News on the Rialto

2009-12-28T09:45:00.001-05:00

We Need a Little Shakespeare is the latest Post from the Folger's Blog.

2009-12-28T09:44:00.000-05:00

LETTERS TO SANTA WRITTEN BYSHAKESPEARE CHARACTERS

2009-12-17T10:48:00.010-05:00

All They Want for Christmas is Some Shakespeare

2009-11-17T11:18:00.001-05:00

Tony Danza brings show, students to Folger

Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts share gossip from inside the Beltway and beyond.

Hey, A&E: You really thought you could bring Tony Danza to Washington without anyone noticing?

The "Taxi" and "Who's the Boss?" star came to town Monday for his latest project "Teach," a "responsible reality" show with Danza co-teaching a 10th-grade English class from Philly's Northeast High School. That's allowed? Kinda. Danza's not a certified teacher but has a degree in history education and is teamed with an experienced instructor. Oh, and the performing arts students had to audition to be on the show. Producers tried to keep us from talking to the television icon because the show is supposed to be a huge secret ... but, c'mon! It's Tony Danza!

"There is a muzzle on me until the show comes out in January," he told us after we sidestepped a crew member to reach him. "I can tell you I'm taking my class on a field trip to Washington. They're going to see the Archives and the Mall."

Danza, 58, has barely aged -- and we'd recognize that voice anywhere. "Guys, come up, come up, let's make like a class," he said herding the students up the aisle of the Folger Shakespeare Library. The class is studying "Julius Caesar" and came to see a performance by Bill's Buddies, the Folger's educational acting troupe with Jonathan Watkins, Linden Tailor, Sue-Jin Song and Cam Magee.

All the kids performed with the actors, including "Mr. Danza" (buzz cut, windbreaker, tie, casual shoes) who played one of Shakespeare's ghosts and ran across the stage shouting, "We're ghosts! We're shrieking! Ah-ah-ah-ah!" Later, when the class was asked to explain Romeo's speech to Juliet, Danza called out: "It means he wants to make out!"

He has recorded his experience on his addictive DailyDanza.com Web site and looked like he was having a blast. "It really is a lot of fun," he told us. "It's hard and tough and certainly worth it ...."

"We're done," snapped a producer, glaring at us. Another reason to love reality TV!

Putting the 'Mac' into Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' | Culture Monster | Los Angeles Times

2009-10-19T15:55:00.001-04:00

Putting the 'Mac' into Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'

It's widely considered rude to be playing with your iPhone during a theatrical performance -- unless the actors are doing the same thing.
A group of stage performers in San Francisco is producing a reading of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in which they will enact the drama by reading the text from their personal iPhones and iPod Touch devices. To make the experience more communal, the audience is invited to read along by downloading a special Shakespeare application that contains the full play.

The event -- which will take place Oct. 25 at the Apple Store in San Francisco at 1 Stockton St. near Union Square -- is organized by actor Ron Severdia, who runs the website playshakespeare.com.

Last year, Severdia launched an iPhone application that contains all of Shakespeare's plays as well as his poems and sonnets. The program, which was developed by the company Readdle, is available for free download from iTunes and features a keyword search function as well as auto-scroll capabilities.

"It's not a profit-generating thing. It's a loss generator, actually. But it's done out of the love of the work," said Severdia in a phone interview.

The actor said he first chose "Macbeth" for the obvious pun on the Apple brand of Mac computers. "That was the original joke and it sort of stuck," he said.

The performance, which is free, will feature 13 actors performing 40 different roles in the Scottish tragedy.

Severdia said he and his tech team are putting the finishing touches on a new version of the application that will have features like finding the nearest Shakespeare festival using GPS; searching by line numbers; and a new interface. He expects the new version to cost $1.99 to download.

-- David Ng

Putting the 'Mac' into Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' | Culture Monster | Los Angeles Times

2009-10-19T15:55:00.000-04:00

How Iago Explains the World - NYTimes.com

2009-10-11T11:00:00.000-04:00

How Iago Explains the World - NYTimes.com

Shakespeare on the Arab Stage

2009-10-11T10:59:00.000-04:00

Shakespeare on the Arab Stage

Macbeth Unit Plan

2009-09-22T11:26:00.000-04:00

Macbeth Unit Plan

2009-08-21T14:28:00.001-04:00

The Story Behind the Former American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford Connecticut
by Frank Rizzo

Remember when you first went to the theater...remember rthe show...or who was in it?

2009-08-20T09:25:00.001-04:00

Why everyone should read Shakespeare

By TOM GELSTHORPE
August 19, 2009

I sincerely hope that someone younger than me reads this column and that, as summer wanes, some of you are returning to hallowed halls of learning with joyful expectations. Despite my painful, mixed feelings about being droned at by the professoriate, I'll admit it's one way to learn useful stuff. Self-taught or other-taught are better than remaining ignorant. Bliss is more likely in the presence of wisdom. I favor whatever might lift you above the nether regions of fads, claptrap and superstition.

2009-08-20T09:19:00.001-04:00

The Shakespearean Heroes Science Fiction Should Steal From

William Shakespeare was the J.J. Abrams of his day, reinvigorating Elizabethan England's worn-out action-adventure franchises. And Shakespeare's writing still has clues for today's story-smiths. Characters who switch from nice to nasty? Secret passions? Strange disguises? The Bard got there first.

There's a reason actors are so juiced up to do Shakespeare, besides the fancy speeches and the prestige: Shakespeare does tricky character arcs and memorable people. And whenever you watch something like Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, Star Wars or Star Trek giving you a character who goes through a drastic transformation or a serious conflict, you're watching little chunks of unresolved Shakespeare. (Of course, a lot of these things go back to Sophocles, and probably the first cavewoman to stage playlets around the fire pit.)

No Fear Shakespeare: a frightening thing

2009-08-16T09:57:00.001-04:00

No Fear Shakespeare: a frightening thing

Posted using ShareThis

2009-07-28T08:59:00.005-04:00

T. K. Roxborogh, a New Zealand teacher and lover of Shakespeare, has written a YA novel, Banquo's Son, a sequel to Macbeth.

You can find out more about the book and join in on a discussion about it at http://banquosson.blogspot.com/ and more about Tania here.

Shakespeare’s Globe Brings a Taste of Elizabethan Theater to the U.S. - NYTimes.com

2009-07-27T08:53:00.000-04:00

Shakespeare’s Globe Brings a Taste of Elizabethan Theater to the U.S.

2009-07-21T15:21:00.002-04:00

Quotes Mistakenly Attributed to Shakespeare

Oh what a tangled web we weaveWhen first we practice to deceive. - Sir Walter Scott (Marmion, 1808)
No man is an island. - John Donne (The Bait, 1624)
Come live with me and be my love. - Marlowe (Passionate Shepherd to his Love, 1599)
For you suffer fools gladly, seeing yourself as wise. - II Corinthians 11:19.
Remember, that time is money. - Benjamin Franklin (Advice to a Young Tradesman, 1748)
For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. - Benjamin Franklin (Poor Richard's Almanack)
Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast,To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak. - William Congreve (The Mourning Bride, 1.1)
Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned,Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned. - William Congreve (The Mourning Bride, 3.8)
I am the master of my fateI am the captain of my soul. - William Ernest Henley (Invictus, 1875)
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.I love thee to the depth and breadth and heightMy soul can reach. - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Sonnets from the Portuguese, 1850)
So farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear, Farewell remorse: all good to me is lost; Evil be thou my Good. - John Milton (Paradise Lost, bk.iv,1.108, 1667)
War is the trade of kings. - John Dryden (King Arthur, II.ii, 1691)
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. -- Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities, 1859)
These lovely lamps, these windows of the soul. -- Guillaume Du Bartas (Divine Weekes and Workes, Sixth Day)

2009-06-17T09:31:00.002-04:00

More Shakespeare Posts on Twitter

Steph_JW: “That that is is.”...... Shakespeare

smullican: 2/2 ...Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries." ~Willliam Shakespeare

LisRocchi: they want me to recite shakespeare! WTF? one thing is for sure... i'm not gonna make

bosskhouston: We do not keep the outward form of order, where there is deep disorder in the . William Shakespeare (via @Steph_JW) it!

brookeliveshere: Off to Shakespeare's Globe tonight to see Romeo and Juliet.....cultural, that's me!

Busybeelifestyl: From Oprah: 5 books to lift your spirits: The Winter's Tale (Shakespeare), Flush (V. Woolf), Under Milk Wood (D.Thomas), Charlotte's Web

rutila: @reidontravel Portmanteaus like "staycation" and "funemployment" make William Shakespeare turn in his grave.

s2siil: faça o resto..." (William Shakespeare)

redbridgestudio: Greetings from Bremen. Visited the Bremer Shakespeare Company today. http://www.shakespeare-company.com/

ByLeavesWeLive: 'Shakespeare became difficult among sudden islands of twitterings' from Aves, by Gerry Cambridge

Steph_JW: Talking isn't doing. It is a kind of good deed to say well; and yet words are not deeds.William Shakespeare

ycmari: "the hell is empty. all the devils are here" shakespeare - i saw this the other day when i was watching a movie and wow.. it is so true.

wisevisionary7: (A Spin on Shakespeare)....All The World Is a "TWITTER" and All The Peoples of The World Are "TWITTERERS" and MUST "TWITTER" Their Parts.

hannabon: And now I understand why Shakespeare was a genius.

kitschywriter: GAHHHH!!!! B+ in Shakespeare!!! ARE you KIDDING ME>?????????

paul_e_wog: All of my monkeys have been at the computer for a month, and while it certainly isn't 'Shakespeare', it's still better than Stephanie Meyer.

Local: In Marin : The Bard in the Big House - San Quentin inmates perform Shakespeare

2009-06-17T09:29:00.000-04:00

The Bard in the Big House - San Quentin inmates perform Shakespeare

Ten inmates imprisoned in San Quentin for crimes ranging from burglary to murder, have just performed A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. The full complement of characters from Demetrius to Lysander to the incomparable Puck, were performed by actors, some whom just happened to be wearing blue sweats with "CDC Prisoner" emblazoned down the side.

2009-06-11T09:09:00.001-04:00

'Richard III - An Arab Tragedy' - At Brooklyn Academy of Music

Richard III, Handsome This Time - NYTimes.com

2009-06-09T08:53:00.002-04:00

Some Shakespeare Tweets from Today

RutgersTranscri: When Shakespeare penned "Brevity is the soul of wit", do you think he was prophesying about Twitter??
DianaThoma: we are sitting in the Shakespeare Globe waiting for the performance of As YouLike It to begin - Globe is more rustic than our Chicago globe
forbesxforty: "Present fears are less than horrible imaginings" -William Shakespeare. They will rule our lives if we are fools enough to let them.
EmiliaTsontilis: Shakespeare can be a dirty bastard.
KMcNabola: Went to the Globe Theatre last night. I didn't think that I would like it because it's Shakespeare, but it was phenomenal. I would go again!
Wellness4Arts: Listening to Kevin McNally telling how, when he was young, he forgot his lines at his 1st Shakespeare audition and was put off for years...\
selfv4notself: 3 huge barn owls in tree this a.m., and b/c of shifting fog they became Shakespeare's 3 witches and the 3 Fates from Greek mythology - epic.
sorrows: 'The works of Shakespeare are virtually infinite'. Taken out of context, that could just mean they're INSUFFERABLY LONG
Suze_B: Me: We could go to the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. Matthew: Not to be.
_Phillip: Going to rest until lunch & then going to do some revision. In the words of Shakespeare himself & the only quote I know right now: "Fear it"

2009-06-09T08:07:00.001-04:00

Elementary Education Conference--June 25-26 -Folger Shakespeare Library

Shakespeare is for everyone—including elementary students! Join expert teachers and Folger Education staff to learn how even young students can successfully engage with Shakespeare's plays and poetry.

The Folger Education philosophy of learning by doing (what we call performance-based teaching) works particularly well with young students. Furthermore, many of the techniques you'll encounter can be adapted for teaching any type of literature, not just Shakespeare.

At the conference, you'll learn:
How to prepare and teach language-based activities for elementary students
Activities for unifying language and action to help students interpret texts and master meaning
How to select, edit, and act out scenes from Shakespeare with your students
To register, please complete the Registration Form and email it to educate@folger.edu. Payments must be received no later than June 19. Payment instructions are included on the information form.

Joe Craft and Denver Public Schools-Folger Shakespeare Library

2009-06-09T08:05:00.000-04:00

Joe Craft and Denver Public Schools-Folger Shakespeare Library

Joe Craft, a retired teacher from Denver and director of that city’s Shakespeare Festival, shares with the Denver Public Schools the 2009 Shakespeare Steward Award.

Craft was the driving force behind the Shakespeare Festival, recruiting Denver Public School teachers in 1984 to train students for performances. “Some said it would never work because no kid is ever going to want to learn Shakespeare,” Craft said. That year, some 400 young thespians took to the stage.

Today, he reports, the number of participants is approaching 4,000, with an audience of another 2,000 parents, friends, and passersby.

Photo Gallery
Denver Shakespeare Festival

Jude Law in 'Hamlet': What did the critics think? | Culture Monster | Los Angeles Times

2009-06-09T07:58:00.000-04:00

Jude Law in 'Hamlet': What did the critics think?

One of the most talked-about productions of the current West End season, "Hamlet," starring Jude Law, has generated more advance buzz and online speculation than all of the blockbuster musicals playing in London put together.

Of course, much of the talk has centered around the play's pulchritudinous star, who is no stranger to audiences on either side of the pond. The Oscar-nominated Law, who has returned regularly to the stage between his Hollywood acting assignments, takes the role of Shakespeare's melancholy Dane for the first time in his career in a production from the Donmar Warehouse and directed by Michael Grandage. (The staging duties originally belonged to Kenneth Branagh, but he withdrew due to scheduling conflicts.)

2009-05-19T08:43:00.001-04:00

Shakespeare's 'Coriolanus' Finally Gets the Movie Treatment!

Ralph Fiennes is set to make his directorial debut on Coriolanus, an adaptation of the Shakespeareplay of the same name. And now he's lined up some big names to join him, in the shape of Vanessa Redgrave, William Hurt and Jessica Chastain.

The play is being adapted for the screen by John "Sweeney Todd" Logan, and tells the story of the titular Roman general who becomes involved in political intrigue both on behalf of the Roman Republic and against it, unwilling as he is to acknowledge the role of the plebians in the State.

2009-04-29T09:04:00.001-04:00

Shakespeare Globe Festival in Neuss Germany

There has been a reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on the racecourse in Neuss since 1991 and it is here, every year in Summer, that the works of the Bard of Elizabethan England are given new life. The festival shows productions from all over the world, including, most importantly of course, performances in the original language of Shakespeare. The authentic theatre experience – direct and up close, from the 500 seats of the Neuss Globe.

2009-03-09T16:04:00.001-04:00

Portrait of Shakespeare Unveiled, 399 Years Late

Movies - News - Fiennes to helm Shakespeare's 'Coriolanus' - Digital Spy

2009-02-10T08:57:00.001-05:00

Fiennes to helm

Shakespeare's 'Coriolanus'

Monday, February 9 2009, 3:10pm EST

By Lara Martin

Ralph Fiennes will reportedly make his directorial debut in an adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy Coriolanus.

The English Patient star will play a soldier who is spurred on by his ambitious mother to run for the Roman senate, which ultimately leads to his downfall, reports Variety.

Vanessa Redgrave is said to be in negotiations to play the role of Fiennes's mother Volumnia.

The actor has already begun scouting possible filming locations in Eastern Europe and held meetings with financers.

2009-01-25T20:21:00.003-05:00

Thanks to all who participated in the Shakespeare Quiz. The answers are:

Which Shakespeare play:

mentions America? The Comedy of Errors
contains a character who is a native Russian? The Winter's Tale
contains a group of men who disguise themselves as Russians? Love's Labour's Lost
has scenes set in The Garter Inn? The Merry Wives of Windsor
includes the Battle of Actium? Antony and Cleopatra
has a character who wishes he was a glove? Romeo and Juliet
has scenes set in a brothel in Mytilene? Pericles
includes an English King who sings on his deathbed? King John
includes two husbands who kill their wives on stage? Othello
has a heroine who is the only female character in the play? The Tempest

And the winners of Bill Bryson's Shakespeare, The World as Stage are:

Tory Talbot, Montclair, NJ
Nora Corrigan, Columbus, MS
Lea Luecking Frost, St. Louis, MO
Keith Jones, St. Paul, MN
Scott O’Neil, Bel Air, MD

Congratulations

2009-01-22T13:47:00.005-05:00

The Shakespeare Contest

The publishers of Bill Bryson's national bestseller, Shakespeare, The World as Stage have donated five (5) copies of the book to the first 5 News on the Rialto readers who can correctly answer the following questions and email them to mike@lomonico.com.

Which Shakespeare play:

mentions America?

contains a character who is a native Russian?

contains a group of men who disguise themselves as Russians?

has scenes set in The Garter Inn?

includes the Battle of Actium?

has a character who wishes he was a glove?

has scenes set in a brothel in Mytilene?

includes an English King who sings on his deathbed?

includes two husbands who kill their wives on stage?

has a heroine who is the only female character in the play?

source: That is the Question: The Ultimate Shakespeare Quiz Book by Thomas Delise

Memorize Shakespeare Offers Actors New Way to Learn Lines - PR.com

2009-01-18T11:57:00.001-05:00

Memorize Shakespeare Offers Actors New Way to Learn Lines
Memorize Shakespeare Offers Actors New Way to Learn Lines
Tailor-made audio drills cut down study time and increase recall. Actors at all levels can benefit from this new approach to memorization.
Toronto, Canada, January 17, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Memorize Shakespeare, a new Toronto-based company, has launched its flagship product for three of Shakespeare's most popular plays: Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth and As You Like It. The product, ScenePartner, helps actors learn their lines by listening to them, like learning a foreign language.

Shakespeare’s plays are the most frequently performed in the English language. Professional and amateur productions abound, especially in outdoor summer shows. Performance and study of Shakespeare is a foundation in most theatre schools. However, the difficult subject of memorizing the lines is often glossed over in the curriculum.

"The question I hear most often from first-time Shakespearean actors is, 'How do I memorize all these lines?,' The question isn't trivial," says Memorize Shakespeare founder David McCormick. "Teachers and directors typically answered vaguely: Read them over and over, Drill them... But this is time-consuming and often ineffective."

McCormick created ScenePartner to address this issue for actors. The actor downloads the ScenePartner for his or her desired character. Each “Partner” is an audio album of the lines for that part, which can be played on any digital music player. The lines are split into short segments, optimized for memory retention. At the conclusion of each segment, a bell sounds, and the performer repeats the segment, using the recording as a guide.

This method of rote memorization is not new. Language-learning programs have employed it for decades, and some actors routinely record their lines onto audio recording devices. ScenePartner was developed to save actors the time and trouble of making their own recordings. Inexperienced actors, or those unfamiliar with Shakespeare's more complicated passages also benefit from hearing the difficult language pronounced by an expert reader.

ScenePartner is especially effective because the speaking performer remembers the sound of the phrase instead of the image of the printed page. Busy actors can use the albums to learn their lines without a script in hand, even while commuting or jogging. ScenePartner also has benefits for actors with conditions that might make reading the lines difficult, such as sight impairments or dyslexia.

McCormick is quick to point out that "ScenePartner is not an audiobook or a recorded performance. The lines have been broken down for the quickest possible memorization. Our actors read the text with only the appropriate rhythm and punctuation, not with emotion. That way, the actor learning the lines will not be forced into a particular style or encouraged to mimic another actor."

Memorize Shakespeare plans to expand by three or four plays per year. The next products will be Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. For more information (and a sample), visit www.memorizeshakespeare.com.

About Memorize Shakespeare:

Founded in 2007 by Toronto entrepreneur David McCormick, Memorize Shakespeare aims to provide effective and affordable audio products to aid in the memorization of Shakespeare's plays for actors at all levels. For more information (and a sample), contact David McCormick or visit www.memorizeshakespeare.com.

Hollywood heads for inauguration - Entertainment News, Film News, Media - Variety

2009-01-15T14:01:00.001-05:00

George Lucas is scheduled to accept an award at the Folger Shakespeare Library as part of the Bytes and Books Inaugural Ball, coordinated by the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training.

“The nation’s leaders in technology and education will gather to celebrate the inauguration of President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and the new Congress at the Bytes & Books Inaugural Ball Jan. 20 at the Folger Shakespeare Library. The black-tie gala, coordinated by the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training (NCTET), will welcome members of Congress, administration officials, education leaders, corporate leaders, media, education stakeholders and other dignitaries.

The Bytes & Books Inaugural Ball seeks to raise the profile of the important role technology plays in education. The hosts of the ball are committed to improving education through more efficient uses of technology in schools and to better prepare the next generation for work and life.

Four leaders will be honored with NCTET’s annual Community Builder Award. These honorees include U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, George Lucas, filmmaker and founder of The George Lucas Educational Foundation, Barbara Stein of the National Education Association, and William (Bill) R. Thomas, director of Educational Technology, Southern Regional Education Board.”

Sen. Kennedy has not confirmed that he is attending. But Lucas has confirmed.

Cate Blanchett unveils Shakespeare epic The War of the Roses | The Australian

2009-01-13T10:06:00.000-05:00

Cate Blanchett unveils Shakespeare epic The War of the Roses

A storm of golden flakes shower down onto Cate Blanchett in the opening scene of The War of the Roses.

The Sydney Theatre Company's production spans 100 years English history by condensing eight of Shakespeare's history plays into an eight-hour epic.

2008-12-22T10:41:00.001-05:00

Now, read Shakespeare in Santhali

Orissa writer translates Midsummer Night’s Dream, comes up with T-shirts & handbags to popularise Ol Chiki script

Language will no longer be a barrier for Santhalis wanting to read Midsummer Night’s Dream.
For, noted Santhal writer Biswanath Tuddu has recently translated the famous work of William Shakespeare. Tuddu spoke to The Telegraph during his visit here for the 4th International Santhal Conference at Tata auditorium.

