Rachael Dickzen's Blog, page 10
February 25, 2020
Useful Stuff: Recording a Voicemail with Laryngitis, Working Out with ADHD, How to Stop Cringe Attacks, and Cookie Science
A screenshot from www.naturalreaders.com/online
Recording a Voicemail with Laryngitis: I’ve been dealing with a nasty cold lately and I have little to no voice. If I DO try to talk, I have a coughing fit. I can’t afford to take the entire week off work though, so I wanted to find a way to help out applicants that call me while avoiding taxing my voice or throat.
A friend suggested I try to an automated voice of some sort, to let people know I couldn’t talk and that they should email me; I thought this was impossible at first, but then I googled around and found www.naturalreaders.com/online. This takes your text and reads it out loud for you, in a variety of different voices and accents. It took a bit of messing with the text to figure out how to get the voice to read out the spelling of my last name for my email address at a reasonable speed, but with a lot of commas, it worked fine. I just turned up the volume on my computer, held up the headset on my work phone to the computer, and recorded it that way. Thus - I essentially have a robot secretary for the week! We live in the future.
Working out with ADHD (written mostly in November): I get bored really easily, so working out isn’t always easy for me. I was doing really well for a while with walking/running outside, but I messed up my knee a couple months ago (fortunately, no arthritis, just some sort of pulled muscle!), so that hasn’t been an option lately. Plus it’s cold outside.
I’ve joined a gym and go to various classes now (which helps a LOT with the ADHD, as the instructor keeps things moving too quickly for me to get bored), but for a long time, my main workout was hooping. It’s like hula hooping, only with weighted hoops that an adult can actually use without a crazy amount of effort. I have a hoop I bought from a friend like, 8 years ago, and it works wonderfully as a low-impact workout; I’ll hoop downstairs in our basement for 20-30 minutes each morning, and it just makes me feel so much more energetic and healthy throughout the day!
However, my brain did get pretty bored with it. I tried podcasts for a while, and then Netflix, but my monkey brain just kept scampering off, and I found myself checking the clock more often than not.
Fortunately, I discovered that with my low impact hooping, I can actually hold and use my phone while working out. So I now use the time to catch up on articles I’ve saved, read a kindle book, or even blog! (Yes, I wrote the majority of this blog post while hooping, lol). It’s not by any means a high intensity workout, but it makes the time fly by and it keeps me dedicated to doing it daily. It’s not perfect, but it’s good, and it’s certainly better than skipping a workout entirely.
How to Reduce the Sting of Cringe Attacks: So I actually read about this method in this article on The Cut and was so fascinated with it that I checked out the author’s full book from the library, called Cringeworthy: A Theory of Awkwardness. It took me ages to actually read it all, due to other books and obligations, but I finally finished it! And it’s such a wonderful, hilarious look at awkwardness - what it is, why we feel it, how to handle it and embrace it. The article and book’s advice on combating “cringe attacks” is really useful as well. I don’t know about y’all, but I definitely find myself remembering past embarrassing memories fairly regularly and getting upset about it; I often end up saying, “you’re okay, you’re okay,” to myself to try to calm down.
This never works. But you know what does, according to recent neuroscience studies? If a certain memory is bothering you, try to recall other, nonemotional details about it, like all the sensory factors. What did you see? What did you hear? What did you smell? What were you wearing? Who else was there? It won’t necessarily stop the cringe attack entirely, but it can really help you contextualize the memory and be more okay with it.
Elsewhere, the book suggested talking about your embarrassing memories as if they happened to someone else. By distancing yourself from the situation, it becomes more manageable. And concentrating on self-compassion - seeing yourself the way others see you - and self-indifference - realizing that you are simply not that big of a deal - can help you place it all in perspective.
I may be rambling here. I don’t know. I have a nasty cold. But I really loved this book and I think y’all should consider reading it too. :)
Cookie Science: (this section written in like, November) I engaged in a bit of cookie science! I’ve made raspberry thumbprint cookies twice now for John, but I’ve been unhappy with how hard and crispy they were. In an effort to make them fluffier and lighter, I switched out half the butter for margarine, whipped the butter/margarine/sugar for longer, and chilled the dough. I made the cookies in five batches (represented by one cookie each in the picture, from left to right), each progressively in the fridge for longer before going in the oven. I also lowered the baking time by a minute. My official cookie tester John decreed that batches 3 and 3 were the best.
February 22, 2020
I Saw Six on Broadway!
Here are some of my scattered initial observations and thoughts on finally seeing Six, which i will clean up and organize and format more formally later (the square space app is buggy when it comes to formatting with bullets and photos) when I’m less tired and less sick (yayyy having a cold).
Me with my friends Arielle, Hannah, and Sarah, about to go see Six!
I loosely dressed up as Historical Anne Boleyn for the show, wearing a square necked black blouse, black skirt and leggings, and a replica “B” necklace. I paid homage to the show version by putting my hair in space buns and wearing sparkly green eyeshadow and red lipstick. There were LOTS of people there with space buns, haha.
My friends and I bought Disney Princess crowns at the Times Square Disney store before the show and wore them for several hours and it was SO much fun. People repeatedly assumed we were a bachelorette party or that one of us was celebrating a birthday. I went in as the obsessed fan with my friends Sarah (who had listened to the soundtrack previously) , and Arielle and Hannah (who both deliberately went in blind). It was utterly delightful to watch their faces as they discovered this show and all the wonderful wordplay throughout it.
Before the show, “Joan” on the keyboard was playing covers of modern pop songs on the harpsichord setting, so it sounded all old school. I distinctly heard Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” and Camilla Cabello’s “Havana” and there were many others in there as well that I couldn’t figure out.
The Brooks Atkinson Theater is GORGEOUS and super colorfully decorated.
The line to get into the matinee for people who already had tickets literally wrapped around the block, so my friends and I used the opportunity to grab a quick bite to eat at Pret a Manger and use the restroom there before jumping in the (now moving) line at like, 2:45 for the 3 pm show. We didn’t see any benefit to standing outside in the cold waiting for a super long time. This ended up working really well and has the bonus of being an Anne Boleyn line!
Right before the show started, they flashed lights in the shapes of Tudor roses all around the auditorium!
Jane Seymour gave me MAJOR Celine Dion vibes, and this actress had a slightly different twist on it than the soundtrack. She did her high whistly notes earlier in the song rather than at the end.
it sounds like the actresses are all using American accents except where the rhyme NEEDS a British accent.
like, this is obvious, but The choreography and acting add SOOO much to the songs. “Get Down” was absolutely brilliant and in person, it’s really obvious how idiotic Henry’s excuse is and how hot she KNOWS she is. I actually didn’t know that Cleves strips off her outer layer (with the help of the other queens pulling on either side of her costume) during her song until last week and that is just SUCH a show stopping move; it’s totally something Rihanna (Cleves’ main pop inspiration) would do as well. I also suddenly understand why the alternates have to wear such a specific Cleves jacket/costume when they play her- hook and loop fasteners! (Aka Velcro, a registered trademarks)
Cleves got funnier and funnier as the show went on. My favorite line is probably “guys. I have the plague. Lol, just kidding, my life is amazing!”
“All you want to do” was so affecting, I was sobbing by the end. It’s such a compassionate and human portrayal of Katherine Howard, who I think is often just put down as a cheater or a silly girl. No, she was a young teenager who was abused by men throughout her life and neglected and exploited by the people that were supposed to protect her. The choreography in that is really beautiful, how more and more of the other queens touch Katherine Howard’s shoulders in more and more invasive ways as she gets more and more despondent and dances less and less energetically until she’s left alone on the stage at the end, hunched over in despair and almost crying.
When Catherine Parr is pointing out at the end that the only reason everyone knows Henry VIII is BECAUSE of his six wives, she asked who the wives of Henry VII, Henry VI, and Henry V were. I was delighted and like quietly raised my hand, hah. all my friends laughed at least.
also Howard coming out and just nonchalantly saying “Catherine of Valois” was amazing. I liked Boleyn’s complicated feminist sum up as well, but in the context, I felt that it made her character seem like she had the same level of education/intelligence/maturity as Howard, when in fact, Boleyn was really highly educated and Howard was fairly poorly educated for a noble girl, considering that she was pretty much pawned off on neglectful relatives most of her life.
Me and Sarah at Brooks Atkinson Theater
Arielle and Hannah at Brooks Atkinson Theater
That observation feeds into my next thought . Everyone who said that my thoughts on the portrayal of Anne Boleyn would change when I saw the show was wrong. She’s a fun character, but she’s portrayed as a huge self involved ditz who just wants to party, when in real life, she was actually an extremely well educated and accomplished woman who influenced religion and politics more than probably any other queen did. I think of her the same way I think of Shakespeare’s Richard III- I love the play and I love the character but I recognize that it’s a totally inaccurate portrayal of the historical figure, who i also love for completely different reasons.
they actually pack in a LOT of history into this play, like during Boleyn and Aragon’s argument over mistresses and miscarriages and who had it worse. Plus I love a casual Thomas Cromwell name drop.
You can really see the colorful Swarovski crystals on the boots in the lights! It’s subtle but visible if you look for it.
