tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11186475337608554732024-02-19T03:30:29.616-05:00Strut and FretShakespeare and StuffSky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-18363228053079161112010-05-04T11:31:00.001-04:002010-05-04T11:31:37.055-04:00Experiemts with QR and Shakespeare<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2swiRpQwzmGfdtp9P4U-m1_F3-Ck-ERiU8SQtYuTVktKPsUiPpX7g7uOS41FcUPoKcnGdmx-Fyw7-oTu_jsKVsTYgScnUDvSU3ohItJF-Vl2u4u16VSG7DyIB6zirPwA-_pwSMHdlnMT/s1600/ascadscan2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2swiRpQwzmGfdtp9P4U-m1_F3-Ck-ERiU8SQtYuTVktKPsUiPpX7g7uOS41FcUPoKcnGdmx-Fyw7-oTu_jsKVsTYgScnUDvSU3ohItJF-Vl2u4u16VSG7DyIB6zirPwA-_pwSMHdlnMT/s400/ascadscan2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467434204124755090" border="0" /></a>These are experiments in <span style="font-weight: bold;">QR Codes</span>. At the moment they bring you to a dummy page that I'd like to make a reality eventually.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7OlJVJtkNJQ_Keeeexm2YWoAZADszZ4nsUqpEK6tOo5E28mjqlgbGJzYTCYqpVYEedl53hwnBiiQWnq8KU_OvKKXLrLiXgILnWFPQGaKh3eLotjZKPqwlm2mWkjqIVNE_hFWavw8rGltx/s1600/ascadscan1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7OlJVJtkNJQ_Keeeexm2YWoAZADszZ4nsUqpEK6tOo5E28mjqlgbGJzYTCYqpVYEedl53hwnBiiQWnq8KU_OvKKXLrLiXgILnWFPQGaKh3eLotjZKPqwlm2mWkjqIVNE_hFWavw8rGltx/s400/ascadscan1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467434193871515922" border="0" /></a>I think they can be an incredible new way to engage audiences. I see nothing but <span style="font-weight: bold;">potential</span> in this technology.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifUVY9fXIwSorAoLZI9ZtoIT-chBU3yydBEPwUpnc6qGOjFXoE_VlLwckhkhCyOkGovjeTQEq6ex2l45gkuxdIe4Z8RuTIPBJhLMqM9GLG0hLHt-aW4hMybLS8geXXKUVxgrcdpmD63nuf/s1600/ascadscan.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifUVY9fXIwSorAoLZI9ZtoIT-chBU3yydBEPwUpnc6qGOjFXoE_VlLwckhkhCyOkGovjeTQEq6ex2l45gkuxdIe4Z8RuTIPBJhLMqM9GLG0hLHt-aW4hMybLS8geXXKUVxgrcdpmD63nuf/s400/ascadscan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467434189547580850" border="0" /></a>Imagine a world in which <span style="font-weight: bold;">you can engage the companies</span> you like on your own terms. A lot of people are afraid of privacy, but I think that this gets around that issue nicely. You actually invite more content by scanning the code. Thus, <span style="font-weight: bold;">you only get the advertisement that you really want</span>.<br /><br />But speaking of privacy, wouldn't it be great to only be advertised <span style="font-weight: bold;">things you might really want</span>? I feel like the filter on my brain doesn't need to be as active if advertisers already know to not bother with pitching stuff to me I won't ever want or need. The question "what can they do with all that information they have about us?" always comes up when talking about the future of media, but I have to counter it with, "what would they want to do with it?" The only thing that makes sense is to <span style="font-weight: bold;">sell us stuff</span>. . . which is exactly what businesses have always been doing. Now they can more accurately target us. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Targeting is a good thing</span>. It keeps you from having to deal with Viagra and Lipitor commercials when you're 15 and from dealing with World of Warcraft ads when you're 72.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Anyway, aren't QR codes cool?</span>Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-61208875352097463032010-02-02T15:25:00.000-05:002010-02-02T15:25:00.594-05:00The Wizard of Ads and Shakespeare and MeRoy H. Williams is one of my favorite people. He looks at the marketing world in a way that simplifies and articulates his views in a way that compel one to consider his observations throughout the week––if not into perpetuity. I look forward to his <a href="http://mondaymorningmemo.com/?ShowMe=Home">MondayMorningMemos</a> every week. It's my favorite things about Mondays.<br /><br /><a href="http://mondaymorningmemo.com/?ShowMe=Home">This week</a>, Roy lamented the world's loss of a genius, J.D. Salinger. Salinger touched every American in some way. He compared the loss to the birth of the iPad, which also will touch every American in some way, I suppose. . . as much as any gadget can.<br /><br />I wish that the American Shakespeare Center would get a donation that is earmarked for the marketing department so that I could go to Roy's Wizard of Ads Academy. I think it would benefit the company and even all of Staunton. Anyway, I wrote this email to Roy today. I thought I would share it.<br /><br /><blockquote>Dear Roy,<br /><br />This missive is depressing. I expected you to at least give us something to learn from the death of Salinger and the birth of something dubious.<br /><br />I've come to expect a lot more on Mondays.<br /><br />Also, I almost never watch videos through my iPhone. I look up facts, research different things, find guitar chords so that I can entertain friends with music, and I take pictures of events I attend to entice others in VL to join me in RL (sometimes I use it as a telephone). People have been predicting the nadir of culture with every technological advancement since pencil hit paper, and I don't suspect that this pharmakon will be any more poisonous than those that have preceded it. Some will be addicted to the machine, but some will employ the machine to free up intellectual capital for better uses. The only thing that sucks about the iPad (other than its unfortunate moniker) is that it seems like an Apple misfire. It seems like they misread their audience, which seems like a really good topic for your memo. Everything I read online is how lame and off-the-mark the Pad is. Perhaps Steve Jobs should subscribe to your newsletter.<br /><br />Anyway, thanks for the weekly thoughts. I work in a nonprofit arts organization and will probably never have enough money to come see you, but we in the marketing department find your memos an indispensable part of what we do. A true resource.<br /><br />Thanks again.<br /><br />Yours,<br /><br />Jack</blockquote><br /><br />Perhaps I should have posted this to my Shakespeare blog. I will post it there, too.Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-85295805273248987292009-02-12T09:20:00.000-05:002009-02-12T09:40:17.384-05:00Shakespeare Was Tagged<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/239/3265001110_0a207a12f3.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 281px;" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/239/3265001110_0a207a12f3.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Shakespeare did a "<a href="http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=401633472">25 random things about me</a>." I think Marlowe tagged him. I will not write one.Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-63991048247258560892009-02-11T12:03:00.000-05:002009-02-11T12:08:26.520-05:00Five Awesome Things about 1 HENRY VI in Wordle<a href="http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/531431/5_awesome_things_about_1_HENRY_VI" title="Wordle: 5 awesome things about 1 HENRY VI"><img src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/531431/5_awesome_things_about_1_HENRY_VI" alt="Wordle: 5 awesome things about 1 HENRY VI" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); padding: 4px;" /></a><br />This is a word cloud from wordle on the five awesome things about <span style="font-style: italic;">1 Henry VI</span> according to the American Shakespeare Center's new email. Sign up for it at <a href="http://ascstaunton.com">ascstaunton.com</a>.<br /><br /> Wordle works really well with Shakespeare stuff.Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-56399699342073078802009-02-07T09:56:00.000-05:002009-02-06T09:59:08.877-05:00Shakespeare's Heart<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dN0Pe3loGKJlKANZwQzME02f_1xt_NoOaoBjrLzG0UVcG_i6t4NxdMoA40RCZVSsJPeE8xDVw0qhi4wI7IdsMlXRcozMzK-IE-BklmbK4-1cD8SYFDlZTMjO_jqZzTQ_1etZvolVReRY/s1600-h/Shakespeare-ani.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dN0Pe3loGKJlKANZwQzME02f_1xt_NoOaoBjrLzG0UVcG_i6t4NxdMoA40RCZVSsJPeE8xDVw0qhi4wI7IdsMlXRcozMzK-IE-BklmbK4-1cD8SYFDlZTMjO_jqZzTQ_1etZvolVReRY/s400/Shakespeare-ani.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299698574146890722" border="0" /></a><br />I wish I remembered where I found this animated .gif of Shakes. But I thought that Billy Shakespeare would like to be remembered on Valentines Day. Well, how many of his sonnets do you think will be pilfered by errant knaves in a few days in the name of love?Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-60695197940209638612009-02-06T12:46:00.000-05:002009-02-06T12:46:00.134-05:00Shakespeare Got to Get Paid!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXLLtLgJlN-YIQmaQUgTMXTYD4PB5kljBQchHFzpdyt3VZU4px5CaWnneFNsswdmLZiEqfgRled3J4ISCGczhZvc-BabIcPJ1BGYcTH5vOPSsZkhIp0cdUijrxzofWkdxudebBpN-E1MB/s1600-h/shakespeare-got-to-get-paid.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXLLtLgJlN-YIQmaQUgTMXTYD4PB5kljBQchHFzpdyt3VZU4px5CaWnneFNsswdmLZiEqfgRled3J4ISCGczhZvc-BabIcPJ1BGYcTH5vOPSsZkhIp0cdUijrxzofWkdxudebBpN-E1MB/s400/shakespeare-got-to-get-paid.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299371312487986002" border="0" /></a><br />Trusty intern, Mollie R, sent me this one. It cracked me up. Shakespeare <span style="font-style: italic;">do</span> got to get paid, son. The American Shakespeare Center is in their second phase of their <span style="font-style: italic;">Survive and Thrive Campaign</span>, trying to make it through these trying economical times.<br /><br />Also, some jerk over at the senate is trying to kill the arts. <a href="http://tinyurl.com/b2cmv6">Urge senate not to take out Arts</a> orgs from the stimulus package!Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-63663785876464463882009-02-05T09:21:00.000-05:002009-02-05T09:53:59.211-05:00Edel Rodriguez Posters<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-G0lbKB0o01QfgtGswcGDTq791v_uuM6Daatilalvg_HFe1BYFdj5QtdKBairz-Rb8LPK659T0h5dn1V1U8wtEmrE3qP7svQ2sw9BHhpOHeAk3V8bnM7PwtwzsU8CMNGay6khDw0X7KJ/s1600-h/as+you+like+it+poster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 391px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-G0lbKB0o01QfgtGswcGDTq791v_uuM6Daatilalvg_HFe1BYFdj5QtdKBairz-Rb8LPK659T0h5dn1V1U8wtEmrE3qP7svQ2sw9BHhpOHeAk3V8bnM7PwtwzsU8CMNGay6khDw0X7KJ/s400/as+you+like+it+poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299318564105376178" border="0" /></a>I love <a href="http://illoz.com/edel/?section=portfolios&gallery_id=151">Edel Rodriguez posters</a>. He also did one for <a href="http://www.curtainup.com/macbeth-grammer.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Macbeth</span> with Kelsey Grammer</a>. <span style="font-style: italic;">Macbeth</span> with Grammer was apparently not very good, but the poster for it was!<br /><br />This deer is wonderful because of the whole deer thing in the play, but I always wanted to do an <span style="font-style: italic;">As You Like It</span> poster with a lion. <span style="font-style: italic;">As You Like It</span> is one of my all-time favorite plays, of course. This is now one of my all-time favorite Shakespeare posters.Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-81137486466111221762009-02-04T11:10:00.000-05:002009-02-04T11:17:20.519-05:00Hope for Shakes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7eCjI6oICf-0IzTC0OUZTt2BJmY77SfyNzeXV1qpvaNH9Kefms2EL3hiaKPevUxfMHxrhNtA_0oB4eueRjf_4N_mWkKqODuYQe-YZbuMG0x1C_3hjjp7HwbTiDnJjPxDSdVdkPnrRT5Mo/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7eCjI6oICf-0IzTC0OUZTt2BJmY77SfyNzeXV1qpvaNH9Kefms2EL3hiaKPevUxfMHxrhNtA_0oB4eueRjf_4N_mWkKqODuYQe-YZbuMG0x1C_3hjjp7HwbTiDnJjPxDSdVdkPnrRT5Mo/s400/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298976589960808930" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.finnandthatcher.com/">Lindsay Howerton</a> made this for me. Thanks Lindsay Howerton!Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-40329407092647291602009-01-30T14:04:00.000-05:002009-01-30T14:17:35.878-05:00Shakespeare and Modern Culture<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzPtOzxI5Y5Fv6fPN0uVho2Tx5Fs4ZKceN8GjapOTUprx-SZoGdJna9ShoxtjcCD8CpZ98lEXMQG0eCkRv7bY3bUaTPxVV5-EvhwEB-9LHAGL_GS2MsnUO8nJgQmxmRosVwJMgwufbUsr/s1600-h/shakespeare+wire.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 190px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzPtOzxI5Y5Fv6fPN0uVho2Tx5Fs4ZKceN8GjapOTUprx-SZoGdJna9ShoxtjcCD8CpZ98lEXMQG0eCkRv7bY3bUaTPxVV5-EvhwEB-9LHAGL_GS2MsnUO8nJgQmxmRosVwJMgwufbUsr/s400/shakespeare+wire.