Hello, fellow classmates and Shakespeare fans! This is the thread where we can post our comments about Shakespeare, etc., and attach our mini-plays (just below the comments section). Please be reminded that this is an open forum for all on the internet to read, so it really is a world "stage."
I just started reading Stephen Greenblatt's book "Will in the World" and it is wonderful! I hope that you can find time over the summer to check it out.
I'm looking forward to reading your plays!
Sheila
My play was in response to the scenario: It's not easy being king and it is entitled "The Play's the Thing" (OK, OK, it's not supposed to be original–it's an homage!). I hope it makes you laugh. While I was writing it, I was thinking that the only audience who will "get" these plays will be us and other Shakespeare fans–so I guess we should be on a mission to recruit a wider audience by encouraging everyone to read Shakespeare!
Sheila
ThePlaystheThingLIT422-1.doc (318.5 KB, 7 downloads) 2 years old For anyone interested in introducing Shakespeare to children there is a wonderful book by ALIKI called "William Shakespeare & the Globe." The back cover describes this introduction to the bard nicely: "This is the story of Shakespeare's world in Elizabethan England 400 years ago, and the famous Globe theater. It also tells the present-day story of Sam Wanamaker, the American actor whose lifelong dream to rebuild the Globe in London, where it first stood, became a reality. Aliki has created a meticulous five-act masterpiece...".
It really is a wonderful book that I highly recommend!
Sheila
Great job, Sheila! Very funny, and brought me back to my college days and Shakespeare class. THANK YOU! heh I love reading up on the history behind the times and plays, including influences or origins of his plays, fascinating to discover the evolution. I'd like to submit here in a little bit. Thanks for a Shakespeare chat!
Hi, Ed!
I was beginning to feel very lonely on this general chat thread! I thought surely that the Bard would gather more interest, but maybe it just takes more time.
My play was written as a last assignment for my Shakespeare class, and it was a lot of fun. It pulls characters from Othello, The Tempest, A Winter's Tale, Cymbeline, and Titus Andronicus. It won't make as much sense to anyone who has not read all five plays, as it will to someone who has, since it is an interplay between the characters and their personality traits. It is also a humorous poke at the early modern attitude towards women, class, and social dynamics. I'm glad that you enjoyed it!
Let me know which of Shakespeare's plays you have found especially appealing. I am presently reading The Merchant of Venice.
Ooo, a pound of flesh... That's a great assignment. I recall Othello and the Tempest most, but your play still got the characters and pov's across well.
Much Ado About Nothing comes to mind, then Hamlet (quintessential conflict and doubt) and King Lear. Romeo and Juliet and Othello, since I "borrowed" some characters for True Colors. It's been too long since I read one!
I should get "Shakespeare and The Globe". I'm constantly explaining to my kids how a story in one or another of their cartoons or shows comes from a Shakespeare play. I like to say Three's Company was influenced by Shakespeare, with all the mistaken identity stories.
I'm working on a submission for this chat which I hope I'll finish soon.
A submission! I can't wait to read it!
Yes, I strongly recommend "William Shakespeare & The Globe". It is a terrific introduction for children and adults will enjoy (and learn from) it, too.
Also, I just finished watching "The Merchant of Venice" with Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons. I would recommend that as well. Terrific play and terrific actors. You can get it through Netflix.
I just finished viewing "Shakespeare in Love" starring Gywneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes. It makes, I'm guessing, the fourth time that I have seen it over the years, and I am once again struck by just how clever the dialogue is. For serious students of the early modern period and Shakespeare's work, the film is a treasure house of wonderful allusions and humorous moments. It is also well acted with a beautiful musical score.
Definitely worth seeing.
Al Pacino did surprisingly well. Funny you should mention Shakespeare in Love. An amazing movie. I don't know the first thing about plays, but I think I know about screenplays. I'd love to see a sequel but since I've heard nothing of one, I dared to begin writing one. I've attached just the first 10 pages. My premise is Shakespeare writes Much Ado while he pines for Viola. As he writes the scene where Hero's family pretends she's dead he conceives a plot where Viola could feign death and her body be returned to England. (He also flashes back to Romeo and Juliet.) He secretly sends Viola a copy of Much Ado as a prompt. With the help of her nurse/maid, Viola feigns death with a potion, and Wessex brings her body back to England. Viola revives and reunites with Shakespeare. Wessex catches glimpses of her around town and thinks he's seen her ghost (a nice Hamlet or Lear twist. did Lear see a ghost?) I have to work out the ending. Wil and Viola can't stay together, I know. Anyway, thanks for your patience!
Shakespeare_Returned_to_Love.doc (74.5 KB, 2 downloads) 1 year old I can't wait to read it! I'll start tonight, after I have all of my chores done, and I have finished plowing the back forty.
Talk with soon!
I LOVE this idea. A sequel!!!
Read it! Loved it!
Now the plot thickens...Where in Italy do they reunite? You know my vote already, but I'm anxious to hear more about your ideas. Venice would be lovely though, and Shakespeare has already in "Othello" established the city's reputation for romantic intrigue. Also, the "mask" is once again a real possibility here for "Viola" or it could be flip-flopped and used this time for "Will".
Looking forward to reading more!
Thanks very much! That's reassuring. I really angst'ed over presuming to write a sequel, but in the absence of one, I felt compelled. I assumed they'd meed in England, when Viola's "body" is returned home for burial. Venice would be a great setting, if I can think of a vehicle (so to speak) to get them both there. I'm assuming there will be at least two or three mask/hidden identity scenes, so I'm sure they'll both be disguised. I'll have to remember not to dress Wil like a woman copying SiL. I'm thinking out loud: having Wil impersonate Wessex in costume at some kind of ball would be hysterical. I'll post more when its ready.
That is a really funny idea and full of possibilities!
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