Cleves’ new thigh high boots are AMAZINGGGG.
I tried to check if the lighting matched each character’s main costume color; it seemed like yes, it mostly did, but I didn’t check on all of them.
The lighting at the end of “Don’t Lose Your Head” fades out to just a direct spot on Anne Boleyn’s head and like, surrounding pink lights. It was very effective.
The “10 amongst these 3s” pin sold at the merch table has an incorrect apostrophe in between the “3” and the “s” and it drives me madddddd. PLEASE FIX THAT.
j loved that Catherine of Aragon started her song by calling for Maria on the drums to start her off; “Maria” is named for the historical Catherine of Aragon’s lady in waiting and lifelong friend, Maria de Salinas, so it’s totally fitting that they join together on that.
The whole musical is such a girl power piece, but it also realistically talks about the fact that these women wouldn’t be known without history and how little agency they had in their own lives. The only other musicals I’ve seen that are that self aware and self reflective of their own characters’ legacies are Hamilton and Assassins.
I saw Six on Broadway!
Here are some of my scattered initial observations and thoughts on finally seeing Six, which i will clean up and organize and format more formally later (the square space app is buggy when it comes to formatting with bullets and photos) when I’m less tired and less sick (yayyy having a cold).
I loosely dressed up as Historical Anne Boleyn for the show, wearing a square necked black blouse, black skirt and leggings, and a replica “B” necklace. I paid homage to the show version by putting my hair in space buns and wearing sparkly green eyeshadow and red lipstick. There were LOTS of people there with space buns, haha.
My friends and I bought Disney Princess crowns at the Times Square Disney store before the show and wore them for several hours and it was SO much fun. People repeatedly assumed we were a bachelorette party or that one of us was celebrating a birthday. I went in as the obsessed fan with my friends Sarah (who had listened to the soundtrack previously) , and Arielle and Hannah (who both deliberately went in blind). It was utterly delightful to watch their faces as they discovered this show and all the wonderful wordplay throughout it.
Before the show, “Joan” on the keyboard was playing covers of modern pop songs on the harpsichord setting, so it sounded all old school. I distinctly heard Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” and Camilla Cabello’s “Havana” and there were many others in there as well that I couldn’t figure out.
The Brooks Atkinson Theater is GORGEOUS and super colorfully decorated.
The line to get into the matinee for people who already had tickets literally wrapped around the block, so my friends and I used the opportunity to grab a quick bite to eat at Pret a Manger and use the restroom there before jumping in the (now moving) line at like, 2:45 for the 3 pm show. We didn’t see any benefit to standing outside in the cold waiting for a super long time. This ended up working really well and has the bonus of being an Anne Boleyn line!
Right before the show started, they flashed lights in the shapes of Tudor roses all around the auditorium!
Jane Seymour gave me MAJOR Celine Dion vibes, and this actress had a slightly different twist on it than the soundtrack. She did her high whistly notes earlier in the song rather than at the end.
it sounds like the actresses are all using American accents except where the rhyme NEEDS a British accent.
like, this is obvious, but The choreography and acting add SOOO much to the songs. “Get Down” was absolutely brilliant and in person, it’s really obvious how idiotic Henry’s excuse is and how hot she KNOWS she is. I actually didn’t know that Cleves strips off her outer layer (with the help of the other queens pulling on either side of her costume) during her song until last week and that is just SUCH a show stopping move; it’s totally something Rihanna (Cleves’ main pop inspiration) would do as well. I also suddenly understand why the alternates have to wear such a specific Cleves jacket/costume when they play her- hook and loop fasteners! (Aka Velcro, a registered trademarks)
Cleves got funnier and funnier as the show went on. My favorite line is probably “guys. I have the plague. Lol, just kidding, my life is amazing!”
“All you want to do” was so affecting, I was sobbing by the end. It’s such a compassionate and human portrayal of Katherine Howard, who I think is often just put down as a cheater or a silly girl. No, she was a young teenager who was abused by men throughout her life and neglected and exploited by the people that were supposed to protect her. The choreography in that is really beautiful, how more and more of the other queens touch Katherine Howard’s shoulders in more and more invasive ways as she gets more and more despondent and dances less and less energetically until she’s left alone on the stage at the end, hunched over in despair and almost crying.
When Catherine Parr is pointing out at the end that the only reason everyone knows Henry VIII is BECAUSE of his six wives, she asked who the wives of Henry VII, Henry VI, and Henry V were. I was delighted and like quietly raised my hand, hah. all my friends laughed at least.
also Howard coming out and just nonchalantly saying “Catherine of Valois” was amazing. I liked Boleyn’s complicated feminist sum up as well, but in the context, I felt that it made her character seem like she had the same level of education/intelligence/maturity as Howard, when in fact, Boleyn was really highly educated and Howard was fairly poorly educated for a noble girl, considering that she was pretty much pawned off on neglectful relatives most of her life.
that observation feeds into my next thought . Everyone who said that my thoughts on the portrayal of Anne Boleyn would change when I saw the show was wrong. She’s a fun character, but she’s portrayed as a huge self involved ditz who just wants to party, when in real life, she was actually an extremely well educated and accomplished woman who influenced religion and politics more than probably any other queen did. I think of her the same way I think of Shakespeare’s Richard III- I love the play and I love the character but I recognize that it’s a totally inaccurate portrayal of the historical figure, who i also love for completely different reasons.
they actually pack in a LOT of history into this play, like during Boleyn and Aragon’s argument over mistresses and miscarriages and who had it worse. Plus I love a casual Thomas Cromwell name drop.
You can really see the colorful Swarovski crystals on the boots in the lights! It’s subtle but visible if you look for it.
Cleves’ new thigh high boots are AMAZINGGGG.
I tried to check if the lighting matched each character’s main costume color; it seemed like yes, it mostly did, but I didn’t check on all of them.
The lighting at the end of “Don’t Lose Your Head” fades out to just a direct spot on Anne Boleyn’s head and like, surrounding pink lights. It was very effective.
The “10 amongst these 3s” pin sold at the merch table has an incorrect apostrophe in between the “3” and the “s” and it drives me madddddd. PLEASE FIX THAT.
j loved that Catherine of Aragon started her song by calling for Maria on the drums to start her off; “Maria” is named for the historical Catherine of Aragon’s lady in waiting and lifelong friend, Maria de Salinas, so it’s totally fitting that they join together on that.
The whole musical is such a girl power piece, but it also realistically talks about the fact that these women wouldn’t be known without history and how little agency they had in their own lives. The only other musicals I’ve seen that are that self aware and self reflective of their own characters’ legacies are Hamilton and Assassins.
February 14, 2020
Updated Six the Musical Costumes for Broadway!
All My Six Posts!
The Historical and Modern Inspirations in the Costumes of Six the Musical: Wives 1-3
The Historical and Modern Inspirations in the Costumes of Six the Musical: Wives 4-6
The Alternate Costumes of Six the Musical (Continuously updated!)
The Historical Inspirations and Costumes of the Ladies in Waiting of Six
The Tudor Fashion Elements of the Costumes in Six (with Painting References)
The Shoes of Six the Musical (Continuously updated!)
How the Six Alternates Change Their Styling for Each Queen
Quick and Short Six the Musical Costume Update (AUSTRALIA)
UPDATED 03/17/2020 WITH OFFICIAL BROADWAY PHOTOS.
Also, now with original costumes in a before and after format to make the changes extra apparent!
It looks like the changes I already chronicled in the Cleves costume and Howard costume for the Australia cast were also made for the Broadway cast, but there are lots of other changes as well.
Here’s the Broadway stage door for reference of what the costumes looked like before the show opened. Cleves’s and Howard’s costumes in the stage show definitely do not look the same as they do here. The others look very similar, but there are some details changed in each look.
The Broadway costumes! Photo thanks to @Tschusko on Instagram.
Jarnéia Richard-Noel in the West End, Unknown photographer
Adrianna Hicks on Broadway, By Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub
Aragon: The inverted chevrons on Aragon’s top have been changed to black and gold checks. These checks also show up in her skirt, where it replaces the gold stripe section, which also sports a new peplum layer The sleeves are different, with bigger puffs at top and black fishnet over gold bottoms that look an awful lot like Seymour’s sleeves.
peplum- a short flared, gathered, or pleated strip of fabric attached at the waist of a woman's jacket, dress, or blouse to create a hanging frill or flounce
Millie O’Connell, who originated the Boleyn role on the West End, Unknown photographer
Andrea Macasaet on Broadway, by Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub
by Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub
Boleyn: Boleyn’s costume looks almost the same, but she’s got more silver studs at the bottom and top of her skirt and defining each black grid and epaulette on her top
Natalie Paris in the West End (Photographer Unknown)
Abby Muller on Broadway, by Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub
Seymour: Hey, Seymour got a peplum too! Everyone gets peplums now! Her peplum is white with black lines, visually extending her top rather than sitting on her skirt like Aragon’s or on Parr’s pants. Her top also has more diagonal black stripes on the side now, instead of the just plain vertical ones she had before.
