Shakespeare Engaged!

I think our event last night was a success. We had about 80 people there, counting our classmates. And everything and everybody looked good, there weren't any embarrassing "technical difficulties," and the audience seemed to really enjoy our program.

I really liked the ways we involved the audience. Professor Burton's idea to have the audience share their "Shakespeare testimonies" was a great way to kick off the evening, and a good segue into sharing the blogs. We learned that Shakespeare is relevant to anything, whether it's serving the homeless, the nesting habits of cuckoo birds or cycling in the city of Boston.

After Averill's play, during the time that the audience could ask questions of the performers and documentary filmmakers, the idea came to me to ask the audience what they thought of seeing their family and friends up there on stage doing Shakespeare. I'm glad I thought of that, because I think it was another way for the audience to share the experience and to make the engagement a two-way street. And a few commented on how surprised and impressed they were with their friends and family and the production in general. Most people probably thought, "Class project? Yay [sarcastically]." They might have felt like they were watching their 12-year-old children playing "Hot Cross Buns" in a middle school concert, with squeaky clarinets and everything. But the actors did more than just memorize a few lines, and the documentary filmmakers did more than just turn on cameras.

I was very proud of everybody's projects. I was thinking about group projects I've done in the past, and I could tell that in this Shakespeare class, everybody worked hard. It didn't seem like there was anybody who did the minimum and then get their name put on the assignment anyway. Everybody put their heart and soul into it. And it was one of those few times when a group project actually made us all friends with each other.

Everything but the music video is available online. And everything will be put up on our Engaging Shakespeare website soon. (If that link doesn't work, try this one.)

Less Matter More Art

The group also got quite a response from their artwork posted on Deviant Art, and posted their lesson plans on a site called Connexions.

Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark: An Abridged Audiobook

(There's some overlap during the first minute of the audio, so skip ahead)

Love's Labours

Loves Labours, a documentary. from Shakespeare on Vimeo.

The World's a Stage

Although the music video isn't online yet, here's a clip from it.

 

Very cool stuff.

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The four learning outcomes for the course were 1) to gain Shakespeare literacy, 2) to critically analyze Shakespeare, 3) to engage Shakespeare creatively and 4) to share Shakespeare.

1) With a whole course devoted to Shakespeare, the themes and methods woven among all of Shakespeare's works were more evident to me. The text became more interesting than intimidating. I still need a little help from class or from sites like Shmoop and Sparknotes. But after reading those notes I can read the original Shakespeare and appreciate the way he said it more than the way Shmoop or Sparknotes said it.

2) I think most of my critical analysis has been done vicariously through classmates, in class discussions and in our Engaging Shakespeare night. But I have tried harder to critically analyze the text than I did earlier this semester. Earlier I blogged about the word play in Love's Labours Lost, to try and look at the words and writing itself.

Maybe I haven't done very much literary analysis, but I have tried to figure out why Shakespeare did what he did, and why he chose the themes he did. Most recently I did this type of analysis with King Lear.

3) Engaging Shakespeare creatively has been the easiest for me. I try to be creative with everything I do, especially in a literature class like this that opens itself up to creativity. During this second half of the semester my creative efforts were focused more on "Engaging Shakespeare" than on reading plays, but I tried to be creative with our presentation.

Exhibit A - I designed this logo for the event:

4) Other than tweeting and Facebooking about the Engaging Shakespeare event, I failed at this. I had intentions to live tweet King Lear, but haven't done it yet. Maybe I still will sometime during finals week.

I did do a lot to share Engaging Shakespeare over the Internet. I made a Facebook group and invited any Facebook friends who are at or around BYU, and I tweeted through my account and The Daily Universe account as often as I thought I could get away with.

But I'm not sure if all of that was really affected. It would have been interesting to find out how many people came to our event because of Facebook or Twitter. My guess is that most (if not all) people found out through more personal contact, like being invited by a spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend/roommate/friend, etc.

It will be exciting to see the future of our Engaging Shakespeare site. As more and more people find our projects over YouTube, Vimeo or Connexions, I hope the dialogue continues.

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I thoroughly enjoyed this class and it will be among my favorite memories of being a BYU student. Besides learning about Shakespeare or literature, I gained knowledge and experience that I'm sure will help me in multiple ways in the future.

Progress Report on 'Engaging Shakespeare'

So I actually have some progress to report in the final project!

Austin, Professor Burton and I have come up with more details.

First of all, the name of our event will be Engaging Shakespeare. The event is about more than just showing off our talents and what we've learned about Shakespeare, it's more of a two-way thing. We're hoping for a dialogue and a foundation that can be built upon, something that will take a life of its own after this semester is over.

That's where the website will become more important. The website will be about promoting this event, but it will also be the home of our various projects and allow room for people to add to them.

We've also got details about the event itself:

Friday, Dec. 9
7 p.m.
B192 JFSB (the Education in Zion theater)

Here's what we'll be presenting that night:

- A mini-play adaptation of Shakespeare, Love's Labours, presented by Averill and her troupe of troubadours, based on Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Love's Labours Lost.

- A documentary, Love's Labours: A Journey, showing the behind-the-scenes of Averill's mini-play, directed by Kelsie

Check out this preview!


Documentary sneak peak from Shakespeare on Vimeo.

- A music video with original lyrics! directed by Kara (Check out this blog tracking their progress)

- Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark: The Abridged Audiobook, directed by Amanda

- Less Matter, More Art, a presentation of art with lesson plans for teaching Shakespeare and art in schools, directed by Mason and Cassandra

It's going to be totally awesome.

I'll be sure to post about our website once it's up, and blog, tweet and Facebook about it like crazy. But until then, I'll just publicize from here:

Come to Engaging Shakespeare! Next Friday night! Take a break from studying for finals and enjoy Shakespeare and/or student-made artwork! Tell all your friends!

