Not So "Anonymous"

In case anyone was wondering about the ultimate aims of the Oxfordian media machine, this just in:
Thanks to Will at I Love Shakespeare blog http://blog.iloveshakespeare.com/ , I came across this little bit of harmless marketing info: A pdf. http://www.ymiteacher.com/pdf/AnonymousHS.pdf

I was, of course, tempted to do some research.
http://www.youthmarketingint.com/why.htm

The above link will take you to the website of Young Minds Inspired, a group which has as its aim the marketing of products to school children with their "educational welfare" in mind. I suggest exploring their site map for the full thrust of what it is that this corporation does. In short, the marketing group has sold ideas and products to school children for such companies as Dole, McDonalds, Pfizer, Kraft, Visa, etc., as well as major media firms, studios, and outlets, including Warner Bros., Miramax, and Fox. How do they do this? By providing free pdfs to educators, most of whom (possibly all) they state, are desperately in need of funding for educational materials to use in the classroom. According to a testimonial from one of their clients:

“YMI blows away its competitors. Their educators customize their lesson
plans to assure a high quality and credible learning experience for the
students, while subtly presenting my brands in a completely professional way. This is the strongest in-school program I have worked with in 15 years of marketing to kids.”

I had a little more to say several days ago about the possibility of this kind of 'branching out' messaging vis a vis the film's visibility, popularity, and marketing efforts on ShakespeareGeek's blog: http://blog.shakespearegeek.com/2011/09/how-should-we-deal-with-anonymous.html (First and among the closing comments of 30+). --Now this.

They want to help Educate Our Children about "Shakespeare" ?

You be the judge... JM

Martin Luther King & Shakespeare: A Common Thread

One of my favorite quotes from Martin:

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

It's all either of them talked about, mostly--things that matter. They both live on through their words. Words that matter. JM

The Queen, My Lord, Is Much, Much Better!

VIDEO

Update: Jan. 18-- Just received word that this funny little film received its Northern Hemisphere preview a few days ago, at the Arisia Convention.


I meant to post this a long time ago. Anyone who knows Macbeth will get what this is all about from the title. In tidying up one of my email boxes I found one I didn't even know I'd lost. Some time back, I received the following message from the wife of a voice-over artist:

Dear Joe,

I think you might enjoy my husband's funny video about Shakespeare
plays, The Queen, My Lord, Is Much, Much Better

Here's the backstory: My husband, Bob Kuhn, is a voiceover actor. (It's an interesting job,something different every time. So far, probably the most prestigious gig was narrator for a National Geographic TV special. The weirdest was voicing a torture victim in a dungeon …)

Awhile ago, I suggested he create a recording of his longtime favorite
"party piece": a comic essay from the 1950s that imagines theatrical
sabotage by bit-part actors in British productions of Shakespeare plays.

(Given your background, I should mention that a teacher distributed the
published essay to his English class in high school, and Bob has loved
it ever since.)

Well, 3 months later, Bob’s labor of love is finished: an actual (if
short) movie! I may be just slightly biased when I say it’s a glorious
cross between SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE and NOISES OFF, carried off kind of
magnificently in a mere 15 minutes.

Some funny stuff there. It certainly conjures up some interesting images in addition to the ones already there. And my sincere apologies to Darcy for not posting it sooner. JM

Romeo & Juliet and Troilus & Cressida with Sir Peter Hall

AUDIO EXCERPT

Made to serve as an accompaniment to his book Shakespeare's Advice to the Players, this 42 Minute Audio, from Theatre Communications Group, finds Sir Peter instructing two young actors in what to look for in the musical sense already embedded in Shakespeare's verse. Although it's just a beginning compared to what's in the book itself, and the wealth of other specific knowledge to be gathered by closely investigating the text, it's well worth a listen- to. (If for nothing else, to selfishly help excuse my earlier possibly over-generalized ravings in "Shakespeare Transmogrified", and at other places on the net re: the importance of paying attention to the syllabic structure, musical notation, and the myriad of other textual clues in Shakespeare's work) ;)

The book, to say the least, is highly recommended, not unlike anything written by Peter Hall's partner, John Barton. As I noted in the previous post, this is what I believe to be a warranted reiteration and sharper focus on the audio from what's already on The Bard Blog. Just wanted to get it out where it might be noticed again after so long.

