Ever Met an Oxfordian?

~ duane ~ 6 Comments

Recently I started a new job. The last time I had a new job, the place was small enough at the next company meeting new hires were encouraged to stand up and be introduced and talk a little about themselves. Naturally, at the time, I talked about Shakespeare.

So I prepared myself for something similar here.  Only, it’s a bigger company.  Call it maybe 50-100 people?  I wasn’t sure if they still do such things. They are still small enough that the CEO calls together everybody for a quarterly update meeting, so who knew.  I imagined saying something about Shakespeare (since it came up in my interviews), and then anticipated what I would do if somebody asked me my opinion on authorship? Because, and I don’t know about you, but I’ve found that it’s often one of the first questions people ask (it’s a tie with “What’s your favorite play?”)

I thought of all kinds of snappy answers.  Then I thought, “You will have just met these people, and you have no idea who you’ll offend. For all you know there might actually be Oxfordians working here.”  I decided that my answer would be, “I’d rather discuss politics or religion.” And I’m completely serious about that.

At this particular time, however, nobody has asked. There is no “stand up and be introduced” moment, because they’re simply hiring people too fast. Which is fine. It’s more fun to meet people individually over time, anyway.

But it brings up an interesting question.  Have you ever met an Oxfordian (or other Shakespeare denier) in person?  How’d it go?  We all know that thing we do on the Internet where distance and anonymity make us bold, but honestly and truly if you found yourself in a situation where you were going to see a person on a regular basis (such as a new coworker), and discovered that this person has a deep and fundamental disagreement about something so important to you, what would you do? I wonder.

Wait, William The Conqueror Really Did Come First?

~ duane ~ 1 Comment

Many of the geeks out there have heard the old story about Richard Burbage (playing Richard III at the time) arranging a late night encounter with a female fan, only to have Shakespeare get there first and deliver the famous line, “William the Conqueror came before Richard III!”

I always assumed it was just an apocryphal story.  So I was surprised to see the story circulating this week, because apparently we’ve got a diary from 1602 that is the source of the story.
Really?  Things like this don’t just pop up, so naturally I figured that this is a known document.  I wasn’t too pleased with this “on display to the public for the first time ever” stuff.
The Diary of John Manningham  Page 39.  You’re welcome.  I still figure it’s an urban legend, but at least now I know that it comes from a source at the time and wasn’t created a few hundred years after both men were dead.  Today I learned!

Virtual Reality Shakespeare is Coming

~ duane ~ Leave a comment

I first heard the term “virtual reality” 30 years ago and oh mama look how far it’s come.  I’ve got not one but two sweet looks into the future of Shakespeare performance for you, my geeks.

First is the Google Cultural Institute, who in partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company brings you a 360degree Henry V experience. You’re placed right there on stage and you get to look around in all dimensions, just by dragging around the screen. Don’t miss the numbered buttons at the bottom that will switch your camera view!  
That’s neat and all, but I’m wondering if any of you are lucky enough to have gotten your hands on Google Cardboard? A couple of years ago everybody was coming out with these thousand dollar virtual reality headsets and Google being Google said, “You know what? There’s enough power in your phone to do simple VR, all we need to do is give you a way to put a screen in front of each eye.” 
Thus Cardboard was born.  You put your phone in it, get a Cardboard-ready app, and you’re in virtual reality baby. It’s really hard to explain until you try it.  You look left, the screen follows you. Look right, it follows. Look up, look down.  There’s something there, in every direction. You keep thinking “I will reach the end of the screen” but you never do.  It really takes awhile to get used to.
Still, though, my kids and I played with the obvious roller coasters and things and got bored with it after awhile, and it sat in my gadget corner collecting dust.
Then I met Vrideo.  Much like the Google experiment above they are offering 360degree videos.  Only these are immersive.
I fired up Macbeth and there I am on stage at the beginning of Act I Scene 7 (Macbeth is talking himself into killing Duncan in the “If it were done when tis done then twere well it were done quickly” speech).
It’s neat, but neat in the same way Henry V is neat, above.  I’m watching.  I mean, I’m there on stage, but still.  It’s not like he’s looking right at me.
 
Then I hear, “He hath almost supp’d, why have you not left the chamber?” come from behind me.  I whip my head around to find that Lady Macbeth has entered, and I am standing right between them as they argue.  Ok, now I’m scared.
I love this stuff. I want more!  I’m not really sure that it’s likely we’ll ever see a full production like this, though. In both examples it’s clear that these versions were not made during an actual production, but were specially created just for this purpose.  I wonder, then, how much effort it would take to show a real scene that goes beyond just one or two characters speaking? Could we see a VR scene from the inside of a battle scene? Could we see the same scene available from the point of view of one of the characters?  What if, instead of watching Macbeth deliver the speech, my view was Macbeth’s point of view? The sound could still come through as if I’m doing the speaking, but now it would be up to the “user” to keep your eyes on the other characters while you’re interacting. Although, I suppose, there wouldn’t really be much of a penalty for not paying attention.  I’m still working on it.
Definitely check these out, if you can.  The Vrideo films are available in traditional format even if yu don’t have Google Cardboard.  
This is the kind of stuff I was thinking of when I named this site Shakespeare Geek!

Sorry Gandalf, I’m Gonna Side With Hannibal On This One

~ duane ~ 4 Comments

Sir Ian McKellen doesn’t think you should read Shakespeare.

Sir Anthony Hopkins does.

How great is it that we can actually have a conversation that starts this way? Both actors are starring in The Dresser, and there’s plenty of articles coming out where both are interviewed.

McKellen: “I don’t think people should bother to read Shakespeare. They should see him in the theatre! Reading just reduces him to an examination subject.”

In the joint interview, Sir Anthony urged actors to read “anything you can get your hands on” and took a less rose-tinted view of acting in the theatre.

Now, let’s be clear. This is not a black and white topic.  I think that if someone has the option, then of course you need to go see live theatre every chance you get.  I’ve always taken issue with the idea that it has to be one or the other, as if there’s teachers out there saying, “Well we have a chance to go see the Royal Shakespeare Company person Othello, but we’re just going to read it instead.” If you find those people, then absolutely, gouge out their eyes and read King Lear to them.
But if you see it, and you love it, and you say “I want to do everything I can to get closer to the material”, then isn’t reading it (and everything about it) the logical option?  In fact, say that the thing you want most is to perform Shakespeare. They’re doing Macbeth next.  So what do you do, exactly? Do you run and watch every version of it you can find? Or do you, I dunno…..read it?
If you *want* to read Shakespeare, read Shakespeare. Anyone who tries to talk you out of it has missed the point. Period.

Failure Is Not An Option (A Geeklet Story)

~ duane ~ 1 Comment

My oldest has been distraught lately over her first C on a significant exam, and we’ve been discussing daily whether getting all A’s is the most important thing in the world.  She seems to think I enjoy watching her get bad grades because it shows that she’s finally working hard enough, but she feels that if those bad grades cause her to not get into college then what’s the point.

“If I FAIL….” she starts.

“We fail?” I interjected, predictably.  “Screw your courage to the sticking place and we’ll…not….fail!”

Blank stare. Open mouthed, speechless daughter.

“Lady Macbeth,” I explain.

“That’s not what I thought you were going to say,” she countered.

“Also Beauty and the Beast,” I said. “Gaston.”

“That’s what I thought you were going to say.”