Another photo of our amazing company of players. (And we do mean PLAY!)

A shockingly beautiful white heron lives on that little lake.  Ducks sail around, trailing long lines of ducklings, until they bob under the water with their little tail feathers pointed up at the sky.  One of the actors pointed out to me a wild and strange phenomenon in the thick algae near the shoreline: the baby ducks would swim towards the green muck and then proudly walk up onto it, defying gravity, until it gave way to water again, and the ducklings would sink back into their natural buoyancy.  Vigilant, intimidating mama and papa geese watch us carefully if we pass close to their flock of children, which, when we started rehearsal at Powderhorn almost two weeks ago, were at that funny and strange adolescent period, the color of babies with the bodies of adults.

There are plenteous turtles.  Often they sun themselves near the shore, but it’s not uncommon to see a little boy chasing a little girl with turtle in hand; it’s hard to tell whether he wants to scare her or show her all the beauty.

I’m fond of saying that we do Shakespeare like Shakespeare did it: God is our lighting designer, and we create the middle of the night in the middle of the afternoon with words, by saying “O tedious night!”  But the Globe was a brilliant hybrid space, indoor and outdoor at once, and while it may have been the occasional home to a bear-baiting or a backstage dog, London in the 1590′s was probably not a very friendly place for wild animals.  Perhaps it’s one of the small ways that we have evolved as artists (who needs walls?) and as a society (this lake is for birds and turtles and dragonflies, not for speedboats and beaches).

-Eric

There are trees in Powderhorn Park with little doors carved in the trunks.  This is just one of the many inspirations in this park.  The Strange Capers’ production of MIDSUMMER starts at the gazebo and travels to a shaded grove, as actors traverse hill, dale, bush, and goose poop to bring this magical tale to life.  This is a much busier park than Boom Island (our home in 2009) and we’ve already had audiences of camp kids, teen bikers, and picnicing mothers with their brood observing our messy rehearsals.  There is a diversity in the neighborhood that truly reflects the audience that we aspire to reach. As we battle the heat, the humidity, various wildlife, and the challenges of this physical production, we cannot help but to be in awe of its natural beauty. Today  I discovered that exits are infinite, only marked by the entrance of another.   I am always amazed at how the outdoors, and now Powderhorn, continues to teach me how Shakespeare can be done.

-Randy

Hello Strange Readers, Eric here, thinking about the beauty of Boom Island Park, and of Minneapolis in the Summer.  It’s a gift to work on a text as thick and generous and magnificent as this one; to tell a story about the beauty of the world (“the property of rain is to wet and fire to burn”) while spending time, every day, sitting by the river and playing in the grass.  And, in that same vein, to dive into an investigation, an education, on the nature of Love, (“If thou remember’st not the slightest folly / that ever love did make thee run into / thou hast not loved”) while, in the world, we all must look into Love’s bottomless question.  Is Love full of deceptions and feigning?  Or full of a natural purity?  When is it an excuse for sex? and when is it totally blind and wrongheaded?  In this rehearsal period, we’re trying to make these questions as visceral to us as whether it will storm tomorrow.

100% of the proceeds will benefit The Strange Capers and our production of AS YOU LIKE IT. 

Hosted by Rachael Crew

Saturday, June 13 , 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

5108 Dupont Avenue South, Minneapolis

Highlights of the sale include brand new designer clothing donated by Karma boutique in St. Paul (tags still attached!), kitchen goods, books, music, various pieces of furniture and fun home décor.

Celia and Rosalind think about their fortunes

Yesterday as we were rehearsing under a semi-cloudy sky looking out onto the Mississippi, Celia and Rosalind looked up and started to rail against Mistress Fortune for the fate she had imposed on women.  There was something about being outside, watching the actors directly address the open sky, and listening to the poetry that is Shakespeare,  I started to wonder whether Mistress Fortune could actually hear us.  And if she could. . . what would be her response?

I’m still waiting for the answer.  But one thing I do know is that The Strange Capers is having a Garage Sale this Saturday in which all the proceeds will go to the Company.  For more info come visit our facebook page and become a fan.

–randy

The Cast Listens to Randy

Welcome to The Strange Capers Blog.  This is an online home for thoughts and announcements and communications about this exciting new company, and we hope you’ll visit us throughout this first summer season and into the future.  See you at Boom Island Park!