As Sir Peter is quick to point out, these clues are not just for actors; they can also contribute to a reader's greater understanding as well. JM

The Bard Blog; or, Gedaly, where are you?

In my opinion, one of the best educational blogs about Shakespeare on the net, and one of my favorites, "The Bard Blog" has ceased to function for almost a year now. One could always count on The Bard Blog for its concentration on important, enlightening aspects on understanding Shakespeare, relevant and timely books, articles, and seminal postings getting to the heart of the matter of interpreting the Bard.

The blogs owner and proprietor, Gedaly, known for his enthusiastic promotion of textual analysis via the performance aspects of Shakespeare's work, last posted Feb. of last year. I've been dropping by every so often anticipating his return but, no Gedaly. In fact, the post that is to follow this one was inspired by Gedaly's review of Shakespeare's Advice to the Players by Sir Peter Hall, an extremely important book on the Form embedded in the text which Shakespeare used to instruct his actors.

Here's hoping Gedaly's okay, has just been too busy acting and directing, and will soon return. I would advise anyone interested in learning more about Shakespeare to click on the links above for The Bard Blog. Thumb through some of the topics. You're in for a wealth of information. JM

Fleshing Out Shakespeare's People

We can talk all we want about "character"--and that's always enlightening. But to actually see, first hand, someone's vision of what a Shakespeare character might look like is a real treat. Shake the Sculpture dropped by the other day to comment on "Who Introduced You To Shakespeare?" (thanks) and so I decided to check out what the name meant.

There's some really interesting and great work going on over at their blog ShakeTheSculpture

Check it out. I'm waiting for Hamlet and Macbeth...among many others :)

Who Introduced You To Shakespeare?

Lately, I've been involved in a number of discussions having to do with Education and Shakespeare over at shakespearegeek's blog. Duane has brought up some interesting points and posed what I think are some important questions relating to how we teach Shakespeare and the effects those methods might have on our perception of his work.

http://blog.shakespearegeek.com/2010/12/performance-enhancing.html
http://blog.shakespearegeek.com/2010/12/what-do-we-expect-students-to-get.html
http://blog.shakespearegeek.com/2010/12/what-would-you-teach-romeo-and-juliet.html

In my experience, I've seen that it's very easy to turn someone off to his work. That was, in fact, my own feeling toward Shakespeare at my initial exposure to his plays. But this type of thing doesn't just happen in school, where many times the academics are stressed over the actual performance of the plays. It can also happen from seeing a "not so good" production--or two or three.

As a resident Shakespeare specialist, director, and acting instructor, I've taught Shakespeare over a broad spectrum, from elementary students all the way to professionals, and everyone in between. As a teacher, the first question I'm interested in asking any prospective student (or anyone in general) has to do with exactly what has happened so far in their exposure to Shakespeare. Only then can I make an assessment and develop a focus on how I might formulate my own teaching and/or directing approach with any particular individual or group. I have certain foundational elements in what and how I teach, but I generally devise components to specifically target aspects related to experience.

For instance, I'm scheduled to soon begin teaching acting techniques for an established Shakespeare production company. Although some of the very same basic elements and components I use to teach every level of student will be included, this will, of course, be a somewhat different approach than one I'd use for elementary students. BUT, in the beginning, I'll be asking these more experienced students some of the very same questions.

In developing teaching techniques any and all information is important, so this isn't just a point of interest, it's actually a serious research question as well. So, you'd actually be helping me a great deal with any input and it would be much appreciated.

The questions are:
*How much exposure to Shakespeare in any form have you had? (school, theatre, movies, tv).
*How and when did it start?
*Who was responsible for your first exposure to Shakespeare?
*If you've seen performances early on in your Shakespeare experience, when and where did you see them, who was performing, what was it like, what did it make you feel and/or think? JM

Tempest in a Teapot?