Love/Hate's Labour's Lost

One of the main topics of discussion in our group has been its juvenile nature, with regards to the male characters and to the play itself. But I think I found another way that this play is childish.

Mean Girls

First, we talked about the whole idea of "swearing off women" as being naive and unrealistic. The king and his lords last barely three acts before giving up on their oath. And, the way they show their love to the Princess of France and her ladies, like passing "check yes or no" notes in class, seems like playground behavior. It seems like not only are these the first women they've interacted with since swearing their oath, they're the first women they've ever interacted with. (We compared the king and his lords to awkward returned missionaries who don't know what to do in the presence of a girl.)

Gossip Girl

Also, we've talked about Shakespeare's immaturity in writing the play. The common opinion seems to be that the main motivation for writing Love's Labour's Lost was the opportunity to craft clever wordplay. And we agreed that was definitely at the expense of everything else. Where are the complex characters like Hamlet? Where is the substantial plot? Why does everything happen so conveniently? So the characters just magically fall in love in an instant? And the king and his lords just happen to cross paths in the forest? A more modern play, or even another Shakespeare play would present some sort of reason for each character to be at that place at that time. But, in Love's Labour's Lost, nothing.

What I discovered by reading Act V was that it's not just the male characters or Shakespeare who have some growing up to do. It's the females too. In Act V, all the women do is make fun of the men.

Rosaline: ... Nay, I have verses too, I think Biron:

The numbers true; and, were the numbering too,

I were the fairest goddess on the ground:

I am compared to twenty thousand fairs.

O, he hath drawn my picture in his letter!

Princess of France: Any thing like?

Rosaline: Much in the letters; nothing in the praise.

Princess of France: Beauteous as ink; a good conclusion.

Katharine: Fair as a text B in a copy-book.

...

Princess of France: But, Katharine, what was sent to you from fair Dumain?

Katharine: Madam, this glove.

Princess of France: Did he not send you twain?

Ricky after Lucy tricks him yet again

Katharine: Yes, madam, and moreover

Some thousand verses of a faithful lover,

A huge translation of hypocrisy,

Vilely compiled, profound simplicity

Maria: This and these pearls to me sent Longaville: 

The letter is too long by half a mile.

Princess of France: I think no less. Dost thou not wish in heart

The chain were longer and the letter short?

Maria: Ay, or I would these hands might never part.

Princess of France: We are wise girls to mock our lovers so.

Rosaline: They are worse fools to purchase mocking so.

That same Biron I'll torture ere I go:

O that I knew he were but in by the week!

How I would make him fawn and beg and seek

And wait the season and observe the times 

And spend his prodigal wits in bootless rhymes

And shape his service wholly to my hests

And make him proud to make me proud that jests!

So perttaunt-like would I o'ersway his state

That he should be my fool and I his fate.

"Pick A Little, Talk A Little" from The Music Man

And later, after the lords have come dressed as Russians and the ladies mess with them by wearing masks, Rosaline says, "Let's, mock them still."

These women are totally taking advantage of the men, and putting them through torture for their entertainment. They're making the men jump through all these hoops.

Is that a sign of immaturity? Aren't the women acting like girls on the playground too?

Press play

One of the biggest things to look for when reading Love's Labour's Lost is wordplay. From our class discussions and things I've read online, that's what makes the play worthwhile. It's not known for its fascinating plot or three-dimensional characters. It seems like everything else was sacrificed for the sake of Shakespeare's cleverness in his writing.

I've seen a few instances of this famous wordplay, but this time reading the play I decided to look for it specifically. And when I had this "wordplay hunting" as my focus, I found that the play is just loaded with it - especially with Armado and Moth (who you'll remember from my last post about Love's Labour's Lost).

So here are some examples:

Moth: Master, will you win your love with a French brawl?

Don Adriano de Armado: How meanest thou? brawling in French?

Moth: ... and make them men of note—do you note me?

Don Adriano de Armado: How hast thou purchased this experience?

Moth: By my penny of observation.

(I think this is like saying "a penny for your thoughts")

Moth: And out of heart, master: all those three I will prove.

Don Adriano de Armado: What wilt thou prove?

Moth: A man, if I live; ...
("Prove" as in "I will show you" and "prove" as in "become")

Moth: As swift as lead, sir.

Don Adriano de Armado: The meaning, pretty ingenious? Is not lead a metal heavy, dull, and slow? ...

Moth: You are too swift, sir, to say so: Is that lead slow which is fired from a gun?

(Good point.)

Costard: Pray you, which is the head lady?

Princess of France: Thou shalt know her, fellow, by the rest that have no heads.

Costard: Which is the greatest lady, the highest?

Princess of France: The thickest and the tallest.

("Head" and "highest" as in "main, principal, chief" and also as in "the body part above the neck" or "height" and "stature")

Biron: ... they have pitched a toil; I am toiling in a pitch...

All this, especially Moth and Armado, made me think of yet another classic comedic gem:

Tender Juvenal and Tough Senior

I can say without hesitation that I knew nothing about "Love's Labour's Lost" before today. In fact, I don't think I would have remembered it as one of Shakespeare's plays. If I were to take a Sporcle quiz, it would have been the one I would never think of even with the 10 minutes allowed to take the quiz.

But, it's already really fun to read. Even though the first scene is the most interesting in terms of plot, and themes of intellect vs. hedonism, abstinence vs. indulgence, I actually feel like talking about the second scene with Armado and Moth.

Even though I didn't understand all of it, I was very amused and entertained. It sounded like a couple of kids who get into big arguments over the most insubstantial of topics.

And, it also reminded me of this: