Initial thoughts on the bard

I have only ever kissed one man.

I assure you, it was for a good reason, though my fiance remains skeptical. The vaunted kiss took place at a Lutheran bible camp as I performed, with my best friend Mark, a two man version of Romeo and Juliet (with some humerous alterations).

Whether through misquotation ("a nose by any other name would still smell"), hyperbole ("SWEAR NOT BY THE MOON!") or outright slander ("by yonder blessed virgin I swear") Mark and I managed to slay the typical conventions of Shakespearean acting. My point in this blog, however, is that we also managed to slay the audience.

 Perhaps performance adds a vital component to the concept of "mything shakespeare". Shakespeare, you see, apart from his stunning ability to add to our lexicon and vividly describe and orchestrate the human condition in his works also seems to have set the eternal standard for acting. Playing Richard III or Henry V seems to be an appropriate Everest for any budding actor, and to attempt the part of Hamlet is often described as akin to attempting the part of God.

So why is Shakespeare even today considered the pinnacle of an actor's repertoire?  I'd argue that it has something to do with the myth of Shakespeare, the ever present pressure his plays retain on our collective consciousness. Shakespeare was not great merely because he wrote beautifully. His plays speak so deeply because they effectively address a deep part of human nature. Hamlet's existential angst, Romeo's ill-fated love, Hermia's jealousy--all reflect basic passions that oft inflict the human soul. To act Shakespeare is to act human, all too human. And so, in playing these parts, modern actors, though they come from a different age, must attach themselves at the roots of human emotion and participate deeply with the characters on the page in order to make them truly appear on the stage.

Mark and I, in our little production, managed only the most basic rendition of Shakespeare's mastery of human emotion. We were able to use the myth he has passed down to inspire some laughter, a few snickers and a couple of horrified camp director's. Even this marginal accomplishment, however, showed me that often, to truly understand the power of the bard, one must play the part.


Videos from the Reduced Shakespeare Company's performance of Romeo and Juliet