[COMPLETE] King Lear by William Shakespeare - kit

Post by **Kitty** » February 13th, 2018, 11:54 am

Hamlet wrote: ↑February 13th, 2018, 11:51 am If the servant's death sounds too melodramatic, I'll try again.

it can't be too melodramatic for our taste LOL I'll have a listen later on or tomorrow. Trying to get a bit recorded myself tonight and I'm swamped with PL jobs right now.

Thanks !!!

Sonia

Hamlet · Post by **Hamlet** » February 13th, 2018, 11:57 am

In that case, maybe it's not melodramatic enough!

Brad

Post by **Kitty** » February 13th, 2018, 2:47 pm

here is the beginning of Edgar. Don't jump on it guys, no lunacy and therefore no AAAAs in there yet

https://librivox.org/uploads/kitty/kinglear_edgar_1_2.mp3
Recording time: 0:47 min.

https://librivox.org/uploads/kitty/kinglear_edgar_2_1.mp3
Recording time: 0:12 min.

and since I have a monologue in 2.3. I immediately assembled that scene. Second scene ready for PL

https://librivox.org/uploads/kitty/kinglear_2_3.mp3
Recording time: 1:38 min.

I must confess Edgar is really hard for me. I decided to press my voice as much as I possibly could for any length of time. For you guys it may not sound as difficult, but for me it was a real feat going so deep. My vocal chords felt so restricted at the end of the recording, they really hurt. I'm glad I finished the recording and only have to edit still. Hopefully not too many errors. Actually I was glad each time I was the lunatic, because there I could make my voice a bit less deep.

I hope you guys found me a bit convincing.

Sonia

Post by **Kitty** » February 13th, 2018, 3:37 pm

Hamlet wrote:Silly me, after asking the question about the file name, I went ahead an uploaded it before getting an answer, and I picked the wrong one. Oh well, I changed the name and uploaded it again.

I started listening to your files, and in the Dramatis personae, I would prefer to have the "full" descriptions in:

> at 0:19: instead of Narrator, please say "Stage directions"
> at 0:25: Duke of Albany, please include "married to Goneril"
> at 0:32: Curan, please add "a courtier"
> at 0:35: First servant, please add "to Cornwall"
> at 0:38: Old man, please add "tenant to Gloucester"
> at 0:40: Messenger, please say "French Messenger" (to differentiate from the other)

on to your small roles

Sonia

Post by **Kitty** » February 13th, 2018, 3:46 pm

King of France is PL ok. I love the affected voice in the beginning and then speaking to Cordelia he sounds so solemn all of a sudden. In the final two sentence though he is a bit too patronizing

I bet the guy was MUCH older than fair Cordelia

Great start ! On to the next...

Sonia

Post by **Kitty** » February 13th, 2018, 4:04 pm

and the rest of your small roles Brad, here's my verdict:

Curan: I love the deep stern voice, and wish I could do that

First servant is excellently dying in style. And you are not overdoing it at all. I don't yet hear the blood from the lungs welling up in your mouth, so anything short of that is not overdoing it in my book

(have a listen at Regan and Oswald, they are having a gruesome time as well in the end)

Old man sounds quite humble and not too bright. Good portrayal there too

Messenger totally down-to-earth, no-nonsense, officious, absolutely what one expects in a messenger

Captain: aha, the highlight for last LOL now this squeaky voice I really liked a lot, and this for a captain is somehow extremely funny. He sounds a bit like a John Wayne type

All characters excellently played. Looking forward to your big parts now. And take care to do a voice you are comfortable with. I learnt the hard way with Edgar.

Such difficult voices should be kept for the minor characters LOL

great job, Brad, all PL ok

thanks

Sonia

WiltedScribe · Post by **WiltedScribe** » February 13th, 2018, 5:09 pm

Sonia, I PLed everything you handed in thus far, and almost everything is PL OK.

You made each character distinct and seamless, so there will be no trouble distinguishing between them. I especially loved your Regan; you made her sound soooooooo cold and nasty.

You also conveyed Cordelia's innocence beautifully, and your Oswald is a smarmy bastard LOL. I can't wait to hear the rest of your Edgar.

Only one PL note, for 2.4:

At 1:38, you've omitted the bolded line from the following:

If, till the expiration of your month,
You will return and sojourn with my sister

Just add that in and Regan will be completely PL OK!

Post by **Kitty** » February 13th, 2018, 5:37 pm

WiltedScribe wrote: ↑February 13th, 2018, 5:09 pm You made each character distinct and seamless, so there will be no trouble distinguishing between them.

thank you, that's a relief. I was especially worried about the two women. For some reason I can make more distinct male voices than female voices

I especially loved your Regan; you made her sound soooooooo cold and nasty. You also conveyed Cordelia's innocence beautifully, and your Oswald is a smarmy bastard LOL. I can't wait to hear the rest of your Edgar.

thanks

they were all great fun

Only one PL note, for 2.4:

At 1:38, you've omitted the bolded line from the following:

If, till the expiration of your month,
You will return and sojourn with my sister

oh-oh, how could that happen ? I'll do it tomorrow. Thanks ! Now - time to sleep (half past 1 here)

Sonia

Hamlet · Post by **Hamlet** » February 13th, 2018, 8:40 pm

Sonia, you say in the King of France's last two sentences he sounds patronizing, but you added a laughing face. So, is patronizing good or bad? lol
I suppose since he's giving his bride-to-be orders, perhaps patronizing works.

