COMPLETE[PLAY]Purgatory of St. Patrick by Calderón - thw

Daisybobs · Post by **Daisybobs** » October 10th, 2020, 5:25 am

I'm thinking of giving Patrick a go. Does anyone have tips on how to play this character?

Post by **ToddHW** » October 10th, 2020, 7:28 am

I think his first speech in Act 1 Scene 2 tells you a lot about his character and his motivations. Fortunately for the audience, he does not follow his own statement

Other wonders I could tell you,
But my modesty throws shackles
On my tongue, makes mute my voice,
And my lips seals up and fastens.

but continues to talk almost incessantly.

Moments of transcendent joy, minor doubts mitigated by assurance of salvation.

Patrick - like many in the original and this translation of the play - speaks in poetic lines, sometimes still rhyming well in the English. (Such notes in the text as "[footnote] *Asonante in e—e, which is kept up to the end" mean nothing to me and may be inappropriate nowadays anyway.) You've done poetry here already, I see, so that should be familiar ground to you.

I put your claim in.

Thanks, Todd

Post by **Kitty** » October 11th, 2020, 6:43 am

Salvationist wrote: ↑October 9th, 2020, 3:49 pmHere's the old man:
https://librivox.org/uploads/toddhw/purgatoryofstpatrick_oldman_1_128kb.mp3 1:35

he is positively ancient !!! You sound like old papyrus would if it could talk.

A cool character, and definitely memorable.

Thank you, David, all PL ok.

Sonia

Salvationist · Post by **Salvationist** » October 11th, 2020, 4:57 pm

Kitty wrote: ↑October 11th, 2020, 6:43 am he is positively ancient !!! You sound like old papyrus would if it could talk. A cool character, and definitely memorable.

Thank you, David, all PL ok.

Sonia

Sonia, I love it when you are the DPL for a project I'm part of, because you write such encouraging and humorous responses to our recordings! Happy Thanksgiving!

Post by **Availle** » October 12th, 2020, 4:13 pm

ToddHW wrote: ↑October 3rd, 2020, 4:24 am
Availle wrote: ↑October 3rd, 2020, 3:22 am Oh. It seems you still need a bad angel... Pick me...
Yes, of course, my resident witch. Just don't turn me into a todd. Whoops, you did!

Sorry 'bout that. I meant to turn you into a toad... darned typos... oh well, I'll try again next time. In the mean time

, let me go all angelic...

https://librivox.org/uploads/toddhw/purgatoryofstpatrick_badangel_2_128kb.mp3

Post by **ToddHW** » October 12th, 2020, 4:30 pm

Thank you. Rrrbit.

Toad

Post by **Kitty** » October 13th, 2020, 1:50 am

Availle wrote: ↑October 12th, 2020, 4:13 pmSorry 'bout that. I meant to turn you into a toad... darned typos... oh well, I'll try again next time. In the mean time , let me go all angelic...

https://librivox.org/uploads/toddhw/purgatoryofstpatrick_badangel_2_128kb.mp3

I can see you sitting on Saint Pat's left shoulder, musing

great job, Availle. Pity both angels didn't have a small mudwrestling fight in the play. Would have been a cool interlude.

PL ok, no problems. Thank you

Sonia

alanmapstone · Post by **alanmapstone** » October 19th, 2020, 3:53 am

Philip act 2

https://librivox.org/uploads/toddhw/purgatoryofstpatrick_philip_2.mp3

Post by **ToddHW** » October 19th, 2020, 7:22 am

Thank you.

Todd

Post by **Kitty** » October 20th, 2020, 2:13 am

alanmapstone wrote: ↑October 19th, 2020, 3:53 amPhilip act 2
https://librivox.org/uploads/toddhw/purgatoryofstpatrick_philip_2.mp3

Philip is being quite snappy at moments here.

nicely done Alan, and all in rhyme

Totally PL ok.

Thank you

Sonia

Tchaikovsky · Post by **Tchaikovsky** » October 29th, 2020, 9:34 am

May I volunteer to read the Prior Act 3 and Stage Directions for all three Acts?

Tchaikovsky · Post by **Tchaikovsky** » October 29th, 2020, 9:43 am

I forgot to mention that this would be my first recording.

Post by **ToddHW** » October 29th, 2020, 11:07 am

Tchaikovsky wrote: ↑October 29th, 2020, 9:34 am May I volunteer to read the Prior Act 3 and Stage Directions for all three Acts?