The original-ish West End costume. There actually was a black version that was phased out a long time ago. Alexia McIntosh in the West End, Unknown Photographer
Brittney Mack on Broadway, by Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub
New Cleves Earrings for Broadway! by Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub
Cleves:
Cleves’ jacket is pretty much the same it’s been in other casts except for some added epaulettes and perhaps some added sleeve length and overall length, but UNDERNEATH the jacket. Damn girl.
The black crop top with red trimming has been replaced with a MAGNIFENT red top (longer than her previous crop top with lots of silver studding, a mini faux black corset, lots of silver chains draping everywhere, and magnificent sleeves made up of gridded silver studded red leather strips. I wish I had a picture of this so badly, as it doesn’t show up as much under her jacket, but when she strips in her song, it’s super visible and AMAZING.
She also gets to wear some friggin amazing thigh high black boots covered in gorgeous silver studs.
Katherine Howard (Aimie Atkinson), Photo by Idil Sukan.
Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub
Howard: (I’m including the Australia cast pic in the gallery for a high quality example of the costume change) Howard’s Broadway costume looks identical to the Australia costume but with only one X across the neckline rather than two. From my post on that: “It looks like the same black striped mesh fabric is in use all over both the West End and the Australia outfits, but the pink fabric has changed up a bit. In addition to the original sheer pink fabric used on the skirt, there's now a slightly less sheer pink fabric with black hatching on it; the skirt's panels alter between sheer and sheer with hatching and there's now a bottom border of the sheer with hatching fabric. There's also more silver beading throughout the skirt. This fabric with hatching is also incorporated into the alternating style panels on the bodice and on the bodice's top sleeves. It also looks like the hatching fabric may be used on the back of the bodice as well.
Danielle Steer in the West End. (Production photo)
Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub
Parr: Her sleeves look fuller and rounder, and now she has a blue and black peplum with silver studs. Her belt is more heavily studded. It also looks like her pants are made with a totally different black fabric, with a cool print visible on it.
Both pants actually have the same lacing and silver studs on the side, but I couldn’t find a good photo from the west end that shows the entire current costume AND the lacings visible.
Accessory Changes:
It looks like all the Queens are now wearing SPARKLY fish nets (except Parr, who wears pants). Previously, it looked like they just wore sheer black hose. The sparkles are hard to see in photographs, but they’re super visible in person! You can probably see them best in the Cleves broadway photo above.
All of the Queens now have large earrings with the Roman numeral version of their “order” in the wives!
All Broadway Cast Accessories:
Aragon:
Sparkly spiked gold hoops with a roman numeral “I” in the center
Large gold spikes on a leather headband
Lots of piled up gold chain necklaces.
Boleyn:
Silver spiked hooks with “II” in the center
Leather cuffs with spikes around her “space buns”
Green sparkly “B” necklace
Seymour:
Silver hoops with “III” in the center, no spikes (I can’t tell if the earrings are sparkly or just made of tiny silver circles like Cleves)
White headband with small silver spikes
It looks like she’s wearing a silver chain necklace, but that appears to be part of her costume
Cleves:
Large silver “IV”s made of tiny little silver circles
Silver spikes arranged lengthwise on her head on either side of her hairdo (which is this gorgeous braid twist bun thing I can’t properly describe)
Howard:
Silver hoops with a big sparkly pink “V”
Leather cuff with spikes around ponytail with pink ends; “K” necklace
Parr:
Big silver hoops with sparkly black “VI”
Silver spikes along her part line in a vaguely mohawk style
I saw the show on February 22 and it was BRILLIANT. I got some photos but honestly, they weren’t very good quality. You’re welcome to go see them at www.instagram.com/rachaeldickzen.
Six Previews on Broadway: Costume Changes! (Continuously updated as I find better photos. :D)
All My Six Posts!
The Historical and Modern Inspirations in the Costumes of Six the Musical: Wives 1-3
The Historical and Modern Inspirations in the Costumes of Six the Musical: Wives 4-6
The Alternate Costumes of Six the Musical (Continuously updated!)
The Historical Inspirations and Costumes of the Ladies in Waiting of Six
The Tudor Fashion Elements of the Costumes in Six (with Painting References)
The Shoes of Six the Musical (Continuously updated!)
How the Six Alternates Change Their Styling for Each Queen
Quick and Short Six the Musical Costume Update (AUSTRALIA)
Six started its previews on Broadway last night! I’ve scrolled through as many photos and megasix* videos as I could find to check out the costumes and see if there are any alterations. And there are some pretty significant changes to Cleves’ costumes that I am DYING to talk about.
(*Megasix is the post-finale finale of the show that combines all of the queens’ songs in a really brilliant dance mix. The cast traditionally encourages audience members to take out their cameras and phones and record the megasix; they’ve also played around with cameras by taking them from people in the front row and holding them up and such. These megasix videos are one of the big reasons Six has gotten so popular.)
Two quick disclaimers:
1. Apparently, some of the cast members are part of the actors union, which bans filming or photography of any performances, so there is an announcement before the show that bans all that, INCLUDING during the Megasix.* The cast does not give the usual “pull out your cameras” announcement in the Megasix because of this, but many audience members from last night’s show said that a TON of people were recording and the ushers weren’t making any moves to stop them, so there may be an unofficial policy of tolerance toward Megasix videos.
2. I’ve pulled the screencaps in this post off of various Instagram profiles, but anything I’m saying about costumes here was also confirmed with higher-quality bootleg photos that I’m not allowed to share here. I’ll keep looking for better quality photos of the costumes I can add, but don’t want to wait until I have access to those to post about these. :
Screencaps are thanks to the Instagram profiles of costume designer @sladegabriella; actresses @sampauly; @brittmack8; @andrea.cesyl; @_laurendrew1 and the instagram profiles of fans: @tschusko; @makandcheessse; @coreyapil; @basically_broadway; @Zoennis; @Derek_Sneady; @karynb05; @Hammy_ham_bway [if anyone doesn’t want a screencap of their Instagram on here, please let me know at rachaeldickzen@gmail.com and I’ll take it down ASAP).
Here’s the Broadway stage door for reference of what the costumes looked like before the show opened. Cleves’s and Howard’s costumes in the stage show definitely do not look the same as they do here. The others look very similar, but there are some details changed in each look.
Costume Changes:
It looks like the changes I already chronicled in the Cleves costume and Howard costume for the Australia cast were also made for the Broadway cast, but there are lots of other changes as well.
(remember, some of these details I’m writing about are taken from photos the owner doesn’t want shared, so you may not be able to see them in the screencaps I’ve included. Sorry! Doing the best I can here. )
The Broadway costumes! Photo thanks to @Tschusko on Instagram.
Aragon: It looks like the inverted chevrons on Aragon’s top have been changed to black and gold checks. These checks also show up in her skirt, where it replaces the gold stripe section, which also sports a new peplum layer (peplum- “a short flared, gathered, or pleated strip of fabric attached at the waist of a woman's jacket, dress, or blouse to create a hanging frill or flounce.”). The sleeves are different, with bigger puffs at top and black fishnet over gold bottoms that look an awful lot like Seymour’s sleeves.
UPDATED 02/24/2020: I’ve read that this is the same update that occurred for the UK Tour Aragon Costume! And looking at Lauren Drew’s new Catherine of Aragon costume, that does seem to be the case! You can see the details a lot better in this photo from her instagram.
Photo thanks to @Makandcheessse on Instagram
Lauren Drew wearing the updated Aragon costume on the UK Tour. Photo thanks to her instagram at @_laurendrew1.
Boleyn: Boleyn’s costume looks almost the same, but she’s got more silver studs at the bottom and top of her skirt and defining each black grid and epaulette on her top
Photo thanks to @Tschusko on Instagram
Photo thanks to @Tschusko on Instagram
Seymour: Hey, Seymour got a peplum too! Everyone gets peplums now! Her peplum is white with black lines, visually extending her top rather than sitting on her skirt like Aragon’s or on Parr’s pants. Her top also has more diagonal black stripes on the side now, instead of the just plain vertical ones she had before.
Cleves: (I’m including the Australia cast pic in the gallery for a high quality example of the jacket and shorts changes) Cleves’ jacket is pretty much the same it’s been in other casts except for some added epaulettes and perhaps some added sleeve length and overall length, but UNDERNEATH the jacket. Damn girl. The black crop top with red trimming has been replaced with a MAGNIFENT red top (longer than her previous crop top with lots of silver studding, a mini faux black corset, lots of silver chains draping everywhere, and magnificent sleeves made up of gridded silver studded red leather strips. I wish I could share a picture of this so badly, as it doesn’t show up as much under her jacket. I’m assuming she takes her jacket off at some point in her song and THAT’S when the “holy shit that’s amazing” factor happens.
She also gets to wear some friggin amazing thigh high black boots covered in gorgeous silver studs.
