SUNDAY, JANUARY 22 at 4 PM
“What’s the BEST that Broadway can be twenty years from now?”
That’s the overarching theme of the “TEDx Broadway” conference, taking place on Monday, January 23. Since I’m curious about what might be happening on Broadway when I’m approaching retirement, I’m planning to spend the day listening to the 15 presentations currently scheduled.
Given my range of theatrical interest, I do muse on why this isn’t “TEDx Theatre,” since Broadway represents only 40 venues in a single city (although it feeds a wider network of presenting houses around the country), but I do recognize its economic scale and almost mythic stature. As I am not a journalist, I will confess up front that do not approach the event unbiased; my responses to what I hear will be informed by my own 29-year career in the American theatre.
I will be live blogging through the day (my first such effort) in an attempt to bring some of the thinking presented at the event to those who can’t attend, in something approximating real time. Those who know my online activity may ask why I am not live-tweeting, and the answer is simple: I genuinely hope that the content of TEDx Broadway is sufficiently provocative and detailed that it cannot be reduced to 140 character missives; I want to be able to do it justice. So bookmark this page and take a look as the day progresses on January 23. I’ll watch for your comments both on this blog and, when possible, on my Twitter feed at @hesherman; I don’t know whether there will be any Q&A opportunities that would allow be to be your conduit back to the sessions.
Here’s the schedule of speakers, as provided by the TEDx folks:
Session One: Turning from Past and Present Toward the Future
- Ken Davenport, Broadway producer (Oleanna, Speed-the-Plow, Blithe Spirit)
- Jordan Roth, President of Jujamcyn Theaters
- Randy Weiner, Producer (Sleep No More, Purgatorio, Beacher’s Madhouse)
- Patricia Martin, Author, cultural communications guru and CEO of LitLamp Communications
- Performance by Joe Iconis, Musical theater writer and concert performer
Session Two: Picture If You Will…
- Performance by Matt Sax, Actor, writer and acclaimed composer (Clay, Venice)
- Kara Larson, Arts marketing consultant
- Frank Eliason, Digital customer service trailblazer
- Steve Gullans, Author, scientist, and entrepreneur
- Damian Bazadona, Founder of Situation Interactive
Session Three: Over the Horizon
- Vincent Gassetto, Principal of NY’s M.S. 343
- Juan Enriquez, Economist and bestselling author
- Barry Kahn, Economist and dynamic pricing expert
- Gregory Mosher, Tony Award-winning director and former Lincoln Center Theater artistic director
- Joseph Craig, Entertainment marketing expert
If you’d like to read bios of these presenters, click here and scroll past the marketing materials at the top to get to summaries of their backgrounds.
I’ve been seeing Broadway theatre since the mid-70s and had a ringside seat to Broadway via the American Theatre Wing from 2003 to 2011. I look forward to hearing about what may be yet to come.
MONDAY JANUARY 23 10:10 AM
There is immediate irony surrounding today’s TEDx Broadway, in that it is being held in an Off-Broadway theatre, specifically the New World Stages complex on 50th Street in Manhattan, a veritable urban mall of theatre. Though I haven’t inquired, the reason seems apparent: the costs of using a Broadway house for such an event, even when donated by the theatre’s owner, can be prohibitive due to house labor costs, tech staff and house staff chief among them. Assuming that at minimum, sound, lighting and projections will be put to use over the course of the day, tech expenses on Broadway might run up quickly — and no doubt that’s an issue that will come up at some point today in discussion of what Broadway might look like 20 years hence. But behind the irony of today’s locale, there’s also encouragement: New World Stages was built as a subterranean movie multiplex, and was converted to live theatres after its failure as a film venue. It’s rare, but fun, when theatre trumps film.
Last night, I solicited via Twitter any advance thoughts people had about today, hopes or concerns. I certainly saw multiple tweets of excited anticipation for the event, noting one respondent with particular enthusiasm for organizer Ken Davenport and speaker Frank Eliason. I have also seen tweets from several smaller not-for-profit companies, mostly New York-based; do they have Broadway dreams?
However, a number of tweets raised deeper questions. Why so male dominated (only 2 of the 15 announced participants are women), why so few artists (only 3, two slated as performances, not speakers), one speaker of color (Latino), why no (evident) speakers under the age of 35? Also, why so expensive ($100, limiting who can participate) and why during a workday (when younger professionals, if they can afford it in the first place, would need to take a day off to attend)? If this is about a vision of the future, can we vision a more egalitarian Broadway so that process enfranchises those who should, but largely do not, have stakes in Broadway? Indeed of the 13 speakers, only four appear to have direct connections to Broadway; the rest are experts in marketing, social media and customer service in other fields. So perhaps this is going to be more about how Broadway, whatever the product may be, will be connecting with its audience in 20 years, rather than what the work itself may be. But that remains to be seen.