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297166154565289378" border="0" /></a><br />I like this illustration by <a href="http://www.hersey.com%3ejohn%20hersey%3c/a%3E,%20which%20I%20found%20in%20a%20%3Ca%20href=" com="" 2008="" 12="" 28="" books="" review="" html="">New York Times Book Review</a>. I think will buy the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Modern-Culture-Marjorie-Garber/dp/0307377679">book</a>.Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-72734341091989515392009-01-29T13:44:00.000-05:002009-01-29T13:53:41.122-05:00Shakespeare's Mulberry Cup<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHAzeF53rZCcH2isy9uEoQGiNTChSxXszKPDXbA_1Z0wOigsRDt51-Gx_H5Zoa5pdZGnZ2CXm24j0q-9HdxP2qZcIEuB9dLb0Brj9YR2EHmK9mODpUvhN-jJYsNQWOkLnXvSpbNC_jmN2/s1600-h/mulberry+cup.GIF"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 389px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHAzeF53rZCcH2isy9uEoQGiNTChSxXszKPDXbA_1Z0wOigsRDt51-Gx_H5Zoa5pdZGnZ2CXm24j0q-9HdxP2qZcIEuB9dLb0Brj9YR2EHmK9mODpUvhN-jJYsNQWOkLnXvSpbNC_jmN2/s400/mulberry+cup.GIF" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296790224864034546" border="0" /></a><br />This makes me want to plant a mulberry tree so that I can cut it down ten years later and carve a cup out of it. Then I will give it to someone, and they will put it into a museum so that I will forever be in that cup freshly remembered.<br /><br />Shakespeare allegedly wrote this about his mulberry cup as a toast.<br /><blockquote><br />Behold this fair goblet, 'twas carved from the tree,<br />Which, Oh my sweet Shakespeare was planted by thee;<br />As a relic, I kiss it, and bow at the shrine;<br />What comes from thine hand, must eer be divine.<br />All shall yield to the Mulberry Tree<br />Bend to thee, Blest Mulberry ;<br />MatchIess was he who planted thee<br />And thou, like him immortal shall be. </blockquote>Don't know if I believe that this was Shakespeare's bag, but it's interesting enough. I found out about this <a href="http://antiquesandthearts.com/Antiques/AntiquesShows/2009-01-20__11-12-07.html">here</a> and <a href="http://www.nicks.com.au/index.aspx?link_id=76.692">here</a>, where there is also a drawing of a pewter cup Billy Shakes supposedly carved his name into at the Mermaid.Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-52166646254400300162009-01-29T09:00:00.000-05:002009-01-29T09:06:28.875-05:00Dudley Moore and Peter Cook Use Shakespeare in Comedy<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UaOD_3cL_z4&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UaOD_3cL_z4&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br />After the caveman bit, there's a song about Robin Hood's best friend. Tons of Shakespeare stuff in this, which is why I like it. Well, that and Dudley Moore is a hero. I remember the first time I heard a Dudley Moore/Peter Cook record. I nearly shat myself. This is from their TV programme, "Not Only. . . But also," which I've never seen. <br />If you pay attention, you'll hear quotes from <span style="font-style: italic;">12th Night</span>,<span style="font-style: italic;"> Macbeth</span>, and <span style="font-style: italic;">Hamlet.<br /><br /></span><a href="http://boingboing.net">Boingboing.net</a> posted this before I did.Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-64365752493436084512009-01-28T08:20:00.000-05:002009-01-28T08:34:33.103-05:00Pimp My Shakespeare<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img701.mytextgraphics.com/sparklee/2009/01/27/a7a930ce341cadb1f0fd47edb0143242.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 100%; height: 80px;" src="http://img701.mytextgraphics.com/sparklee/2009/01/27/a7a930ce341cadb1f0fd47edb0143242.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>Since I am pimping Shakespeare these days more than ever, I have decided to own it. I think I will have more graphics on this blog. More graphics and more flashy shit that really gets people "excited" about coming to see a play.<br /><br />Also, if you are a writer or a blogger and want to score some tickets, you should promise me that you will blog or publish by traditional means a review about a show at the <a href="http://www.ascstaunton.com/">American Shakespeare Center</a>. I will hook you up like it's nobody's business. That's how I roll.<br /><br />Thanks to <a href="http://lunchtimeforbears.blogspot.com/">Bryan Coffelt</a> for this graphic. The thing I like about Bryan Coffelt is that he can really put away a burrito. He also has no problem pimping in the rain. Go Bryan Coffelt!Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-68641939274376066432009-01-15T08:48:00.000-05:002009-01-15T09:20:02.343-05:00Shakespeare Santa Cruz Announces 2009 Season<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKptW3Q_5OCCRb53tpPKTOJxMM7oNXBPi3xmtPo_k-giU7bzRMFJG7hJ9cId6KizuC9FY7XWV7p3RwUz8P2PYv8NS5Y1thI6kx4BEhBUs8HimHVc9RfYEtUpjaZYefKYQakvPpTg4TkOZI/s1600-h/sm_ssc_burn12.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 234px; height: 340px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKptW3Q_5OCCRb53tpPKTOJxMM7oNXBPi3xmtPo_k-giU7bzRMFJG7hJ9cId6KizuC9FY7XWV7p3RwUz8P2PYv8NS5Y1thI6kx4BEhBUs8HimHVc9RfYEtUpjaZYefKYQakvPpTg4TkOZI/s400/sm_ssc_burn12.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291521843838669538" border="0" /></a><br />I am immeasurably pleased that Shakespeare <a href="http://www.shakespearesantacruz.org/gallery/press_release:_january_14,_200.php">Santa Cruz has announced their new season</a>. They're rolling out the crowd-pleasers, too. <span style="font-style: italic;">A Midsummer Night's Dream</span> is Shakespeare's most popular play, and <span style="font-style: italic;">Julius Caesar</span> is his most American one.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Dream</span> is perhaps most popular because most people think the language is more accessible than most. I don't think that's true. I think it's most popular because you can't break it. It's harder to make a bad <span style="font-style: italic;">Dream</span> than it is an easy one. It's very rare that an audience leaves a playhouse disliking a production of <span style="font-style: italic;">A Midsummer Night's Dream</span>. It is Shakespeare's most theatrically interesting play in that it in habits four worlds and blurs the boundaries between them. A much longer post is needed to talk more about this.