Tuddu, who hails from Orissa, said: “It is a classic work of the great writer and I wanted people of my community, who cannot read English, to appreciate it. It took me two months to get the work translated into Santhali.”

Shakespeare left London and stopped writing 'because he went blind' - Telegraph

2008-12-03T08:26:00.000-05:00

Shakespeare left London and stopped writing 'because he went blind'

Rick Thomas said he thought years of writing by candlelight would have left Shakespeare struggling to see.

He has just written a play, For All Time, about why the bard left London for Stratford-upon-Avon in 1613.

It is question has vexed scholars for years.

Thomas said he had came to the conclusion out of personal experience - that writing plays for years on end had taken its toll on his vision. With the conditions Shakespeare was working under, he thought his sight would have deteriorated much faster.

Shakespeare’s “Maag-Pehh” at Tallinn NO99 Theatre - BabelTallinn

2008-11-29T10:04:00.000-05:00

Shakespeare’s “Maag-Pehh” in Estonia
By Giovanni Angioni

Until yesterday I thought the newest & most innovative theatre in Estonia was NO99. The actors & set decorators & directors that I would recommend as a complex visual masterpiece to any visitor of Estonia, on quite a high level.. Just go and see Nafta! and you’ll know what I mean

But yesterday I was really forced to evaluate my opinion. At least considering the Shakespeare MacBeth performance. Unless you’re a huge Shakespeare fanatic or a fan of Jaan Türnpu & Anne Toomik, or real banal modern theatre, don’t go there!

I actually like Shakespeare, although many people don’t. I’ve seen quite a lot of different versions of Hamlet & Merchant of Venice & R&J etc. Plus, I think I’ve seen quite a lot of theatre performances in general. What I like about Shakespeare are the huge possibilities it offers, one can practically do anything with it.

2008-11-18T10:47:00.001-05:00

By the Book

George Washington University's Undergraduates Explore Print History at the Folger Shakespeare Library

2008-11-17T11:06:00.001-05:00

Soundpainting Revisits Shakespeare

This French radio feature discusses my friend Leese Walker's company Strike Anywhere. She and her company did a Soundpainting at the class I teach at BAM. Take a listen.

Soundpainting was created by New York composer Walter Thompson in the late 1970s. It allies music, painting, poetry, puppetry, dancing and visual art. In the past five years, this new artform has successfully crossed the Atlantic, in part thanks to the efforts of Christophe Cagnolari and his Anitya troupe. Anitya premiered Macbeth on 6 November in Paris, in collaboration with the New York soundpainting group Strike Anywhere.

Teachers fight to save Shakespeare - National News - Dominion Post

2008-11-16T09:06:00.000-05:00

New Zealand Teachers Fight to Save Shakespeare

Shakespeare's plays and other great works of literature considered too difficult for some pupils will disappear from classrooms under proposed changes to the curriculum, alarmed principals say.

Man re-arrested over Shakespeare book theft - ChronicleLive

2008-11-06T09:10:00.000-05:00

Man re-arrested over Shakespeare book theft

2008-11-04T10:07:00.002-05:00

BardBox

From Luke McKernan

There are tens of thousands of Shakespeare videos available on the Web. The emergence of YouTube and other video hosting sites, along with the spread of broadband and the availability of cheap video equipment, has led to an explosion in Shakespeare video production and distribution online.

BardBox is an attempt to bring together some of the best and most interesting of original Shakespeare-related videos on YouTube (as of July 2008 there were 19,000 videos on YouTube tagged with the keyword ‘Shakespeare’, and 27,000 searchable under the term ‘Shakespeare’ overall). The emphasis is on originality. YouTube makes available many titles which were created for other media (cinema, television, DVD) and which are often available from other sources. This is YouTube as a new mode of distribution, and although it has made many such titles available this way which would not otherwise be available to most, this side of YouTube does not provide original content - and such activity is, at best, of dubious legality.

BardBox instead concentrates on Shakespeare videos created for distribution on YouTube (launched on Shakespeare’s birthday, 23 April 2005) and other such sites. It comprises animations, parodies, recitations, auditions, promos for theatre productions, amateur records of stage productions, student work, school productions, mashups etc. Each post is named either after the on-screen title of the video or the title it is given on YouTube, and comprises the video itself, date (the date of posting if actual production date not known), credits (where available), cast (ditto) and duration, description with comment, plus link to its YouTube (or other) page. Each post is described under a variety of categories and tagged under the name of the relevant play.

YouTube Shakespeare has been generally dismissed as home only to facetious and repetitive parodies. BardBox contends that this is an exciting new departure for Shakespeare production, the best examples of which need to be identified, championed and studied. Any suggestions for inclusion will be most welcome.

Two foreign versions of "Romeo and Juliet" to compete on Chinese stages_English_Xinhua

2008-10-29T10:36:00.000-04:00

Two foreign versions of "Romeo and Juliet" to compete on Chinese stages

BEIJING, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Two foreign versions of William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" will compete on Chinese stages as part of the Third Festival of National Theaters China closing on Sunday.

Oh Tae-Suk, an award-winning director from the Republic of Korea, will entertain Beijing audience with his Korean version of the tale of tragic lovers at the China Children Art Theater on Thursday and Friday.

Hot on its heels is the Korean interpretation of the medieval Italian tale from the Vilnius City Theater from the Republic of Lithuania. It will be presented on Saturday and wrap up the gala at the National Center of the Performing Arts on Sunday. It is a work by director Oskaras Korsunovas, and has been celebrated wherever it plays.

Australian Stage Online

2008-10-13T09:54:00.000-04:00

Australian Stage: Anatomy Titus Fall of Rome by Bell Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing, this is not. With Anatomy Titus Fall of Rome: A Shakespeare Commentary, Bell Shakespeare and the Queensland Theatre Company have created what must be their most challenging production to date. It’s not exactly Shakespeare, not at all PC, and may have left some in the audience in need of a stiff drink. But the aim of Anatomy Titus wasn’t to score ovations. It was to look closely at power and violence without giving anyone the option to change the channel.

Sing A Song Of Shakespeare

2008-10-09T10:40:00.000-04:00

Sing A Song Of Shakespeare

Choreographer offers 'liberating' take on 'Romeo and Juliet' - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

2008-10-09T10:26:00.000-04:00

Choreographer offers 'liberating' take on 'Romeo and Juliet'
- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Stratford OK's Shakespeare repairs - The Connecticut Post Online

2008-10-01T14:25:00.000-04:00

Stratford OK's Shakespeare repairs

STRATFORD -- The long-shuttered Shakespeare Theater will not be ready for Hamlet or even The Producers any time soon.

But nearly 20 years after the last performance in 1989, the once legendary Elm Street showcase will finally be getting a new roof, repairs and a paint job that could pave the way for it's opening next spring.
And it won't even cost the town any money -- for now.

The Town Council on Monday approved a proposal 8-2 that allows the town to enter into a "licensing agreement" with Rhode Island theater producer Bill Hanney, the latest operator chosen to try and renovate and reopen the theater, that permits the developer to put up between $200,000 and $250,000 of his own money to replace and repair the roof, make other repairs and paint the 50-year-old building.

