Terms of the Search

Hey there, blogfriends! It’s me, Louis Butelli. I play Roderigo in Folger Theatre’s production of Othello, which just closed on Sunday. The play may be over, but you haven’t heard the last from me.

This is just a quick note to let you know that I’ve only got two posts left to go after this one. As a person who has never blogged before, and who began this process with huge amounts of self-consciousness and performance anxiety, I just wanted to thank you for reading and responding, and for not sending me hate mail.

Please keep returning to this address. There will be more Production Diary, with new guest bloggers, very soon.

Also, if you’ve seen a post here that you’ve enjoyed, I’d like to encourage you share it with your friends on the Facebook and on the Twitter.

Along those lines…

Posts on this Production Diary have now been viewed just over 5,000 times! I think that’s pretty extraordinary, and I thank each and every one of you for reading along as I’ve fumbled my way through.

One of the weird quirks of the software here at the Production Diary is that we can view the “search terms” that people type into Google which bring them here.

PLEASE NOTE: we can not see who has entered these search terms—we can only see words that were typed into a search engine by an anonymous person who then clicked a link to come here. And some of them are sort of fascinating.

As a “thank you” for reading, I give you now a list of 10 interesting search terms that have brought people to this blog.

1. “painting othello” — I’m uncertain as to why this would’ve called up the Folger Theatre Production Diary, or what I’ve said here that would flag that. That said, I am now envisioning somebody taking a paint roller to Owiso Odera, who played Othello in our production.

2. “othello theatre production 2012” — Wait, are we extending again?? That can’t be! I’ve already shipped a box back to L.A.!! Do you know something I don’t know?

3. “yoda question answer” — Admittedly, I did have a post with a similar name. Still, the syntax of the search term itself is very “Yoda” (imagine the word “will” between the first and second words), and I’m now picturing somebody grappling with a question, and desperately trying to contact Yoda for an answer.

4. “shakespeare and your brain” — I did have a post on this topic, but wouldn’t dream of thinking that this search term had anything to do with me. Until I saw…

5. “folger shakespeare brain” — OK. Yes, it is true that the ashes of Henry Clay Folger and Emily Jordan Folger are buried on the premises. It is also rumored that staffers at the Folger have experienced “ghostly doings” at the Library. But I have been on a tour of the vault, and nobody has mentioned brains in jars. This one must refer to the earlier post. Right?

6. “kingdom of heaven productions” — Absolutely no idea on this one. Was this from someone searching for stage productions of the movie Kingdom Of Heaven? It would be a pretty sweet musical.

7. “taming of shrew relationship master servant” — I’d be willing to bet good money that this one comes from a student trying desperately to complete a research paper. If you read this, hypothetical student searcher, please leave a comment, and I guarantee I will help you to get an “A” on your paper.

8. “west side story nagoya 2011” — What?

9. “actor who represents roderigo in the play othello” — When I first saw this one, I misread it and thought the word “actor” was “agent.” For a chilling moment, I had this fantasy that Steven Spielberg had seen our show, and was desperately Googling me in the middle of the night to find me for his film version of Othello. This is almost certainly not the case. Mainly, now that I have recovered from that fantasy, I am just confused by these search terms.

10. “elizabethan receiving rooms” — More than any of the others, this person was most likely to be disappointed by the results of their search. Dear person who came here in search of “elizabethan receiving rooms;” I am so, so sorry you were subjected to all of this. Though you didn’t learn anything about “elizabethan receiving rooms” here, I guarantee you that the Folger can help. If you see this, please comment below, and I will make absolutely certain that your query lands on the desk of somebody who knows more about “elizabethan receiving rooms” than I do. That is a solemn oath from me to you, whoever you are.

OK. Just two more blog posts to come.

Thank you so, so, so much for reading.