Howard: (I’m including the Australia cast pic in the gallery for a high quality example of the costume change) Howard’s Broadway costume looks identical to the Australia costume but with only one X across the neckline rather than two. From my post on that: “It looks like the same black striped mesh fabric is in use all over both the West End and the Australia outfits, but the pink fabric has changed up a bit. In addition to the original sheer pink fabric used on the skirt, there's now a slightly less sheer pink fabric with black hatching on it; the skirt's panels alter between sheer and sheer with hatching and there's now a bottom border of the sheer with hatching fabric. There's also more silver beading throughout the skirt. This fabric with hatching is also incorporated into the alternating style panels on the bodice and on the bodice's top sleeves. It also looks like the hatching fabric may be used on the back of the bodice as well.”
Photo thanks to @coreyapil on Instagram
Photo from @SladeGabriella on Instagram.
Parr: Her sleeves look fuller and rounder, and now she has a blue and black peplum with silver studs. It also looks like her belt is more heavily studded.
Accessory Changes:
It looks like all the Queens are now wearing SPARKLY fish nets (except Parr, who wears pants). Previously, it looked like they just wore sheer black hose. (This doesn’t really show up in the instagram screencaps, alas).
The earrings are a big change which were previously posted on costume designer Gabriella Slade’s Instagram; it appears that some of the Queens now have large earrings with the Roman numeral version of their “order” in the wives. Earring details are basically impossible to capture in Instagram screencaps, but I can confirm the following from my higher quality bootleg source.
All Broadway Cast Accessories:
Aragon: round earrings with spikes and a roman numeral “I” in the center are Aragon’s (pictured on Gabriella Slade’s Instagram account); large gold spikes on a leather headband. Lots of gold chain necklaces.
Boleyn: Hoops that appear to be silver and black; leather cuffs with spikes around her “space buns.” “B” necklace.
Seymour: Plain, thin gold hoops; white headband with small silver spikes, single silver chain which may actually be part of her costume.
Cleves: Large gold roman numeral fours (pictured on Gabriella Slade’s Instagram account); silver spikes arranged lengthwise on her head on either side of her hairdo (which is this gorgeous braid twist bun thing I can’t properly describe).
Howard: Pink hoops; leather cuff with spikes around ponytail with pink ends; “K” necklace.
Parr: Big silver hoops and Large silver spikes positioned where a “middle part” would sit
I saw the show on February 22 and it was BRILLIANT. I got some photos but honestly, they weren’t very good quality. You’re welcome to go see them at www.instagram.com/rachaeldickzen.
Six Previews on Broadway: Costumes Update!
If you’d like to read all my posts about the costumes and styling of Six the Musical, you can find them here !
Six started its previews on Broadway last night! I’ve scrolled through as many photos and megasix* videos as I could find to check out the costumes and see if there are any alterations. And there are some pretty significant changes to Cleves’ costumes that I am DYING to talk about.
(*Megasix is the post-finale finale of the show that combines all of the queens’ songs in a really brilliant dance mix. The cast traditionally encourages audience members to take out their cameras and phones and record the megasix; they’ve also played around with cameras by taking them from people in the front row and holding them up and such. These megasix videos are one of the big reasons Six has gotten so popular.)
Two quick disclaimers:
1. Apparently, some of the cast members are part of the actors union, which bans filming or photography of any performances, so there is an announcement before the show that bans all that, INCLUDING during the Megasix.* The cast does not give the usual “pull out your cameras” announcement in the Megasix because of this, but many audience members from last night’s show said that a TON of people were recording and the ushers weren’t making any moves to stop them, so there may be an unofficial policy of tolerance toward Megasix videos.
2. I’ve pulled the screencaps in this post off of various Instagram profiles, but anything I’m saying about costumes here was also confirmed with higher-quality bootleg photos that I’m not allowed to share here. I’ll keep looking for better quality photos of the costumes I can add, but don’t want to wait until I have access to those to post about these. :
Screencaps are thanks to: @basically_broadway; @Zoennis; @Derek_Sneady; @karynb05; @Hammy_ham_bway [if anyone doesn’t want a screencap of their Instagram on here, please let me know at rachaeldickzen@gmail.com and I’ll take it down ASAP).
Here’s the Broadway stage door for reference of what the costumes looked like before the show opened. Cleves’s and Howard’s costumes in the stage show definitely do not look the same as they do here. The others look very similar, but there are some details changed in each look.
Costume Changes:
It looks like the changes I already chronicled in the Cleves costume and Howard costume for the Australia cast were also made for the Broadway cast, but there are lots of other changes as well.
(remember, some of these details are taken from photos the owner doesn’t want shared, so you may not be able to see them in the screencaps I’ve included. Sorry! Doing the best I can here. )
Aragon: It looks like the inverted Chevron’s on Aragon’s top have been changed to black and gold checks. These checks also show up in her skirt, where it replaces the gold stripe section, which also sports a new peplum layer (peplum- “a short flared, gathered, or pleated strip of fabric attached at the waist of a woman's jacket, dress, or blouse to create a hanging frill or flounce.”). The sleeves are different, with bigger puffs at top and black fishnet over gold bottoms that look an awful lot like Seymour’s sleeves.
Boleyn: Boleyn’s costume looks almost the same, but she’s got more silver studs at the bottom and top of her skirt and defining each black grid and epaulette on her top
Seymour: Hey, Seymour got a peplum too! Everyone gets peplums now! Her peplum is white with black lines, visually extending her top rather than sitting on her skirt like Aragon’s or on Parr’s pants. Her top also has more diagonal black stripes on the side now, instead of the just plain vertical ones she had before.
Cleves: (I’m including the Australia cast pic in the gallery for a high quality example of the jacket and shorts changes) Cleves’ jacket is pretty much the same it’s been in other casts except for some added epaulettes and perhaps some added sleeve length and overall length, but UNDERNEATH the jacket. Damn girl. The black crop top with red trimming has been replaced with a MAGNIFENT red top (longer than her previous crop top with lots of silver studding, a mini faux black corset, lots of silver chains draping everywhere, and magnificent sleeves made up of gridded silver studded red leather strips. I wish I could share a picture of this so badly, as it doesn’t show up as much under her jacket. I’m assuming she takes her jacket off at some point in her song and THAT’S when the “holy shit that’s amazing” factor happens.
She also gets to wear some friggin amazing thigh high black boots covered in gorgeous silver studs.
Howard: (I’m including the Australia cast pic in the gallery for a high quality example of the costume change) Howard’s Broadway costume looks identical to the Australia costume but with only one X across the neckline rather than two. From my post on that: “It looks like the same black striped mesh fabric is in use all over both the West End and the Australia outfits, but the pink fabric has changed up a bit. In addition to the original sheer pink fabric used on the skirt, there's now a slightly less sheer pink fabric with black hatching on it; the skirt's panels alter between sheer and sheer with hatching and there's now a bottom border of the sheer with hatching fabric. There's also more silver beading throughout the skirt. This fabric with hatching is also incorporated into the alternating style panels on the bodice and on the bodice's top sleeves. It also looks like the hatching fabric may be used on the back of the bodice as well.”
Parr: Her sleeves look fuller and rounder, and now she has a blue and black peplum with silver studs. It also looks like her belt is more heavily studded.
Accessory Changes:
It looks like all the Queens are now wearing SPARKLY fish nets (except Parr, who wears pants). Previously, it looked like they just wore sheer black hose. (This doesn’t really show up in the instagram screencaps, alas).
The earrings are a big change which were previously posted on costume designer Gabriella Slade’s Instagram; it appears that some of the Queens now have large earrings with the Roman numeral version of their “order” in the wives. Earring details are basically impossible to capture in Instagram screencaps, but I can confirm the following from my higher quality bootleg source.
All Broadway Cast Accessories:
Aragon: round earrings with spikes and a roman numeral “I” in the center are Aragon’s (pictured on Gabriella Slade’s Instagram account); large gold spikes on a leather headband. Lots of gold chain necklaces.
Boleyn: Hoops that appear to be silver and black; leather cuffs with spikes around her “space buns.” “B” necklace.
Seymour: Plain, thin gold hoops; white headband with small silver spikes, single silver chain which may actually be part of her costume.
Cleves: Large gold roman numeral fours (pictured on Gabriella Slade’s Instagram account); silver spikes arranged lengthwise on her head on either side of her hairdo (which is this gorgeous braid twist bun thing I can’t properly describe).
Howard: Pink hoops; leather cuff with spikes around ponytail with pink ends; “K” necklace.
Parr: Big silver hoops and Large silver spikes positioned where a “middle part” would sit
I’m going to see the show in person myself (for the first time!) on Feb. 22 and hopefully will get in person visual confirmation of all these changes then.
February 10, 2020
The Historical Inspirations and Costumes of the Ladies in Waiting of Six
One of the coolest things I’ve learned about Six is that not only is the entire CAST of each show all female, the backing band is all female too! Each musician is named for a real lady in waiting to one of the queens of Henry VIII. The only queen who doesn’t have a historical lady in waiting represented in the band is Catherine Parr.
First off, what’s a lady in waiting anyway? Each royal lady of the Tudor court were served by numerous attendants and servants. Although most members of a Queen’s household would be male, those who served her personally or kept her company were always women.
Painting from History Extra
The Ladies in Waiting of Six, West End cast.
