Ophelia's Grave Relations Raccoons

On Tuesday we looked at one of my favorite outdoor Shakespeare performance anecdotes, Squirrel Butt Romeo. Actor and fight director Geoffrey Kent (currently appearing at the American Shakespeare Center as Antony, Antony, and some other guy who is not Antony) has so far been the closest to unseating Squirrel Butt Romeo, with this spectacular trainwreck:

This is one case in which I feel the comic cannot capture the absurdity of the actual event. Anyways, things apparently got weirder after that:

Considering the invlosed trap then caused Claudius to keep stomping on it while speaking to Laertes about his love for his sister? And the sword fight in the now teeter totter. It just. Keeps. Giving.

— Geoffrey Kent (@fightguy) June 4, 2019

So… do you have an outdoor Shakespeare anecdote that can beat that?

Squirrel Butt Romeo

I love Shakespeare performance anecdotes, so I was delighted when a recent Twitter conversation about outdoor Shakespeare productions started to generate a “best of” list of natural calamities.

Here is my current favorite, as supplied by my friend Kate Powers, director, educator, founder of the Redeeming Time Project, and all-around excellent Shakespeare geek.

More anecdotes coming. If you think you have an anecdote that can compete with Squirrel Butt Romeo, leave me a comment or add to this Twitter thread:

Please let me know if you have an outdoor Shakespeare story that you think can beat Squirrel Butt Romeo. https://t.co/lHL61fsEaF

— Good Tickle Brain (@GoodTickleBrain) June 2, 2019

Shakespeare Yoga, part 2

A few more Shakespeare-themed yoga poses for you to wrap your mind (and body) around…

Shakespeare Yoga, part 1

So, back in April the Shakespeare Association of America conference offered morning “Shakespeare Yoga” sessions. This basically meant regular yoga with a Shakespeare-inspired soundtrack, but I thought it would be fun to codify some classic Shakespearean yoga poses.

Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt, as usual.

If you can think of a Shakespeare equivalent for ‘chaturanga dandasana’, leave me a comment below. I’ve spent way too much time thinking about it.

Disguise

You know the classic Shakespearean trope where one character (usually a girl disguising herself as a boy) changes her hairstyle or puts on a hat and is suddenly TOTALLY UNRECOGNIZABLE to even her closest friends and family?

Apparently we shouldn’t dismiss it that quickly, based on the real life experiences of my Shakespearean BFF, Kate Pitt.

Pirate Ex Machina

Have you ever written yourself into a corner and found yourself trapped in a plot complication that seems impossible to untangle? Consider doing what Shakespeare often did in such situations: introduce convenient pirates!

Thanks to my pocket dramaturg, Kate Pitt, for once again consulting with me on this, and for compiling a list of Shakespearean Pirate Names:

A list of Shakespeare pirates:

-Antonio (denied by the accused)
-Bargulus
-Menas
-Menecrates
-Ragozine
-Valdes
-Walter Whitmore

They all have appropriate pirate-y names until the end – I'm pretty sure Walter escaped from Penzance. (h/t to @GoodTickleBrain for the inspiration)

— Kate Pitt (@KatePitt) May 14, 2019

The Ohio Light Opera 2019 Season, part 2

We’re back with the remaining four productions on the Ohio Light Opera 2019 playbill, starting with a classic Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, possibly the first theatrical piece I memorized as a small child. Because… pirates.

Everyone knows Rodgers and Hammerstein, but Hammerstein did a lot of work with Kern before he really figured out how to effectively integrate these things called “plots” into a musical (Show Boat notwithstanding). Here’s one of their earlier efforts:

A season at OLO wouldn’t be complete without some csardas-fueled Emmerich Kalman (a personal favorite of mine).

And finally, for those fans of hopelessly melodramtic, multi-generational tales of foiled romance, we have this incredibly florid offering from Ivor Novello (aka Jeremy Northam in Gosford Park).

I’m looking forward to seeing all of these next month!

The Ohio Light Opera 2019 Season, part 1

Short break from Shakespeare this week! The Ohio Light Opera, my favorite obscure operetta and early musical theatre festival, is about to open their season this weekend! To celebrate, I’m taking a look at their playbill, starting with some (relatively) heavy hitters.

First up, a Rodgers & Hammerstein classic.

Fun fact: I, a mixed race child of Asian and Caucasian parents, was well into my twenties before I realized Nellie’s problem with Emile was miscegenation. Apparently, I am totally clueless.

Next, some fluffy Gershwin!

I love me some Gershwin, so I am looking forward to this. I’ve seen Crazy For You, the updated, “new and improved” version of Girl Crazy, but I’ve never seen the original.

And now, the opposite of fluffy Gershwin: serious Sondheim.

Tune in Thursday for the rest of the OLO 2019 season, featuring a Gilbert & Sullivan classic and a bunch of REALLY OBSCURE stuff.