Shakespeare's Macbeth performed in Assamese in Jorhat

2008-09-08T17:06:00.000-04:00

Shakespeare's Macbeth performed in Assamese in Jorhat

Jorhat (Assam), Sep.7: 'Replica', a local cultural group, with the assistance of National School of Drama, recently performed William Shakespeare's famous play 'Macbeth' in Assam's Jorhat district.

The play prominently demonstrated the hidden talent of north eastern youth, and also reflected the deep interest of the people in theatre.

2008-09-07T12:48:00.000-04:00

Theater's journey man
Richard Nelson premieres his new play, 'How Shakespeare Won the West,' at the Huntington

By Megan Tench, Globe Staff September 5, 2008
Tony Award-winning playwright Richard Nelson calls it his "darkish Valentine to theater."
"How Shakespeare Won the West," set in 1849 in the middle of the California Gold Rush, follows a group of New York actors who hear of a small town out west where people are so starved for theater that they throw bags of gold at actors' feet.

The New Yorkers form a troupe, pack Shakespeare in their bags, and harness their wagons for a yearlong journey across the country in search of fame and fortune. But along the way they find something else: murderous Indians, romance in shambles, and other catastrophes large and small standing between them and their dream.

A journey without intermission, "How Shakespeare Won the West" makes its world premiere with the Huntington Theatre Company in previews starting today.

"It is very close to my heart," says the soft-spoken playwright, 57, wearing a button-down shirt and slacks at the theater moments before a recent rehearsal. "It's a joy to watch in rehearsals. I am really enjoying the utter theatricality of the play and the humor of the play. There is a kind of joy that exists inside this play, which is very, very nice, since so many of my plays are so very dark."

It is also the first show of the season for the Huntington's new artistic director, Peter DuBois.
"This play is about the values I want to bring to the theater," DuBois says. "It's a play about ambition, it's incredibly exuberant, and it's about human potential. It really celebrates the art form of theater. . . . I thought this is the way to kick off the year."

Directed by Jonathan Moscone, artistic director of California Shakespeare Theater, "How Shakespeare Won the West" stars Will LeBow as Thomas Jefferson Calhoun, the head of the pioneering acting company; Mary Beth Fisher as Alice, his wife; and Jeremiah Kissel as Edward Oldfield, who masquerades as a renowned British actor despite actually being from Albany, N.Y. During the course of the play, characters take turns narrating sometimes poignant moments of their lives as they travel, each connecting with the audience more intimately as time wears on.
For the prolific Nelson, who won the 2000 Tony for "James Joyce's The Dead" and has had a long and lucrative career as a playwright, "How Shakespeare Won the West" touches themes close to his heart.

"This play is unlike any that I have written in style," Nelson says. "I wanted to talk about how essential theater is, how ingrained it is in so many things, how much a part of this country it is, and in a way celebrate it. And not celebrate it in a sentimental way, but in a way that is honest and that probes the country a little bit."

The show, eight years in the making, is a companion piece to Nelson's "Two Shakespearean Actors," which played on Broadway in 1992 and was also set in the 19th century, telling the story of a deadly rivalry between two Shakespearean troupes.

"I don't quite know why I go back to the 19th century, but I keep going back there," Nelson says. He traces some of his interest in the period to a bookstore visit when he came across the diaries of William Charles McCready, a 19th-century London-born actor and theater manager. "I was so interested in it I kept it on my shelf for years," Nelson says. Later a tiny obituary in The New York Times about a North Carolina scholar caught his eye. One of her books was titled "How Shakespeare Won the West."

"That title was something," Nelson says, his eyes lighting up.
Since the 1970s, Nelson, a Chicago native, has seen some three dozen of his plays produced, including eight on Broadway and others off Broadway and at many of the nation's major regional theaters. At least 10 of his productions have been staged by England's Royal Shakespeare Company, where he was a resident playwright, traveling back and forth from London to New York.

In many ways, Nelson has been a journeying man. And throughout, it is his curiosity that has guided him most, especially his interest in exile and alienation, in different worlds and cultures and where they meet. His "Between East and West" (1983), for example, was about a Czech emigre couple at a loss in New York City; "Some Americans Abroad" (1990) focused on a group of American academics looking to England for their cultural heritage; and "Goodnight Children Everywhere" (1999) was about four siblings reunited in war-ravaged London after their parents were killed in 1945. That play earned Nelson an Olivier Award, Britain's highest honor.
Three years ago Nelson stunned his admirers by entering a world he'd largely ignored throughout his 30-year career: academia. He was made chairman of the playwriting department at the Yale School of Drama, a coveted post - and another example for Nelson of different cultures meeting, not always easily. After finishing his three-year term, he was replaced by Paula Vogel earlier this year.

"I never taught before, so I taught the last three years," he says. "I learned I love teaching and I learned I loved the students, but I think teaching a professional training program in the theater and academia is a complicated mix. And that says it all."

While Nelson left Yale amicably, some in the blogosphere have speculated that his departure may have had to do with his strong feelings about the development of emerging playwrights.
"I believe strongly that the best way to learn to be a playwright is to see one's work produced," he says, "not have readings, not workshops, but actually a production. That's the way you grow, that's the way you learn."

Nelson says that new playwrights should not have to "jump through hoops" to get a play staged, and that the creation of a play is deeply personal: The playwright should be allowed to simply write.

"The greatest threats to new plays in American theater today are not people who are greedy or people who want to take advantage, it is people who say they want to help," Nelson says. " 'Help' meaning that something had evolved in the theater, an attitude, a perception, that a playwright . . . could not finish their own work. They needed, somehow, other people to help finish their work. That's a concept that has dangerous consequences in the theater."
Nelson is hoping for happy consequences with "How Shakespeare Won the West," his third play at the Huntington. "I love this space, I love this theater, and I love this audience," he says.
Director Moscone believes the audience will gain a new appreciation for great storytelling.

"There's an epic idea, but there's a very personal story," he says. "This is a 100 percent celebration of the essence of theater."

2008-07-02T14:27:00.001-04:00

Rival Actors Sparked Fatal 'Shakespeare Riots' : NPR

Morning Edition, July 2, 2008 · Shakespeare's works inspire strong emotions both on stage and off. Co-host Renee Montagne kicks off Morning Edition's three-part Shakespeare series with a conversation with author Nigel Cliff about his book The Shakespeare Riots: Revenge, Drama and Death in 19th-Century America, which tells the story of an argument between two actors that led to a deadly riot."

2008-07-01T14:58:00.001-04:00

Hollywood Heavyweights Fly in for a Reel Taste of Shakespeare

Hollywood heavyweights Anthony Hopkins, Keira Knightley and Gwyneth Paltrow are coming to Ireland to film a major movie version of Shakespeare's King Lear.

The film is being directed by Michael Stern and he promises more stars are going to be announced for the production which will bring some Hollywood glitz to the country.

The film will not be a modern adaptation and will remain faithful to the original Shakespearian language.

2008-06-23T08:16:00.002-04:00

Macbeth - 2008: A Bunny, Too, Can Strut and Fret Upon This Stage

What’s up with the guy in the rabbit suit?

This is not a question you expect to ask while watching “Macbeth.”

But there he was, confoundingly, an energetic little fellow dressed as a fuzzy white rabbit — tall floppy ears, powder-puff tail and all — scrabbling away in front of a gray concrete wall in the TR Warszawa production “Macbeth: 2008,” staged in the roofless tobacco factory near St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. A giant video projection of a beautiful bald woman loomed above Rabbit Man. It looked like the bald woman was nibbling on a white chocolate bunny as she spouted her cryptic prophecies about Macbeth’s future.

