And now from the subline to the ridiculous

(Or maybe riddikkulous.)

I am ridiculously and almost embarrassingly ecstatic to be a part of the production of A Midsummer Night's Dream that is being produced by the Richmond Ballet and the Richmond Symphony, with soloists from the Virginia Opera. Grant and I are to be the narrators of the Shakespeare text that goes along with the music and dance.

Now as many of you know, I prefer my Shakespeare pared down, so as to focus the easily distracted modern attention on the actors and the words. But this is a different beast, and in this case--oh my! The sets are stupendous and the sound is just glorious. And I have no words for the dancing (Ok, maybe divine, just because it's alliterative). To be able to match the flow and the meaning of those words with the nuance of the dancer, is almost too much of a good thing. I get chill bumps even thinking of it.

At some point in the day, I thought to myself, "I could do that." But just as quickly, I came to reality and said (or thought) of course I couldn't! They just make it look so effortless, even 15 feet away from me.

I get the privilege of giving voice to Puck (among other characters), and as danced by Danae Carter, I get free rein to use every impish tendency in me (which as we all know, is a lot).

Could I gush more? Probably. But please come if you have the time. If you have as much fun as I do, you'll be dancing to Mendelssohn all the way home!