Tabling: Othello Introduction

Othello?

In our introduction episode to Othello (and Tabling: The Podcast's first London recording!) Nicholas Koy Santillo is joined by; Lucy Atkinson, Lindsday Huebner, and Whitton Frank.

After discussing various topics, including podcasts and epic vs. personal theatre, we discuss:

  • The Intimate quality of Othello, especially compared with other works of Shakespeare.
  • Each of our relationship's with the play.
  • The (seemingly?) dominant issue of race.
  • Past and contemporary productions and staging conventions of Othello.
  • Othello's character - his military history, 'other-ness', and use of language.

During this play, we were lucky enough to record out of the Gielgud theatre, in London's West End!

Tabling: Richard II Act V

This week Sam Gibbs, Ellyn Heald, Sam Gilroy, Nicholas Koy Santillo, Samantha Blinn & Ariana Karp discuss:

  • The prison speech as the final step in the metamorphosis of Richard's character, it is one of only two soliloquies in this play.
  • The character of Exton as an enigma at the end of the play. 
  • The strangeness of having an action sequence at the end of the play, it is the one moment that Richard pushes through his interiority through external violence. 
  • Metaphysical poetry and metaphor in Richard's prison speech
  • The scene with York, Duchess of York and Aumerle…how often to we get an entire family in Shakespeare?!? 
  • Ultimately the instability of identity in Richard II and how that connects to the meta-theatrical subversion of 'playing a role'
Production image from Michael Boyd's 2007 RSC production. Jonathan Slinger as Richard II in a literal cleansing shower of dust. 

Production image from Michael Boyd's 2007 RSC production. Jonathan Slinger as Richard II in a literal cleansing shower of dust. 

Tabling: Richard II Act IV

The deposition scene was published in 1608 for the first time in the 4th quarto. But Richard II premièred in 1595 and had its first publication in 1597 without the deposition scene…how dangerous is this scene!?!

Samantha Blinn, Jane May, Nicholas Koy Santillo, Sam Gilroy, Ellyn Heald, Sam Gibbs & Ariana Karp had a lot of fun this week discussing: 

  • The comedy of the glove throwing prelude
  • The drama and danger of changing political allegiances 
  • The theatricality of politics
  • Private moment of Richard II in the middle of the deposition/abdication
David Tennant in the RSC production of RIchard II directed by Gregory Doran. Footage here.

David Tennant in the RSC production of RIchard II directed by Gregory Doran. Footage here.


Tabling: Richard II Act III

This week Samantha Blinn, Jane May, Nicholas Koy Santillo, Sam Gilroy, Ellyn Heald, Sam Gibbs & Ariana Karp examine:

  • Fissures within Bolingbroke's faction
  • Richard's first and second 'Aria' moments…"For god's sake, let us sit upon the ground" and "Down, down I come like glistering Phaeton" 
  • Performance history of Richard II
  • Power through words typically feminized versus the 'masculine' power through action 
  • Cycle of ascension and descension and the balance of the two
  • Systems of Elizabethan imagery working upon each other: the four elements, the five humors
  • The instability of identity through language

Tabling: Richard II Act II

Join Jane May, Sam Gibbs, Ellyn Heald, Nicholas Koy Santillo and Ariana Karp as we tackle Act II and discuss the Queen and her relationship to Richard's advisors: Bushy, Bagot and Green. We talk about Shakespeare's device of conveying treasonous information from one character to another within both this and other history plays. We ponder whether Richard II could be called…a family drama. We also delve into John of Gaunt's fabulous "this England" speech and discuss the bumbling Duke of York! 

Hans Holbein the Younger's famous painting "The Ambassadors." Note the perspective manipulation on the skull in the bottom center of the picture and compare to the language of Bushy in Act II, scene II as he discusses 'perspectives with Queen Isabel…

Hans Holbein the Younger's famous painting "The Ambassadors." Note the perspective manipulation on the skull in the bottom center of the picture and compare to the language of Bushy in Act II, scene II as he discusses 'perspectives with Queen Isabel. 

Tabling: Richard II Act I

Our participants for this episode are Jane May, Sam Gibbs, Brittany Chandler, Nicholas Koy Santillo & Ariana Karp. Join us as we scratch our heads discussing the concept of primogeniture, puzzling through the rules and who is related to whom. For a very thorough Richard II genealogy, click here. 

