http://www.americantheatre.org/2015/10/14/bill-rauch-why-were-translating-shakespeare/

A controversial project is going on at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival: they’re commissioning playwrights to translate Shakespeare for a new festival called “Play On.” While the article is mostly the artistic director going on the defensive,  he makes a lot of good points. Chiefly he argues that these plays are companions to Shakespeare,  not replacements. In the  same way West Side Story isn’t a replacement for Romeo and juliet,  these plays won’t be the ones everybody reads forever,  they will be a way of illustrating our own time through the timeless characters and stories of William Shakespeare.  That’s why I happily support the OSF initiative!

Macbeth would have started very differently.  Also Macbeth would stay away from “the milk of human kindness.”

This is why a little knowledge of Shakespeare can prevent many unnecessary tragedies.  From the hilarious movie musical “Reefer Madness, ” I give you “Shakespeare” the song.

Patron saint of cross dressers, star crossed lovers, and upstart crows!

Benedictus Santus Guiliamus!

Yesterday a great Shakespearean actor died,  Roger Reese,  famous for his portrayal of Nicholas Nicollet, and beloved for his role of The Sheriff of Rottingham. To honor this great actor, I urge you to ‘re watch some of his work. I offer this clip from the RSC Comedy Of Errors. 

Good night sweet prince.

As I said in my last post, I worked on Much Ado About Nothing before as a text coach and actor in 2012. I also served as what the Germans call a “dramaturg,” a theatre researcher who helps the cast understand the world of the play and the director develop his/her concept. For this production, director Sarah Wylie chose to set the play in the 1920s, so it was my job to research the fashion, the art, and the politics of the period. Below is a presentation I created for the cast and crew to help inspired them based on William Shakespeare’s text and the director’s concept.

If you click here, you can see some production photos and see the director’s concept come to life:

https://picasaweb.google.com/113961575746487667505/MuchAdoAboutNothingOpeningNight?feat=embedwebsite#slideshow/5736073441077177858

Hi everyone!

July 1st is the beginning of a new month, and you know what that means: A new play to talk about: Much Ado About Nothing! I’ve worked on this play professionally so I have a lot of content for you. The first thing I have is an entire website I created when I was working as a dramaturg (professional theater researcher) for Open Air Shakespeare NRV. It has pictures, games, and info on the characters and plot.

https://sites.google.com/site/muchadodramaturgysite/

Enjoy!