ELICA MIWA

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  • Here Can I Sit Alone, Unseen Of Any [Shakespeare For You]

    Here Can I Sit Alone, Unseen Of Any [Shakespeare For You]

    🎭 Here can I sit alone, unseen of any,
    And to the nightingale’s complaining notes
    Tune my distresses and record my woes.

    — Valentine, Two Gentlemen of Verona 5-4

    [ACTING TIPS]

    Valentine is not just talking about a nightingale.

    He really misses Silvia, his Love.

    (Valentine has been banished from Milan by Silvia’s father the Duke of Milan, is now the big boss of vagabonds in the woods.)

    Since this is a soliloquy, I will tell my feeling to the audience.

    Never speak as a “talk-to-myself” on stage.  TALK TO THE AUDIENCE DIRECTLY!

    Never speak soliloquy as a poetry or “reading it”, “reciting it”, as if “it is written”.

    Speak it as you just making up or thinking up the lines. 

    Think “how can I express this feeling in words?” and create the phrases as your instincts leads.

    I would play Valentine here, as…

    Cannot sleep, because I miss Silvia so much.

    Being awake, I hear nightingale singing.

    Nightingale’s song is supposed to be nice and beautiful and soothing and bring joy of life, but for me, it is like the bird is complaining the life.

    And I envy the bird can complaining so honestly and freely, which I cannot.

    So I will tune my distress to its song.

    Now I can express the thought with words.

    #shakespeare #english #actingtips #directing #Valentine #twogentlemenofverona #lifeinJapan #kimono

  • How Use Doth Breed A Habit In Man [Shakespeare For You

    How Use Doth Breed A Habit In Man [Shakespeare For You

    🎭 How use doth breed a habit in a man! 

    — Valentine, Two Gentlemen of Verona 5-4

    [ACTING TIPS]

    Valentine, the true Love of Silvia, who has been bannished from Milan by Silvia’s father the Duke of Milan, is now the big boss of vagabonds in the woods.

    We have the same kind of proverb in Japanese:  Where you live becomes your ideal place.

    I will play this either with sadness, or with contempt, but never forget my Love, and terribly missing her.

    #shakespeare #english #actingtips #directing #Valentine #twogentlemenofverona #lifeinJapan #kimono

  • A Thousand More Mischances Than This One [Shakespeare For You]

    A Thousand More Mischances Than This One [Shakespeare For You]

    🎭 A thousand more mischances than this one
    Have learn’d me how to brook this patiently.

    — Silvia, Two Gentlemen of Verona 5-3

    [ACTING TIPS]

    Silvia, sneaked away from her captivity by her own father in Milan, is now been captured by vagabonds in the woods.

    She is strong, proud, and honourable.

    I will not forget her fear inside, though.

    The key word must be “patiently”.

  • And I Will Follow [Shakespeare For You]

    And I Will Follow [Shakespeare For You]

    🎭  Turio: 
    I’ll after, more to be revenged on Eglamour
    Than for the love of reckless Silvia. 

    Proteus: 
    And I will follow, more for Silvia’s love
    Than hate of Eglamour that goes with her. 

    Julia: 
    And I will follow, more to cross that love
    Than hate for Silvia that is gone for love.

    — Turio, Proteus, Julia, Two Gentlemen of Verona 5-2

    [ACTING TIPS]

    What is happening here?

    Silvia, locked in the high tower of her father’s castle, finally escaped with the help of Sir Eglamour.

    Knowing the fact, these three characters decided to follow her into the woods.

    Wow!

    I love it!!  “Following the loved one who is not in love with you, into the woods” scheme is repeated in The Midsummer Night’s Dream.

    It’s fun to play with the echoing phrases of “I’ll after”.

    Turio’s love toward Silvia is already known, so he can declare his action.

    Proteus has hidden his love toward Silvia to Turio, but already revealed to Sebastian (who is Julia), so he can declare his action to Sebastian.

    Julia has not revealed her true state, so she alone share her thought only toward the audience.

    It would be fun to see that on stage.  

    This kind of stage movement in action may be thought as a director’s work, but when the actors all have this director’s eye, this is easily done without the director.

    #shakespeare #english #actingtips #directing #julia # turio #proteus #twogentlemenofverona #lifeinJapan #kimono

  • Alas, How Love Can Trifle With Itself! [Shakespeare For You]

    🎭 Julia as Sebastian:  Alas, how love can trifle with itself!

    — Julia, Two Gentlemen of Verona 4-4

    [ACTING TIPS]

    Julia, disguised as Sebastian, has ben talking with Silvia.  Silvia showed her sympathy toward Julia, saying “I understand how you love her.”

    With that comment, Julia realizes how good a person Silvia is.  But she is her rival.  And she says this after Silvia left here.

    In The Twelfth Night, Viola disguised as Cesario also has sympathy toward Olivia, her rival.

    Very similar situation.

