Ceres Lines

I looked up what my lines mean on "No Fear Shakespeare", so that I really knew what I was saying and what I would be talking about, so that I could give a believable performance.

CERES Hail, many-coloured messenger, that ne'er Dost disobey the wife of Jupiter; Who with thy saffron wings upon my flowers Diffusest honey drops, refreshing showers; And with each end of thy blue bow dost crown My bosky acres and my unshrubbed down, Rich scarf to my proud earth. Why hath thy queen Summoned me hither to this short-grassed green?	CERES Greetings to you, rainbow messenger, who never disobeys Juno, wife of Jupiter; with your golden wings you sprinkle dewdrops and refreshing showers on my flowers, and arch your coloured bow over my wooded fields and grassy meadows, like a beautiful scarf to decorate my earth. Why has your queen, Juno, called me here to this grassy spot?
CERES      Tell me, heavenly bow, If Venus or her son, as thou dost know, Do now attend the queen? Since they did plot The means that dusky Dis my daughter got, Her and her blind boy’s scandaled company I have forsworn.	CERES Tell me, rainbow, do you know if either Venus, the goddess of love, or her son, Cupid, is accompanying Queen Juno? Ever since Venus and her blind son plotted a way for the god of the underworld to steal my daughter away for half the year, I swore I’d never speak to them again.
CERES     Highest queen of state, Great Juno, comes. I know her by her gait.	CERES Great Queen Juno is coming. I know her by her walk.
CERES (sings)  Earth’s increase, foison plenty,  Barns and garners never empty,  Vines and clustering bunches growing,  Plants with goodly burden bowing—  Spring come to you at the farthest  In the very end of harvest.  Scarcity and want shall shun you.  Ceres' blessing so is on you.	CERES (singing)  Growing crops and large harvests,  Barns and silos full of grain,  Vines heavy with clustered grapes,  Plants straining under their fruit—  May spring follow directly autumn’s harvest,  With none of winter’s hardships to endure,  You will have plenty and want nothing,  Ceres’s blessings on you

This really helped me to understand the lines, how I can become my character and what type of personality she has.

Ceres

I did some more research on my character Ceres and found out that she was the goddess of agriculture. The word cereal is derived from her name.

Origins and Genealogy: In Roman mythology she was the daughter of Saturn and Ops. She had several brothers and sisters: Juno, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto and Vesta. She married her brother Jupiter and together they had a daughter named Proserpina.

Strengths: Fertility, abundance and endurance.

Weaknesses: Lived her life through her daughter.


Greek Equivalent: Demeter
"She was beloved for her service to mankind in giving them the gift of the harvest, the reward for cultivation of the soil. Also known as the Greek goddess Demeter, Ceres was the goddess of the harvest and was credited with teaching humans how to grow, preserve, and prepare grain and corn. She was thought to be responsible for the fertility of the land.

The Romans explained the turning of the seasons with the following story:  Ceres was the sister of Jupiter, and Proserpine was their daughter.  Proserpine was kidnapped by Pluto, god of the underworld, to be his bride.  By the time Ceres followed her daughter, she was gone into the earth.  Making matters worse, Ceres learnt that Pluto had been given Jupiter's approval to be the husband of his daughter.  Ceres was so angry that she went to live in the world of men, disguised as an old woman, and stopped all the plants and crops from growing, causing a famine.  Jupiter and the other gods tried to get her to change her mind but she was adamant.  Jupiter eventually realised that he had to get Proserpine back from the underworld, and sent for her.  Unfortunately, Pluto secretly gave her food before she left, and once one had eaten in the underworld one could not forever leave.  Proserpine was therefore forced to return to the underworld for four months every year.  She comes out in spring and spends the time until autumn with Ceres, but has to go back to the underworld in the winter.  Her parting from Ceres every fall is why plants lose their leaves, seeds lie dormant under the ground, and nothing grows until spring when Proserpine is reunited with her mother."

I found out lots of information on her and looked up the other goddesses, Isis and Juno, to see how each of us represented nature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_(mythology)

http://www.ceresva.org/Goddess/Ceres.htm

Theatre Workshop - Week 1

This week in Theatre Workshop, we were given our parts for our production of "The Tempest" and did a read through of the script. This was really important, as it allowed us to get a feel for the whole story and allowed us to read our lines for the first time and try to figure out what they mean. I am Ceres one of the spirits.

We then had a costume fitting, where people from technical theatre came to measure us and showed us their initial ideas for costumes. We then read through one of the songs that Ariel sings and all practiced it to the tune of Scarborough Fair. We also sang and characterised Trinculo's song which Jack had changed to be a Sex Pistols song called "Submission".