Uh… thello

I am almost a week late in writing the continuation of the previous post, but I think that’s okay. Only now have I had some real “quiet time.” Anyhow, between mixups of location and rehearsal times, we practiced for the play as well as our own respective sonnets and dialogoues for nearly and hour and a half. The professor and cross marker walked in and so it began…

Othello is a powerful story about deceit, racism, and some more deceit. There are so many diverse themes in that story (play) such as greed, power, and the volumes of harm people can do to others or themselves for the love of money or the need to be above others. I starred as Emilia, the star of the show!! 😉 Just kidding, Emilia is not the star of the show; she is a kind maid/servant who serves Desdemona (Othello’s wife) until her death. My lines were few but I was a passionate friend who stood up for her friend throughout her abuse and unfair treatment. I saw elements of Emilia’s character in myself. I strive to be a loyal, loving, and fierce young woman and I know that with God’s help I definitely can be.

Other characters were “honest” Iago (pretty much the Devil), Othello (the “worthy general”), Lodovico (Desdemona’s cousin & another general), and myself (Emilia). So, Iago tricks Othello to believe his wife Desdemona is having an affair with this dude Cassio in order to get rid of Cassio and pretty much get rid of Othello and everyone else because he Iago is a spiteful individual and he dislikes all. Throughout the web of lies, he fabricated, Emilia, Desdemona, and Othello all die.  (at the end of the story). However, the group scene we had to do for our final exam for class just consisted of Iago and Othello plotting for murder, then Lodovico coming to visit with news from Venice for Othello, he witnesses his cousin being slapped for no reason, and lastly, Emilia and Lodovico have an interaction about the previous shocking events. The four of us all had great lines and we practiced for an ample amount of time yet for that group scene I can remember with a suppressed laugh, that we messed up. Oh, how we messed up… 🙂 One of us forgot the order of something she was supposed to say then we rushed through the next following seconds. However, it was all beyond enjoyable. I felt empowering to act a scene of Shakespeare’s play. Now, I can say that I have not only acted but I feel like I know the character’s in this dude’s play intimately. Even now, when I hear the word honesty, I think, “Alas, alas! It is not honesty in me to speak what I have seen and known…” Haha… sigh… memorable times. 

By any means, I’m going to try and make a point. /After the Othello scene, we had more lines to practice. I did three things on my own and was beyond nervous to perform again and honestly, I love my professors to death and beyond, but they were intimidating on Tuesday! Thinking about it now made me shudder slightly, then smile, because it was liberating. My sonnet was sonnet #43. I memorized it when I though I wasn’t going to be able to and delivered it pretty well (if I must say so myself). I also performed a monologue of the Countess of Auvergne.  As I thought about acting like a regal woman insulting a man, it was hard to do. Sooooo I brought out a … … … Teddy Bear! That helped me to visualize a “weak and writhled shrimp!” Lastly, I sight read a line from Lady Macbeth’s anguish in Macbeth. The scenes within the three pieces I had were so divergent that I was nervous to deliver all of them. However, I regained confidence as I saw my classmates leave the examination room. If these amazing, strong, and fearless girls could do it then so could I. The results were unforgettably vibrant.

As I walked out confidently of that room, I also began to dwell on how I had just finished my last exam of the semester and I had little time left. Those thoughts horrified me, so I went out for a walk and found stunning bluebell flowers along the shade of a park I found.(:

According to a funky color psychology website, “The color blue is idealistic, enhancing self-expression and our ability to communicate our needs and wants. It inspires higher ideals… It reduces stress, creating a sense of calmness, relaxation, and order – we certainly feel a sense of calm if we lie on our backs and look into a bright blue cloudless sky. It slows the metabolism. The paler the blue the more freedom we feel.”

 

Blue is my comfort color, the sky was blue when I went on my walk (that is quite uncommon here in England) and other than feeling comfortable, I felt refreshed and content. Moral of the story, go on a walk. Walks are revitalizing. (Not as revitalizing as reading Othello, but it’ll do for now)