Other topics include: 

  • Divine right of kings
  • The birth of obsessive interiority 
  • Classism
  • The move from feudalism and chivalry to modern politics
  • Ascension and Descension 
  • Private moments vs public moments vs private moments in public 

 

Ceremony and formalism in Act I. 1965 production: Alan Howard as Bolingbroke, John Neville as Richard in the centre, and John Tordoff as Mowbray

Ceremony and formalism in Act I. 1965 production: Alan Howard as Bolingbroke, John Neville as Richard in the centre, and John Tordoff as Mowbray


Tabling: Richard II Introduction

Join Sam Gibbs, Brittany Chandler, Nicholas Koy Santillo and Ariana Karp as we delve into Shakespeare's lyrical masterpiece, Richard II. In this episode we introduce the genre of "the history play." We also situate Richard II as the beginning of the Shakespeare history tetrology commonly known as "The Henriad". This is also one of Shakespeare's only plays that is completely in verse! What is the significance of that? 

We discuss the production history of Richard, the movement from recreations of medieval pageantry and pomp to the psychological realism of the last 20 years. The lens of focus of this production will be on Kingship as a role to be played and the inherent theatricality of the play. 

Richard Pasco and Ian Richardson from John Barton's 1973 RSC production of Richard II. Bolingbroke and Richard as mirrors of each other, the two actors switched off who played Richard II and who played Bolingbroke each night.

Richard Pasco and Ian Richardson from John Barton's 1973 RSC production of Richard II. Bolingbroke and Richard as mirrors of each other, the two actors switched off who played Richard II and who played Bolingbroke each night.

Tabling: Fuente Ovejuna Discussion

Join Jane May, Jack Collard, Brandon Petty, Cori Hundt, Sam Gilroy, Kelly Strandemo, Will Wilder, Samantha Blinn, Brittany Chandler & Ariana Karp of the Ducdame Ensemble as we explore Lope de Vega's classic Fuente Ovejuna. We explore the political landscape of medieval Iberia, the Order of Calatrava and the nature of Christian knighthood, the religious schisms within Spain between Catholicism, Judaism and Islam, the Reconquista of Spain and the nature of history plays! 

Come and see this production live! We open this week - purchase tickets here

Tabling: Fuente Ovejuna Cold Read

Join the Ducdame Ensemble as they read through Lope de Vega's Fuente Ovejuna! Our participants this week are Jane May, Jack Collard, Brandon Petty, Cori Hundt, Michael J. Connolly, Sam Gilroy, Kelly Strandemo, Will Wilder, Brittany Chandler & Ariana Karp. 

Come and see this production live! We open this week - purchase tickets here !


Tabling: A Midsummer Night's Dream Act V

Nicholas Koy Santillo, Jane May, Brittany Chandler & Ariana Karp conclude the discussion of A Midsummer Night's Dream with their musings upon Act V. These include, but are certainly not limited to:

  • The accessibility of the mechanicals language and characters
  • Drama vs Satire
  • Doubling of Theseus/Oberon & Hippolyta/Titania & Philostrate/Puck 
  • How Shakespeare exposes the very rhetorical techniques he masterfully employs in his other work and turns it upside down in the Mechanicals's play. 
  • In the end, order and poetry is restored, but does Puck destabilize our order?
  • We finish discussing Midsummer's place in our collective cultural consciousness. 

To our dear listeners: What is your most iconic/favourite line from Midsummer? Tweet it to us @tablingthepodcast or email us at TablingPodcast@gmail.com

Also for a contemporary equivalent to the Mechanicals play we want to give a big shout out to Mischief Theatre for The Play that Goes Wrong and congratulations on their Olivier win this year! If you are in London, go see it! (& on a related note….GO LAMDA!) 


Tabling: A Midsummer Night's Dream Act IV

Join the team - Nicholas Koy Santillo, Ariana Karp, Brittany Chandler and Jane May - while we talk about the shortest acts in the show (Itself one of Shakespeare's shortest plays), which resolves much of the conflict and sets up the final huzzah!

We discuss how to present large characters (Theseus and Hippolyta) which have few lines, and how they may be given characteristics by what the common knowledge in a Shakespearean audience may be.   We also discuss Shakespearean plays often follow the Order-to-chaos-to-order structure, and that structure in relationship to Elizabethan England.  Finally we look at Bottom's speech on returning to his human form, and how it captures the nature of waking from a dream.

Also, the book Koy was searching for is Michael Green's "The Art of Coarse Acting" which you can find by clicking the book cover below.

Tabling: A Midsummer Night's Dream Act III

Join Nicholas Koy Santillo, Ariana Karp, Jane May and Brittany Chandler for our discussion of the third act of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, revealing the prestigious make-believe funders of this make-believe production. 

We explore the staging of Puck as a choral character - one who is both conjurer and spectator.

We also get into some etymology!


Tabling: A Midsummer Night's Dream Act II

Join our merry band of misfits (Nicholas Koy Santillo, Ariana Karp, Brittany Chandler, Teddi Millan, Jane May)  in our NPR style read through of Act II.

In this act we look at the Lovers' scene in the woods, Titania's massive monologue, and much more!

Enjoy!