William Shakespeare first folio gets £435,250 - Telegraph

2008-06-06T08:58:00.000-04:00

William Shakespeare first folio gets £435,250

A rare first folio of Shakespeare's plays, regarded as the most important book in the history of English literature, has sold for £435,250 at Christies.

2008-06-04T13:18:00.002-04:00

What Shakespeare can teach us about Blogging

When Shakespeare was writing during the Elizabethan period, two types of dramatic style were merging together to form an exciting new voice. Previous to this, London theatre audiences were served up either the traditional Tudor morality play of slapstick allegory and farce, or the more rhetorical academic play based on classical Roman drama. Usually shown in universities, the latter were perhaps not much fun.

Yet Shakespeare was an innovator, and sensed that the audience of Elizabethan England was changing. So he decided to dip into both styles of writing and add in some of his own wit and intellect, to create a new type of play which audiences both wanted and responded to. In short, the new commercial theatres were demanding new content, and Shakespeare and his contemporaries endeavoured to fill the gap.

So what’s all this got to do with blogging?

2008-05-22T13:26:00.001-04:00

Keira Knightley to star in film of King Lear

Keira Knightley is set for a busy year.

She will play Cordelia, the youngest daughter of the King, who will be portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Gwyneth Paltrow is tipped to take the role of Regan, Lear's treacherous middle daughter. His eldest daughter, Goneril, is yet to be cast.

The $35 million film was announced at the Cannes Film Festival and will feature epic battle sequences, according to its makers.

Interlochen :: College of Creative Arts :: 2008 Theatre Workshop

2008-05-22T08:49:00.000-04:00

Interlochen Theatre Workshop for Educators: Shakespeare in Performance

The Interlochen Theatre Workshop for Educators will address techniques for bringing Shakespeare to life in the classroom and on the stage. Discover practical strategies to make 17th century text accessible to your 21st century students through theatrical performance techniques. :: College of Creative Arts :: 2008 Theatre Workshop

2008-05-20T08:53:00.001-04:00

Hamlet at The Factory - Secret Shakespeare

Tim Carroll’s production of Hamlet for The Factory theatre company takes audience participation to a new level. It asks its audience members to choose the cast - who plays who - to sit on stage and even to provide the props.

The result is an energetic and enjoyable rush through the Bard’s most performed play, at some of the most unusual and beautiful venues in the capital.

2008-05-20T08:47:00.001-04:00

What if Shakespeare wrote The Hokey Pokey?

If Shakespeare had written the "Hokey Pokey":

O proud left foot, that ventures quick within
Then soon upon a backward journey lithe.
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin:
Command sinsistral pedestal to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke,
Mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
To spin! A wild release from Heaven's yoke.
Blessed dervish! Surely canst go, girl.
The Hoke, the Poke -- banish now thy doubt.
Verily, I say, 'tis what it's all about.

2008-05-09T09:18:00.004-04:00

ShakespeareScene

444 years after Shakespeare’s birth, specialist publishing company, Ashokan International Ltd is publishing a brand new magazine entitled ShakespeareScene.

The twice yearly colour magazine will be launched in mid-May and will be a well designed publication for the public and Shakespeare enthusiasts around the world. It will include news about the times of Shakespeare, interviews and articles plus a great listing of productions and festivals due to take place over the summer
.
Available from specialist outlets in the UK and Borders and also from its web-site www.shakespearescene.com

2008-05-09T08:15:00.002-04:00

Verdi vs. Shakespeare in a ‘Macbeth’ Showdown: Call It a Draw

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI
New York Times

There are two gripping productions of “Macbeth” in New York right now.

The darkly theatrical, cinematic staging directed by Rupert Goold and starring Patrick Stewart opened at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and is now at the Lyceum Theater on Broadway.

Then there is the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Verdi’s operatic adaptation of that Shakespeare drama, a breakthrough work for the young Verdi, first performed in 1847. The Met’s grim, boldly updated production by the director Adrian Noble, which opened in October, returns on Friday with a new cast, led by the baritone Carlos Álvarez, the soprano Hasmik Papian as Lady Macbeth, and, in the crucial role of Banquo, the formidable bass René Pape. James Levine conducts.

2008-05-08T15:48:00.002-04:00

Henry VI: World-class Orgy of Gore and Humour

Charles Spencer reviews Henry VI pts 1,2, 3 by the RSC at the Roundhouse, Camden

By common consent, these early plays by Shakespeare aren't a patch on Richard II, the two parts of Henry IV and Henry V. Indeed, scholars are still divided over just how much of the Henry VI trilogy Shakespeare actually wrote.

Henry VI brings a sense of shivery mystery to the stage

But there is no feeling one is watching crude prentice work in Michael Boyd's knock-out production of this trilogy about England's bloody Wars of the Roses, a thrilling all-day orgy of gore-dripping violence, gallows humour and craven betrayal.

2008-05-06T11:02:00.001-04:00

Were the World Mine: Shaking up Shakespeare

Were the World Mine closes the 10th Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival on a musical, fantastical note. The movie, which director Tom Gustafson expanded from his short film Fairies, takes the familiar scenarios of high school angst and adolescent crushes and gives them a wonderful musical spin, complete with elaborate sets and choreography.

Cleverly borrowing from A Midsummer's Night Dream in ways Shakespeare could have never imagined, the movie centers on Timothy (Tanner Cohen), a gay student at a private school who harbors a secret crush on rugby star Jonathon (Nathaniel David Becker).

With ‘Cardenio’ the Shakespeare Scholar Stephen Greenblatt Brushes Up His Playwriting - New York Times

2008-05-04T16:31:00.000-04:00

With ‘Cardenio’ the Shakespeare Scholar Stephen Greenblatt Brushes Up His Playwriting

THERE are classes on Shakespeare at Harvard University that students are happy to see dismissed early, especially when the spring weather grows as enticing as Titania’s bower, or the gossips at Lamont, the undergraduate library, have some unusually esoteric knowledge to impart.
Not when Stephen Greenblatt is teaching.

One of the country’s top Shakespeare scholars, Mr. Greenblatt, the Cogan university professor of the humanities, enjoys rock star status on campus. His lectures are legendary, and gaining admission to one of his limited-enrollment seminars is an academic brass ring.

But on a Tuesday afternoon last month he had to cut short his seminar on “Hamlet” to be on time for his maiden voyage into making theater. Professor Greenblatt, 64, has written his first play, “Cardenio,” a collaboration with Charles Mee, and was expected at the opening rehearsal.

Theater: Many faces of Macbeth | csmonitor.com

2008-05-02T09:46:00.000-04:00

Theater: Many Faces of Macbeth

Despite its timelessness, Shakespeare's "Macbeth" has proven difficult to precisely date. Scholars disagree, but it's presumed that the play was written between 1603 and 1606. This year, however, a slew of innovative new stagings of "the Scottish Play," each with wildly different visions of the piece – one turns the famous witches into male monsters, one depicts them as ghostly nurses, another does away with them altogether – are proving that "Macbeth" is easier to update.

Lose the language and you lose Shakespeare | Books | Guardian Unlimited

2008-05-02T08:59:00.000-04:00

Lose the language and you lose Shakespeare

Shakespeare Patron Emerges, Ghostly - New York Times

2008-04-30T08:05:00.000-04:00

Shakespeare Patron Emerges, Ghostly - New York Times

2008-04-17T08:26:00.003-04:00

Supermarket Shakespeare

O, that this too, too solid flesh would melt,Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!
That would be the '20 per cent off' leg of lamb in the freezer section Hamlet is trying to defrost in time for Sunday lunch... And that's pretty much the kind of thing you can expect to bump into if you go to Supermarket Shakespeare in Lee Green this weekend and the beginning of next week.