Given all of the advanced hype over the upcoming release of the Julie Taymor film version of The Tempest, I decided to do a little digging. I wanted to see if I might come up with some opinion other than the latest salivating conjecture about how good it 'looks to be' from simply viewing a trailer; or projecting how fantastically 'important' it might be because I'm told "something wicked this way comes" by the pricking of the thumbs of studio execs all too eager to sell the next 'latest, greatest, idea thing'; or what they might claim a decent (never mind definitive or great) job of 'interpreting Shakespeare' might actually look and sound like.

It turns out that the film was screened at the Venice Film Festival last month. Here's some advance opinion from some who've actually been privy to more than Hollywood 'massaging'. For your considered perusal, what we might expect in December as a possible climax to all the titillating, pre-release foreplay.

Robert Beames, of the Telegraph UK is receptive but critical, giving Helen Mirren (love her) great credit for making the film a more positive than negative outing, as he sees it:

"...American director Julie Taymor releases what she must hope is a film that does justice to the play, whilst still working as a piece of cinema. It's a feat quite rarely achieved. Luckily, she is helped in no small part by the presence of Helen Mirren - who is here at the peak of her powers."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/7996596/Review-The-Tempest-with-Helen-Mirren-in-first-screening-at-Venice-Film-Festival.html

This is no surprise to me, either on the part of Mirren or on the part of solid acting, in its ability to mask possible deficiencies in other departments of interpretation in a venture as large and brassy as this one. Contrary to popular view, not all reviewers are misogynistic cave-dwellers, pounding away at some antiquated typewriter exuding acid for words. And speaking of popularity when it's warranted, personally, I think it was the outstanding performances of some of the actors in Taymor's Titus that made her overindulgent art director's dream of a mish-mosh work at all. But once again, that's just my opinion.

Another opinion on overindulgent rendering which too often masks Shakespeare's point:

Variety's Leslie Felperin:

As if it were not disappointing enough to produce an intellectually undernourished version of Shakespeare's late romance, helmer Julie Taymor has gone one better by crafting a "Tempest" so kitschy, yet curiously drab and banal, even supporters may hope she'll break her staff and drown her book. Despite a tony cast led by Helen Mirren in the gender-bent lead role, pic makes even earlier middlebrow Shakespeare adaptations look masterful. Skedded to bow in December, the Touchstone release could find a niche among older auds and those who can't be bothered to read the play.
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117943513.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&query=review+ Taymor+Tempest#ixzz12M5IxLtu


So, can we expect the definitive Tempest of our day? ...Or what? Hard to say...yet.

When it comes to Shakespeare's genius--as opposed to the very busy, busy 'genius' of those also in the process of making a name for themselves--I'll take Groucho Marx's tongue-in-cheek advice to heart every time: "Are you gonna believe me, or your lying eyes?" :) Ask me in December. JM

Book Review: Will Power by A. J. Hartley

Will Power-Tor/Forge Publishing (Click the title of this review for more info)

Will Power, second in a series of fast-paced fantasy novels by A J
Hartley, makes its debut on the bookstore shelves today. I write "series" in the
hopeful assumption that Hartley has plans for continuing the saga of one Will
Hawthorne--actor, poet, playwright, con man, and now full-time reluctant adventurer. Hawthorne's somewhat checkered rise to stardom as a young Elizabethan-style actor of plays and self-proclaimed pithy purveyor of pentameter poesy, was rudely interrupted in the first installment, Act of Will, leading to new employment as front man for a band of, in Will's modest opinion, much too heroic adventurers.

Stylistically, Professor Hartley has created a somewhat eclectically archaic world
for us to adventure through in accompaniment to his heroes. An entertaining mix of places and individuals with the flavor of the Elizabethan, the Gothic, and the sometimes hard to categorize populates the narrative, written in the first person from Will Hawthorne's perspective. But our inability to 'peg' this time and these places, while at the same time being more than faintly all too familiar with them is the result of a clever device on Hartley's part. And it's the use of that very device that makes it an unusually fresh approach in my opinion. Hartley is able to remain true to his atmosphere with rich and vivid descriptions of the surroundings, situations, battles, creatures, and ancient weaponry, yet allows the reader to settle into an easy, comfortable, narrative realm, through the modern linguistic expressiveness and colloquialisms of his lead character, Will--and far from clashing, the style winds up complementing itself over and over.

