All the Air Force Base is a Stage for Shakespeare at Misawa Japan
By Jennifer H. Svan, Stars and Stripes Pacific edition, Tuesday, February 13, 2007
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan — With less than a week before the curtain opens on the Misawa Theater Guild’s production of “Romeo and Juliet,” Natalie Bilger has a lot of stitches to sew."
Not only is Bilger, 25, directing the Shakespeare play, she’s also the show’s seamstress, in charge of designing and sewing more than 20 Renaissance-era costumes.
Senior Airman Nathaniel Parry stars as Romeo, while Victoria Benson, a student at Edgren High School, plays Juliet.
Juliet’s costume, a green and yellow floor-length gown with a matching bodice, is almost finished, taking Bilger about a day and a half to complete. Bilger, a stay-at-home mom and wife of Staff Sgt. Joseph Bilger, said she’s a stickler for details, basing her costumes off of Renaissance patterns she orders from the Internet and altering them to fit the period.
Bilger said she learned to sew at 16 when she “accidentally” was put into a clothing design class in high school. She’s not sure seamstresses are a dying breed, she said, but a lot of people tell her, “I wish I knew how to sew.”
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
Shakespeare's Globe Announces Its 2007 Theatre Season
The three Shakespeare plays this season are all explorations of the promise and problems of his own moment, the late Renaissance. Othello and The Merchant of Venice are largely set in Venice – a city where East met West and where wealth and romance concealed commercialism and prejudice. Love’s Labour's Lost, is set in Navarre, where all the exuberance of young people in love with the world, each other, and the language they use to celebrate life, pours out unimpeded.
The three new plays celebrate tipping-points in history. They are reviving their great hit of last summer, Howard Brenton’s In Extremis, a love story about Abelard and Heloise. Jack Shepherd has written Holding Fire! for the Globe, an account of the Chartist movement, and a vivid, picturesque journey through early Victorian England. The third new play, We The People, recreates the moment in Philadelphia in 1787, when 50 men sat down over a long, hot summer, and wrote down what the United States could and should be.
The three Shakespeare plays this season are all explorations of the promise and problems of his own moment, the late Renaissance. Othello and The Merchant of Venice are largely set in Venice – a city where East met West and where wealth and romance concealed commercialism and prejudice. Love’s Labour's Lost, is set in Navarre, where all the exuberance of young people in love with the world, each other, and the language they use to celebrate life, pours out unimpeded.
The three new plays celebrate tipping-points in history. They are reviving their great hit of last summer, Howard Brenton’s In Extremis, a love story about Abelard and Heloise. Jack Shepherd has written Holding Fire! for the Globe, an account of the Chartist movement, and a vivid, picturesque journey through early Victorian England. The third new play, We The People, recreates the moment in Philadelphia in 1787, when 50 men sat down over a long, hot summer, and wrote down what the United States could and should be.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Web Words Weightier than Shakespeare's in Australia
Studying the content of websites is considered more important in a senior school English curriculum than learning about Shakespeare's plays.
An expert group of English academics, teachers and professionals rated prose fiction, Australian writers and contemporary literature as the three most essential elements of an English curriculum for Year 12 students. "
Studying the content of websites is considered more important in a senior school English curriculum than learning about Shakespeare's plays.
An expert group of English academics, teachers and professionals rated prose fiction, Australian writers and contemporary literature as the three most essential elements of an English curriculum for Year 12 students. "
Saturday, February 03, 2007
BBC NEWS | UK | Education | Teachers split over Shakespeare
British Teachers Split over Shakespeare
Teachers have steered the Shakespeare curriculum for younger pupils in England away from Othello and Henry IV Part I in favour of lighter texts.
Teachers have steered the Shakespeare curriculum for younger pupils in England away from Othello and Henry IV Part I in favour of lighter texts.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Laugh and Cry at Shakespeare in Bristol
Audiences will be given the opportunity to laugh and cry as both comedy and tragedy arrive in Bristol. Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory will feature a professional company performing two sharply contrasting productions at its Bristol home.
One of Shakespeare's greatest plays, Othello is the story of an African general in the service of the Venetian state. His love-match with the white Venetian, Desdemona, is undone by the malevolence of his closest aide, Iago, whose cocktail of professional, sexual and racial jealousy are deployed to lethal effect in one of the most powerful tragedies ever written.
In contrast, Much Ado About Nothing tells the story of Beatrice, who is unmarried, sharply witty, and unlikely ever to fall in love, least of all to the man she likens to 'a pestilence'. Benedick is a confirmed bachelor and keen to avoid any entanglement, most of all with the woman he calls 'Lady Disdain'. But their mutual friends have other ideas...
