The Justin Bieber / Shakespeare Connection

~ duane ~ Leave a comment

Come on, you knew there was one!

Mr. Bieber, you see, grew up in Stratford. Though I’m loathe to say “grew up”, given that the boy’s barely into his teens.
England?
No, Ontario. But, they have a Shakespeare Festival!
Oh! Did young Justin act! What part did he play?
Well, no. He didn’t act. He’s more a singer, really.
Oh…well, then, what play did he sing in?
None.
Huh? So what role did he play in the festival?
None, really. But the festival brings in tourists, you see. Tourists who would see Mr. Bieber singing on the street corner.
So, the story really has absolutely nothing to do with Shakespeare?
Pretty much. Sorry, I wish the story’d been better. With the high young voice he probably could have had a shot at some of the female roles. If the festival casts that way, that is.

Shakespeare Novels, Coming Soon

~ duane ~ 2 Comments

David Blixt has long been a supporter of Shakespeare Geek, and I like to return the favor when I can. He’s not been around much of late, but that’s because he’s busy busy busy.
Besides being a professional Shakespearean with the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, he writes novels. About Shakespeare. (I’m sure he doesn’t want to be pigeon-holed like that, but that’s what we talk about here ;))
He posts a quick teaser about what he’s been working on lately, allow me to summarize:

This fall I finished a novel, a play, and a spec-script for a TV pilot. I’m also working on two plays for Shanghai Low Theatricals (both adaptations of great literature) and HER MAJESTY’S WILL, the Shakespeare Spy project I’ve been noodling with for a year or so

Meanwhile … I sat down and finished the play I’ve longed to write for years. It’s entitled EVE OF IDES, and takes place the night before Caesar’s assassination.

I’ve gone back to work on the third Verona book a few times this fall, just to remind myself of what was going on.

But yesterday I launched full out into working on another project I’ve long been considering – my Othello novel.

That’s allotta Shakespeare. If you’ve not read Master of Verona, go do so. Then watch for Mr. Blixt’s name, because you’ll be seeing it again.

Hamlet As Diagram. As Art.

~ duane ~ 5 Comments

We’ve talked about projects to visualize Shakespeare before, in a variety of ways. Here’s one I hadn’t seen. Via Incredible Things I give you an actual wallsized poster of Hamlet, diagrammed. Suitable for framing.
At almost $300 I’m not going to run out and grab one, but it does fascinate me. It is *very* tight. I’d love something in a big TIFF file that I could peruse at my leisure, to sit down and really see whether the entire story is adequately captured so succinctly.
I’d also like to see whether she’s done the other plays! (Her bio lists just the 1 item for sale, so I’m guessing not. But maybe coming soon?)
Seriously, this is the kind of thing that kicks the computer geek side of my brain. I’ve always dreamed of having this sort of semantic engine that could read Shakespeare’s work and then spit back out whatever you asked for it (at least, the objective stuff like “When does Hamlet kill Polonius” or “Who is Tybalt to Juliet?”). Just the other day I saw on a mailing list where somebody asked whether you could programmatically solve “The doubling problem” by making the definitive list of all characters who are on stage with each other. Assuming you’ve got an accurate representation of enters/exits, then yes, you certainly could, I’d think.

More Stage Combat Injuries

~ duane ~ 1 Comment

We’ve talked before about stage combat, and the safety of the actors. So I feel a bit obliged to mention stories such as these when they cross my radar. Sometimes Geek readers actually know the people involved and can vouch for their credentials (either pro or con):

McHale, who plays Caesar’s friend Proculeius (as well as Ledipis, a friend of Antony, and the Schoolmaster) was sliced in the left calf in a Tuesday night pre-show swordfight rehearsal by John Douglas Thompson (who plays Antony). McHale, who is making his Hartford Stage debut, was taken to the hospital for stitches and the show was cancelled.

The rented stage swords are metal lances and, though dulled, can still inflict harm. Rick Sordelet is the fight director who staged the duels before opening night. A fight captain oversees the rehearsals after that. Director Tina Landau was notified of the accident, said a theater spokesman.

I don’t really know how to just the circumstances. “Sliced in the left calf” clearly sounds like a sharp object was involved, but who really knows how the injury occurred?
http://www.courant.com/entertainment/arts/hc-rizzo-ticker-1021-20101021,0,1963723.column