Thanks for the compliments on my various voices

Brad

Post by **Kitty** » February 14th, 2018, 2:12 am

Hamlet wrote: ↑February 13th, 2018, 8:40 pm Sonia, you say in the King of France's last two sentences he sounds patronizing, but you added a laughing face. So, is patronizing good or bad? lol
I suppose since he's giving his bride-to-be orders, perhaps patronizing works.

oh yes, sorry I wasn't explicit. Well, in real life I don't like patronizing people, so I was astonished he would be one. But yes, it definitely works

it gives the character another angle. He is not only the "nice" guy, taking this poor girl without a dowry, but he also somehow makes his point that he can patronize her a bit, as he is still full well used to being a king.

So for me he is not only the one-sided "good" person, and I like that in a stage play, that we give characters more depth.

So: well done !

Sonia

Post by **Kitty** » February 14th, 2018, 2:39 am

WiltedScribe wrote: ↑February 13th, 2018, 5:09 pmAt 1:38, you've omitted the bolded line from the following:
If, till the expiration of your month,
You will return and sojourn with my sister

I was simply blind to this half-line it seems and included the "if" in the second line. How strange ! And even in my checking phase I made the same mistake. This is scary.

I hope it doesn't happen when I PL.

Well here is the full sentence now, I re-recorded from 1:39-1:44, the entire two lines

https://librivox.org/uploads/kitty/kinglear_regan_2_4.mp3
Recording time: 3:59 min.

This was a great catch, Tomas !

Sonia

Post by **Kitty** » February 14th, 2018, 3:25 am

all right here is Poor Tom's first scene of madness. Guys, it made me nervous just listening to this while I was editing

I think he is in serious need of an exorcist. So I left all the AAAAs in, since basically this only happened in the poetry/songs, I think it adds a nice level to his psychosis. Tomas: you told me to pull out all the stops, so this is what you get. Be careful what you wish for

Oh and I didn't bother with the extreme deep voice that I did for Edgar (what a relief), I kept the voice deep, but sometimes there is a screetch, since I think lunatics don't have too much control over their voices either. In some parts I sound like a drunk

I am curious now how you like it

this is completely different from what I played so far, so I hope I did it justice. I think it was one of my hardest roles so far. Tell me honestly what you think.

(btw my favourite line is the chilling ending "I smell the blood of a British man" I thought I needed to end the scene in style. I can just picture a close-up on his mad eyes when he says this in a movie.

)

https://librivox.org/uploads/kitty/kinglear_edgar_3_4.mp3
Recording time: 6:47 min.

Now I need a rest before I tackle the next bout of madness.

Sonia

Post by **Kitty** » February 14th, 2018, 5:30 am

more Edgar madness... here I am not sure if my constant laughing in the "trial scene" works so well, but then again, he is mad, so why should he be serious in a trial ? I can redo it if it is too much.

My absolute favourite here is the mad dog fighting scene.

I really got into the foaming at the mouth thing, now listening back to it, it's a wonder I didn't pop an aneurism while I recorded this.

In-between and at the end I had to become serious Edgar again and it was really hard to come down from this mad trip. I think he still sounds pretty haunted by all he has experienced. I definitely felt that way.

https://librivox.org/uploads/kitty/kinglear_edgar_3_6.mp3
Recording time: 4:02 min.

Sonia

Post by **Kitty** » February 14th, 2018, 7:35 am

and another Edgar ready, for most of the time his sober self in asides. And now that he has to interact with his father, there is a noticeable turn for the better in his madness. He cannot play it so well with his pitiful father. So he is a tad more subdued here.

https://librivox.org/uploads/kitty/kinglear_edgar_4_1.mp3
Recording time: 2:51 min.

Sonia

WiltedScribe · Post by **WiltedScribe** » February 14th, 2018, 8:38 pm

Sonia, this is magnificent!!

I think portraying madness is difficult in itself, but without a visual component it can be even harder. And yet you manage to vocalize "Poor Tom" (and whatever his "afflictions" are) with great acuity. Listening to your performance, one can totally believe in Edgar's creation. I also think the formatting errors you encountered were a fortunate accident, because they actually make it sound as though "Poor Tom's" demons are actually trying to escape his body (or, at the very least, are plaguing him badly).

This is such a difficult character to pull off, and yet you do it without breaking a sweat! Listeners are going to be so impressed. PL OK immediately, and I can't wait to hear the rest!!