The book is not large and can easily be read in an hour. This reviewer was left unsatisfied with only 47 pages of Peter Brook’s ideas. Why not include more speeches and articles? However, in so few words, the Brook still manages to make some profound statements about producing, directing, and studying Shakespeare’s works today. The first section (Evoking…) raises and attempts to answer questions such as “Why is Shakespeare still relevant today?”, “Who was Shakespeare – the man?”, and “What do we mean by calling him a genius?” Brook explores Shakespeare’s capacity for memory. An author whose writing contains such densely-packed language full of imagery must have had a super-human talent for conjuring such images and in his mind (and linking them together). He speaks of the challenges of producing Shakespeare’s plays today and attempting to make them feel new and “modern” without losing the power of the language.

Forgetting Shakespeare asks the actor (or director, etc.) to “Forget that these plays had such an author. [...] So just assume, as a trick to help you, that the character you are preparing to play actually existed.” Why? Because you are not like Hamlet. Because you are not the news-caster for Shakespearean headlines. Because actors seem to do very well when the portray people who actually lived. Just look at any of your favorite biography films.. it’s true. This way we forget about the author, what his intentions may have been, his philosophy. All things that get in the way. So the only way to find Shakespeare is to forget him. My summarizing and paraphrazing is not nearly as eloquent or inspiring as Brook’s so I suppose you’ll just have to buy a copy and read it for yourself.

At nearly $9, it’s a little pricey for the amount of paper they used, so if you’re a casual Shakespeare reader this probably isn’t for you. This work, though, should be read by the die-hard fans as well as actors, directors, and teachers of The Bard. The ideas inside are well worth the price. And because of the short length, it’ll be easy to come back to again and again for inspiration.

Evoking and Forgetting Shakespeare

It’s time for some personal reflection and exploration. Open up your mind and start thinking…

Which of Shakespeare’s characters do you most identify with? Why?

Shakespeare wrote nearly 1000 named roles, large and small, comic and tragic, king and servant, rich and poor. With so many to choose from, it’s a tough choice. But with so many characters and in so many situation, everyone’s bound to have one.

And why do you identify with this character? If you’re an actor, could you play this part? Would you like to? Don’t all just say Hamlet, back it up!

If you can’t think of one just yet, start off with which character would you most like to play onstage (whether you’re an actor or not). Who’s head do you want to get into?

I’m very interested to hear what you think of yourself based on who you choose. Ask your friends too! Get them to join in the comments. Or just ask in a conversation. If they say they’re most like Macbeth you might want to look for a new friend.

In the discussion in an older article from a few months ago, one comment brings up a point that got me thinking. I’d like to pose it to you all in a more prominent spot.

What if Shakespeare’s works never existed or didn’t survive? Who would we be reading/acting/studying?

We have John Heminges and Henry Condell to thank for Shakespeare’s prominence in literature in drama around the world today. All because of the Folio they published. But what if none of that had happened? Which of Shakespeare’s contemporaries would hold the spotlight today?

Who would students be complaining about studying instead? Johnson? Marlowe? Fletcher? Beaumont? Would we have Middleton festival theatres around the world? Or none of these? Maybe we’d have a list of the top three Elizabethan poets. Might society today instead look past Elizabethan and Jacobean drama and study Dryden instead? Or maybe later still all the way to George Bernard Shaw. Who knows?

It could make for an interesting episode of The Twilight Zone.

There hasn’t been much activity here lately, I am to blame of course. There’ll be more activity from now on… so let’s start a little discussion. Inspired by some things I saw while surfing the internet, I’d like to ask my readers:

Who is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s deaths?

Don’t forget to back up your answer with a strong argument. Was it Friar Lawrence who created the plan to fake Juliet’s death? Was it their parents’ for their feud? Was it Romeo who was too quick to judge? Was it the entire city of Mantua for locking their gates to the messenger with the letter to Romeo? Or perhaps it was the Prologue who revealed the end at the beginning, and the characters naturally can’t stray from what he has to say.

I have a feeling it was Colonel Mustard, but I’ll put my two cents in a little later. Let’s get the ball rolling with an answer to the question…. Whodunnit?

There’s a relatively new online product out that was created to help actors learns lines. Just click on over to MemorizeShakespeare.com and see what the buzz is about.

The whole idea behind this method is that learning by ear the most effective way to remember text, just like the way you learn song lyrics or another language. The learning is entirely audio. There’s no text to read so that you don’t memorize the page layout rather than the text, you instantly know how to pronounce words, the rhythm of the text, and you don’t have to worry about hurting your arm with the weight of the complete works in your hand. You can even download your cues to practice with once you learn your lines.

Sounds pretty good, right? Before going any further let me take this opportunity to invite you to try it for yourself. You can download their sample and learn Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” soliloquy. Although there are plenty of helpful tips out there to help actors learn lines, most experienced actors have a method that works for them after years of experimenting. This one might work for you, it might not.

The advantages I mentioned above sound good and it’s definitely better than nothing. But for someone who is serious about succeeding in acting Shakespeare’s text this method is not the alpha and omega of learning lines.

There is a fair level of inflexibility with recorded text. In any given production, lines may be cut. With ScenePartner, each cue is a single track. But sometimes pieces of lines are cut. A few lines in the middle of a speech may be removed, words are different depending on the source, and directors may even alter words. Punctuation is different in various editions which can alter phrasing and meaning and the recorded version might not correspond perfectly.

Students beware. You might be new to acting Shakespeare and glad to find a resource that tells you how to pronounce the words and memorize the text easier, but do you know what all the words mean? I would recommend not learning any lines until you have discovered what the difficult or unfamiliar words mean. You can’t act words you don’t know. Please take the time to figure out what you’re saying first, no matter what method of memorization you use.

If actors were to do their homework to find definitions, do scansion, play with the imagery in the text, and make the words their own so that the words aren’t merely being recited, this resource may be a good addition (not substitute) to the methods they employ to learn lines.

From $12-24 per album for lines and another $12-24 for cues (price varies per character), it’s not too much of a hole in your wallet for this help, and if it works for you – by all means, take advantage of this resource!

The long term investment of a good reference books and a digital audio recorder make for a much cheaper alternative if you plan to memorize a lot of Shakespeare.

I hope you’ve had a Merry Christmas, and/or any other holiday you happen to be celebrating this season.

Did anyone get anything Shakespearean? Please share the Bard-y gifts you got and gave!

I bought myself a present this year… it’s Shakespeare: The Bard Game. I have yet to play but it sounds like it’ll be fun. I’ll have to get some fellow Bardolaters together and play, I’ll let you know how it is. Till then, enjoy the rest of your holiday season!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

The Bard Blog is a year old today!

It’s hard to believe. It seems like I started this up not too long ago, but it also seems as if I’ve been doing this for a long time (and enjoyed it). I’ve been a bit distant from the web lately, and I haven’t been posting as often as I’d like but that should be changing soon.

I am aweary of this blogger, would he would change!

Lots will be changing soon actually. After a year of blogging I think I’ve finally got the hang of it — and now it’s time to push forward. With the new year just around the corner I’ll be making some changes to the site as a sort of new years resolution. Don’t worry, fans, nothing’s gonna get topsy-turvy. Just more organized.

At this birthday party, you don’t have to buy me a gift (but I won’t complain if you do) but the best present you could give is to take a look through the archives, (re)familiarize yourself with the site’s content. Then comment or send me an email with what sorts of posts you enjoy, ones you’d like to see more of, and you’re welcome to suggest features or subjects that I haven’t covered yet. I’ve got some ideas floating around in my head but I’d love to hear what you, faithful reader, have to say.

No, my dog didn’t eat my Hamlet homework and cough it up again.

Back in Blog Carnival #6, there was a link to a post by the title of Shakespeare Hated Hamlet. Some interesting stuff.

The author recently emailed me with a follow up post and I’d like to share it with you.

Enjoy Hamlet Regurgitated.