Following the events through the eyes of Will Hawthorne, Will Power transports us to ancient lands of Goblins who use bears as horses, wolves that seem to understand what you're thinking, and a gleaming White City where King and court seem all too concerned with outward appearances. Therein lies a theme commented on by Hartley. But the commentary isn't heavy handed. It's intertwined so well within the story line that the denouement, held close enough to the vest to more than support the lessons we might learn, still comes as a shock to the senses, surrounded by the events Hartley so deftly and vividly describes for us. In reality, though we might sometimes wish to ignore their existence, we Know these strange characters for who and what they are--and the realization can come to us as a little unsettling, even though we must nod in assignation as we read. This is one of the qualities I have come to admire about Hartley as a writer; he instructs as well as entertains.

Hartley has also seen fit to aptly furnish his saga with a back story. In the author's words:

Like the first volume, Act of Will, it [Will Power] has been translated from
the original Thrusian--as preserved in the now famous Fossington House
Papers--with the aid of notes left by the Elizabethan translator Sir Thomas
Henby. As readers of the first manuscript will quickly see, the second volume is
different in key respects from the first, and raises still more vexing questions
of provenance, locale, and issues of how much of the narrative--if any--is
derived from fact.

He then goes on to promise the results of further investigation in a series of
academic papers to be published in issues of Philological Quarterly
--HA!--Though he doubts that a general reader would be very much interested.
-- What a hoot.
This is the type of well-rounded attention to detail I came to expect from Hartley, becoming familiar with his work after having fortunately stumbled upon his mystery novel, What Time Devours. See my review. And it's what makes Will Power read with the veracity of a mysterious and exciting in-but-out-of-this-world historical chronicle, rather than pure fantasy.

Although I must admit, upon finishing Will Power, I immediately began a quest
to find book #1 --Act of Will , Will Power certainly holds up to
its billing as a 'stand-alone' fantasy novel. But trust me, if you're a fantasy
fan, you too will be looking for more from Professor Hartley, past or future. This book, as well as all of his others, no matter the genre, is recommended reading. JM

From Tor/Forge Publishing: British-born writer A. J. Hartley is the Distinguished Professor of Shakespeare in the Dept. of Theatre and Dance at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. As well as being a novelist and academic, he is a screenwriter, theatre director, and dramaturge. He is married with a son, and lives in Charlotte.

Film Review: Hamlet; Branagh; Blu-ray--A Stunning New Release

Blu-ray release date: August 17, 2010 (Click the title of this review for the Official Warner Bros. Website and more info on this great release)

When I was contacted by Warner Bros. about the possibility of doing a review of Kenneth Branagh's filmed version of a full length Hamlet, I was, at first, confused. Hadn't all of this happened long ago--way back when I didn't have a blog? Fortunately, Warner Bros. has decided to re-release Branagh's 70 mm treatment in the Blu-ray format and I get a chance to review a production of my favorite of all of Shakespeare's plays. And if ever a project deserved to be seen in all its 'pixel-ized' glory, this is it.

Prior to Branagh's ambitious, and, to say the least, courageous decision to do an unedited version of Shakespeare's play, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke, the last film to be shot in Britain in the epic 70 mm Super Panavision format was David Lean's Ryan's Daughter (Among other films to have received this grand filming treatment --and they have been few--is Lawrence of Arabia). Ryan's Daughter was made 25 years before 1996--along about the time Branagh's major ambition might have had him a wee bit apprehensive about another epic moment in life, that of starting his next year of grammar school. Of course, we know what's happened since. When he was 15, Branagh saw (now Sir) Derek Jacobi (Claudius in this production) play Hamlet in a stage version...the rest is Shakespearean history. Branagh has, in my opinion, emerged as one of the premier proponents of the Bard's works on film; and viewing this film again reminded me of the role he has assumed as a most positive ambassador of the work of William Shakespeare in general. The studio has this to say of this major undertaking:

"Hamlet has the kind of power, energy and excitement that movies can truly exploit", award-winning actor/director Kenneth Brannagh says. In this first-ever full-text film of William Shakespeare's greatest work, the power surges through every scene. The timeless tale of murder, corruption and revenge is reset in an opulent 19th-century world, using sprawling Blenheim Palace as Elsinore and staging much of the action in shimmering mirrored and gold-filled interiors. The energy is electrifying, due to a luminous cast. The excitement of the Bard's words and an adventurous filmmaking style lift the story from its often shadowy ambience to fully-lit pageantry and rage."

