Tag Archives: Shakespeare

#212: Rosaline Goes to an Old Accustomed Feast

Today’s napowrimo suggestion is to write a poem in the point of view of a minor character in a folktale or myth. I choose neither. Because Shakespeare: Rosaline Goes to an Old Accustomed Feast I was on the guest list and I decided to go even though I knew he would be there. I wanted noContinue reading “#212: Rosaline Goes to an Old Accustomed Feast”

#211: Ode To Juliet’s Nurse

Juliet’s age-knowing, wormwood on dug-leaving, dirty-joke telling, thou wilt fall backward, when thou comest to age, wilt thou not, Jule-talking, fan-waving, fan’s the fairer face-waving, Mercrutio, scurvy-knaving, saucy merchant-screaming, I’ll take him down-threatening, match-making, Juliet-teasing, oh, my aching bones-complaining, where is your mother-asking, wedding-arranging, Romeo and Juliet co-conspiring, Romeo shaming, on Friar Lawrence-crushing, he’s dead,Continue reading “#211: Ode To Juliet’s Nurse”

#210: How to Perform Shakespeare for Middle School Children

Chew the words. Enunciate. Don’t go too fast. Lift the line. Energy. Energy. Perhaps, more importantly, overemphasize the dirty jokes: “Draw thy tool” and “My naked weapon is out” should get big laughs. However, for things that could be considered dirty but are not, caution is advised. If you’re Romeo, for example, and you’re climbingContinue reading “#210: How to Perform Shakespeare for Middle School Children”

#209: 35 Years Later, The Actor Playing Capulet Remembers Auditioning for Romeo

I was 16 when I auditioned for Romeo. I got Mercutio instead and I was happy about that because that guy has the best death scene in all of literature. But in preparation for my Romeo audition I carved out a space in my brain for Romeo’s balcony soliloquy and I still know it to this day, 35Continue reading “#209: 35 Years Later, The Actor Playing Capulet Remembers Auditioning for Romeo”

#206: The Actor Attempts to Meditate in the House During Fight Call

and is successful in his way. The swords clash and clang and the combatants exclaim their shouts of excruciating pain and the crowds riot in the streets. The actor meditating in the house allows the clamour to disguise itself as a kind of tumultuous silence. The bell chimes inaudibly underneath his theater seat just in timeContinue reading “#206: The Actor Attempts to Meditate in the House During Fight Call”

#204: During Act Two, Capulet Writes A Poem

I know what’s coming. It’s happened before, as if in a loop, in exactly the same way each time and it never ends well. But I’m always surprised: the shouting in the streets, the alarm, the subsequent chaos, my wife charging into the fray screaming bloody murder over the death of nephew Tybalt. And I’mContinue reading “#204: During Act Two, Capulet Writes A Poem”

#203: Capulet Speaks of His Daughter’s Grief

Today’s assignment from napowrimo is to write a thing called a san san (three three in Chinese), a form that incorporates a particular rhyme scheme pattern coupled with the repetition of three images three times throughout the eight line poem. That’s a mouthful. It was difficult. In fact, I failed somewhat with the form. My poemContinue reading “#203: Capulet Speaks of His Daughter’s Grief”

#202: Juliet Eats A Fortune Cookie

Juliet eats a fortune cookie in two bites. While she’s chewing the first half she pulls the paper fortune from the other and reads “The one you love is closer than you think.” Juliet loves fortune cookies, I mean, she likes the way they taste. But she is also fond of the whole fortune tellingContinue reading “#202: Juliet Eats A Fortune Cookie”

#201: ABC Shakespeare

This may be obvious to anyone paying attention, but I have of late had Shakespeare on the brain. It’s a pattern with me, I think. The last time I took on a role in a Shakespeare play the same thing happened: my entire creative output became infused by the bard. Trying to write songs inContinue reading “#201: ABC Shakespeare”

#197: Lord Capulet Speaks of the Unspeakable

Note: Here’s a persona poem in which the speaker is aware of his author/creator and for which the writer/actor slaved all day to make the damn thing rhyme and then asked one of his fellow actors to take a picture of him as Lord Capulet. Also, this poem responds to the napowrimo optional prompt in a kindContinue reading “#197: Lord Capulet Speaks of the Unspeakable”