A final note before I head one to New World Stages. I do not know whether it is by accident or design, but today’s event is scheduled opposite the annual Broadway Across America conference in Florida, where that major player both as producer on Broadway and producer/presenter in major venues across the country invites other major players for booth social and professional activities. This event immediately draws some major figures away from the TedXBroadway conference, leading me to wonder whether the intent of today is to “Occupy Broadway” and play to the less connected? However, if there is to be change on Broadway that we can measure 20 years from now, it would be highly unfortunate if today’s discussions go unheard by many of the people who would have to agree to take the first steps in that evolution if it’s to begin anytime soon.
MONDAY JANUARY 23 11:50 AM
Producer and event organizer Ken Davenport begins session by showing photos of 42nd Street in 1992 and today, as well as his acting head shot from that era; he mentions 1992 Tony winners Crazy for You, Guys and Dolls, and Dancing at Lughnasa. Ken remembers his dissatisfaction at buying tickets in those days without being told seats locations. A $50 ticket for a play was news; $65 was the musical price. Only two non-profit-theatres had Broadway houses; “Now there are five and counting.” Asks audience to indicate how many had cell phones, computers and Internet. Notes that Disney’s contract for the New Amsterdam was signed in 1993 and that in 1995 Sunset Boulevard won best musical score by default. 1996, “the Rent era” begins. Notes the 50% drop in NASDAQ value since 2000. Notes the abandoning of the West Side Stadium project. Notes Memphis being the first show to record and broadcast its production while still running on Broadway. Davenport says Times Square is better: crime down, tourism up. On Broadway: 905 playing weeks in 1992 and 1588 now.
Davenport says that TEDx Broadway is about looking ahead and imagining what Broadway could be. What if in 2013 Playbill goes green and all programs are delivered electronically? In 2016, what if all shows were recorded and sold like cast albums? What if in 2018 Phantom of the Opera closes? What if in 2022 there’s a Times Square roller coaster? What if in 2026 the only vacant theaters are renovated and reopened by a Chinese company? What if in 2028, $75 million for a show is cheap and we elect a female president?
How will our shows be created and marketed in 2032? Event organizers agreed they had no idea, and invited speakers to help try to answer that question. And if you’re in the house today, you’re going to help create that future.
12:05 PM
Jim McCarthy of Goldstar, one of the event’s organizers, asks if anyone has been to a TEDx event before; few hands go up. He explains that it’s all about big thinking and the people sitting next to you are as important as the people on stage. Audience is asked to fill out cards with their 60 second vision of Broadway in 2032; some will be invited on stage later in the day.
12:10 PM
Neil Patrick Harris video. He want to see references to Great White Way done away with; what about “The Great Culturally Inclusive Way?” Suggests that the best of Broadway in 2032 would star Hugh Jackman.
12:12 PM
Jujamcyn Theaters president Jordan Roth begins by parsing what “original” means. In regards to musicals, it means original script and score. Speaks of disdain for musicals from other sources; cites Oklahoma! adapted from Green Grow the Lilacs and 42nd Street drawn from 42nd Street. Emphasis speaks only to what, not how. Nobody sets out to create something that isn’t remarkable. Notes that American Idiot, Fela! and Lion King were all shows that did not have original scores, but quickly notes that writers of original scorns and books are essential. But when we limit our definition of original, we limit possibilities. Originality must come from creative innovation and answering the question of why is this live? As screens proliferate, live becomes more valuable, more differentiated, more unique. Not just a description of what is presented but how. Live must be built into events essence, something you can only experience in a room with a community of others. Artists must make the creative cases of why you have to come particular room at particular place with group of strangers to see. Talks about the uniquely different experiences of War Horse on stage and on screen, each told as only those mediums can do. If we aren’t unique and live, we will become cultural derivatives; “We must do what no other medium can do: be live. And that’s original.”
12:20 PM
Neil Patrick Harris video: how important is originality? “It’s super-duper crazy important” and that’s where Broadway has gone “off the ship.” Mentions various absurd new shows, like Modern Family: The Musical at Second Stage. If critics wouldn’t slam shows initially, there could be great musicals in the next 20 years.