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Julius Caesar</span> is the most American play because it is about assassination in the name of democracy. The meaning, the importance, and the cost of democracy are all at stake in <span style="font-style: italic;">Caesar</span>. It's one of my favorite plays, and productions of it are more dangerous than other plays. Which side do you push? Which character is right? Who is the villain? Hero? It's almost (<span style="font-style: italic;">almost</span>) as if the play begs its audience to ask those questions. But while you're asking them, it scoffs at you with irony, making you feel bad for having bothered. By bad, I mean sad, I guess. It is a tragedy, after all.<br /><br />The photo above is of Yvonne Woods in <span style="font-style: italic;">Burn This</span>. Just an excuse to put her picture on the blog because I think she is beautiful and talented. I hope she's at Santa Cruz this year. They haven't announced the cast yet.Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-28918419368320184572009-01-09T10:48:00.000-05:002009-01-13T09:27:20.634-05:00American Shakespeare Center Must Survive and Thrive<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwv2w_SyuZ7uyTGayL_6C_4SUEepb6cMEF_siH7FvYAdCcqvBdcX9uL-FYZAl4po_m8qIiU-6KijqtOK5JqTreI_RCWzU3R1tfRndOo-ZSArPB0PYMpnNVM4ylSUeelWP24VJ7cgnk31kx/s1600-h/campaign-graphic-patron.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwv2w_SyuZ7uyTGayL_6C_4SUEepb6cMEF_siH7FvYAdCcqvBdcX9uL-FYZAl4po_m8qIiU-6KijqtOK5JqTreI_RCWzU3R1tfRndOo-ZSArPB0PYMpnNVM4ylSUeelWP24VJ7cgnk31kx/s400/campaign-graphic-patron.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289321540508780930" border="0" /></a><br />Things are getting tougher all the time for Shakespeare companies in America. Now the <a href="http://www.ascstaunton.com/">American Shakespeare Center</a> is running a fund-raising campaign to keep its lights on. If it goes dark, a town and a county will die, but also the tradition. The ASC at the Blackfriars Playhouse has brought a new vitality to the Shenandoah Valley, and it is the most unique theater experience in America. It would be an undeniable tragedy if the American Shakespeare Center went dark.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.americanshakespearecenter.com/v.php?pg=286">Please donate</a> if you can. ASC is a nonprofit 501(c)(3). ASC needs to raise $250,000 by the end of January! Anything you can spare would be greatly appreciated.<br />If you're poor and can't donate, please at least join the <a href="http://tinyurl.com/9w34u2">Facebook Cause</a>.Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-21066502695023459062008-12-18T16:33:00.000-05:002009-01-30T14:18:40.842-05:00All the Web's a StageI think that productions of plays and their popularity probably freaked people out back in Shakespeare's day. Every time something new comes out, there's always someone freaking out about how it's going to wreck our children.<br /><br />I like this article because it's called "<a href="http://www.good.is/?p=14116">All the Web's a Stage</a>," which of course plays with Shakes a bit. It's also a great article because it shows how the internet is shaping our reality. Arts and Entertainment have to shape our reality because they shape our desires.<br /><br />The most exciting thing about Shakespeare is that he is a part of our cultural development as a species at every step. This is a prime example of how Shakespeare's as relevant now as ever.Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-18648644791142300222008-12-16T09:27:00.000-05:002008-12-16T09:40:36.254-05:00Shakespeare Santa Cruz Needs Our Help!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvkfrh7zpHEy94nrjxAU3PoYNdBqGzA6-dp8gwC1unjquKx0gJ5DOW5wvpYUOQ5jMx6C-bl6wnD9kGQ1U7kSHHkjEuUUWw-_UTxDK84YdP8Ta4ymdTA9ALo5D1SuyhSXtwsK_fu76Rfjx/s1600-h/Shakespeare+santa+cruz+glen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvkfrh7zpHEy94nrjxAU3PoYNdBqGzA6-dp8gwC1unjquKx0gJ5DOW5wvpYUOQ5jMx6C-bl6wnD9kGQ1U7kSHHkjEuUUWw-_UTxDK84YdP8Ta4ymdTA9ALo5D1SuyhSXtwsK_fu76Rfjx/s400/Shakespeare+santa+cruz+glen.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280394662163425506" border="0" /></a>I love <a href="http://www.shakespearesantacruz.org/">Shakespeare Santa Cruz</a>. I was looking forward to going to their shows again next year. But 2009 seems less likely to happen than it did in 2008. Everyone is hurting for money, but theaters most of all. Now Shakespeare Santa Cruz needs $300,000(!) by next week to stay open.<br /><br />I will give them $50 I think. I don't have much money. Seriously, I am in debt up to my freakin eyeballs with student loans. I can't even afford a car or a new computer (mine was stolen a few weeks ago). Will you give them money too? I hope so.<br /><br />They have one of the most beautiful theater spaces I have ever been to, and I have been to a lot of theaters. I would say further that they have the best <span style="font-style: italic;">smelling</span> space the world has ever known.<br /><br />Please, please, please give them money!<br /><br />Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stepfordwife/">Denise Patterson's Photostream</a>.Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-7072719618988428102008-11-25T10:18:00.000-05:002008-11-25T11:04:07.225-05:00American Shakespeare Center this Winter<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://americanshakespearecenter.poweredbyindigo.com/images/headersanta.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 91px;" src="http://americanshakespearecenter.poweredbyindigo.com/images/headersanta.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I just saw Measure for Measure at Blackfriars in Staunton, Va. I work for the American Shakespeare Center now, so take my opinion for what it's worth, but I really liked it this time around. Last time I saw it, I caught the matinée. I guess I shouldn't go to matinées. I hate matinées. Maybe I always have.<br /><br />I don't have the stub because I got there just in time for curtain and was rushed in.