L.A. Mayor Garcetti reads the writing on his wall to raise money for Shakespeare youth troupe
“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,†Shakespeare assures us.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti hasn’t been coronated, but he chose a sadly philosophical passage about the death of a politician’s career to deliver on YouTube for a local youth Shakespeare troupe’s online fundraising initiative, “10 Seconds of Shakespeare.â€
The crowdfunding effort is organized by the Los Angeles Drama Club, which styles itself “America’s Youngest Shakespeare Troupe.†For the last 10 years, the nonprofit group has been helping L.A. kids ages 6 to 17 master Shakespeare’s language and dramatic intent well enough to perform his plays.
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“10 Seconds of Shakespeare†asks participants to donate $10 each for a chance to post a video of themselves delivering whatever snippet of a Shakespeare play or poem catches their fancy.
The passage Garcetti chose is from “Henry VIII,†one of Shakespeare’s last and least performed plays.
In his video – he exercises mayoral prerogative by taking 19 seconds instead of the allotted 10 -- Garcetti speaks lines delivered by Cardinal Wolsey, a master politician who had long been the most powerful person in England besides the king.
But when Henry sees a secret inventory of loot Wolsey has kept for himself, he is not pleased. Henry lets Wolsey keep his head, but little else, and Wolsey dies offstage soon after.
The speech Garcetti delivers is Wolsey’s ode to the futility of political ambition – a soliloquy, expressed in horticultural imagery, that Wolsey characterizes as “a long farewell to all my greatness.â€
When a politician is on the rise, Garcetti muses, “the tender leaves of hope†yield “blossoms,†and “blushing honors [are laid] thick†upon him. But just “when … his greatness is a-ripening … comes a frost, a killing frost. … And then he falls.â€
“It’s a politician’s nightmare†come to life, said Blaire Baron-Larsen, artistic director and co-founder of the Los Angeles Drama Club, which hatched “10 Seconds of Shakespeare†to support its productions and, it hopes, boost a budget that is now just $100,000 a year.
“We were blown away that [Garcetti] chose something – I don’t want to say close to the bone – but about somebody in power who’s been on top and going into the winter of his [career] cycle.â€
Updated, Nov. 12, 4:50 p.m.: An earlier version of this post incorrectly referred to Blaire Baron-Larsen as Blaire Baron.
Baron-Larsen and the Los Angeles Drama Club’s executive director, Julia Wyson, approached Garcetti through a mutual friend about giving the keynote speech for “10 Seconds of Shakespeare,†which is having its online rollout this week.
“I sent him very safe excerpts about all the good in the world,†thinking it would dovetail with Garcetti’s image as “a nice guy,†Baron-Larsen said. “I love that he stepped out and found this and leaned into it.â€
But as much fun as it is to analyze the psychology that underlies how and why artists and politicians perform as they do, the mayor has a matter-of-fact explanation for his choice: the lines have been staring him in the face for the two years since he and his family moved into the official mayoral residence, Getty House.
Wolsey’s lines are carved into the paneling in the library, said the mayor, who is seen speaking them in the room, with part of the speech visible behind him.
The mayor said he doesn’t know why the lines were carved there, although he speculates that the designer might have chosen words from a play about a Tudor king of England to go with the Tudor architecture of the home. It was built for a private owner in 1921 and given to the city in 1975 by a subsequent owner, Getty Oil.
“I know the context†of the speech, Garcetti said, “and I’ve always thought it was a good, quick summary of life†that applies not just to the rise and fall of politicians, but to the entire human condition.
“I read [the lines] aloud to people probably once a month when I’m giving a tour,†Garcetti said. “It certainly keeps you humble.â€
The mayor saw his recitation for the “10 Seconds of Shakespeare†fundraiser as a chance to loosen the vestments of office and access “my other half, my artistic half†– taking him back to theatrical experiences of his student days, when he helped write musical comedy revues as an undergraduate at Columbia University, and played Shylock in a student production of “The Merchant of Venice†at Oxford University in his time there as a Rhodes Scholar.
“Shakespeare touches the highs and lows of humanity,†Garcetti said. “Sometimes in a single sentence he can paint an entire life. He can take the most complicated things and add poetry to them.â€
Los Angeles Drama Club is hoping the mayor has long coattails when it comes to bringing out the Shakespeare enthusiasts among his constituents.
For those wanting suggestions, the “10 Seconds†Web page offers possibilities in three categories: “compliment,†“insult†and “memorable lines.â€
The money will support a troupe that the two leaders said works with about 120 students a year, most of them from the Mid-City and West Adams neighborhoods. They rehearse and stage shows at the Lyric Theatre in Hancock Park and Café-Club Fais Do-Do in West Adams, where audiences pay whatever they wish.
They also take shows on the road for free, performing in libraries, senior centers, or other places that want a bit of the Bard.
The next shows are matinees of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,†Nov. 21-22 at the Fais Do-Do, and of “Unspoken: Shakespeare’s Personae in Peril,†a program of speeches from the Shakespeare characters most likely to be sacrificed by directors who want to streamline their productions to save running time and actors’ salaries. It’ll be staged at the Lyric, Dec. 5-13.
Artistic director Baron-Larsen and executive director Wyson said the “10 Seconds†initiative came out of a brainstorming session with the company’s board at the Blu Elephant Café, in which they were trying to come up with a fundraising alternative to the usual annual November or December gala party. An online crowdfunding initiative might work, they thought, inspired by the Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders.
A bandwagon of L.A. politicians may be gathering, all running for best interpreter of Shakespeare. Garcetti already has competition.
City Council president Herb Wesson shot a segment of his own this week for “10 Seconds of Shakespeare†– an excerpt from a famous speech from “Henry V†in which the king rallies his troops before battle, said his spokeswoman, Vanessa Rodriguez.
Wesson plans to lead from the front lines by challenging all the other city council members, as well as the city attorney and city controller, to flex Shakespearean muscles on camera.
“He’s a very strong supporter of youth in the arts, and a very competitive guy,†Rodriguez said. “He’s looking to be the best Shakespearean he can.â€
Wesson was approached separately for the project and did not take his cue from the mayor, Rodriguez said.
“But he did view the mayor’s [segment], which was excellent, of course. The mayor is quite the thespian. The council president will be different, different in tenor.â€
Which just goes to show that there is never a shortage of aspirants to the crown, whatever it might be, and uneasy though it might sit.
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