Shakespeare and Company
Saturday, July 21 |
| Two days is not enough time to see the Oregon coast, but it is what we had, so we made the most of it, acknowledging that this was just a prelude to another trip to this part of the Northwest. The views of the Pacific are impressive, not that different from Northern California, or even Santa Cruz, but dramatic and new for us. There are many more rivers running down to the sea, reflecting the climate of the largest temperate rain forest in the Americas. There are also beautiful light houses marking critical points and navigable bays, some of them named by Captain Cook on his famous voyages. We were lucky to have a mixture of clouds and sun, ending the day in Newport (about halfway down the state) with a beautiful sunset.
Along the way we continually saw these myterisous pilings in rivers, estuaries and inlets. Finnaly we saw some in use and discovered that they were designed to hold back logs waiting to be loaded onto ships! |
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You might have guessed by now that this has been an expensive trip, especially for someone who often gets trips (like the one to China) subsidized by organizations who think teachers need to travel. We knew what we were getting into in advance, so I have no complaints, but was amuzed that at this late date, so close to the end of the trip, that Christopher wanted to economize and sought out a motel that advertised $29.90 a night. He was encouraged by a woman in a tourist office who said she had stayed at some motel somewhere along the coast for $39 and it had been "very clean." Well, whatever her luck, Chris' choice turned out to be the basic bait and switch -- $49 for too people instead of the promised $29. The room itself was large and only mildly stuffy, but it was the first hotel where we found a sign in the bathroom that said: "please do not use the towels as rags. We are happy to supply rags for free, please request them at the office." Rags? I thought, were they thinking we were going to clean our motorcycle? Suffice it to say we had no motorcycle and needed no rags, but were happy to move on to Ashland the next day, where I had booked ahead (Super 8 for $71 at the VIP rate) knowing how crowded Ashalnd can be on summer weekends. |
| In case you don't know, Ashland, a town in southwestern Oregon, four hours from any city (Portland) and six hours from San Francisco, offers what I believe to be the best Shakespeare repetory I have seen anywhere including Stratford Ontario and Stratford England. There are three theaters, a beautiful high-tech modern theater, an impreassive outdoor theater with an Elizabethan facade for astage, and a small black box theater for experimental works. Running a season that begins in February and lasts through October (the outdoor stage runs only June through September), the Ashland Shakespeare festival performs before typically full houses with matinees and evening performances every day but Sunday. With three theaters, times two performances, times six days, that's potentially 36 performances a week... In fact, it's not quite that many, but it is a lot, an even so, when I called to get tickets in late May I was unable to get us tickets for the Tempest, Merry Wives of Windsor or Merchant of Venice because they were all sold out. For Thursday's performance we settled on a modern play called Oo-Bla-Dee which is about a woman's be-bob group trying to make it in the jazz scene in the late forties. |
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| We spent Friday driving up and over Ashland Mountain (7,161 feet) and having spent so many days in the rainforest, I forgot to use sunscreen and came our somewhat the worse for wear. The view were fabulous and made up for all those other mountains we didn't see. We got down in time for a swim and an early supper (or late lunch) in one of Ashland's best restaurants. |
Then we headed to a lecture to get "up to speed" on Troilus and Cressida. I had seen a performance in 1987 in Canada, but most of the audience at the lecture had not. Half way through the lecture, Christopher realized that he had not only read the play, but had erformed in it, as Ajax, when he first moved to Los Angeles! Well his may not have been aterribly memorable a production, but I thought this was very good, even though Troilus appeared mis-cast, neither romantic enough or warrior enough for the part. The basic theme is the futility of war. The entire play takes place during the Trojan war, and the lack of beginning or end emphasizes that futility. Cressida is taken by the Greeks in an exchange for some prisoners, reinforcing them theme of women just being pawns in the game (Helen of course being the first). The production, in the outdoor Elizabethan theater was heightened by a beautifully clear night and the big dipper posed just above the stage throughout the performance. Ashland does an excellent job with the humor, physicality and language of Shakespeare, all of which helped to make this an excellent production, but I confess, I enjoyed it the more for having been to the pre-performance discussion. |
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This is the part Chris played thirty years ago... |
| And that, alas, was the finale to our trip. The drive down from Ashland through the California valley seemed monotonous after all we had seen and done, and we we eager to get to Berkeley, to see good friends after 26 great days. I have more thoughts that I may offer in a post script, but for now a thanks, to all of you who read through these many missives, and to those who didn't bother, no guilt please.. |
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