Friday, February 22, 2013

The Bard

"Claudio" and two stage managers.


Today my youngest son has Shakespeare auditions. It means that all day I’ll be hearing Shakespeare. He’s auditioning for the role of Antipholus of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors. I’m really looking forward to the play, especially since I haven’t read this one, because it’s known for wordplay and puns (okay, I’m not so fond of puns, but I love wordplay).

I love Shakespeare season because Matthew will quote Shakespeare for months on end. To me, the cadence of the plays, the witticisms, and the layers of meaning are literary bliss. You can’t help but love, “You speak an infinite deal of nothing.” (The Merchant of Venice). Or, "Sweetest nut hath sourest rind; Such a nut is Rosalind." (As You Like It). And what about the play within a play of Much Ado About Nothing, where Shakespeare pokes fun of Romeo and Juliet.

And here’s Matt’s favorite line: “O, that he were here to write me down an ass! But, masters, remember, that I am an ass; though it be not written down, yet forget not that I am an ass.” Much Ado About Nothing.

I thought I’d share a few photos from past years.
Irreconcilable Differences in Much Ado About Nothing.
Puck!

6 comments:

  1. I adore your son, without ever meeting him. What a wonderful and rare thing it is to hear of a young man who can quote Shakespeare. Makes me smile just to think of it.

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  2. I think it's cool your fam is so into Shakespeare. Took me a while to warm up to the Bard. :)

    I'm reading Gayle Forman's JUST ONE DAY right now, and it's a great YA book but also there's a lot of Shakespeare thrown in that works well for the MC's character arc. You might enjoy it!

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  3. I think it's fantastic you have your son memorize Shakespearean lines. These words are so much better than the average garbage that teens like.

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  4. Ooh good luck to him! I really should read some more Shakespeare. Love his plays, but only read four of them.

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  5. What an awesome boy you have! Looks like he's having a great time too.

    Good luck to him! <3

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  6. Good to hear that your son is into Shakespeare. I've always thought that young people today should get a fair share of the world's classics. So much can be learned and enjoyed from them.

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