<br /><br />Pretty soon, they are going to do a bunch of Christmas plays, <span style="font-style: italic;">A Christmas Carol</span> and <a href="http://www.americanshakespearecenter.com/v.php?pg=200"><span style="font-style: italic;">Santaland Diaries</span></a>. I am looking forward to seeing both. I've never seen a play by David Sedaris, and I have had a lot friends over the years who have sworn by his work. Excited.<br /><br />Two actors, John Harrel and Chris Seiler are playing the elf, and I get to see both of them. Harrel is one of my favorite actors.<br /><br /><br />Another favorite is James Keegan, who will be playing Scrooge in <span style="font-style: italic;">A Christmas Carol</span>.Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-44251993089875236082008-10-29T18:52:00.000-04:002008-10-29T19:02:07.440-04:00Theater is Pornography<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy_HG6Y_4ZFO9U-zf3_pVbc-XMv3SoG246XUMyND6xkCHr1Ltaz265Jl8nwwoZ2_63Rw83zl_ueOFHoXPMYjVI9i9aox1Pjd7fKKk5I7ZOO7_6OWuphUFPjYudrSVncBAvjw90_XRIWd6m/s1600-h/IMG_0154.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy_HG6Y_4ZFO9U-zf3_pVbc-XMv3SoG246XUMyND6xkCHr1Ltaz265Jl8nwwoZ2_63Rw83zl_ueOFHoXPMYjVI9i9aox1Pjd7fKKk5I7ZOO7_6OWuphUFPjYudrSVncBAvjw90_XRIWd6m/s400/IMG_0154.JPG" alt="Jack Morgan cracking up at Peet's Coffee's idiocy" title="Jack Morgan cracking up at Peet's Coffee's idiocy" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262712783835344994" border="0" /></a>I am sitting here trying to review Woman's Will's great Macbeth. I'm in Orange County, California, Newport Beach. The only cafe around here is Peet's Coffe & Tea.<br /><br />I try to get onto the <a href="http://www.womanswill.org">Womanswill.org</a> to get some skinny, and it turns out, Peet's filter thinks it's porn. Woman's Will is a theater troupe that does Shakespearean productions with an all-woman cast. Although that might seem pornographic to some imbeciles, it is definitely not.<br /><br />When my laptop told me that Woman's Will was pronography, I actually said out loud "you gotta be fucking kidding me!" I started laughing, but now I'm a little angry. I hate internet filters. I hate anything that tells me what is taboo and what isn't. To build a fence around an acting group that does community outreach and education is reprehensible, more reprehensible than anything I can find online. There is a lot of nasty shit online, and this is worse, Peet's Coffee & Tea, this is worse.Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-13298861065369378792008-10-16T15:18:00.000-04:002008-10-16T15:48:19.031-04:00Beowulf on Ashby<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_o39lP7gLeLhoIdiX8PZBhe7zN0Q-NTQdzjUAwjjIgiufQa8P3hSSRYYQZBodDZ9fj1wFAVEdFzC_B2uwqsBrT82-YkcfUv54OIt5NnOQR2SVBrh6uv8zXhz78FRgwOlhKWIw1vYna56t/s1600-h/beowulf-rock-opera.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_o39lP7gLeLhoIdiX8PZBhe7zN0Q-NTQdzjUAwjjIgiufQa8P3hSSRYYQZBodDZ9fj1wFAVEdFzC_B2uwqsBrT82-YkcfUv54OIt5NnOQR2SVBrh6uv8zXhz78FRgwOlhKWIw1vYna56t/s320/beowulf-rock-opera.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257839541290796434" border="0" /></a>I saw Beowulf a while back and loved it. I went with a friend of mine who happens to be a very beautiful woman and writer from Washington or some other state that borders Canada. She's always late, so I thought we weren't going to actually make it in on time. But she got there at the last possible second, and we even got good seats. The show was extended and sold out, this being the last weekend, so I lucked out that she didn't flake. I would have had to sit by myself.<br /><br />The show is amazing. I loved it.<br /><br />Afterward, we were walking to a bar, and she got a call from one of her "girlfriends" who was hving some kind of breakdown because of a break-up. She ended up talking with her "girlfriend" for most of our walk. After hanging up, we talked about the "Sex in the City" movie. Do you ever get the feeling that all the posturing and exclaiming women do about how "super important" their "girlfriends" are is all just for show, that it's all a sham? When women tell me that their little circle of friends are so much like a fictional TV show, I can't help but think that they have been duped by a fantasy. I also find "girls night out" or "boys night out" kind of offensive. I have friends that include men and women, and I don't think there is a division on gender lines. Sometimes those gender lines become uncrossable borders by the double standards of the women I know, but never by me or my male friends. The very idea that my male friends would want to have a special night on which we don't invite any women out with us is ludicrous, and I don't think we would do anything differently if we did.<br /><br />We got to the bar and she told me a familiar story about how some guy who wanted to take her to an exotic location. I've heard this story a million times, and I'm always surprised that men actually invite women they hardly know to exotic locations. It must work sometimes. But my friend said, "I'm not a whore, you can't just get this for free."<br />"Well," I said, "I think he was trying to buy it with that trip."<br />"Well, I'm not that cheap either."<br />"You just called yourself a whore."<br /><br />Anyway, Beowulf was crazy good and hilarious. You should see it if you live in New York. <a href="http://www.bananabagandbodice.org/PRODUCTIONS/Beowulf/Beowulf.html">Banana Bag and Bodice company</a> will be putting on the show in April at Harry de Jur Playhouse.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtOKujgat_APcUubcImxhf64tjq04YcS4l1FclZPymnF64HhW6svY11ZqOd5qvjPGvgFdlocU9VIQO63UAWIgH6AsnnX7zk_tmGkSVO2z8FigjDttzvqUiJF-IBAiY2OVMtF-TiscOqF-S/s1600-h/beowulf.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtOKujgat_APcUubcImxhf64tjq04YcS4l1FclZPymnF64HhW6svY11ZqOd5qvjPGvgFdlocU9VIQO63UAWIgH6AsnnX7zk_tmGkSVO2z8FigjDttzvqUiJF-IBAiY2OVMtF-TiscOqF-S/s400/beowulf.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257839386795167138" border="0" /></a>Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-40210911892885859402008-09-08T20:11:00.000-04:002008-09-08T20:13:20.756-04:00Obama & Mercutio<object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wpoAVAA1F30&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wpoAVAA1F30&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="349"></embed></object><br />When Obama quotes "Romeo & Juliet," I fall in love all over again.Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-58635234212839757052008-08-29T16:37:00.000-04:002008-08-29T17:49:03.668-04:00Hamlet 2 in Orinda<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkB76ewR17F4Pm1PENdtIcDIYk__Rz3MwdVdHCWx8I0Ir1kC0V-6-n3XT-TPqE496gl3YcaWevCu4-2AFBdWdnWoT3jLWh7kKNUbsrkhjkV_9Tg0LYDvYhivUucdhGToGLlmFwYXvQ_Ijt/s1600-h/casa+orinda.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkB76ewR17F4Pm1PENdtIcDIYk__Rz3MwdVdHCWx8I0Ir1kC0V-6-n3XT-TPqE496gl3YcaWevCu4-2AFBdWdnWoT3jLWh7kKNUbsrkhjkV_9Tg0LYDvYhivUucdhGToGLlmFwYXvQ_Ijt/s400/casa+orinda.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240048328525533618" border="0" /></a><br />Shark and I took the Harleys to Orinda last night to see Hamlet 2 at the <a href="http://www.renaissancerialto.com/current/orinda.htm">cool old theater</a> they have out there, which apparently is a building in every SimCity game ever made because the <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRdlJZzMwE5toZr7XWOYRWlasn-AvgC3D7slvxwH6NK9sykYJsQS5j5XXqE0r4yjbna-Mtp4kVIagUiVztU2oivfh3EbL0TYFv8dGC5nN-B_YNc7OOCjiw4ObchqpIZeO_qcD6BTW3HBfD/s1600-h/orinda.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRdlJZzMwE5toZr7XWOYRWlasn-AvgC3D7slvxwH6NK9sykYJsQS5j5XXqE0r4yjbna-Mtp4kVIagUiVztU2oivfh3EbL0TYFv8dGC5nN-B_YNc7OOCjiw4ObchqpIZeO_qcD6BTW3HBfD/s320/orinda.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240044757202888146" border="0" /></a>software company that made them all, Maxis, used to hold offices in the same building. I have a friend who works for them. It's a very nice theater. A bit old-worldy.<br /><br />Down the street from the theater is a bar, the oldest bar in town, a cowboy spot that used to be pretty much the only other structure in the city according to an ancient arial photo. We went in for a drink.<br />If the terrorists attack, Orinda will survive. <a href="http://www.casaorinda.net/"> Casa Orinda</a> has more guns than a Kentucky whorehouse on a Sunday at churchtime. The old man with the white Stetson and the gray suit sipped his soup, keeping one hand on his beatin' stick even when he brought up his dirty martini for a wincing slurp.<br /><br />Oxen yokes serve as lighting fixtures for this old saloon, leaving just enough light by which to tell the old man was squinting his eyes at me. The bartender said he didn't want his picture taken, but <a href="http://blog.trainwreckunion.com/2008/08/oldest-bar-in-orinda.html">I took it anyway</a>. He told me the 85-lbs shotgun over the bar was built by Remington for shooting 40 birds at a time. The old Stetson man grabbed his beating stick a little tighter, and a woman laughed somewhere. There were people having dinner in the nice restaurant part, and I noticed that the fireplace said "Whoever sits round these hearth stones shall speak no evil of any living creature."<br /><br />"'Nother round?" asked the tender.<br />"Nah, gotta a show to catch. Thanks." I knocked on the bar and tipped an imaginary hat at the Stetson man, who winced at me.<br /><br />Shark and I checked the bikes and went in to see <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hamlet_2/">Hamlet 2</a>. I reviewed it for <a href="http://playshakespeare.com/">PlayShakespeare.com</a>. Should be up soon.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HqZc_C7yiL9UK0lpt6f1I_JUIBjOKpN7FIboyTu0UWFLt2U7RUoQG6sND8rW3lTp3STGCo-4m8vRtFSAU946Qq5p_xYekVp92VZLFmJgkizy5CWcoivJ7GKogm996FYIIPKW8UJpeYTg/s1600-h/hamlet2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HqZc_C7yiL9UK0lpt6f1I_JUIBjOKpN7FIboyTu0UWFLt2U7RUoQG6sND8rW3lTp3STGCo-4m8vRtFSAU946Qq5p_xYekVp92VZLFmJgkizy5CWcoivJ7GKogm996FYIIPKW8UJpeYTg/s400/hamlet2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240059782088338242" border="0" /></a>Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-64681546818439426572008-08-28T16:30:00.000-04:002008-08-29T17:51:08.097-04:00All's Well that Ends Well @ Shakespeare Santa Cruz<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL68TRDl-8d0S-WXw4wlqRMAxJnobnsHBkroyNoaoQc27FQ-01J1qMvUc7xu5Bv90jdeqpuuK89wAgb19epsAGjwVd4fv6kvFrlqe9amgK3LncluJwaM8-ocS-_MxcVPU3g2WK39VJjNaw/s1600-h/ssc_alls2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL68TRDl-8d0S-WXw4wlqRMAxJnobnsHBkroyNoaoQc27FQ-01J1qMvUc7xu5Bv90jdeqpuuK89wAgb19epsAGjwVd4fv6kvFrlqe9amgK3LncluJwaM8-ocS-_MxcVPU3g2WK39VJjNaw/s400/ssc_alls2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239472725343628898" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Every time I see "<a href="http://www.shakespearesantacruz.org/season/alls_well_that_ends_well.php">All's Well that Ends Well</a>," I like it more. Shakespeare Santa Cruz is no exception. My friend flaked on me (poets!) at the last second, so I had to drive that crazy fast Lexus there myself and there was an empty chair next to me, but I soon forgot my loneliness when the lights went down. The scene between the Countess (Beth Dixon) and Helena (Rachel Fowler) was incredible, and I loved every second of it. Caitlin FitzGerald, who played Juliet in R&J, played Diana here, which is cute since their last names are so similar, and I liked that.<br /><br />Everything was pretty strong. Lavatch (John Pribyl) and Lafew (Richard Farrell) were delightful, and Parolles (Allen Gillmore) was as wonderful here as he was in "Bach at Leipzig."<br /><br />I didn't dig the soldier costumes that looked a bit camp or something, and I don't understand why people seem to think that a fistula will make a French king speak excruciatingly slow, but the offenses are forgivable in light of everything else.<br /><br />My friend missed out. But you don't have to. "All's Well that Ends Well" runs until August 31st in the best-smelling theater the world has ever known. There are deer that hang out in front of the glen, and if you arrive early, there are several nice spots to watch the sunset on UC Santa Cruz's massive campus. If picnicking isn't your bag, or basket, you can check out <a href="http://www.saturncafe.com/">Saturn</a> in downtown SC, one of my favorite vegetarian spots in the whole world. Saturn is like a 50's diner but the shakes are vegan. So freaking delicious that I often click my heels and wish Saturn would sell the cafe and come live with me here. Sometimes I devise elaborate schemes in which I enlist a local to seduce Saturn and follow Saturn to Oakland, where I reveal it was not the local strumpet Saturn loved at all, but me, and now Saturn has to marry me!