Teatro Vivo are presenting Supermarket Shakespeare, exactly what it sounds like as the six-strong team of actors will be performing Shakespeare in a supermarket. They are going to be in the Lee Green branch of Sainsbury's, adding extra value to your shopping as they perform extracts from the bard's sonnets in the loose produce, biscuits, dairy and fish aisles.

Southwest Shakespeare Company attempts World Record with Shakespeare Marathon - Phoenix Arizona Events Arts, Entertainment and Events in the Phoenix Scottsdale Mesa East Valley Communities

2008-04-11T18:56:00.000-04:00

Southwest Shakespeare Company attempts World Record with Shakespeare Marathon

Southwest Shakepeare Company has decided to take on their most challenging role yet, they are presenting a 5 day reading of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare, 24 hours a day, with back to back plays, sonnets and poems written by the Bard himself.

2008-04-11T11:08:00.001-04:00

Shakespeare 24

Shakespeare 24, an extraordinary worldwide day of performance. Beginning in New Zealand and ending 24 hours later in Hawaii, youth theatres and school groups will stage abridged plays at 7pm in their respective time zones on Wednesday, April 23rd 2008, Shakespeare’s birthday.

2008-04-05T09:23:00.001-04:00

Japanese director Kurita to feature at German Shakespeare festival

Neuss, Germany - A production of The Winter's Tale in Japanese is to feature at the annual festival in Neuss, Germany devoted to the plays of William Shakespeare, organizers said Friday.

Japanese director Yoshihiro Kurita has been engaged with his Japanese version of the Winter's Tale, the first time Kurita's production will be shown in Germany. English supertitles will be displayed for the benefit of non-speakers of Japanese.

2008-04-03T09:41:00.001-04:00

Shakespeare to be Cloned for Upcoming Festival!

By Mistress Ann Hathaway
April 01, 2008

In what was described as the “ultimate marketing tool,” backers of the proposed Shakespeare Chattanooga festival have announced that they have obtained a sample of the playwright’s DNA and will clone him.

“We fully expect that he will write a whole new canon of plays and sonnets,” said one SC board of directors member. “Titles such as The Merry Wives of Red Bank and Much Ado About Nooga have already been proposed.”

Speaking under condition of strict anonymity, the same source revealed that a secret expedition was sent to Stratford-on-Avon to dig up a bit of the Bard. Posing as members of Chattanooga’s elite SWAT team, they pretended to demonstrate how the site could be protected against marauding Christopher Marlowe-lovers, while actually doing a micro-excavation that successfully extracted the genius’s genes.

“It was pretty easy, really,” the source revealed. “Those Brits have watched so much Law and Order they’ll believe anything.”

Asked about the famous curse engraved on Shakespeare’s tomb (Good Friend for Jesus sake forbeare/To digg the dust enclosed heare:/Blest be ye man yt spares thes stones/And curst be he yet moves my bones), the source commented, “Well, none of us appears to be curst yet…although several have reported feeling like the Black Death after the red-eye plane trip home.”

adn.com | Life : Convincing cast succeeds in putting Alaska spin on 'Othello'

2008-04-03T08:49:00.000-04:00

Convincing cast succeeds in putting Alaska spin on 'Othello'

Shakespeare's church found in Shoreditch - This Britain, UK - The Independent

2008-03-30T09:13:00.000-04:00

Shakespeare's church found in Shoreditch

Shakespeare's "lost" local church in London may have been found – beneath some flower beds and cracked paving stones. New research has pinpointed the site of the old church of St Leonard, which was the centre of worship and burial for many of the leading actors and personalities of the Shakespearean stage, including the Bard himself. A study of archive material has revealed that much of the building may still exist, buried underground in an extraordinary time capsule.

2008-03-30T09:08:00.001-04:00

Kasie speak has replaced the Elizabethan English, but the stories are still very ‘Shakespeare’

Macbeth in Mzansi? That’s right. William Shakespeare is in South Africa and breathing new life into local television. But, should we care?"

2008-03-28T08:46:00.001-04:00

Shakespeare Goes Digital

LONDON (Reuters) - A U.S. and British library plan to reproduce online all 75 editions of William Shakespeare's plays printed in the quarto format before the year 1641.

The Bodleian Library in Oxford and Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC have joined forces to download their collections, building on the work of the British Library which digitized its collection of quarto editions in 2004.

In the absence of surviving manuscripts, the quartos -- Shakespeare's earliest printed editions -- offer the closest known evidence of what Shakespeare might actually have written, and what appeared on the early modern English stage.

The project is designed to make all of the quartos, many of which are only accessible to scholars, available to the wider public.

The process of downloading the quartos will begin next month and take a year to complete.
Online visitors will be able to compare images side-by-side, lay one facsimile on top of the other, search plays and mark and tag the texts.

As well as highlighting more minor differences between copies of the same quarto, the digital database will also make it easier to study the often wide discrepancies between quartos, including some of Shakespeare's most famous lines.

"There will be countless new ways for scholars, teachers, and students to examine the quarto texts, particularly of 'Hamlet'," said Folger director Gail Kern Paster.

"You find out all sorts of things -- about how the copies went through the press, and also about the printing process," she added.

Shakespeare wrote at least 37 plays and collaborated on several more between about 1590 and 1613. He died in 1616.

Mistress Shakespeare - The New York Review of Books

2008-03-28T08:42:00.000-04:00

Mistress Shakespeare - The New York Review of Books:

Shakespeare's Wife by Germaine Greer reviewed by Stanley Wells

It is now over two hundred years since the discovery of a love letter written by William Shakespeare to his future bride, Ann (or Anne, or even Agnes) Hathaway. Along with it came a silk-tied lock of the poet's hair and verses bearing eloquent testimony to his love:"

Mistress Shakespeare - The New York Review of Books

2008-03-28T08:41:00.000-04:00

Mistress Shakespeare - The New York Review of Books

Shakespeare's Wife by Germaine Greer reviewed by Stanley Wells

It is now over two hundred years since the discovery of a love letter written by William Shakespeare to his future bride, Ann (or Anne, or even Agnes) Hathaway. Along with it came a silk-tied lock of the poet's hair and verses bearing eloquent testimony to his love:"

2008-03-25T08:44:00.001-04:00

11 Shakespeare e-books in Macedonian Published

Creative Commons Content Portal for Macedonia published Macedonian translations of eleven Shakespeare plays as downloadable e-books, made available by the renowned storyteller and translator Dragi Mihajlovski.

The e-books have been published in weekly batches of two to three PDF-files between the 8th of February and the 20th of March 20, 2008. The following plays have been published under the Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Macedonia license:

Комедија на забуни (The Comedy of Errors)
Веселите жени од Виндзор (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
Ромео и Јулија (Romeo and Juliet)
Кротењето на опаката (The Taming of the Shrew)
Тимон од Атина (Timon of Athens)
Од влакно ортома (Much Ado About Nothing)
Ричард Трети (Richard III)
Со сила убавина не бидува (Love's Labour's Lost)
Танте за кукуригу (Measure for Measure)
Кориолан (Coriolanus)
Секое зло за арно (All's Well That Ends Well)

2008-03-25T08:37:00.001-04:00

Hath Shakespeare been a tourist in Venice?

