What I Wore: For the Recruiting Officer

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

floral skirt, yellow sash, Shakespeare, black top, Tullaire,
floral skirt, yellow sash, Shakespeare, black top, Tullaire, blue purse,
floral skirt, yellow sash, Shakespeare, black top, Tullaire, blue purse,
floral skirt, yellow sash, Shakespeare, black top, Tullaire, blue purse,

What I Wore: Floral Skirt (Red Light, a thrift store in Portland), Shoes (gift), sash (Promod, in Parma, Italy), Shirt (The White Balcony, a boutique in Ft. Collins)



As a kid, I was such a literature geek (well, who are we kidding? Still am). I was totally one of those kids with books entitled things like Shakespeare for Children, complete with creepy illustrations of plump eight year olds acting out the suicides of Romeo and Juliet. I've since graduated to reading the actual scripts, and have even seen a  Shakespeare production or two.  Well, 23 to be exact. I've seen (or been a part of) a production of 23 of his plays (mostly comedies). How does a girl manage that in rural Wyoming? 


Montana's Shakespeare in the Parks is a program that aims to bring live theatre into small, rural communities in Montana, Northern Idaho, Eastern Washington, Northern Wyoming and North Dakota. For free. Tall orders, right? Living in such communities, there are scarce chances to see live productions- or experience the arts, in general- but that doesn't mean the need is still not there. In fact, these are always among some of the best productions I've gone to, not just because of the quality of the productions, but the loyalty and joy of the audience. During the year, the company also runs a program called Montana's Shakespeare in the Schools; it is pretty much the same thing except they perform in the schools to school children and also have a day's worth of theatre workshops for the schools. 

This is what I wore out last Tuesday to the yearly performance from this group, and where I'm standing is even where we all sat! Of course, you've probably deduced that these weren't taken on the actual day of the show; we came back later since I became rather taken with  the amphitheater feel of the benches on the hill. And in the interest of honesty, what we saw that night wasn't even a Shakespeare play. It was a little known Restoration Comedy called The Recruiting Officer (hence the title of the post!). I actually really love seeing this company branch into other plays as well (We've seen Tartuffe this way too), because it gives us a greater context both with history and theatre. 

What about you? Fans of The Bard? Have a favorite play or scene? Do tell! 

25 comments

  1. Sounds like a fun evening!!! I love the print of this skirt, so much fun, and so much colour!
    xJennaD

    Reply Delete
  2. such a wonderful skirt on you, looks amazing)I personally have never play, though I love Shakespeare writings, right now I'm learning one of his poems by heart) By the way I've got to say those photographs are adorable!
    Gladly followed you with GFC and on Bloglovin')
    Have a fabulous time!

    Alexandra
    www.svetusvet.com

    Reply Delete
    Replies
    1. How fun! Which poem are you memorizing, and is it just for fun or for an event or something? I know some people like to use his poems as audition material occasionally...

      And thank you so much for following me; makes my day <3

      Delete
  3. That's so great that you've gotten to see and take part in that many Shakespeare productions! I never got that into his stuff (although I've always had an appreciation for him), but you know how much I love theatre in general. This is making me miss it a ton!

    And of course, you look lovely. The colors here are so fun and I love seeing the different ways this skirt has been worn!

    Reply Delete
    Replies
    1. Well, I've only seen so many because of this company. There's not much other theater around. We went on a vacation to Denver when I was in 2nd grade and saw a show. I'd been in two plays for a children's theater by then, but only seeing that show even realized you could get a job doing theater, lol.

      Seeing Shakespeare done definitely makes me like it more than just reading it. Partly because you can see the carnage and battles etc...um, that makes me sound gruesome!

      Oh! I love that you love theater? What was one of your favorite productions that you either saw or were part of?

      Thank you too.