Audiences will be given the opportunity to laugh and cry as both comedy and tragedy arrive in Bristol. Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory will feature a professional company performing two sharply contrasting productions at its Bristol home.
One of Shakespeare's greatest plays, Othello is the story of an African general in the service of the Venetian state. His love-match with the white Venetian, Desdemona, is undone by the malevolence of his closest aide, Iago, whose cocktail of professional, sexual and racial jealousy are deployed to lethal effect in one of the most powerful tragedies ever written.
In contrast, Much Ado About Nothing tells the story of Beatrice, who is unmarried, sharply witty, and unlikely ever to fall in love, least of all to the man she likens to 'a pestilence'. Benedick is a confirmed bachelor and keen to avoid any entanglement, most of all with the woman he calls 'Lady Disdain'. But their mutual friends have other ideas...
Shakespeare Schools Festival Goes for Another Guinness World Record
In 2005 the Shakespeare Schools Festival scooped a Guinness World Record for “the most people performing Shakespeare on a single day” during their “1 Night of Shakespeare” event in association with the BBC.
This year, until February 10, 25,000 young actors will re-enact some of the greatest stories ever told, as 1,050 schools across the UK have signed up for the biggest celebration of Shakespeare in the UK.
In 2005 the Shakespeare Schools Festival scooped a Guinness World Record for “the most people performing Shakespeare on a single day” during their “1 Night of Shakespeare” event in association with the BBC.
This year, until February 10, 25,000 young actors will re-enact some of the greatest stories ever told, as 1,050 schools across the UK have signed up for the biggest celebration of Shakespeare in the UK.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Shakespeare in the Park - New York Times
Shakespeare in the Park- New York Times
Those crazy Veronese lovebirds have scheduled a date in Central Park this summer.
"Romeo and Juliet," Shakespeare's tale of woe and badly mixed signals, will be the first presentation in the Public Theater's 2007 Shakespeare in the Park season. Performances of "Romeo," to be directed by Michael Greif ("Grey Gardens," "Rent"), will begin at the Delacorte Theater on June 5 and continue through July 8, a week longer than usual.
The season's second play, also scheduled for a five-week run, has not been announced.
Those crazy Veronese lovebirds have scheduled a date in Central Park this summer.
"Romeo and Juliet," Shakespeare's tale of woe and badly mixed signals, will be the first presentation in the Public Theater's 2007 Shakespeare in the Park season. Performances of "Romeo," to be directed by Michael Greif ("Grey Gardens," "Rent"), will begin at the Delacorte Theater on June 5 and continue through July 8, a week longer than usual.
The season's second play, also scheduled for a five-week run, has not been announced.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Inspiring a collaborative spiritBy Catherine Foster, Boston Globe Staff January 29, 2007
CAMBRIDGE -- Bobbie Steinbach slips on a pair of kneepads and grouses, half-jesting, "I'm too old for this."
Then she joins a mass of growling actors on their knees, impersonating a single bear, who crawl as one toward their prey. The group, during a recent rehearsal at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center , is pursuing an ill-fated soul named Antigonus (played by Richard Snee ) in Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale."
Then she joins a mass of growling actors on their knees, impersonating a single bear, who crawl as one toward their prey. The group, during a recent rehearsal at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center , is pursuing an ill-fated soul named Antigonus (played by Richard Snee ) in Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale."
As the bear, the actors corner Snee, rearing up to hide his exit from view. Then they split up, and falling back down on their hands and knees, transform themselves into a flock of bleating sheep. Snee returns to the stage, now as their shepherd.
Curt L. Tofteland , director of the Actors' Shakespeare Project production that opened officially over the weekend, rocks back and forth on his feet as he assesses the scene.
"Any problems, sheep people?" he asks. "That was almost perfect, bear." [more]
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Richard III, an Arab Tragedy
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s first Arabic production of a Shakespeare play will be presented next month.
Richard III – an Arab Tragedy’ will be presented by the Culture Project (Kuwait) and Sulayman Al-Bassam Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK.
The production was specially commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) for the Complete Works Festival, from February 8 to 17.
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s first Arabic production of a Shakespeare play will be presented next month.
Richard III – an Arab Tragedy’ will be presented by the Culture Project (Kuwait) and Sulayman Al-Bassam Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK.
The production was specially commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) for the Complete Works Festival, from February 8 to 17.