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_U3qU_bNDrgEpkTYBHEJL_wMbRpiaELrj6ZdFjrgzeaZ-qyfphGHO7TtJJfGz9I1OFy5j7H75w8zvyHi8bVqMUcEk_jA6gayuuyyl5MNTGGQVBJ8I0PcLp1BF_iutarJzHxkIGmuV_EOf/s1600-h/alls-well-shakes-sc.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_U3qU_bNDrgEpkTYBHEJL_wMbRpiaELrj6ZdFjrgzeaZ-qyfphGHO7TtJJfGz9I1OFy5j7H75w8zvyHi8bVqMUcEk_jA6gayuuyyl5MNTGGQVBJ8I0PcLp1BF_iutarJzHxkIGmuV_EOf/s400/alls-well-shakes-sc.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239462698439155106" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">Strong Finish!</span><br /></div>Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-47652162673094925182008-08-27T19:18:00.000-04:002008-08-28T04:03:26.256-04:00"Burn This" @ Shakespeare Santa Cruz<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSgiYzHne06_ptKzckUxF2msfyH4QyDru6Ej7TuI5jY6SNbju3ce0Fu9tbrH46XK8UUsTi-HNICkfNlgVeLbvB6RTNNPSyzCSZYB72mGK6Y2KCwGwKEHi9dUaCh_c3tx5JZIRNu7U2Vgp6/s1600-h/Burn-This_play_web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSgiYzHne06_ptKzckUxF2msfyH4QyDru6Ej7TuI5jY6SNbju3ce0Fu9tbrH46XK8UUsTi-HNICkfNlgVeLbvB6RTNNPSyzCSZYB72mGK6Y2KCwGwKEHi9dUaCh_c3tx5JZIRNu7U2Vgp6/s400/Burn-This_play_web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239342733403414898" border="0" /></a>"<a href="http://www.shakespearesantacruz.org/season/burn_this.php">Burn This</a>" is good. I liked Yvonne Woods and everyone else in the play. I think it's a bit like "Friends" if "Friends" took place in a realer world with realer people who felt lonely even while they were barreling toward their dreams and surrounded by people who love them. The characters face issues so real, in fact, that it made me feel kind of empty at the end because it reminded me too much of the sadness and torture of an artist.<br /><br />I don't mean to say that I disliked the play; I did. But the emptiness in my stomach at the end struck me a little harder than I expected.<br /><br />"Burn This" is written by Lanford Wilson. The play's about artists and writers living in the big city. Being a writer and artist in a big city, I identified myself too much with the characters. There's an advertising person who feels like a whore. I used to be in advertising. There's a rich novelist who's sold out and negative about his art, looking for something better. I've been there, though I've never written a novel, but I remember having too much money and developing a seething hatred for illustration and graphics. And there's a dancer who is good at what she does, but seems to feel like no one cares because maybe no one really does and when you're stuck in a tiny secluded world like dancing, it's hard to get perspective on anything. What can be more like the world of poetry?<br /><br />"Burn This" is what would happen if all the people in "Friends" were artists whose worst fears were realities in a cruel and unforgiving world. Instead of the human tendency to self-destruct being on their back burners, it's right there in front. Instead of the slow burn everyone else feels behind their ribs, they're in flames and there's no amount of clever witticisms that can help.<br /><br />I wish Lanford Wilson had written a play that included at least some of the good stuff about being an artist, but the way it is, I'm left wondering if there is any.<br /><br />If you want to know kind of what it's like to be an artist, you should come see this play. It's running until August 31.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGGX22Xq5sucE8jSeB41U7Bn3QbGed9WXaSUf6osKXdKslUG9xrcshLa-EadLFFPHjDfvTpNCs1_Hq7aBaM7-H78xnkrec1GEdgwGxWWbcM8ssSfJmuLooNZ5AIIRZy6V5KQdLB-Drng2/s1600-h/Burn-this.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGGX22Xq5sucE8jSeB41U7Bn3QbGed9WXaSUf6osKXdKslUG9xrcshLa-EadLFFPHjDfvTpNCs1_Hq7aBaM7-H78xnkrec1GEdgwGxWWbcM8ssSfJmuLooNZ5AIIRZy6V5KQdLB-Drng2/s400/Burn-this.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239383642392810178" border="0" /></a>Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-12023962049778055522008-08-16T16:45:00.000-04:002008-10-10T14:33:11.325-04:00M 4 M in Staunton. Like a Yin Yang and shit.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinHXUgQlgfCdmyB3C5jSp4_dfyxRCZQXne3khfU0CiWgpBx6feKoKZ6tzGRw1GdRjtXBl0dk1Tw3hx8YotdqVetGBCpiD2oqPALk-Sfvbb4PrwyduD3s2kSZ7J9zU6pVi4mkxxE1FllpdF/s1600-h/3+Measure+for+Measure.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinHXUgQlgfCdmyB3C5jSp4_dfyxRCZQXne3khfU0CiWgpBx6feKoKZ6tzGRw1GdRjtXBl0dk1Tw3hx8YotdqVetGBCpiD2oqPALk-Sfvbb4PrwyduD3s2kSZ7J9zU6pVi4mkxxE1FllpdF/s400/3+Measure+for+Measure.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235225128682162498" border="0" /></a><br />Something strange happened in the last production I saw in Staunton.<br />Why and how did actors I like playing characters I like suck so bad in the beginning of "Measure for Measure"? The whole first act just sounded like "blah, blah, blah." like no one in the play cared about what they were saying or even knew. I think it was because it was a matinée. I hate matinées for the most part. You know who goes to matinées?<br /><br />The whole first half dragged along like a starved, tranquilized polar bear. The production was no better than a grieving caterpillar too tired to eat and too ugly to love itself; too lazy, too lethargic, the phlegmatic monster was too bored to do anything but hibernate in its hideous cocoon.<br /><br />What was once the glorious Blackfriars Playhouse, the jewel of the Shenandoah Valley, was now disgusting to me. I looked around and wished that they would turn the lights off. Usually their slogan, "we do it with the lights on," is praised by this theater-going writer, but now it was filled with pink people. It looked like a factory farm. I just wanted to leave.<br /><br />The bell rang, and the songs started. The American Shakespeare Center has a number of very good musicians in their company, but I was in no mood to listen to their acoustic renditions; I was contemplating the reactions a scathing review of this production would bring from people who have been so gracious to me as a guest in their world. My feeling of trespass would now bear fruit and I would finally be outed as a fraud and a meanie. I resolved to stay honest. No compromises on that. I was going to tear this one apart.