Outsiders

Well…I survived my first day of summer school with the RSC. It was not intimidating as I feared it might be and the only real problem was when someone said something that was so intriguing to my brain that my brain ran away with that thought and I suddenly realized that I had missed a whole chunk of a lecture or discussion because I was lost in the pathways and dark alleys that my up one of my thought meanderings.

The theme of this summer's productions with the RSC is "outsiders". The four shows are Volpone, Othello, The Jew of Malta, and Merchant of Venice. It is an intriguing if dark line up. I am grateful that the final show that I will see will be Merchant as that one does not feel so dark to me, even though it is hardly filled with sweetness and light. I did not love tonight's production of Volpone. It is only fair to admit that I don't love this play anyway and I did actually love the man who played Volpone, Henry Goodman, but as a whole I did not really care for the direction that they took. On a side note, I love studying about Ben Jonson the man, he was an uber fascinating fellow and I don't particularly care to study about the life of William Shakespeare, his life is rather a bore compared to Jonson's. But good old Will certainly writes circles around his buddy Ben. Ben Jonson's themes are good and he tells a good story but the words just don't soar the way that William Shakespeare's works do.

The part of the day that really set me to thinking was when the two actors that play Othello and Iago addressed us and answered questions and offered their insights. They have made the surprising choice of casting an African to play Iago. If you know the play at all, you understand what an upheaval in dynamic it is to have both Othello and Iago be men of color. As Lucien, the man who is playing Iago addressed us concerning the opportunity to play the character that is (in my opinion) the most evil of all of the Shakespeare villains, that is when my mind really set to wandering. I won't take you where my mind went, but I can tell you that I may be seeing Iago through different eyes when I see the show tomorrow evening. I loved what Hugh (the man playing Othello) had to say about race and I want to leave off my blog with his words and a few thoughts because they are still resonating with me.

"Race is no guide to character or virtue not has it ever been. Race is a social concept, not a concept of science."

We are all outsiders in some way at times in our lives. And in nearly all cases, this is due to a social concept, we are not outsiders in a scientific way, so that means that none of us need ever remain outsiders. I journaled today those ideas that I cling to that cause me to be an outsider and I am now working to be more aware and conscious that, just like race, those things are not what guide my character or virtue and so I need to take ownership and remove these things that make me feel outside or alone and in so doing, cause those around me to no longer see me as an outsider. This likely doesn't make much sense, my brain is mush, but I challenge you to take on removing whatever it is that you are holding onto that makes you feel as though you are on the outside and change your mindset so that you can have acceptance and peace, first with yourself and then from others.