In Tudor times, the Queen would basically never be alone; she must always be accompanied by noble ladies, day and night. Even at night, if the Queen wasn’t actually spending the night with the King (royal couples kept separate bedrooms in those days), she would likely have someone sleeping in the bed next to her.
Ladies-in-waiting (also known as “ladies-of-honor”) were married noble women who held the highest rank in the Queen’s household. These women often were married to the King’s own personal attendants. These ladies accompanied the Queen both privately and in public, at various ceremonial or casual occasions. They were all expected to be excellent dancers, singers, musicians, and needed to be proficient at whatever other games or past times the Queen was interested in. Although the Queen might choose her own ladies, often times, the King actually chose them, as a favor to a friend or because of his own interest in the woman. They spent long periods at court and were expected to put their positions before their own families.
Next in rank were the maids-of-honor, who were unmarried well-born women, generally young girls age 16 or older. It was a great honor to be asked to serve the Queen or Princess in such a fashion. It was very common practice for nobles to send their children off to work at another family’s home for a few years as an attendant of some sort to teach them the skills they’d need to run their own households and move up in the world. Positions at the royal court were greatly coveted; there, nobles’ daughters could meet many powerful people and make good marriages.
Maids-of-honor were expected to be beautiful, accomplished, and highly virtuous, as while they were at court away from their families, the queen acted in loco parentis; any scandal attached to a maid-of-honor would reflect poorly on their mistress.
Photo by Melissa Jo York Tilley, from when I myself played a maid of honor at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in 2011!
Elizabeth I, Francis Drake, and some of her court.
Jean-Leon Huens—National Geographic/Heritage-Images
Henry VIII ended up marrying three of his former queens’ maids-of-honor – Anne Boleyn, who served Catherine of Aragon, Jane Seymour, who served Anne Boleyn, and Catherine Howard, who served Anna of Cleves. This was actually very unusual for the time; kings were expected to marry for advantage, to cement powerful alliances or to achieve other goals that would serve the good of the country. Henry VII married Elizabeth of York to help bring about the end of the Wars of the Roses; Henry VI and his father Henry V both married French princesses as part of peace treaties with various entities in efforts to try to end the 100 Years’ War. Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, was a rich Spanish princess and the daughter of two powerful monarchs – Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon; she brought legitimacy to the Tudor dynasty as Henry VII (whose claim to the English crown was pretty weak, actually) worked to fight off pretenders to his throne.
The Banquet of Henry VIII in York Place (Whitehall Palace), 1832,
by James Stephanoff
The ladies-in-waiting and maids-of-honor assisted the Queen in her daily tasks, helping dress her in the layered clothing of the period and lacing her into her dresses. They washed and bathed her and even assisted her with using the privy (yup. That was a thing. And it was actually a very sought after position). The Queen and her ladies often sewed, read, or danced together.
Each Queen had different preferences for their ladies. Catherine of Aragon was known for reading devotionals to hers. Anne Boleyn gave her ladies little books of prayers and psalms to carry with them always, and had them sew garments for the poor. Jane Seymour had strict rules as to her ladies’ garments; trains had to be so long and different parts of clothes had to have a specific number of pearls embroidered on them.
I’ve noticed before that historical dramas always seem to have fewer attendants around the Kings and Queens then would have been there in reality; if the real numbers were represented, it would probably be a bit overwhelming to modern eyes, as we just have very different standards of privacy and necessity. During Henry VIII’s time, there were usually 6-8 “great ladies of the household” serving the Queen at any time, and Catherine of Aragon had 30 maids-of-honor, while Anne Boleyn had 60! After Henry started living separately from Catherine of Aragon, she actually had around 250 maids-of-honor, as he didn’t want to be accused of treating her poorly (at that time, anyway)! Although I’m sure they likely served the queen in different shifts, that’s still a huge amount of women who served the queen throughout the week. Can you even imagine?
Maria de Salinas, by an unknown artist (lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon)
Catherine Willoughby, Maria de Salinas’s daughter, by Hans Holbein the younger.
Maria - María de Salinas, known as Baroness Willoughby after her marriage (maid-of-honor and lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon) – Drums
Maria de Salinas actually came with Catherine of Aragon from Spain and served her as a maid-of-honor until 1516, when she married an English nobleman named William Willoughby (and became a lady-in-waiting to Catherine). She was devoted to Catherine; although she was ordered to leave Catherine and stop communicating with her after Catherine’s marriage to Henry VIII was annulled, she begged permission to visit her later. In the final days of Catherine of Aragon’s life, Maria simply disobeyed all orders to avoid her and forced her way into the castle where her beloved mistress lived; Catherine died in Maria’s arms two days later.
Maria’s daughter, Catherine Willoughby, became a ward of Henry VIII’s buddy Charles Brandon after Baron Willoughby’s death; Brandon ended up marrying her after his third wife (Henry VIII’s sister, Princess Mary Tudor, the dowager Queen of France) died (when she was 14 and he was 49. Gross. But that was pretty normal at the time actually). Catherine was pretty friggin awesome and I’d love to see more portrayals of her in media; she apparently named her dog Gardiner after a bishop she detested, because it amused her to call “Gardiner” to heel. Her name was floated as a possible seventh wife for Henry VIII at a time when he was considering placing Catherine Parr aside, and she was actually named the guardian of Catherine Parr’s child with Thomas Seymour after the death of both of her parents (it’s not known what happened to this child, but she doesn’t appear in the records, so she likely died very young). As a fierce Protestant, she fled to Europe and lived in exile during the reign of Queen Mary.
Another interesting fact: Catherine Parr, Henry VIII’s last wife, was the daughter of Catherine of Aragon’s lady-in-waiting Maude Parr. It was possible that she was actually named after Catherine of Aragon.
Margaret Wyatt, Lady Lee (1540), by Hans Holbein the Younger
Maggie - Lady Margaret Wyatt, later known as Margaret Lee after her marriage (served Anne Boleyn) - Guitar
Margaret served Anne Boleyn and was likely her long-time friend, as the Boleyn’s estates lay near the Wyatt’s. The sister of Thomas Wyatt, the poet who fell in love with Anne Boleyn and wrote MANY passionate poems about her, Margaret was serving Anne as a lady-in-waiting at least by 1532, when she accompanied her to Calais, when it is presumed that Anne and Henry VII secretly decided to marry /very soon/. Margaret was Mistress of the Queen’s Wardrobe, a role that placed her in charge of Anne’s clothing and jewels.
It is believed that Margaret attended Anne at the Tower of London and at her execution; she served as chief mourner at her funeral. Anne gave her a prayer book in farewell, and wrote in it “Remember me when you do pray, that hope doth lead from day to day.”
I’m really glad Maggie is included in the Ladies-in-Waiting. Anne Boleyn is portrayed in basically every TV show, movie, and book I’ve ever watched/read about her as not really having any close friends; it’s wonderful to learn that that wasn’t really the truth. I feel like women’s friendships are often erased from the narrative, both historically and in fiction. Men get to have same-sex buddies, but women don’t. That neither seems fair nor realistic, so I’m happy to learn more about a woman I really didn’t know much about before.
Possibly a portrait of Elizabeth “Bessie” Blount, by Lucas Horenbolte,
Bessie Blount’s son with Henry VIII, Henry Fitzroy, at age 15.
Bessie - Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount (maid-of-honor to Catherine of Aragon, lady-in-waiting to Anna of Cleves) - Bass
Bessie Blount is a really interesting choice for the backing band in Six, as historically, she was the only acknowledged mistress of Henry VIII who did not go on to become his wife. We have no known portraits of Bessie, but I’ve included a possible painting of her.
Bessie was around 7 years younger than Henry VIII, and 13 years younger than Catherine of Aragon. She was reputed as a beauty, and their relationship lasted around eight years (much much longer than most of his other affairs). She gave birth to an illegitimate son named Henry FitzRoy in 1519 (FitzRoy was a common surname of the illegitimate offspring of royalty, as it literally means “son of the king”); this is the only illegitimate child that the King ever acknowledged as his own. This birth was pretty important, as by this time, Catherine of Aragon had been pregnant numerous times (in 1509, 1510, 1513, 1514, 1515, 1517, and 1518), yet only one child, Mary, had lived beyond a few months of age (most of her children were miscarried, stillborn, or died within a few hours). Thus, the existence of Henry Fitzroy proved that Henry COULD have healthy male children. This helped fuel Henry’s desire to divorce Catherine of Aragon later in life.
For a while in the 1520s, when it became clear that Catherine of Aragon would not be able to have a legitimate son with Henry, the king seriously considered naming Henry Fitzroy as his heir; he did give him the royal title of the Duke of Richmond at a certain point. This plan fell to the wayside though, when Henry decided to marry Anne Boleyn. Henry Fitzroy later died at the age of 17.
Joan/Jane Meutas, by Hans Holbein the younger
In 1522, a few years after her son with Henry was born, Bessie married her first husband. She apparently was absent from court for many years while raising her children with her first and second husband, although she later served Anne of Cleves briefly. However, Bessie’s poor health caused her to leave court before even her mistress’s 6 months as queen were done. She died shortly thereafter.