Lebanese actress Carole Abboud
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Hamlet, the Manga
Emma Vieceli has informed us that she has created a Manga edition of a Hamlet, part of a series produced by Self Made Hero. In this manga, Hamlet is set in a dramatic futuristic world. The year is 2017. Global climate change has devastated the Earth. This is now a cyberworld in constant dread of war. The state of Denmark has grown prosperous and defended itself successfully against neighbouring states. But could it be that its greatest threat comes not from without, but from within the state itself? It is in this cyberworld that we find the young Hamlet. His grief over his father's recent death turns to something far darker when the ghost of his father appears to him. Hamlet is very soon to discover that something is rotten in the state of Denmark...
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Manga Romeo and Juliet published by SelfMadeHero is a reinterpretation of Shakespeare's classic play in manga form. Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare's most famous love story, unfurls in a dramatic manga setting, in which Verona becomes a street in the highly fashionable Shibuya district of Tokyo. The star-crossed lovers, touching in their youth and innocence, are caught up in a bitter feud between two Yakuza families (Japan's 'mafia') whose rivalry erupts into violence and killing on the streets. Romeo, a rock star, is a Montague who falls in love with Juliet, a Capulet.
They defy their parents and consummate their passion in secret. This is a story of love, revenge, violence and tragedy.
Amy Ulen, always at the leading edge in technology, has created a Podcast that can be used to enhance the study of Shakespeare. Her stated goal is to make the podcasting experience as interactive as possible, so she needs input from her listeners. You can get a free subscription and listen to it on an iPod or on a computer.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him. ShakespeareOne of the world's most famous literary locations is under threat from a large-scale development which, it is feared, could devastate an invaluable piece of Perthshire's heritage.
Yorkshire-based Ventura Lodges has submitted plans to Perth and Kinross Council for a holiday park of 49 chalets with onsite washing, sewerage and car-parking facilities in the historic Birnam Wood.
The picturesque location made famous in Shakespeare's internationally renowned play, Macbeth, is currently home to ospreys, red kites, nesting swans and red squirrel. If this plan goes ahead it would jeopardise the wildlife as well as the unique atmosphere of the tranquil setting.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
New Books on the Rialto
"Kenneth Burke on Shakespeare" gathers and annotates all of the Shakespeare criticism, including previously unpublished lectures and notes, by the maverick American intellectual Kenneth Burke. Burke’s interpretations of Shakespeare have influenced important lines of contemporary scholarship; playwrights and directors have been stirred by his dramaturgical investigations; and many readers outside academia have enjoyed his ingenious dissections of what makes a play function.
Burke’s intellectual project continually engaged with Shakespeare’s works, and Burke’s writings on Shakespeare, in turn, have had an immense impact on generations of readers. Carefully edited and annotated, with helpful cross-references, Burke’s fascinating interpretations of Shakespeare remain challenging, provocative, and accessible. Read together, these pieces form an evolving argument about the nature of Shakespeare’s artistry. Included are thirteen analyses of individual plays and poems, an introductory lecture explaining his approach to reading Shakespeare, and a comprehensive appendix of scores of Burke’s other references to Shakespeare.
The editor, Scott L. Newstok, also provides a historical introduction and an account of Burke’s legacy.
This edition fulfils Burke’s own vision of collecting in one volume his Shakespeare criticism, portions of which had appeared in the many books he had published throughout his lengthy career. Here, Burke examines Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar,Venus and Adonis, Othello, Timon of Athens, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, King Lear, Troilus and Cressida, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, Falstaff, the Sonnets, and Shakespeare’s imagery.
Studying Shakespeare on Film by Maurice Hindle
A 'hands-on' introductory guide to analyzing and discussing Shakespeare on screen. Part One establishes the differences between Shakespeare on stage and film, with Part Two providing a historical introduction to Shakespeare on film. Part Three explores the key modes and genre conventions used in Shakespeare on film. Part Four contains a series of critical essays, while Part Five discusses Shakespeare on TV. At every stage students are provided with critical knowledge and vocabulary to analyze Shakespeare on screen.