Thank you, and welcome to Librivox. Hope someone has given you the habit-forming addiction warning....

Please take the One Minute Test - not an audition, but a way to make sure your equipment is set up before you record something we can not use.

I rarely double cast, with people playing multiple roles, in order not to confuse listeners. Particularly with the ever present stage directions. You can pick either The Prior or Stage Directions. The notes below assume The Prior; if you wish Stage Directions rather than Prior, I can post note about Stage Directions instead.

The first posting in this (and every) project has the instructions on file names and uploading files and posting the uploader link in the forum to have the file Proof-Listened. These instructions are pretty standard throughout Librivox. I have also made a short summary for the important special rules in drama, so here goes:

1) you don't have to read an intro or outro disclaimer, this will be done by the narrator. Instead, record your voice credit at the beginning of the file using the words in the MW, which should be something like: "Iphicrate, prince in love with Eriphyle, read by XXXX" (whatever you want your reader name to be)

2) then browse through the text and record all the lines you have to speak. Also include any "All" lines while your character is on stage. For a big role it may be good to read the entire play to get into character, but at least it would be good to read a bit around your lines, see what the others are saying, so you can better "react" to them. Just be as expressive (according to the character) as you can in your role.

3) if there are pointers in the text qualifying your voice, like [laughs] or [whines], an added bonus would be that you act those out in your reading, if possible, to make it all more interesting.

4) your file will be proof-listened, and you may receive some notes on corrections and their time locations in your file. These will be posted in the forum and show in the Magic Window marked as "See PL Notes" - please cut corrections into your file to update it and upload a new file (SAME NAME) in a reasonable time - like before your voice and equipment setup change and everything sounds different!

5) and most importantly: please leave enough space between each of your speeches, preferably 2-3 seconds or more. Even when you have the stage directions in the middle of your speech (for example: [kisses her hand]), also leave 2-3 seconds of pause there, because our editor (me) later on has to copy all your parts and paste them into his (my) master file and it's helpful if he (me) has enough space to fiddle with

That's it, I think. Just have fun acting out. And post any questions here.

Thanks, Todd

Tchaikovsky · Post by **Tchaikovsky** » October 29th, 2020, 3:38 pm

Thanks For the reply. I think I will aim for the Stage Directions.

Post by **ToddHW** » October 29th, 2020, 5:47 pm

Tchaikovsky wrote: ↑October 29th, 2020, 3:38 pm Thanks For the reply. I think I will aim for the Stage Directions.

Great. Here is a recent Q&A about reading stage directions, where answers were originally provided by this project's DPL (Dedicated Proof-Listener), Sonia:

Just to clarify for stage directions the clip should be recorded starting off like this right?
[Stage Directions], read by [XXXX - your name as you want people to hear it].

correct

The Intro:

Act [#] of The Purgatory of St. Patrick by Pedro Calderón de la Barca. Translated by Denis Florence MacCarthy. This is a Librivox recording. All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit Librivox dot org.

Act V. Scene I. (stage direction)

It's always pointed out in the first post of each project, so you can check there when in doubt. You will also find in the first post the "Outro" you say at the end of each act and the play.

For the stage directions, you need to read everything that is not read by the actors. So each time you see "closes door" or "drinks wine" or "exit left", you would need to read. Often it's written in italics or between brackets, but not always, so finding all the directions can be tricky business.

There is a special rule that concerns reading the characters' names. It's quite easy to remember:

1) if the stage direction appears at the beginning of the speech, you include the character's name.
Example:
John (sitting down on the couch): "I feel a headache coming on."
you would read everything I underlined now, including the name.

2) if the stage direction is in the middle or at the end of the speech, you do not repeat the name, because it's already clear who is speaking.
Example:
John: "I feel a headache coming on." (sits down on the couch) "I think I need a rest." (dozes off)
both times, no name included, only the underlined parts would be read.

Just wondering if there's a preferred duration of pause you would like between each direction

yes please leave at least 2-3 seconds between each chunk. So each time the narration is interrupted by a character speech, you leave ample space. It makes copy/pasting easier for our editor.

All directions in one recording for one act right?

yes one file per act

I would suggest starting with acts 2-5, and leaving Act 1 till last. This one requires a bit more handling with the cast list, which I will explain at that point, but it's good if you get a bit more practice before you tackle that one

Sonia (stolen by Todd)

Thanks, Todd