Today's Awesome Theatre Link of the Day:
OUT OF THE WINGS
http://www.outofthewings.org/
I was first made aware of this Golden Age Spanish paradise last summer at ATHE, upon making the acquaintance of former dramaturgy deb Kathleen Jeffs of the UK.
Out Of The Wings is not only a one-stop shop for all things dramatic in the Spanish Golden Age; they are also constantly translating plays from the Spanish language in English from every era from then to now. A unique collaboration between Oxford University, King's College London and Queen's College Belfast (but not Ace's College or Jack's College) features an easy-to-navigate interface and the ability to search for plays via author/playwright, title, or translator. Each playwright page has some great biographical info as well as information regarding the playwright's style/themes, lists of translations, and off-site links for more information. The individual play pages feature not only basics about the plays, but info on how/where to obtain rights for performance, staging needs, and plays with similar themes. Feature articles on Hispanic Theatre and info on plays forthcoming to their collection round out a thorough and interesting site you could get lost in for days.
One of my favorite site features is the snippets of translations provided to give you a "sneak peek" of what lies in store, PLUS, for all you actors, a classical monologue that's not Hamlet, Desdemona, or Henry-the-whatever for your next audition. Here's an intriguing sample from Kathleen Jeffs' translation of a 16th century play by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, entitled Numancia, or The Siege of Numancia:
Despite the fact that Numancia will be destroyed through mass suicide, the River Duero predicts that Spain will eventually attain future glory (I. 457-76):
RIVER DUERO:
But now that the wheel of fortunePretty fierce, if I do say so myself.
has ordained the ultimate end
of your beloved Numantian people,
and they have come to such an end,
one consolation remains to them now:
that the shadows of oblivion
will never obscure their enlightened deeds
and every age to come will find them extraordinary;
and given that the fierce Roman now extends
his heavy step over your fertile soil,
oppressing you here, offending you there,
with arrogant and ambitious zeal,
the time will come, just as Proteus
came to understand the knowledge
Heaven has given him, so will these Romans learn
they will be subjected by those they now beat down.
I foresee that people from faraway nations
will come and live upon your sweet bosom
after, as is your desire,
they place the yoke on Rome.
