Lessons from Lady Capulet

As of today, the play is over and the set was meticulously taken apart. My script work was laid at the foot of my director's office for approval. All that is left of my experience is a floppy hat from Lady Capulet's wig and a bunch of memories.
But so many memories! I had such an amazing time learning, acting, and at times goofing off with the cast. The opening night was full of nerves with all of us grasping hands in anticipation before "places!" was called to us. And then... closing night was a time of celebration, but also- as always- of sadness that another wonderful experience was coming to a close. But, thankfully, I now have my life again- especially in the evenings!
There were many things that I learned from participating in Romeo and Juliet, but the lessons Lady Capulet taught me were pretty interesting. To think that you could learn from a character, from a playwright speaking to you from centuries away, and even from your own being is quite a remarkable thought.
And Lady Capulet has a lot to say. From her first entrance during the first fight in the city square, she is a woman who knows- or thinks she knows- what she wants, and doesn't hesitate to make it known. Then, as the story progresses, her desire to have a happy atmosphere and a happy life, free from conflict, grows into a desire to match-make her thirteen-year-old daughter as well. You know, the traditional "plan-your-daughter's-life-because-you-feel-your-life-sucks" mentality... it starts to grow in her. She thinks it's because it will smooth things over in the Capulet household, but deep down she wants it to do much more.
She wants Juliet's life, her marriage to Paris, to make her own personal life happy and interesting. It doesn't seem to matter that Juliet is only thirteen and begs not to be married to Paris. Lady Capulet adores Paris and just doesn't understand why Juliet would refuse. After all, to her, her happiness is also at stake, and Juliet should be aware of this.
Does this mean Lady Capulet doesn't love Juliet? No... I think she does love her, very much. But sometimes love can be smothered by selfish desires, however brief. And sometimes love can be also muddled in confusion over a duty to a daughter and a responsibility to be a dutiful wife. However, that brief moment of selfishness, confusion, and anger can have bitter consequences.
We all know how the story ends. Lady Capulet never truly gets closure with her daughter before Juliet ends up keeled over in a tomb with a knife is her chest, choosing death with her lover than life without him. There, in that cold, smelly, haunted, horrific tomb, Lady Capulet is alone. Her daughter is gone. Her prospective son-in-law is gone. Her family lineage is shattered. All her progress to happiness ended in more bitterness and mourning than she could imagined. Because of her and Capulet's (and the Montague's) enmity, confusion, anger, and selfishness- as the Prince puts it- "all are punished."
To think Shakespeare could pack so much detail into one supporting character! Just think of what else is tucked into that play, just waiting to be discovered!
So, I guess Lady Capulet revealed to me the struggle that can go on in a being when faced between their own happiness and someone else's.She revealed the sacrifice a parent must give for their child- to be willing to listen, to take time to understand, to love- it's a lot to do! It makes me grateful for all the times my parents sacrificed for me.
Lady Capulet also taught me a lot about myself. Obviously, when you play a character, a part of you, however small, becomes so invested that you can't tell the difference between them anymore. Lady Capulet was no exception. By using that magic "if" Stanislavsky talked about, I was able to think about what I would do in the situations, and it was pretty startling. I cringe at how selfish I can be, how irritating and controlling I can be, and how imperfect I actually am. Wow.
But I hope that I can learn through better situations than the ones Lady Capulet had to endure. The poor woman had to bring her daughter to church- but instead of for a wedding it was for a funeral. The only time she could apologize was to her daughter's dead body.
Gah! There's so much I could write about for Lady Capulet, but I'll wrap it up.
Poor Lady Capulet. But, thank you to Lady Capulet for teaching me about love, passion, responsibility, sacrifice, selfishness, and pride. And thank you as well to Shakespeare for speaking to me through the centuries to teach me some amazing things. That's the magic of words and the magic of stories. I'm so glad that our world has both.