyard . . 

while having a little bit of ice cream i found in the freezer.

the assistant director and dance instructor/choreographer, amelia.

a viking invasion

morgana and i walked downtown to the brookfield marina to see the draken viking ship come into port. greg and chanda didn't join us as they both had other things to do. chanda had a macbeth show, and greg  had a florida state football game he wanted to watch.

here you can see the draken on the river with the verrazano in the distance.

the ship's musicians had been brought in from the boat so they could play on the dock while the draken sailed in.

i apologize for the jumpiness of the movie. i guess i need to focus on filming and not watch what is going on. actually, i was laughing with the couple next to me as they were imagining being on the coast of england in the eighth century and seeing the ship sailing towards us, we would most likely be terrified and running away.

 once in the harbor, the musicians stopped playing so we could hear the crew sing and the horn blow.

giving a cheer . . 

and then they got ready to disembark . . 

 morgana found their many different shoes very interesting.

i'm not sure what animal horn they blow here . . . 

 the music was fabulous. i could have listened all day.

 it was very moving and special to see her come into port. i'm so glad morgana and i were able to be there. tomorrow all of us (including korrina and brian!) have tickets for a tour on board. chanda was shocked and extremely happy. she thought she was going to have to miss seeing her because of the scottish play ballet, but we were able to get a late tour. you can check out their website for more information about the ship and it's journey: draken expedition america. you can also read about eva and her family's experience visiting the draken on the new york canal locks here. 

 having a bite to eat before getting on the train and heading uptown.

 we came up to the alliance française as morgana had a movie to return. she took a two week beginner french course just a week or so ago, and now has a year's membership during which she can check out books and movies from their library. our visit coincided with their open house, so i was able to go upstairs with her and see the library and her classroom. they have it beautifully decorated with deep blue rugs and blond wood bookshelves. we found a few books and magazines on sale that i bought for my sister for christmas. she likes to keep up with her french.

 they were having a degas exhibit and we found the little dancer. (there are twenty eight of these sculptures throughout the world.)

 the title of this degas painting is young spartans exercising (this one is a print; the original is in the national gallery, london). it reminded us of our greek and roman studies when we read theras and his town.

 on our way uptown again . . 

morgana went to her babysitting job, and i went to meet chanda.

 i treated her to a between shows meal at the asia society on park avenue at 70th street, just a few blocks from the kaye playhouse where the patrelle company is performing.

 she had jasmine green tea, but i had an infusion of ginger and ginseng and lemon. it was refreshing and warming (i chose to have it hot).

 lentil soup with cilantro . . 

tempura with jasmine rice.

 a backstage pic of chanda in her apprentice witch costume.

 looking mysterious . . 

 chanda and i had an uneventful ride home, but morgana's train was delayed due to an explosion in a dumpster on 23rd street. everyone kept themselves occupied: the couple is doing duolingo, the woman is grading middle school papers . . 

the ladies are probably doing instagram . . . ? and i guess the man must have a good book (like my van gogh biography which i enjoy reading on the train, though i have it checked out of the library as an ebook and i read it on my phone . . isn't it nice to see this gentleman with a large hardcover book!?)

well that's all . . it was a very busy day!