Month: August 2008

So I’m thinking it’s time to introduce the kiddles (6, 4 and 2, and although the 2 doesn’t really count yet…) to a new Shakespeare play.  Thus far we’ve done:

• The Tempest.  They love it.  I’ve told them the story, I’ve read them “children’s” versions, I’ve shown them picture books, we’ve discussed details, and they’ve seen a production.
• Romeo and Juliet, edited.  They know a version with a happy ending where everybody wakes up.  They have a movie, Sealed With A Kiss, which is an animated feature about two warring families of seals.  It’s surprisingly good once you adjust your expectations.  I choose not to expose them to the real ending yet. My 6yr old knows about it in theory, but based on her questions she’s not ready to see it for real yet.
• As You Like It.  I read a children’s version of this one to them in preparation for the Boston production this summer, but they did not seem to really get it like they got Tempest.  Perhaps it was because I read it directly from a book with few pictures, where I did the Tempest from memory?
• Midsummer Night’s Dream.  I tried to explain this one to my 6yr old, but she got confused too fast.
• King Lear, edited.  They know a very slimmed down version of King Lear which reads much like Cinderella.  Namely, “two bad sisters who treat their father poorly, and one good sister who comes back to rescue him from the forest.”  I realize it’s not even close to the real thing, but I like the idea of my 4yr old daughter naming her dolls Ariel, Genevieve, Cordelia, Regan and Goneril.
• Macbeth, aborted.  My 6yr old tried to read one of my Macbeth graphic novels and gave up because it was far too violent.

So I’m wondering what to tackle next.  I would like to make progress with Midsummer, but clearly trying to tell it like a bedtime story does not work very well.  I’m toying with the idea of using their Legos and other dolls to illustrate who is who.  I don’t think they’d get much out of Much Ado, the themes are a bit too grown up.  Likewise with Shrew. What else?  I think the common theme is that they like little to no violence (even in Romeo and Juliet the confrontations are limited to stuff like “Romeo got mad because the Prince made Mercutio fall off the cliff, so Romeo pushed the prince off the cliff” where everybody lands in the water and survives), and mistaken identity makes it too confusing (As You Like It, Dream).  I’m not as familiar with the late plays (Winter’s Tale, Cymbeline, etc…) as I should be.  Is there anything in there that I could translate down to kidspeak?  What is it about The Tempest that is so different from the other plays, and where did Shakespeare repeat those themes?

So I’m over at the Boston Public Library again today, and I notice something.  Somebody correct my knowledge, which I’m pulling strictly out of my brain.  I was under the impression that dear W S never actually spelled his own name as “Shakespeare” the way we do.  Is this correct?  What I noticed at the BPL exhibit is that nearly all of the books, First Folios and Quartos alike, all clearly spell it Shakespeare (sometimes Shake-Speare), with a small handful of exceptions.  How’d that happen, exactly?  When did we standardize on the Shakespeare spelling, and was it while the man was still alive?  I would have believed that the Folios, published after his death, might have evolved the spelling in the years that passed.  But most of the Quartos, published in WS’s lifetime, spell it that way as well. I googled quickly and found this portion of the authorship debate, but truthfully I’m at work and don’t have the time or patience to wade through it.  So I turn instead to my audience.  Who’s got the scoop?

http://www.shakespearepost.com/2008/08/19/shakespearean-theatre-director-named-winner-of-international-ibsen-prize/ Brook’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1970 is considered one of the most important Shakespeare productions of the 20th century. The play featured trapezes, juggling, and circus effects to create a sense of magic and a celebration of the imagination. The production continues to serve as a benchmark for theatre critics and directors alike.

http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=rMz5ZGfscDQq6mkby2kjG4TtCqPGXbsf I’m trying to get all the details on this story, which I’ve just tripped over. Apparently Arden terminated the contract of Patricia Parker, professor of English at Stratford University, who was working on a new edition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (for something like 10 years!).  Well, people are going bananas, and there’s a petition demanding her reinstatement. Arden’s making no public statement on the reason for her termination, but Parker herself says that “failure to meet deadlines” was the reason given to her.    Normally I’d think that letting somebody out of a contract is no big cause for alarm, but when you realize that she’s been working on this thing for 10 years, and then they up and fire her under suspicious circumstances — keeping her work, by the way, and not saying what will happen to it — you do have to wonder if perhaps a little more detail should be forthcoming.    Anybody got more gossip?

I just wanted to take a moment to thank all my contributors for making ShakespeareGeek what it’s all about.  Go look at some of the recent threads on Gertrude, or the essence of tragedy in Romeo and Juliet.  All I do is put a question out there.  Look at the answers.  Look at their length, their detail, and most of all their quality.  Look at the variety of opinions, and the range of experience of the people answering.  I love it.  I learn something new every day.  I’m glad we seem to be getting back into that level of discussion, that’s my favorite. I don’t have anything to give away at the moment other than blog time, so that’s what I’ll give.  Got something to plug?  Let’s hear it.  Consider this post an open invitation to link back to the project of your choice (preferably Shakespeare related!).  It’s not spam if I openly ask for it. Who’s first?  Don’t be shy.