It is a question that has perplexed literary scholars for years: how could Shakespeare display such intimate knowledge of Venice in his plays without ever having visited the lagoon city? Now Italian academics have challenged the widely accepted view that the Bard never travelled to Venice but gleaned information from Italian merchants who came to London on business.

2008-03-03T10:36:00.001-05:00

The Haunted

The New Yorker Review of Macbeth with Patrick Stewart at BAM by John Lahr

Among the many contemporary things that Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” exploited in its day—the accession to the throne of the first Scottish king of the British Isles; the King’s fascination with witchcraft; the climate of terror that followed the Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament—the most significant for us is the Elizabethan public’s newly acquired appetite for hair-raising eloquence. “It was addicted, one might say, to the fortissimo eloquence of inner lives magnificently tortured,” Ted Hughes writes, in his introduction to “The Essential Shakespeare.” To the verbalization of tragic frenzy, Rupert Goold’s inspired modern-dress Stalinist version of “Macbeth” (starring Patrick Stewart, at BAM’s Harvey Theatre) adds a scenic and sonic frenzy that is symphonic in its orchestration and its penetration. Goold’s brilliant production team—with Adam Cork’s soundscape; Lorna Heavey’s smash-cut video and projections; Howard Harrison’s moody lighting design; Anthony Ward’s brutalist set—unsettles the senses and sets the stage for the deracinated and the uncanny. It infuses Macbeth’s crepuscular world with the kind of fear that makes your tongue taste of brass.

2008-03-03T10:28:00.002-05:00

Shakespeare does Kodiak Island

A shaman marries a Russian Desdemona and an Aleut Othello. Behind them lies the mysterious and moody landscape of southwestern Alaska. In front of them awaits misconception and murder.

It’s an age-old story brought to light in Edgeware Production’s Alaska adaptation of Shakespeare’s "Othello."

2008-03-03T09:44:00.001-05:00

Teach Children Shakespeare at Four, says RSC

Shakespeare should be taught to children as young as four, before they have become intimidated by the language, the Royal Shakespeare Company says. Introducing the works of Shakespeare to teenagers is too late, the RSC will argue.

2008-02-25T08:20:00.001-05:00

Shakespeare Marathon & 15,000 liters of “blood”

Do you love Shakespeare, fancy English history and have 1,389 minutes plus to spare? If so, a unique opportunity is available, thanks to a mammoth project by the Royal Shakespeare Company, in what has been described in The Guardian newspaper as “One of the greatest events of modern theatre”.

All eight of the bard’s history plays, covering 100 years of English history, are currently being performed at the RSC’s home in Stratford upon Avon (until 16 March) and then between April 1 and May 25 in London at The Roundhouse. The plays are Richard II, Henry IV Parts I and II, Henry V, Henry VI Parts I, II and III, and Richard III

2008-02-25T07:53:00.001-05:00

Shakespeare with 'No Fear,' no flavor
A bowdlerized Bard, by any other name, smells. Off with his head, he who dares rewrite the immortal lines

2008-02-20T07:38:00.001-05:00

Inmates at California Men's Colony trade prison yard drama for Shakespeare

London Shakespeare Workout Prison Project puts the Bard behind bars

2008-02-20T07:35:00.001-05:00

Didn’t Shakespeare Write Hamlet? —Not in France

2008-02-18T20:47:00.003-05:00

In search of the perfect Hamlet - Times Online

As David Tennant prepares to play Hamlet, the Times's theatre critic names his top ten actors in the role, but is still waiting for someone to play it perfectly

Hamlet at the Symphony — North Carolina Public Radio WUNC

2008-02-18T09:06:00.000-05:00

Hamlet at the Symphony on North Carolina Public Radio

Recently in Raleigh, the North Carolina Symphony and the School of the Arts in Winston-Salem teamed up to perform a new interpretation of Hamlet. The production features music by Dimitri Shostakovich and text by William Shakespeare. David Brower reports."

2008-02-16T09:28:00.001-05:00

Uganda: Shakespeare in Mabira

Public's Shakespeare in the Park Presents 'Hamlet' with Easton & Stuhlbarg (baltimore.broadwayworld.com)

2008-02-13T13:18:00.000-05:00

Public's Shakespeare in the Park Presents 'Hamlet' with Easton & Stuhlbarg (

Christiaan Weijts - Radio Netherlands Worldwide - English

2008-02-13T10:18:00.000-05:00

'The day Juliet Capulet Wrote Back'

'The day Juliet Capulet wrote back', by Christiaan Weijts, is a story within a story, using a dialogue with one of Shakespeare's most famous characters to bridge time and space.

Listen to it here.

2008-02-04T08:40:00.000-05:00

An 'Othello' for Alaska

2008-02-04T08:39:00.000-05:00

Hamlet 2008 in the Philippines:
Stripping Shakespeare’s most celebrated work

NPR: In Fair Glendale, the Bard's Super Bowl Play

2008-02-02T09:11:00.000-05:00

NPR: In Fair Glendale, the Bard's Super Bowl Play

phillyBurbs.com Blogs | Would Shakespeare like Hillary Clinton?

2008-01-29T09:06:00.000-05:00

Would Shakespeare like Hillary Clinton?

2008-01-27T09:51:00.000-05:00

Coterie’s ‘Macbeth Project’ offers a radical take on Shakespeare

2008-01-27T09:45:00.000-05:00

Patrick Stewart - Macbeth To Boldly Go Where Shakespeare Calls

2008-01-27T09:44:00.000-05:00

This ‘Macbeth’ Goes for the Gore

“Out, damn’d spot! Out, I say!” has never had quite this much resonance. Pity the poor crew at the Two River Theater doing the cleanup that surely follows each performance of a new, unrelentingly bloody “Macbeth,” on stage in Red Bank through Feb. 10. Conceived and directed by Teller, the quieter half of the comedy-magic team Penn and Teller, and Aaron Posner, Two River’s artistic director, the show oozes, drips and squirts forth a river of crimson horror.

Ian McKellen's King Lear to Be Shown on TV, DVD: Theater News on TheaterMania.com

2008-01-22T12:51:00.000-05:00

Ian McKellen's King Lear to Be Shown on TV, DVD

Howls and Wonder: Shakespeare on Love - New York Times

2008-01-21T08:23:00.000-05:00

Howls and Wonder: Shakespeare on Love - New York Times

MaineToday.com | Out Going: Naked Shakespeare at Wine Bar

2008-01-19T09:03:00.000-05:00

Naked Shakespeare at Wine Bar

2008-01-12T09:05:00.000-05:00

Shakespeare's Birthplace made from Shredded Wheat

AS STRANGE sites go, a replica of Shakespeare's birthplace made completely out of wheat sitting proudly on Denton Island, has to be one of the strangest.

Cereal company Shredded Wheat has donated the life-size sculpture to the town after it was used as part of a Best of British Landmark exhibition.

Newhaven in Bloom applied to the company for one of ten sculptures after they were no longer needed and hope it will act as a tourist attraction for the town.

The house now stands proudly by the river on Denton Island and can be seen from the Swing Bridge and from the main road around the town, as well as by people going to South Downs College.

Newhaven In Bloom Chairman Robert Robertson said, 'We are absolutely thrilled to have been given this unique wheat sculpture.'

As soon as we started to put it up it aroused interest from the passers-by.'

I know it is going to be an added attraction to the town and we would like to thank Shredded Wheat for their kind donation.'