      Delete
  4. I've a love-hate relationship with the Bard (yes, I'm a terrible person)! I'm more of a Moliere fan - as long as the translator preserves the rhyming couplets (nerd)! Interesting you should mention Shakespeare in a rural setting - I played Capulet (combination of lady an lord) in a very rural R&J. The theatre was located in an area with a lot of teen pregnancy, so Capulet was played as a teen mom. We had a real pickup truck on the stage and R&J spent their wedding night in the back of it. It was raw but real to the location, so I think Shakespeare can work anywhere depending on the way you tell it.

    Also, yay Restoration Theatre!

    Reply Delete
    Replies
    1. I've only seen Tartuffe from Moliere, but would love to see more.

      I really like that the production you mention took into account whee the show was being produced and made changes to show that. Bet the truck bed on stage looked really impressive too! None of the plays MSitP has done were set in a rural setting (just that, you know, the towns they played in were rural), but they often set the plays in many different time periods and places. My favorite was 12th night in a twenties time period.

      Have you done much other theater? (or are you currently?!)

      Delete
  5. I just saw Josh Wheedon's Much Ado About Nothing. Thought it was brilliant!

    Reply Delete
    Replies
    1. SO JEALOUS. It will probably not come to any theatre near here, and we'll have to wait to access it. Good to know you liked it though. A great endorsement :D

      Delete
  6. that program sounds so awesome! I can def see how it's be hard to experience the arts living in rural towns and that's especially cool that you've participated in plays; I did not know that! I have not seen many plays, but my town does do a movies in the park thing that I used to really enjoy in summer. it was so fun seeing everyone enjoy being outdoors together. Oh, and I always love this skirt on you but esp w/ the yellow sash, fun touch!
    Cuddly Cacti
    Mitla Moda

    Reply Delete
    Replies
    1. Ha- yes, I've participated in plays, and have been very lucky in that way. When my sister and I were little a woman ran a children's production company on iiterally no money- she wrote the plays herself from books in public domain, we painted sets on donated cardboard boxes from the furniture store and practiced in a church basement. So we loved theatre growing up. Even more lucky, in high school we had a very passionate and community-focussed theatre director, and we ended up doing 17 productions in the three years she was there, one of which was a Shakespeare one. I actually originally went to college for theatre (and was part of the production of the Scottish Play there. It was very gruesome.) I changed to teaching my sophomore year and sadly haven't had the opporutnity to be involved in productions since.

      Live theatre is super fun to see, but we love movies in the park! So jealous. We host some in our backyard in the fall, but it would be amazing to go to a big gathering like that in the park.

      Also- thanks!

      Delete
  7. Woah- that's awesome Kristian. I can't count how many of his plays I've seen/read (not like, it's so many I can't count, more like, I just can't count. I'm gonna ballpark...10) but Shakespeare in the Park is absolutely the way to do it. I feel like his plays were made to be performed in a park! We have a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream here in Nashville that I have a few friends in, makes for such a fun summer date!

    Love the beautiful colors in this skirt, you look great!

    perfectly priya

    Reply Delete
    Replies
    1. Oh, Midsummer Night's Dream is so fun (and, in many ways, a perfect Shakespeare play to perform. More of an ensemble with many "leads" and it is funny with little to no questionable takes on a woman's place in the world).

      His shows are definitely so much more engaging being watched for sure. Thank you too Priya.

      Delete
  8. I like Shakespeare but have always found it rather confusing in some ways. I prefer to stick to more modern adaptations! I love your skirt such a wonderful print
    xo Ilana @ My Modern Vintage

    Reply Delete
    Replies
    1. That's too bad that you've found it confusing! Do you like modern adaptations of Shakespeare (like 10 Things I Hate About You being a modern retelling of Taming of the Shrew, for example) or are you saying you prefer more modern plays?

      Thank you so much Ilana!

      Delete
  9. I've always wanted to go to one of Shakespeare in the park performances that they have in London England (for free) during the summer months. Although I lived there for a time I never got out to the plays. I was more interested in partying at the time. Now it is on my bucket list. I have been to Stratford Upon Avon though. Lovely town.

