Troilus and Crappida

[ceebeegee]

Duncan and I saw this craptastic production of Troilus and Cressida last night at Don't Tell Mama's. It was an all female cast which is not a bad idea but I don't think it really worked. Possibly with a better director, though--the direction in this was pretty weak. Duncan brought up an interesting point when he said the female-on-female action lost any shock potential when you were seeing it every five minutes. Most of the cast was decent to pretty good--however, the Cressida was really not very good. Just--not good at all. A lot of coy posturing and rushing through the moments--I got no sense that she was actually experiencing any of this, that she actually felt that rush of infatuation with Cressida, or fear, or that sense of embracing the moment when she's unfaithful. Blech. The actress is the Producer of this company, and always casts herself as the female lead, as well as frequently directing. I saw Duncan last year in her production of Much Ado About Nothing and naturally she played Beatrice, boringly. The same criticisms above applied. Honestly, I don't want to see any more of her productions now--it really affects the quality. I also really dislike the attitude of "These are my toys! If I wanna cast myself in every lead, I can! Whateva, whateva! I do what I want!" It's pretty apparent she doesn't care about art--about exploration, and serving the production best. It's all about ego. She should read some Keats and learn about negative capability. There is no place for ego in art.

Oh, and to be openly shallow here--the girl needs to learn the mantra of "Just because they make it in your size, doesn't mean you should wear it." She doesn't have a horrendous body, but it needs work--nice frame but it's broad and isn't balanced off by big boobs, plus she should tone her muscles more. So stop wearing these cutesy, frilly dresses. They're not suitable for your body type. And if you insist on wearing a tight red dress, for the love of God, wear control top and a bustier. Or wear nothing. She had so many pantylines and bra lines, she looked like a mummy. Horrible, especially in such a small space.

Comments

Out of the frying pan...

[mollyx.livejournal.com]

The actress is the Producer of this company, and always casts herself as the female lead, as well as frequently directing.
Well, I think that just sealed it. I guess I'll just have to wait until another company does it. Someone with less of a "Mine! Mine! Mine!" mentality. I'm already in one of those dealies. Shakespeare or not, I don't want to put myself through all of that frustration again.

There is no place for ego in art.

Oh come now, Clara.
In the idyllic sense, you are right. But we all know, egos make and break careers in acting. Half of the people in the business wouldn't do it if it didn't feed their egos.

Re: Out of the frying pan...

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

Perhaps, but it shouldn't get in the way of the art. It's fine if that's what prompted you in the first place. But once it starts affecting what I, the audience member, sees, you've undermined the transcendent journey you are presumably trying to affect for both yourself and the audience.

Ick. I hate that crap. It was written all over her performance, down to her attempt to sing, presumably to show off her many talents.