Dress Rehearsal
Today the Soirée Society of the Arts completed the dress rehearsal for their upcoming performance of A. A. Milne’s comedy The Ugly Duckling. It is so encouraging to see the great progress our actors have made! I have prepared an album of the photographs I took while directing and prompting the rehearsal. Each photograph is accompanied by an appropriate and often humorous quotation from the play.
In the photograph above, the King attempts to drill the simpleminded Dulcibella in the ways of a princess.
King: And then he will take your hand in... his, and press it to his heart. And then—what do you say?
Dulcibella: Coo!
K: No, not coo.
D: Never had anyone do that to me before!
K: That also strikes the wrong note.
You can watch this favorite scene below, from a 2009 performance by Belmont High School. Elias Kleinbock performs as the King.
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ELISSA said...
What fun! I enjoyed looking at all the pictures and reading the hilarious captions. I’ll have to look out for a copy of this comedy. It sounds very fun! The video you attached was quite amusing as well! I hope your performance goes well! When is it to be?
Thursday, September 30, 2010 02:59 PM
HANDMAIDEN said...
We will be performing, Lord willing, at the end of October. We’re hoping for cool weather before then, since it’s an outdoor performance. The capes and gown are not exactly summer-wear. ;-)
Thursday, September 30, 2010 04:19 PM
HIS EXCELLENCY THE CHANCELLOR said...
You can say that again! Wool isn’t exactly summer wear. It tends to be very warm.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010 09:16 PM
MEGAN said...
How fun! Your photos and quotations have definitely piqued my interest in the play. I used to have an old literature textbook lying around with the text of the play in it, but it seems to have been given away. A quick search on Amazon reveals that this particular work by Milne isn’t as hard to come by as some others I’ve looked for, though, so I’ll definitely be adding the play to my reading list!
Friday, March 23, 2012 06:30 PM
HANDMAIDEN said...
That’s where I first encountered the play—in my literature textbook. I am so glad I did; otherwise, Milne would still be “the author of Winnie the Pooh.” (We do love Winnie the Pooh.) The society had so much fun learning and performing this play, and we look forward to “Shakespeare Vignettes” this year.
Saturday, March 24, 2012 12:56 PM
Tuesday, September 28, 2010