    Since this is a soliloquy, I don’t have to hide anything.  I will speak my real and true feeling to share with my audience since they are my other self.

  • Dost Thou Know Her? [Shakespeare For You]

    Dost Thou Know Her? [Shakespeare For You]

    🎭 Silvia: Dost thou know her? 

     Julia as Sebastian: Almost as well as I do know myself.

    — Silvia & Julia, Two Gentlemen of Verona 4-4

    [ACTING TIPS]

    Julia, disguised as Sebastian, has talked about Proteus’ former girlfriend Julia🤯

    As she spoke of her (herself) so sympathetically, Silvia asks the question.

    In The Twelfth Night, Viola disguised as Cesario talks about his sister (= Viola)’s broken love. Hearing the story, his (her) master Duke Orsino asks what happened to his sister.

    And Cesario answers:

    I am all the daughters of my father’s house,

    Very similar situation and similar way to answer that “I know her well”, and yet we see how Shakespeare’s pen grew in years!

    I would play the words as if joking, or, with strong sympathy.  Which works best for the performance on stage?  I check it during the rehearsals.

  • If You Be She, … hear me speak the message [Shakespeare For You]

    🎭 If you be she, I do entreat your patience to hear me speak the message I am sent on.

    — Julia, Two Gentlemen of Verona 4-4

    [ACTING TIPS]

    Julia, disguised as a boy Sebastian, is talking to Silvia.  This is the first time to meet her.  

    Very similar to Viola’s first meeting Olivia.  Julia as a boy, and needs to give a love-message from the one she is in love with.

    I would see this scene as Julia’s strong objective conquers her obstacles:  obstacle 1 is her fear of being discovered her disguise by this lady, and obstacle 2 is she doesn’t want to deliver the love message to her rival.

    If Julia’s curiosity is strong enough, she would approach Silvia as close as possible.

  • A Fox To Be The Shepherd [Shakespeare For You]

    A Fox To Be The Shepherd [Shakespeare For You]

    🎭 Alas, poor Proteus, you have entertain’d 
    A fox to be the shepherd of thy lambs.

    — Julia, Two Gentlemen of Verona 4-4

    [ACTING TIPS]

    This is a soliloquiy moment of Julia, disguised as a boy Sebastian.

    She is asked to be the cupid for Proteus and bring his message of love to Silvia.

    Julia does not want to do that, but probably she thinks this as a good opportunity to ruin everything.

    Thus, she is a fox, pretending to be a shepherd, who is supposed to protect the lambs from foxes.

    I would play this with “O such a fool this man is” feeling.  Half entertained, half disappointed.

    #shakespeare #english #actingtips #directing #julia #twogentlemenofverona #lifeinJapan #kimono

  • ‘Tis Pity Love Should Be So Contrary [Shakespeare For You]

    ‘Tis Pity Love Should Be So Contrary [Shakespeare For You]

    🎭 She dreams of him that has forgot her love; 
    You dote on her that cares not for your love. 
    ’Tis pity love should be so contrary; 
    And thinking of it makes me cry ‘Alas.’

    — Julia, Two Gentlemen of Verona 4-4

    [ACTING TIPS]

    Julia, disguised as a boy Sebastian, is talking to Proteus (her boyfriend while in Verona) who shows his love toward Sylvia.  Sebastian sighed deeply and Proteus asked why, and thus answered.

    I would play this with true sadness.  But to hide her true nature, I may act as if nothing important is happening, as if this is a funny situation.  I may make fun of Proteus, I may act nonchalant young boy like Ganymede in As You Like It.

    #shakespeare #english #actingtips #directing #julia #twogentlemenofverona #lifeinJapan #kimono

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  • Take The Ring With Thee [Shakespeare For You]

    Take The Ring With Thee [Shakespeare For You]

    🎭 Go presently, and take this ring with thee,
    Deliver it to Madam Silvia

    — Proteus, Two Gentlemen of Verona 4-4

    [ACTING TIPS]

    Again!  Similarity with The Twelfth Night! — The ring giving through young boy’s hand.

    Here, the ring is the one given by Julia, on the day of Proteus’s departure from Verona to Milan, as a memento and the promise of eternal love.

    Proteus is now giving this to Silvia, the Princess of Milan.

    Now, how would I play the scene?

    If I make him a really hopeless, I see the ring on my finger and immediately, with joy, take out, thinking what a good idea to give this ring.  I would never think about Julia.

    If I make him a little bit more human, I see the ring and take one breath moment of hold, then decide, saying in my heart “well, what the heck. she is dead for me long time ago,” and take the ring with a sense of resolution.

    Think about the end of the play.

    Julia will be with Proteus again, pardoning what he did.

    Would you make the audience be dubious about her decision?

    Or would you want the audience feel happy for Julia?

    Then I can decide which action Proteus should take at this moment.

    Dubious, no thinking.

    Happy, remember her even an instance.

    #shakespeare #english #actingtips #directing #proteus #twogentlemenofverona #lifeinJapan #kimono