Joan - Jane/Joan Astley, known as Jane/Joan Meutas after her marriage (maid-of-honor, then lady-in-waiting to Jane Seymour) - Keyboard
I haven’t found a ton of information about Jane Astley, also known as Joan. We know she served Jane Seymour and got married in 1537, probably shortly before Jane Seymour’s death after birthing her son, the future Edward VI. Jane and her husband were granted several estates and positions after Jane Seymour’s death, so they likely remained in favor at the royal court.
The most notable part of Jane’s life appears to be the drawing of her portrait by the famed Hans Holbein the younger.
Her maiden name, Astley, is the married name of Elizabeth I’s famed companion, Kat Astley, so it’s possible that she’s related to her husband somehow, but there’s no actual proof for that. I’m just guessing, tbh. I wonder why her name was chosen for the Ladies in Waiting? There are several other more famous ladies-in-waiting to the Queens of Henry VIII that could have been a good choice: Jane Parker/Boleyn perhaps.
The Costumes of the Ladies-in-Waiting: The ladies-in-waiting of Six all wear very similar costumes, with only very slight variations. Each band member wears the same long sleeved black shirt with silver and pearl trimmings. They specifically have parallel silver lines all down their sleeves and diagonal silver lines on the main shirt meeting in downward points like chevrons. Beads resembling pearls are scattered throughout. Some of the band members have shirts that are longer than others’, which is probably just a comfort thing.
The ladies also sport what look like leather/pleather ruffs. These are an interesting historical detail, as ruffs weren’t actually worn at all until at least 13 years (1560s) after Henry VIII’s death (1547) ; so they’re anachronistic in a way that most historical details in Six costumes aren’t (keeping in mind that like, the costumes are obviously not intended to be exact historical replicas). I plan to talk a lot more about ruffs in a later post about the Haus of Holbein’s ruffs, so I’ll leave it at that for now. :D
The pearls all over the costumes may actually be a reference to the pearl requirements of Jane Seymour’s ladies in waiting/maids of honor, which I mentioned briefly earlier. We actually have historical records showing that her ladies were required to wear girdles/belts with a specified number of pearls; if there weren’t enough pearls (at LEAST 120), they weren’t allowed to appear before the Queen.
Pearls also edge the band members’ neck ruffs and headbands, which seem pretty obviously based off of a French hood. Look how similar the headbands are to Anne Boleyn’s French hood from her portrait.
The layout of the pearls on the shirt actually reminds me a LOT of some historical armor, specifically the brigandine. Brigandines are made of heavy cloth or leather with steel plates riveted to it, and are pretty distinctive, as you can tell from these renaissance painting examples.
The chevrons on the shirt may be a reference to popular skirt or doublet styles in Elizabethan times. Alternatively, chevrons were commonly used in renaissance heraldry, so these may be referencing that.
The band members wear black pants with lacing up the front that resemble one of the Catherine-Parr-in-Six variations, although their pants are significantly more shiny and leather looking than Parr’s, which are matte cloth. The pants also seem to be a deliberate reference to renaissance cloth or leather armor, which was generally worn with close fitting pants
The temporary costumes that have been pulled out a few times for main Queen cast members when their costumes need emergency repairs and for emergency alternate step-ins (like the awesome time that co-writer of the show Toby Marlow and original soundtrack Anne of Cleves Genesis Lynea stepped in to perform at two sold-out shows after the cast and alternates were badly affected by illness) also appear to be based on the Ladies in Waiting costumes. As you can see, the main portion of the shirt is the same, although it may be worn with or without sleeves and with or without an additional neck piece. Lauren Drew of the UK tour cast is shown wearing shorts that look an AWFUL lot like the Anne of Cleves shorts, although I don’t think I’ve seen those cool chain closures on the side before. Toby and Genesis are shown just wearing plain leather/pleather shorts.
February 6, 2020
Breaking the Fourth Wall: Shakespeare’s Richard III and Fleabag
I’m a big Shakespeare nerd, in addition to my love for history, and have spent the last few months stage managing a community theater production of Shakespeare’s Richard III, one of my favorite plays. The timeline and family tree of the Wars of the Roses I posted a while back were specifically created to walk the cast through the historical background of the play. That production is going up THIS WEEKEND in Northern Virginia; if you’re nearby, please do come! The cast is incredibly talented and our director Megan Fraedrich has such a wonderful vision for the show.
Richard III and Hamlet regularly battle it out for the title of my favorite Shakespearean play. Richard may slightly win out due to its historical roots (even though it’s…terribly inaccurate). It’s a beautiful play with a very intelligent, twisted anti-hero at its center, who you can’t help but cheer for, even though he’s awful. It’s a little like Tudor Breaking Bad in many ways.
Over the course of the rehearsal for the play, I’ve noticed some similarities between Richard III and Fleabag, the acclaimed Amazon series from Phoebe Waller-Briggs. I know, I know, it sounds wacky at first, stay with me here and I’ll explain it all.
Phoebe Waller-Brigg, the creator of Fleabag, playing the main character in season 2.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Richard III in The Hollow Crown.
Richard III:
Throughout Richard III, Richard has a habit of talking directly to the audience about all his plots, like we’re his friends. Though many Shakespearean plays feature characters with muttered asides or longer soliloquies, which no other character on stage can hear, Richard’s are a bit different.
DISCLAIMER: I am getting into a bit of literary analysis here but haven’t taken an English class since college, and that one was pretty useless, so let’s say I haven’t taken a GOOD English class since…oh, 2006? So be nice, friends, lol.
Though both asides and soliloquies indicate private thoughts and are, as a rule, not heard by the other characters, they have some key differences. An aside is usually a short, direct and simple line pointing out an immediate conflict, issue, secret, or judgment; a soliloquy is longer and more complex, and shows the character wrestling with an internal struggles, motives, or moral dilemmas. Soliloquies date back to ancient Greece, where they were seen in Oedipus Rex and Antigone (although it could be argued that they served a different function in this genre of play, in which choruses commonly served as narrators and commentators on the events shown onstage). And plenty of Shakespeare’s contemporaries used them as well. So Shakespeare wasn’t by any means the only playwright to use them, but his plays are probably the most famous example we have of them that you commonly see in society today.
Richard’s lines, particularly his opening soliloquy, generally are long and detailed, commenting on immediate issues and his current plans, thereby having the length of a soliloquy, but the function more of an aside. Throughout the play, he displays no sign of a conscience, happily seducing women who hate him into marrying him, having family members, enemies, friends, women, and children alike all killed in his quest for power, without ever expressing any sort of regrets.
Only in one speech towards the end of the play really ever demonstrates any remorse or wrestling with morality, and that one is brought on by an attack of ghosts telling him to “despair and die” during his dreams (which, you know, could bring feelings out of even the most hardened sociopath, i would imagine). As you can see in the excerpt below, he’s clearly tormented in this scene, and audibly goes back and forth on his own nature; is he a villain? Does he love himself? If so, why? What has he done to deserve such love? He has committed such horrible acts. No one truly knows or loves him, not even Richard himself.
(I stylized several of my favorite portions because it’s my blog and i can do what i want. :D)
O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!
The lights burn blue. It is now dead midnight.
Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.
What do I fear? myself? there's none else by:
Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I.
Is there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am:
Then fly. What, from myself? Great reason why:
Lest I revenge. What, myself upon myself?
Alack. I love myself. Wherefore? for any good
That I myself have done unto myself?
O, no! alas, I rather hate myself
For hateful deeds committed by myself!
I am a villain: yet I lie. I am not.
Fool, of thyself speak well: fool, do not flatter.
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.
Perjury, perjury, in the high'st degree
Murder, stern murder, in the direst degree;
All several sins, all used in each degree,
Throng to the bar, crying all, Guilty! guilty!
I shall despair. There is no creature loves me;
And if I die, no soul shall pity me:
Nay, wherefore should they, since that I myself
Find in myself no pity to myself?
-Richard III, Act V, Scene 3-
These asides/soliloquys set the entire tone of the play and make Richard’s motivations very clear. If you took out these speeches to the audience and just had the rest of the play to go on, you would only see the face Richard shows to the world and miss an awful lot of his machinations. These also show Richard’s state of mind; the number of his asides and soliloquies distinctly decrease over the run of the show, as he becomes more and more stressed and agitated by his responsibilities as king and as he begins to face the consequences of his various murders and manipulations.
The only person who ever hears any of his asides is his nephew, Edward V (who is only ever referred to in the play as a prince, but was in fact, actually a king by the time we see him in the play, even if he’s still a minor. This…irritates me). Richard improvises quickly when he realizes Edward can hear him, but at least in our version, evinces surprise at the incident, for no one has ever heard his asides before.
It’s unclear /why/ Edward hears his uncle; we certainly don’t get a chance to find out, since Prince Edward only ever appears in this one scene (well, except as a ghost, but he doesn’t exactly show us his innermost thoughts at that point). Perhaps the young boy is more connected to the Duke of Gloucester than we realize. Could he be as intelligent as Richard is? Or is he perhaps already suspicious of his uncle?
Richard III (Duke of Gloucester). [Aside] So wise so young, they say, do never
live long.
Prince Edward. What say you, uncle?
