Gulli-Brutus

Everyone's heard of Mark Antony's "friends, Romans, countrymen" speech from Julius Caesar, right? It's a fantastic speech. I recently watched the BBC Shakespeare 1979 film of Julius Caesar and Keith Michell's Antony knocks it out of the park. But what really amuses me is the run-up to the speech.

Strangely enough, Cassius does not spend the next two acts following Brutus around saying "I told you so, I told you so," over and over again, which is what I would have done.  

Good Tickle Brain at the Folger Library!

I am now only FOUR DAYS AWAY from speaking at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C.! In case you're just joining me, I am giving a FREE talk on FRIDAY, APRIL 29 at 6:00PM, where I will be discussing my comic and live-drawing a brand new comic on stage with audience input. It's going to be SO MUCH FUN and you should check out all the details on the Folger's website. 

Happy Deathday, Shakespeare!

It's finally April 23rd, 2016! Or, as millions of Shakespeare geeks around the world call it, the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death!

Thanks a bunch, Bill. It's all been so much fun, and there's no end in sight.

For more Shakespeare 400 fun, be sure to check out my Shakespeare Play Flowchart and my Board Game of Shakespeare's Life! Also, be sure to sign up for my weekly e-mail newsletter to be notified of when posters of my flowchart will be made available.

And remember, if you're in D.C. you should come see me speak and do some live-drawing on stage at the Folger Shakespeare Library on Friday, April 29th at 6:00pm!

 

The Game of Shakespeare's Life!

Continuing our epic journey towards Shakespeare's 400th death anniversary on Saturday, here is a handy-dandy board game that allows you to relive all the exciting ups and downs of this master playwright's eventful life!

For all my fellow board game geeks out there: I know this is a totally rudimentary roll-and-move luck-fest with no strategy. I'm sorry. I actually started out designing a slightly more interesting game, but it was clear that I couldn't both draw a comic and design a functional board game within the space of two days, so this is what you get.

Also, so many of you were gratifying excited about my Shakespeare Play Flowchart from Tuesday that I WILL be making a poster of it available. I have to re-design it a bit to make it more poster friendly, so it might be a little while. If you want to stay updated on the poster, as well as all other Good Tickle Brain news, sign up for my weekly newsletter. In addition to news, you get a weekly digest of my comics plus exclusive behind-the-scenes peeks and book/DVD reviews. 

Good Tickle Brain at the Folger Library!

In just 8 DAYS I will be speaking at the Folger Shakespeare Library! In case you've missed my previous announcements on this, here are the basic facts:

  • WHO: Me!

  • WHAT: Talking about my comic and live-drawing on stage

  • WHERE: The Folger Theater, Washington D.C.

  • WHEN: Friday, April 29, at 6:00pm

  • WHY: Because it's going to be REALLY SUPER FUN

  • HOW MUCH: Nothing! It's absolutely FREE! You can reserve a FREE ticket at the Folger website.

Which Shakespeare Play Should I See? An Illustrated Flowchart

This coming Saturday is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death! Not sure what Shakespeare play you should see or read to commemorate the occasion? No worries! I've put together a little flowchart to help you make up your mind. 

HAPPY SHAKESPEARE-ING, EVERYONE!

POSTER AVAILABLE!

By popular demand, and after many months of blood, sweat, and tears, a poster version of this is now available! 

Measuring 18"x24" and printed on lovely, thick, high-quality paper, this is the perfect wall decoration for the Shakespeare geek in your life, especially when that Shakespeare geek is YOU.

If you order more than one poster, you'll get $5 off each poster! How about that?!

GET YOURS TODAY! 

Good Tickle Brain at the Folger Library!

In just 10 DAYS I will be speaking at the Folger Shakespeare Library! In case you've missed my previous annoucements on this, here are the basic facts:

  • WHO: Me!

  • WHAT: Talking about my comic and live-drawing on stage

  • WHERE: The Folger Theater, Washington D.C.

  • WHEN: Friday, April 29, at 6:00pm

  • WHY: Because it's going to be REALLY SUPER FUN

  • HOW MUCH: Nothing! It's absolutely FREE! You can reserve a FREE ticket at the Folger website.

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No Fooling

It is a truth universally acknowledged that there is nothing more daunting than playing one of Shakespeare's clowns. 

Shakespeare's insight into the human condition might have aged well over the past 400 years, but a lot of his jokes haven't... at least those told by designated fools. A general rule of thumb is that the more times you have to look up a footnote for a joke, the more likely it is you will want to punch the character telling it. I'm always immensely impressed when actors are able to make Shakespeare's fools vibrant and amusing in performance.

Also, King Lear's Fool is totally the Fool from Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters, and nothing will every change that for me.

Honorificabilitudinitatibus

Hey all. I'm postponing the rest of my "The Frozen Winter's Tale" series until after my visit to the Folger at the end of the month, as I've just got too much to do ahead of then to be able to give it the time, attention, and mental energy it needs. But it will be back! In the meantime, here's this:

Yes, I've memorized how to say "honorifcabilitudinitatibus".

Yes, I occasionally say it at random moments, just to show off.

Honorificabilitudinitatibus.

It's a lot of fun to say. 

The Frozen Winter's Tale

Chalk this one up under the heading of "Things That Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time But Now I'm REALLY Not So Sure". Apart from the winter theme, I'm not sure what Disney smash-hit Frozen and Shakespeare weird-late-romance The Winter's Tale have in common. LET'S FIND OUT!!!

Good Tickle Brain at the Folger!

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Just a reminder that I will be giving a FREE pre-show talk at the Folger Shakespeare Library on April 29 at 6:00pm! 

This is going to be a lot of fun, so if you're in the D.C. area, please do stop by and say hello! I will have merch available for purchase and will be hanging around after the talk to sign stuff and chat.

For details, as well as info on how to reserve your FREE ticket, please visit the Folger website. 

As Duke Frederick Likes It

Last Sunday I went to see the not-quite-live broadcast of the National Theatre's production of As You Like It, which reminded me how utterly contrived the ending is. No, it's not the four weddings and spontaneous appearance of Hymen, god of marriage. It's the way in which Shakespeare deals with the Big Bad Wolf of the play: Duke Frederick. 

WELL, THAT DE-ESCALATED QUICKLY. 

Granted, the endings to most of Shakespeare's comedies are contrived, but As You Like It is one of the worst offenders as far as I'm concerned. Even Cymbeline lays more groundwork to justify the final, ridiculous scene of revelations than As You Like It.

Which is not to say that I don't like it. I just find it consistently hilarious.

Good Tickle Brain at the Folger!

I am really thrilled to announce that I will be giving a FREE pre-show talk at the Folger Shakespeare Library on APRIL 29th! Join me at the Folger Theatre at 6:00pm as I talk about how I got involved in all this Shakespeare comic madness, reveal to you my deepest artistic secrets, and draw a brand new comic live on stage - with your help!

Good Tickle Brain merchandise will be available for purchase, and I will be hanging around after my talk to sign stuff! Plus, if you stick around until 8:00pm, you can see the world-famous Reduced Shakespeare Company perform William Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play (abridged). I saw a workshop production of this last summer at the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, and it's basically what would happen if you dumped all of Shakespeare's plays into a blender, added a hefty dose of pure silliness, and then turned it on. I highly recommend it. I can't tell you how excited I am about this.

I've been meaning to visit the Folger Library for ages (being both a Shakespeare geek and a library geek), so this is basically a dream come true for me. If you're in the Washington D.C. area, please stop by and say hello! For details on the event, as well as how to reserve your FREE tickets, visit the Folger website.