Remember to check out our guests and friends:
Jane May in Henry IV, June 30-July 19th in NYC
Nicholas Koy Santillo in Much Ado About Nothing, June 30-July 19th in London UK
Emily Ota at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival all summer long!

Tabling: A Midsummer Night's Dream Act I

Join the team (Nicholas Koy Santillo, Ariana Karp, Jane May, Tedra Millan, and Brittany Chandler) as we go into our discussion of the first act of Midsummer Night's Dream.   

In this act we talk about the two scenes that make up this first act;  the first scene which introduces the lovers and is written in verse.  In the second scene we get to meet one of the greatest comedic characters; Bottom.

We also spend some time discussing how to stage a show set in Ancient Greece; discussing the use of anachronism in theatre and the cultural and historical 'other'.

Slight historical correction on Ariana's behalf-the theatre censor in England wasn't actually abolished until 1968, another momentous and tumultuous historical year! The abolishment was called, rather tritely, The Theatre Act of 1968. 

Also - Tabling is now officially a part of the Ducdame Ensemble!  Check out the link to learn more about these fools in a circle!


Tabling: Ivanov Act IV

We recorded this starting at 12:30am…#tablingafterhours. In this final act of Ivanov, a much shorter act than the two previous acts, our feelings about Lvov have certainly changed since the beginning of the play. Everyone is a bit edgy at this wedding-something is not quite right. Is it Ivanov's chronic depression, or is it something else? We discovered that one of the most poignant tragedies in this act is watching Lebedev lose his vitality and buoyancy. Can someone please tell us about all the bird imagery-is it all to do with freedom? And finally, pondering Ivanov's last thoughts "Leave me alone" and "Thank you Sasha," we reflect on the decisive final action within the chaos at the end of a play. 

Let us know your thoughts about the final act of Ivanov via our website tablingpodcast.com, email - TablingPodcast@gmail.com, or our Facebook page Tabling: The Podcast. 


Tabling: Ivanov Act III

As with most Chekhov plays, Act III is where everything goes down, and the final fourth act is the recovery act, but we discussed this climactic act at great length. Join us as we navigate through the series of fantastic one-on-one confrontations with Ivanov; Lebedev, Lvov, Sasha, Borkin & Anna/Sarah. We discuss at length the stage directions concerning Ivanov's study and what they tell us about the world of the play. We also talk about the relationship between depression and inaction. What are Lebedev's motives for offering Ivanov all that money? Why does Lvov hate Ivanov so much? What is the nature of this "active love" that Sasha talks about? And don't forget the vodka, herring, black bread, gherkins, the great modern "pause" and grappling hooks. Are you hungry? 

 

If you would like to learn more about these mysterious Laban movement psychology terms we keep discussing and you live in London, do yourself a favor and take a class with James Kemp at his studio. http://www.roomone.com/story/

Tabling: Ivanov Act II

We are officially international! This week we are delighted to be joined by a wonderful actress and dear friend of ours, Macy Nyman, hailing from London, who was visiting New York City when we were recording this episode. We were so honored that she came and joined us for an afternoon of recording as we delve into this act of chaos, life and movement. We begin to see how Ivanov and Anna/Sarah are perceived by their acquaintances and explore a series of different topics and questions. Did Anna and Ivanov marry for love? How long term illness affects a relationship, the elaborative nature of gossip, Lvov as the young shadow of Ivanov and Sasha as the young shadow of Anna, the nature of boredom in Chekhov. And what kind of kiss is the fatal kiss at the end of act 2? 

Also, Kenneth Branagh was born in 1960.

and gooseberry jam….

Tabling: Ivanov Act I

Hello Tablers! Join us as we delve into the complex web of Ivanov following the thread of Act I. We discuss a variety of topics including, but certainly not limited to: our initial impressions of the characters, what we know about their pasts from the text, the bewildering fact as a reader that each character has a minimum of 3 names, Russian Jewish history, class relationships, Ivanov's sex life (or lack thereof), thought in Shakespeare vs. thought in Chekhov, Ivanov as an antihero, Russia as the hybrid land between east and west, the difference between active frustration and broken defeat, status, energy, depression, isolation and owls. Also we pronounce Ivanov at least 3 different ways…choose your favorite! 

We were also joined by someone next door doing a bit of home improvement…gotta love NYC! 

Also check out different haunting owl calls 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezaBqCf0hv0

and hold onto your ears for this barn owl scream…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDmRmRb2OpE

Tabling: Ivanov Introduction

We are very pleased to release the introduction of our very first modern classic, Anton Chekhov's Ivanov! Directed by the wonderful Emily Ota, the four of us (Nicholas Koy Santillo, Ariana Karp & Brittany Chandler,) discuss this early Chekhov work in the context of his other works, and Chekhov's place in both theatre history and Russian literature among other things. Join us next week as we delve into our Act 1 discussion!