Richard III (Duke of Gloucester). I say, without characters, fame lives long.
[Aside] Thus, like the formal vice, Iniquity,
I moralize two meanings in one word.
He’s young, but appears to be rather perceptive, as demonstrated in a later quiet exchange with his uncle Richard:
Prince Edward. I fear no uncles dead.
Richard III (Duke of Gloucester). Nor none that live, I hope.
Prince Edward. An if they live, I hope I need not fear.
But come, my lord; and with a heavy heart,
Thinking on them, go I unto the Tower.
* In case you can’t read the caption on the photo, it says: “Photo of Matthew Rauch as Richard, Duke of Gloucester in Richard the Third by Scott Suchman.”
Phoebe Waller-Brigg, the creator of Fleabag.
*I saw this production last year at the Shakespeare Theater Center in DC and it was really well done, although some of the production choices were….very different. It had a very mad scientist/dystopian/steampunk feel to it and featured growing stomp percussion/dance sequences building throughout the second half of the play, indicating a growing tension as Richard takes the crown. I actually really liked its effect, but it was divisive, and I know a lot of my friends hated it.
Fleabag:
I recently watched the acclaimed comedy series Fleabag; the unnamed protagonist of the show is constantly giving asides to the camera (literally known only as Fleabag, although no one actually ever refers to her that way), breaking the fourth wall to comment on whatever’s happening at the moment. These asides are definitively from her own biased point of view and are usually jokes; she does not usually use them to discuss moral dilemmas or issues with the audience. No one in the show ever hears her asides or even notices the pauses….until Season 2.
Fleabag really doesn’t talk about these asides at all until Season 2, Episode 2, when she sees a therapist (after her father gives her a voucher for a free session). In this brief session, the therapist describes her as “a girl with no friends and am empty heart.” Fleabag defensively responds.
FB: “I have friends.
Counsellor: “Oh so you do have someone to talk to?”
FB: “Yeah.” /clicks tongue and grins at camera with a grin/ “Oh they’re always there. they’re always there.” /chuckles/
C: “Why do you find that funny?”
FB: “Look, I don’t need to be analyzed, i have a nice life.”
By admitting that she has friends that are “always there,” but who do not actually respond to her (as the very medium prevents such a response), the dialogue highlights the narrator’s loneliness and raises questions about the audience’s role in the show’s universe. It becomes more apparent that FB specifically slips into these “asides” when she’s feeling intensely, and uses them as a way to slip out of the situation and detach herself from it.
Although this narrator’s interaction with the therapist is short and limited to just one episode, it seems to have far-reaching consequences, as for the rest of the season, Fleabag seems to actually want to understand her actions and interactions with the audience and do the right thing. Although, according to the therapist, maybe Fleabag was always going to get to that place.
FB: “Can you just tell me what to do?”
C: “You know. you already know what you’re going to do. Everybody does.
FB: “What?”
C: “You’ve already decided what you’re going to do.”
FB: “So what’s the point of you?”
C: /visibly annoyed/ “You know what you’re going to do.”
(it occurs to me that a few episodes later, in the midst of a near breakdown, she expresses her desire to have someone tell her what she’s going to do - every moment of every day - to the priest. She doesn’t want to have control over her own life anymore. It’s interesting to see that desire outlined earlier in this exchange with the therapist)
In season 2, she also befriends the priest (also unnamed) who is performing the marriage ceremony of her father and his girlfriend. This character, played by the brilliant Andrew Scott, is super interesting and curses, drinks beer, writes restaurant reviews, and has an intense fear of foxes. The two bond very quickly and have a very tight connection, along with romantic and sexual chemistry that the priest tries to deny for several episodes. Their connection is highlighted in Season 2, episode 3, when the priest becomes THE FIRST character in the series to ever notice her mental or emotional absence from a conversation, specifically, in a conversation about his celibacy in which he explicitly states that he’s not going to have sex with her. The intensity of the conversation seems to get to Fleabag, who glances away at the camera several times, visibly uncomfortable.
Priest: “I’d really like to be your friend though.”
FB: “I’d like to be your friend, too. /aside, looking at camera/ We’ll last a week.”
P: “What was that?”
FB: “What?”
P: “Where’d you, where’d you just go?”
FB: “What?”
P: “You just went somewhere.”
/looks questioningly at camera/
P: “There. There. Where’d you just go?”
FB: “Nowhere.”
/looks at camera with a look of panic and confusion/
Since the only really close friend Fleabag has ever been shown to really connect with died before season 1 began, it’s truly touching to see that someone notices her enough to see when she’s gone somewhere else. She seems flabbergasted by it. This connection later proves a bit embarrassing to Fleabag, as he hears her cooing about “his beautiful neck” while they’re out on a shopping trip together. It seems that he /sees/ her, even when she’s at her worst.
FB: “His beautiful neck”
P: “What?”
FB: /looks at camera in panic/ “What?”
P: “You just said ‘his beautiful neck.’”
FB: “No, i no, i-i- said th-that they were already gone.”
P: “Okay. Weird.”
Later in the day, the priest gives more attention to the guinea pig at Fleabag’s cafe more than anyone else in the show has really since Boo died, petting her and cuddling her sweetly, calling her “a gorgeous little thing” and continuing to pet her while carrying on a different conversation with FB. This connection to a pet that no one else has ever really paid attention to seems to, again, symbolize Fleabag’s close connection with the priest.
It’s later in that conversation, when the priest asks FB whether she runs the cafe by herself and she tries to tell him about her dead friend Boo that she, first, does the aside to the audience again, and second, he notices again. (If you’ve watched the first season of Fleabag, you’ll realize that the mention of Boo specifically brings up a lot of complicated, conflicting feelings in FB).
P: "Do you run this place on your own?”
FB: “No, I opened it with a friend.”
P: "Oh cool, so you run it together?”
FB: “No, she….she uh,” /sees flashback of Boo in the corner, stares at the camera in a panic/
P: "What?”
FB: “What?”
P: “She what?”
FB: ”She” /laughs uncomfortably/ ”He’s a bit annoying actually.” /behind her back, to camera/
P: ”What is that?”
FB: ”What?”
P: ”That thing that you’re doing, it’s like you disappear.”
FB: ”Nothing.”
P: ”What are you not telling me?”
FB: ”Nothing.”
P: ”Tell me what’s going on underneath there.”
FB: ”Nothing”’
P: ”Tell me, come on, tell me.”
FB: ”nothing, nothing.” /directly to camera/
P: /screams quietly/ “Ahhk what are you doing?” /looks directly to camera/
FB: ”No, stop being so churchy.”
P: ”I’m not being churchy, I”m just trying to get to know you.”
FB: ”Well I don’t want that.”
He seems concerned when he notices her disassociation from the present, and expresses the desire to help her. This ends up pissing her off and she kicks him out of the cafe. The next scene we see, she’s hurriedly trying to walk around the corner and lose the camera/audience, as she flashes back to her mother’s funeral.
Later, when the two characters finally, ah, connect, Fleabag straight up pushes the camera away, and in turn, the audience, possibly indicating that she is at home with her own emotions and doesn’t need to joke about them in this moment.
At the very end of the season, she says goodbye to the audience and her habit of saying asides entirely, joyfully walking down the street and waving goodbye to the camera. She’s grown as a person. She doesn’t need to dissociate herself from the present anymore. She’s accepting her intense feelings.
Breaking the fourth wall is just an interesting way of building the story now as it was in Shakespeare’s time, and it feels just as revolutionary.
(Sidenote: Fleabag is based on Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s original one-woman play, which apparently was quite a bit darker, at least in terms of how it handled the guinea pig! Eek.)
OTHER SHAKESPEARE EXAMPLES OF BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL:
At least some of Shakespeare’s characters seem to be aware that they ARE characters in a play, and comment on it in a lampshading style fashion.
Julius Caesar: "How many ages hence shall this our lofty scene be acted over in states unborn and accents yet unknown!" (Act 3 Sc 1)
Twelfth Night: "If this were play'd upon a stage now, I would condemn it as improbable fiction" (Act 3 Sc 4)
As You Like It: "All the world's a stageand we are but players." (Act 2 Sc 7)
The Merchant of Venice: "I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano; / A stage where every man must play a part, / And mine a sad one." (Act 1 Sc 1)
Henry VI, Part 3:
Macbeth: "Life is but a walking shadow[= actor], a poor player [= actor] who struts and frets his hour upon the stage" (Act 5 Sc 5)
You often see this lampshading specifically at the end of a play, as a character speaks directly to an audience. These tend to comment on the play itself as a play, in a terribly meta fashion.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 5, Scene 1, Epilogue
Puck
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this and all is mended:
That you have but slumbered here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend.
If you pardon, we will mend.
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearnèd luck
Now to ’scape the serpent’s tongue,
We will make amends ere long.
Else the Puck a liar call.
So good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.