I have a little bit more to say from a literary/performance standpoint regarding this dazzling and intelligent interpretation.

I don't often come away pleased with filmed 'adaptations' of any of the works of Shakespeare. Fundamentally, I believe they were written for the stage--for live performance. It's how I cut my teeth on them, it's how I've interpreted, acted, taught and directed them, and it's how I've come to appreciate them the most. But Kenneth Branagh's emergence as a filmmaker, even at a relatively young age, has come after being steeped in textual analysis and how to translate that information to the stage. Somehow, through his experience and great appreciation for the textual nuances and true genius of the verse, he's found a way to more than do justice to Shakespeare through the medium of film. And this last undertaking of Hamlet is apparently the result of a meld of all of the knowledge he's garnered from the great wealth of his experience and success in both stage and screen genres. In his own words he wanted to "...throw everything into the mix to try and match the genius of this man's writing." Well Ken, say I, you've done just that.

From the very first opening line, Bernardo's "Who's there?", the pacing of the dialogue, and the vocal and articulated temporal dynamics of his actors are all right on target. "Trippingly on the tongue..." comes to mind; a line to come later, delivered by Hamlet himself as instruction to the actors who visit Elsinore. (Shakespearean instruction Branagh practices, in evidence in his own performance--as well as preaches to his real-life actors, no doubt.) But, "...use all gently. For in the very torrent, tempest, and as I may say, whirlwind of your passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness." More instruction from the Bard and Hamlet put to good use by Branagh.

There is a maxim (among some others) in acting Shakespearean verse; to whit: When performing Shakespeare, an actor must earn his pauses. Branagh certainly gives credence to it. All of the expected moments are there, in all of the right places, along with some unexpected new ones. And Branagh misses not Shakespeare's humor, interspersed like little strokes of genius relief, many times left unexplored in this great tragedy.

Filtering into his role as a filmmaker as well, he's managed to bring many of the qualities of stage dynamics to a filmed work, yet is aware of the greater lengths to which he can go and the brilliant nuances he can affect with a camera as the audience. He knows the value of "acting large" even in the close-ups, when to cut to whom, where the focus should be; when intimacy is at its most effective; and much of this, he will admit, is due to what has come from his understanding of Shakespeare textually. (Included in this blu-ray edition--among some other very nice video perks--is a full version voice-over commentary by Branagh and Russell Jackson, editor of The Cambridge Guide to Shakespeare on Film, Professor of Drama and Theatre Arts at the University of Birmingham, and Branagh's textual advisor since his filmed version of Henry V.)

All of this attention to detail has led to a clearness and accessibility to the language, (the opacity has been removed and the lucidity brought to it in its conversational aspect is remarkable) fully rounded characters, (otherwise many times misunderstood or incomplete because of editing choices), and an interpretation and honestly delivered focal coherence of a play by Shakespeare as a whole that is rarely achieved in this medium.

But the value of this blu-ray edition doesn't stop there. The cinematography in this version is stunning. The sheer breadth of Blenheim Palace, the richness and color of its interiors, and the epic scope Branagh manages to achieve while filming this great work in its entirety, all combine to make for a very unique experience. It's as beautiful to look at, as it is wonderful to listen to. An epically treated, gorgeously filmed, faithfully executed, high definition version of a textually complete play with a stellar cast in...4 hours! (An edited staged version can take that long or longer). I could go on and on about why everyone should own a copy of this edition. But I'll end it here with a question for Warner Bros. : Which Blu-ray version of what Shakespeare play is next for Kenneth Branagh? JM