Feb 13, 2016 | Shakespeare - Theatre
Ask anyone who has ever played Lord or Lady Capulet, and especially any Nurse, to name their least favorite scene, and they’ll tell you it’s the Weeping and Wailing scene. (Aside – actors almost always use short-hand when referring to a scene. R&J has the...
Feb 12, 2016 | Shakespeare - Theatre
It amazes me that, of the thirty-odd productions I’ve been a part of and the dozen more I’ve seen, I’m the only director to make use of these lines from Juliet:
O, look! methinks I see my cousin’s ghost
Seeking out...
Feb 11, 2016 | Essential Posts - Shakespeare
You know what drives me consistently crazy? The preconceptions people have about Romeo & Juliet. So often after a student matinee a teacher or a parent will complain: “Why did you add all those sex jokes?” When we explain that we did not add...
Feb 10, 2016 | Shakespeare - Short Stories - Theatre
Despite what Baz Luhrmann did in his film, the party in R&J is not a masked ball. It was common practice in Renaissance Italy to show up wearing a mask to a party one was not invited to. Which is exactly what the boys are doing. Mercutio is even delighted to don a...
Feb 9, 2016 | Shakespeare
I know there are desperate people in the world, seeking advice on how to live their lives. Dear Abby, Oprah, and Mr. Blue (oh, how I do miss Mr. Blue!) are only a few examples of how authority figures have hundreds, even thousands of people seeking their counsel. I...