As You Like It, Act 5, Scene 4, Epilogue:
Rosalind
It is not the fashion to see the lady the epilogue;
but it is no more unhandsome than to see the lord
the prologue. If it be true that good wine needs
no bush, 'tis true that a good play needs no
epilogue; yet to good wine they do use good bushes,
and good plays prove the better by the help of good
epilogues. What a case am I in then, that am
neither a good epilogue nor cannot insinuate with
you in the behalf of a good play! I am not
furnished like a beggar, therefore to beg will not
become me: my way is to conjure you; and I'll begin
with the women. I charge you, O women, for the love
you bear to men, to like as much of this play as
please you: and I charge you, O men, for the love
you bear to women--as I perceive by your simpering,
none of you hates them--that between you and the
women the play may please. If I were a woman I [this slyly refers to the fact that female characters were played by young men in shakespeare’s time]
would kiss as many of you as had beards that pleased
me, complexions that liked me and breaths that I
defied not: and, I am sure, as many as have good
beards or good faces or sweet breaths will, for my
kind offer, when I make curtsy, bid me farewell.
QUICK HISTORICAL NOTE ON THE ACCURACY OF THE PLAY:
I also find Richard III a legitimately fascinating historical character and have based my character Claudius in my Hamlet prequel “Most Horrible” on him (King Hamlet is based on Richard’s older brother Edward IV). He was definitely not the villain that Shakespeare portrayed him as. I could seriously give a whole TED talk on how badly Richard III has been treated by history, but I’ll just give a few quick examples.
The play has Richard taking credit for killing Edward, Prince of Wales (Henry VI’s son) and Henry VI himself. However, the only historical sources that claim that Prince Edward was killed by Richard 1) were highly biased Tudor propaganda tools designed to impugn Richard III, the king that Henry Tudor killed and unseated, and 2) also said that Prince Edward was killed by all three York brothers (Edward, George, Richard) together, not just Richard alone (interestingly enough, Shakespeare’s Henry VI Part 3 has the story of all three brothers killing Edward as well, but Richard III itself has Richard as the only killer).
In the Shakespearean play, Richard ends up wooing Lady Anne Neville during the mourning rites for her father-in-law, Henry VI. He later kills her in the play. In real life, Richard married Anne after tracking her down from the London cookshop his greedy brother George of Clarence had hidden her in. It’s a terribly romantic story and I so wish they had portrayed that instead of just showing him as an outright villain. They were married for 13 years and had a child together; they also adopted George’s son Edward, Earl of Warwick, after his death. Anne was very ill when she died and there’s no sign that she was poisoned or hurt in any way by her husband.
January 27, 2020
My New Short Story Publication is Out!
So I’ll have a nice long proper blog post up here soon, but I’m a bit behind this week because of the production of Richard III I’m stage managing right now - it goes up this weekend, so we’re in Tech Week rehearsals all this week!
In the meantime though, my newest short story is out in Pure Slush’s anthology “The Shitlist.” I’m super excited about this anthology concept and wanted to be part of it the moment I heard of it. Quonsettville’s Chief Librarian Euphoria Rivers has left town for good; as she left, she sent a letter to the local paper with a shitlist of all the people in town who drove her away. This anthology explains how each person got on that list!
My story features Euphoria Rivers’ battle with Jean-Pierre Pelletier, a newcomer who just bought Quonsettville’s historic tannery and plans to paint flames all over it in honor of his favorite band (Pantera). In her role as vice-president of the town’s historical preservation league, Euphoria simply CANNOT allow this to happen. Shenanigans ensue. The entire story is told by Riley, Pelletier’s teleworking and solitary neighbor who really just wants everyone to stop trying to pull her into the argument.
There are short excerpts from all the stories here, and the anthology itself should be a fast read, since all the stories are 1,500 words or less.
The paperback version is out now and there will be more formats available soon!
January 18, 2020
The Tudor Fashion Elements of the Costumes in Six (with Painting References!)
There are lots of specific Tudor fashion elements found in the Queens' looks when you look closely! I compiled a LOT of painting references and closeups on the costumes so you can see exactly what I’m talking about. These are elements that show up in other musicals and plays set in Tudor times as well, and I’ll try to add references to those soon, as there are, of course, many other works than just Six, lol.
Since I’m going to be talking about a few different periods of history here, I’m going to do a quick overview of the years we’re working with:
The Tudor period started under Henry VII, Henry VIII’s dad, when he defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth. Henry VII reigned from 1485-1509.
Henry VIII lived from 1491-1547 and reigned from 1509-1547.
Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536) - was married to Henry from 1509-1533.
Anne Boleyn (~1501-1507 - 1536) - was married to Henry from 1533-1536.
Jane Seymour (~1508-1537) - was married to Henry from 1536-1537.
Anne of Cleves (1515-1557) - was married to Henry in part of 1540.
Catherine Howard (~1523-1542) - was married to Henry from 1540-1542.
Catherine Parr (1512-1548) - was married to Henry from 1543-1547 (when he died).
Edward VI (Henry VIII’s son with Jane Seymour, 1537-1553) reigned from 1547-1553.
Mary I (Henry VIII’s daughter with Catherine of Aragon, 1516-1558) reigned from 1553-1558.
Elizabeth I (Henry VIII’s daughter with Anne Boleyn, 1533-1603) reigned from 1558-1603.
^The gable hood of Catherine of Aragon, the French hood of Anne Boleyn, and Catherine Parr’s feathered hat.
Hairpieces/Head Coverings: Every queen wears a headpiece or hair piece of some sort but they have different styles; this represents that in Tudor times, ALL women would have their hair covered in some way at all times (ignore the hair in The Tudors y'all, it's just...hilariously wrong).
Famous hats included the Gable hood (seen on Catherine of Aragon and Jane Seymour) and the French hood (popularized by Anne Boleyn and seen in her portrait and in Katherine Howard's supposed portrait). Women even started wearing male hat styles at times, as seen in Catherine Parr’s portrait.
^These photos demonstrate the square necks and the plentiful jewelry and neck elements evoking jewelry both in Tudor portraits and the costumes of Six.
Jewelry/Bling: Necklaces and jewelry were big in Tudor times, noble ladies would often wear lots of rings, bracelets, and several necklaces. You can see this in their portraits. The Six Queens play off this by wearing a lot of different sparkly jewelry in their costumes as well. Aragon has a huge pile of gold necklaces, they all wear earrings, Anne Boleyn wears sparkly fingerless gloves, both Boleyn and Howard wear their initial necklaces, and the neckline details seen in the costumes of Seymour, Cleves, and Howard, all evoke the jewelry seen in so many of these portraits.
Necklines: Wide and low cut square necks were very big under Henry VIII, you can see this in the necklines of several of the queens' costumes, including Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves (if you ignore the cross crossing detail on Cleves’ costume). Jane Seymour and Katherine Howard also have wide and low cut necklines, although this is more of a sweetheart look.
Sleeves: All Tudor women would have worn long sleeves coming down at least to the wrist, and sometimes below that. These long sleeves, or elements of them, at least, are seen in the costumes of Catherine of Aragon, Jane Seymour, and Katherine Howard.
Lacing: There's a lot of lacing elements prevalent in the main queens' outfits and in the alternates outfits, in various pairs of pants, sleeves, and necklines, and connections between tops and bottoms. Most of these are cross lacing (Xes) and others evoke spiral lacing or even ladder lacing. These even show up in some of the fabric patterns and the way they’re cut and laid out! This looks to be a reference to the side, front, and back ties often found on Tudor gowns, although in reality, Tudor gowns were generally spiral laced or ladder laced rather than cross laced (Xes); what you see at renaissance faires is not generally accurate. You can see what I mean in the collection of painting references; all of these show spiral lacing or ladder lacing except for one Italian painting, which shows Xes which are almost certainly more decorative than practical. The other forms of lacing are simply more supportive and adjustable, which is the entire idea behind having lacings in an outfit anyway, after all.
Major thanks to Festive Attyre’s post on spiral lacing for all their painting references for this section.
Noning/Stay Type elements: I believe the strong vertical and diagonal stripes present in all the queens' costumes, and specifically those that “look” supportive may refer to boning within dresses and supportive stays. These aren’t overtly Tudor, as they’re generally associated with later time periods, and I unfortunately don’t have any painting references for this because they were explicitly /underwear/ and not something that would show up in art, but we do know that whalebone was used for support in women’s garments at least by the time of Elizabeth I’s death, as her effigy wore a corset containing whalebone. I’ve included a picture of the effigy corset and a few pictures of historical reproduction corsets so you can see what I mean.
Ruffs: Big neck ruffs are seen on The Ladies in Waiting (the in-house, on stage, all female band) and during the Haus of Holbein number. Neck ruffs like this ARE Tudor, but weren’t seen until quite a while after Henry VIII’s death; you didn't really see neck ruffs until Elizabeth I.
Split Skirts/Contrasting Underskirt: The open front skirt, revealing hot pants under it, are a pretty obvious style reference to the classic Tudor dress look where a kirtle (underdress) was layered under a contrasting overdress. This isn’t too obvious in a lot of the six wives’ portraits, but you can totally see it in the above portrait of Princess Elizabeth (the future Elizabeth I).
Howard is the only main queen that has this style of skirt (Aragon does too, but hers blends in with the rest of her gold and black and isn’t a distinctly contrasting color), but a LOT of the alternate costumes have this look.