(From the author's Introduction)
Shakespeare has always had an audience. Up to the beginning of the twentieth century, that audience, whether elite or popular, experienced Shakespeare exclusively in a theatrical space, and was relatively small. The invention of moving pictures changed all that. Not so noticeably in the silent era or in the 1930s, it has to be admitted, since it is only with the success of Laurence Olivier’s wartime production of Henry V (1944) that one can talk of a film adaptation having for the first time found favour with a mass moviegoing audience. Olivier’s achievement and popular success also went beyond issues of patriotism and propaganda, with at least two of the finest adapters of the Shakespeare play to the big screen being inspired by Olivier’s filmic example to produce Shakespeare movies of their own: Franco Zeffirelli and Ian McKellen. Enthused by Olivier’s Henry V, Zeffirelli went on to take Shakespeare to the mainstream movie audiences of the 1960s with his Burton/Taylor vehicle The Taming of the Shrew (1966) before bringing a large youth audience to the hugely popular Romeo and Juliet (1968), a success partly repeated with his Mel Gibson/Glenn Close Hamlet (1990). For McKellen it was a viewing of Olivier’s Richard III (1955) at the Bolton Odeon which inspired: ‘A spell was cast as I watched the shadows of great actors and had confirmed my juvenile sense that Shakespeare was for everybody’ (1995, 37).The experience of feeling that Shakespeare ‘is for everybody’ also drove Kenneth Branagh to produce a Henry V to rival in popularity Olivier’s 1944 production, a move that reinvigorated the Shakespeare film adaptation genre in 1989. Although in terms of output it is the prolific and committed Branagh who still dominates the continuing post-1989 era of Shakespeare movies, I would like to focus here a little on Ian McKellen and Richard Loncraine’s fine adaptation of Richard III (1995).
"Kenneth Burke on Shakespeare" gathers and annotates all of the Shakespeare criticism, including previously unpublished lectures and notes, by the maverick American intellectual Kenneth Burke. Burke’s interpretations of Shakespeare have influenced important lines of contemporary scholarship; playwrights and directors have been stirred by his dramaturgical investigations; and many readers outside academia have enjoyed his ingenious dissections of what makes a play function.Burke’s intellectual project continually engaged with Shakespeare’s works, and Burke’s writings on Shakespeare, in turn, have had an immense impact on generations of readers. Carefully edited and annotated, with helpful cross-references, Burke’s fascinating interpretations of Shakespeare remain challenging, provocative, and accessible. Read together, these pieces form an evolving argument about the nature of Shakespeare’s artistry. Included are thirteen analyses of individual plays and poems, an introductory lecture explaining his approach to reading Shakespeare, and a comprehensive appendix of scores of Burke’s other references to Shakespeare.
The editor, Scott L. Newstok, also provides a historical introduction and an account of Burke’s legacy.
This edition fulfils Burke’s own vision of collecting in one volume his Shakespeare criticism, portions of which had appeared in the many books he had published throughout his lengthy career. Here, Burke examines Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar,Venus and Adonis, Othello, Timon of Athens, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, King Lear, Troilus and Cressida, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, Falstaff, the Sonnets, and Shakespeare’s imagery.
Studying Shakespeare on Film by Maurice Hindle
A 'hands-on' introductory guide to analyzing and discussing Shakespeare on screen. Part One establishes the differences between Shakespeare on stage and film, with Part Two providing a historical introduction to Shakespeare on film. Part Three explores the key modes and genre conventions used in Shakespeare on film. Part Four contains a series of critical essays, while Part Five discusses Shakespeare on TV. At every stage students are provided with critical knowledge and vocabulary to analyze Shakespeare on screen.
(From the author's Introduction)
Shakespeare has always had an audience. Up to the beginning of the twentieth century, that audience, whether elite or popular, experienced Shakespeare exclusively in a theatrical space, and was relatively small. The invention of moving pictures changed all that. Not so noticeably in the silent era or in the 1930s, it has to be admitted, since it is only with the success of Laurence Olivier’s wartime production of Henry V (1944) that one can talk of a film adaptation having for the first time found favour with a mass moviegoing audience. Olivier’s achievement and popular success also went beyond issues of patriotism and propaganda, with at least two of the finest adapters of the Shakespeare play to the big screen being inspired by Olivier’s filmic example to produce Shakespeare movies of their own: Franco Zeffirelli and Ian McKellen. Enthused by Olivier’s Henry V, Zeffirelli went on to take Shakespeare to the mainstream movie audiences of the 1960s with his Burton/Taylor vehicle The Taming of the Shrew (1966) before bringing a large youth audience to the hugely popular Romeo and Juliet (1968), a success partly repeated with his Mel Gibson/Glenn Close Hamlet (1990). For McKellen it was a viewing of Olivier’s Richard III (1955) at the Bolton Odeon which inspired: ‘A spell was cast as I watched the shadows of great actors and had confirmed my juvenile sense that Shakespeare was for everybody’ (1995, 37).The experience of feeling that Shakespeare ‘is for everybody’ also drove Kenneth Branagh to produce a Henry V to rival in popularity Olivier’s 1944 production, a move that reinvigorated the Shakespeare film adaptation genre in 1989. Although in terms of output it is the prolific and committed Branagh who still dominates the continuing post-1989 era of Shakespeare movies, I would like to focus here a little on Ian McKellen and Richard Loncraine’s fine adaptation of Richard III (1995).