<br /><br />Then Gregory Jon Phelps came out and sheepishly said he would sing us one more song. He started in his mock-nervous way that endears him to audiences as Romeo and Antonio, a wonderful Poor Tom and a brilliant Claudio. I rolled my eyes and settled in, the only person in my row, for more of the same old-same old.<br /><br />The song was "The Good Die Young," and I kind of chuckled a little because I like how closely it relates to "Measure for Measure." And the song says something about Virginia. Some back-up vocals sneaked out of the backstage area, and soon thereafter a couple actors came onto the stage to join Phelps. If you paid attention, you could start to see the butterfly wings poke out. With every repetition of the chorus, more actors came out. Eventually, they had the audience singing with them and clapping, like it was some kind of country anthem. It was really awesome, and I smiled through the whole thing so that my face hurt.<br /><br />Then, as if the actors had all enjoyed the musical interlude as much as I did, they came out in character and the play had an energy and enthusiasm I have never seen before in a production of "Measure for Measure." It was like they had all realized what they loved most in life and came out to do it. I have always had faith that a production, like a football game, can be saved in the second half by the home team. And this showed me that my faith was not misplaced. I often think of leaving places during intermission. Poetry readings bum me out sometimes, and plays feel too long sometimes. But I will remember "Measure for Measure" from now on when I think about leaving in the middle.<br /><br />I would have missed the best clown/executioner scene ever put on the stage.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WWx97CGT-BMozCyIuDgV0-XkYHDpEamUrqbwjU1FiYykvA3F6beIsjQq0CJKDrwUGH2C3cylNNNpi9Nej5mXlriaUwn_uCVTxdKLZo7J66Edpt2_QYC_bL5CqsGaj4ZepaOCTEKPypNn/s1600-h/ASC+Measure+for+Measure.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WWx97CGT-BMozCyIuDgV0-XkYHDpEamUrqbwjU1FiYykvA3F6beIsjQq0CJKDrwUGH2C3cylNNNpi9Nej5mXlriaUwn_uCVTxdKLZo7J66Edpt2_QYC_bL5CqsGaj4ZepaOCTEKPypNn/s400/ASC+Measure+for+Measure.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235318988256606786" border="0" /></a>Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1118647533760855473.post-2297511568578387772008-08-13T19:23:00.000-04:002008-08-13T20:24:58.248-04:00Lear in Staunton<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvP34WXc4rNPGSrTmvXZ1NrIvlHmspgkyjuMq8x_zOARu1zdbFdMx9EFZeO_pGGLFt5fBK-zIUJUsYIqq5vQOaBMftYZz3NLh_a94YKDOE4kLWE_VhvdRMIXCdxVkouhFfwgQM314EP6s/s1600-h/lear.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvP34WXc4rNPGSrTmvXZ1NrIvlHmspgkyjuMq8x_zOARu1zdbFdMx9EFZeO_pGGLFt5fBK-zIUJUsYIqq5vQOaBMftYZz3NLh_a94YKDOE4kLWE_VhvdRMIXCdxVkouhFfwgQM314EP6s/s400/lear.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234154967698053762" border="0" /></a><br />Everyone in Lear was good. James Keegan has a voice that shakes you into goosebumps. It's exciting to see him on stage in any role, but he seems to have been born to play Lear. And he who called him Nuncle was still a genius despite having lines cut; John Harrell should never have a line cut. NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! John Harrel is the best fool I have seen in Lear. I have only seen Lear something like four times on the stage and a handful of times on DVD and VHS, but this guy was hilarious. In the end when he's not really around, and when Cordelia dies he's missed because Harrel does what the fool is presumably there to: keep things light and give perspective. When he isn't there anymore, the deaths in the end are given more weight and lose their sense. If the fool were on stage then, we would find a reason why Cordelia had to die, but without him there, it's just senseless violence that makes you want to cry, like when tanks are killing people in Georgia while our president looks like a fucking hypocrite. His bauble was a skull that looked around like a puppet wielded by a master.<br><br /><br><br />Everyone was good in this Lear, but I just deleted a bunch of stuff about them because I want to talk about something else before you lose patience with this blog. Have you ever noticed that every Lear has people yelling and screaming through it? I asked Stephen Booth why everyone's always trying to out-yell each other, and he said, "well, they're angry." The thing is, I don't think most people yell when they're angry. Actors playing angry characters often yell; it's an easy way to portray rage and frustration. But people, when they're rrrreeeeally pissed off about something, are pretty quiet. They kind of spit their words. And Regan and Goneril are much too cunning to scream and yell. They are manipulating a large number of people in addition to their father, why risk looking hot and inconstant? If they are resolute and stern, wouldn't it work better? I think that Lear has to do a lot of yelling, but should anyone else be? Would anyone really yell at a king? Even a king only in title? Everyone always yells in "<span style="font-style: italic;">King Lear</span>" and they will continue to do so, surely, but I don't think they should. Just Lear himself maybe. <br><br /><br>Blackfriars has some fantastic acoustics going for them, so they can do things with volume and voice variations that can't be done in big outdoor theaters without mic.'s. Mic.'s add some artificiality in those theaters, so Blackfirars won't have to sacrifice anything if they decide to do something different from the norm. I think Lear needs it, and who else is intrepid enough but the ASC?<br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrkh5bj2y2VtQ8mfkqUc9UQ69tvtnd7rLRdzpQWsibqrR0N1kz3cu4Id0eIJRN5awhA0fwXtdVuf8HtZQ_OKJWV2SSBjT7Uo2LuFeaC1SgERM_szFAD-n6rAY3WYgtA0LERtUGeo2oHlfK/s1600-h/ASC+King+Lear.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrkh5bj2y2VtQ8mfkqUc9UQ69tvtnd7rLRdzpQWsibqrR0N1kz3cu4Id0eIJRN5awhA0fwXtdVuf8HtZQ_OKJWV2SSBjT7Uo2LuFeaC1SgERM_szFAD-n6rAY3WYgtA0LERtUGeo2oHlfK/s400/ASC+King+Lear.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234147308631199554" border="0" /></a>Sky Jack Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274460430707829174noreply@blogger.com0