    We are lucky in Ontario. I live only 45 minutes away from one of the best known Shakespeare theatre towns, Stratford (that and also well-known for being the birth place of Justin Beiber). Well known actors and theatre veterans alike take on some of the best plays ever written.

    I love your skirt. The bright against the black is so wonderfully vivid.

    bisous
    Suzanne

    Reply Delete
    Replies
    1. Seeing Shakespeare in London would be fabulous! And, oh, I've been to Statford-Upon-Avon too! We only stopped for a short while but it was fun. There was a "potions and spell" shop there, the Creaky Cauldron, which always sticks out in my memory.

      How lucky to be near a center for Shakespeare hot-spot too! Do you go to see the plays there often?

      Delete
  10. I actually love performing Shakespeare. I haven't done an entire show of his, but I've done a few scenes for a competition. It makes one feel fancy to speak in that manner, but it's definitely a tall order to understand and make the audience understand what you're saying.
    This is an absolutely lovely outfit. I LOVE your pretty shoes, and these photos are really fantastic!

    Reply Delete
    Replies
    1. I think its pretty fun to perform Shakespeare too. I've only been involved in two productions of his plays, but both times by the time the show rolled around the words had become almost contrast that they sounded perfectly normal, as if people spoke like that all the time. I even started dreaming in iambic pentameter (so frustrating). Feeling that used to the words seems to make it easier to help communicate the understanding. In many ways doing scenes for competition would be harder because it is not as long (I feel the audience needs some time to truly get used to things) and, in my experience, you don't have as long to get ready for competition as for a show...

      What scenes did you do? That sounds like fun!

      Delete
  11. This skirt is such a fun print, and so perfect for spinning!!

    Xo, Hannah

    sweetsweetnoir.net

    Reply Delete
  12. What a lovely outfit for a night out in the theater! I've always loved that skirt of yours, it has such pretty colors and a lovely shape. And you have seen SO many plays! I have to admit I always toy with the idea of going, but then always back out the last minute (mostly due to the price). But this post has got me thinking. A neighborhood pretty close to us hosts Shakespeare in the Park plays every Saturday, and it's not all that expensive. I really should get Marc on a bus and make us go. We barely do anything cultural, ever haha! (Except maybe looking at confusing modern art, but that's only for the snickers.)

    And thank you for your super awesome comments on my blog! I really appreciated your to-do list idea on when I asked for ideas to get inspired again. I'm one of those people that LOVE crossing things off, and I'm happy to say I have been getting more stuff done lately since trying it :D It just gives you more focus and you feel kind of dead-liney. Other people told me to go take a nap or watch the clouds...but that wasn't too productive, haha.

    And I REALLY appreciated the dish war comment. I especially liked the idea of approaching him after all the dishes have been cleaned. I usually approach him while their dirty and it makes that all the more heated because there's this huge messy task neither of us want to do. So that was probably the best tip I got! Fingers crossed it actually works ;)

    xo marlen
    Messages on a Napkin

    Reply Delete
    Replies
    1. Well, to be fair, most of the shows I've seen are from this company. They do two different plays each summer, plus a different one for their school program, and they've been coming to the area since I was in middle school. And they are free. We would not go to nearly as many otherwise, I think. Actually, what cultural stuff there is here (little as that is) quite often is free. Oddly enough, I think people recognize the importance of having those types of events because they are so scare and therefore put a lot of effort and money into making them happen and available.

      You and Marc definitely should go! It is fun to do something a bit different every now and then :)

      So glad you found both set of comments helpful. Sorry if the dish one got double posted; computer issues on my end.

      Delete
  13. This skirt is always what I think of when I think of your blog. Which I think makes it a staple for you. It's seriously the best/happiest look!

    Reply Delete
  14. This made me smile. I just couldn't help myself. This bold mix in prints and colors speaks to me. I love this! Oh and there's that perfect blue bag, again! ARG! Haha <3

    - Anna

    www.melodicthriftychic.com

    Reply Delete

© Never Fully Dressed. Design by FCD.