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Friday, December 15, 2006
Shakespeare Tests Computer Generated Actors
When it comes to testing the cutting edge in CGI characters – particularly the notoriously difficult facial expressions – it seems there’s no harder taskmaster than The Bard himself. The man who put the ‘T’ in tragedy has made, and broken, many actor’s reputations on stage but, getting animated characters to portray all of those emotions, is seen as the Mt. Everest in computer animation.
Pendulum Studios has taken a decent stab at it though with its CGI Mark Anthony and the recreation of [one of] the betrayal scenes in Antony and Cleopatra. There are over 30 facial expressions on display here but while it is good, there are too many emotions going on and the swapping between those emotions is a bit jarring.
When it comes to testing the cutting edge in CGI characters – particularly the notoriously difficult facial expressions – it seems there’s no harder taskmaster than The Bard himself. The man who put the ‘T’ in tragedy has made, and broken, many actor’s reputations on stage but, getting animated characters to portray all of those emotions, is seen as the Mt. Everest in computer animation.
Pendulum Studios has taken a decent stab at it though with its CGI Mark Anthony and the recreation of [one of] the betrayal scenes in Antony and Cleopatra. There are over 30 facial expressions on display here but while it is good, there are too many emotions going on and the swapping between those emotions is a bit jarring.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
King Lear on BBC World Service
Philip Madoc, Fiona Shaw, Deborah Findlay and Andrew Sachs head an all-star cast in King Lear, performed in front of an audience at London's The Globe Theatre, to mark the 400th anniversary of one of Shakespeare's most heart-wrenching plays.
It is the tragic story of a proud King, who forces his three daughters to tell him how much they love him before he will divide his kingdom between them. The older sisters, Goneril and Regan, vie with each other to make exaggerated and untrue declarations of their love, but the youngest, Cordelia – the King's favourite – tells him simply and truthfully that she loves him "according to my duty: no more, no less". Lear is outraged and exiles Cordelia, thus accelerating the downfall of his kingdom – and himself.
This is a new co-production between the BBC World Service and The Globe theatre, an exact replica of the original wooden Elizabethan theatre by the banks of the River Thames in London.
Philip Madoc plays Lear, Fiona Shaw plays Goneril, Deborah Findlay plays Regan, Mali Harries plays Cordelia and Andrew Sachs plays the Fool.
Listeners can hear a lively anniversary discussion of the play in King Lear On Boxing Day on BBC Radio 4.
Producer/Marion Nancarrow, Director/Alison Hindell
Philip Madoc, Fiona Shaw, Deborah Findlay and Andrew Sachs head an all-star cast in King Lear, performed in front of an audience at London's The Globe Theatre, to mark the 400th anniversary of one of Shakespeare's most heart-wrenching plays.
It is the tragic story of a proud King, who forces his three daughters to tell him how much they love him before he will divide his kingdom between them. The older sisters, Goneril and Regan, vie with each other to make exaggerated and untrue declarations of their love, but the youngest, Cordelia – the King's favourite – tells him simply and truthfully that she loves him "according to my duty: no more, no less". Lear is outraged and exiles Cordelia, thus accelerating the downfall of his kingdom – and himself.
This is a new co-production between the BBC World Service and The Globe theatre, an exact replica of the original wooden Elizabethan theatre by the banks of the River Thames in London.
Philip Madoc plays Lear, Fiona Shaw plays Goneril, Deborah Findlay plays Regan, Mali Harries plays Cordelia and Andrew Sachs plays the Fool.
Listeners can hear a lively anniversary discussion of the play in King Lear On Boxing Day on BBC Radio 4.
Producer/Marion Nancarrow, Director/Alison Hindell
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Shakespeare in That Universal Language:Theater
By BEN BRANTLEY (NYT)
Boundaries melt like ice cubes in August in the Chekhov International Theater Festival’s blissful production of “Twelfth Night,” which runs through Sunday at the Harvey Theater of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Lines traditionally relied upon to separate sexes, scenes, senses and, for that matter, languages dissolve into a mist of theatrical enchantment in this all-male Russian-speaking interpretation of Shakespeare’s tale of identities under siege in the land of Illyria.
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