12:22 PM
Producer Randy Weiner says he’s never done Broadway, but will speak about The Donkey Show, The Box and Sleep No More; his perspective is informed by these experiences. He talk about how difficult it was to describe Donkey Show: what is a club, was it a musical, was it Shakespeare? He says that original ideas can come from absolute squalor, describing original venue of The Donkey Show. Two cast members are in the audience, shouting out occasional remarks as he speaks; one a chorus girl, topless save for butterfly pasties (Titania), the other seemingly dressed as a crass stereotypical producer in an ugly fur (Oberon). He talks about the great people working in a difficult environment: Jordan Roth, Diane Paulus, designer Scott Pask and how the show took on a life of its own; he says that others took the idea and used in other ways, citing Ken Davenport’s Awesome 80s Prom. Weiner talks about the experience of the show beginning even with the line outside the venue, fully engaging you in the experience. The show had no seats and early audiences were shocked; they’d sit on the floor. The 360 degree approach 12 years ago was different, “and different is my favorite word and what I strive for in all of my shows.” Marketing integrated into the show; VIP greeter just like nightclub would recognize return visitors and even invite them back for free. Built upon people’s desire to be among the first and tell their friends about it. He said that Donkey Show’s real success came through specific, unexpected social interaction: bachelorette parties. “Sometimes you create something and it’s how does it interact with the world? And you get surprising answers.” Weiner talks about people’s social fabric connection to Broadway, but that needs to be even better integrated into shows. Notes the “real estate play” of Donkey Show, since there are clubs with great lights and great sound that are empty until 11 pm; he speaks about how Broadway is largely unused except from 8 to 11 pm (opposite of Donkey) and wonders about how they could be used although, “I have no idea of how Broadway works.” “Why can’t Broadway come up with other economic models?”
Moves on to discussing The Box, because he saw how much the club owners were making at the bar on The Donkey Show. He framed The Box with outrageous acts, but framed it “high,” as you could see same acts downtown for $10. Suggests Broadway needing to be positioned as more elite for limited audiences; shorter runs, not just for star shows. Make it narrower but still make it financially successful.
When raising money for Sleep No More, he positioned it as a smarter investment than Broadway because no one was doing anything like it. His marketing budget was zero “because the show was going to be so extraordinary that’s how we’d get people to come…The show is the marketing.” Says that not every show can do that, but maybe there’s something to be learned. Instead of Broadway spending all this money on marketing, they should just put it all into a better, larger show.
12:42 PM
Patricia Martin begins her talk titled, “Will the future ‘like’ you?” She talks about lying on the floor of the Vatican and wondering how that level of creativity happens. Her book prompted by that experience has thesis that we are poised on the edge of another Renaissance, despite difficult economic times. Cites mentor’s research: the same thing that creates a renaissance can also send us into the dark ages. As a result of hyper-progress, as what’s irrelevant is shed, making space for the new. Indicators of of a renaissance: 1) death comes first, 2 ) facilitating medium (in Rome, road; today, the internet), and 3) age of enlightenment (messy concept she often avoids; has everything to do with future of creative work and how we appeal to young audience). Talks about the dwindling of subscriber base at Steppenwolf Theater and charge to find global brands that were doing best work reaching young audiences; they all did one thing well, knowingly or not – they could speak at a higher frequency.
Recipe to higher frequency: in young audiences’ upbringing, they experience truth by believing what they can feel, being heard above the din. Young audiences yearn for higher purpose through human connection; we are more and more becoming wired to be social and feel human connection. She studied science of consciousness: witness, empathize, imagine and then act; but there’s a caveat – it’s most powerful when it happens live. Speaks of difficulty in changing culture because you must walk against the tide of prevailing culture.
So when do we get to renaissance? Currently deep in winter of discontent and have facilitating medium of Internet – so why are we still stuck? Because we don’t have a compelling story of the future. We’re waiting – what’s next? Martin cites Jung: “The creation of something truly new is not accomplished by the intellect, but by the play instinct, acting out of necessity.” So will to future like us? A conditional yes. “We need stories about the human condition that are told with love, because that is what helps people feel compassion towards each other and through compassion comes enlightenment.”
1:01 PM
Neil Patrick Harris video: What makes Broadway so great is that you can have Spider-Man and a play with Alan Rickman all in 20 blocks. But we need to figure out how to produce more economically. I don’t like shows where people just sit around and talk. Give me City of Angels, give me magic shows on stage.
Composer Joe Iconis take stage to perform. Impossible to live-blog a song. Taking a break.
2:15 PM
Lunch break is over and sessions resume with a performance by Matt Sax. I have no idea how to live-blog beat-boxing and now rapping. I’ll be back when talking resumes.
2:20 PM
Matt Sax is reading a poem about his Broadway experiences, which began with The Secret Garden. “I’m a great creator/and I love theatre.” “We have to get back to creating stars and not importing them.” “What critic is going to argue with a million likes on Facebook?” “For the future of this business, we’re alienating people who can’t afford it.” “Take our Broadway shows and stream them online for a small fee.” “Fuck out of town and give me an Internet try-out.” “It’s my goal to tell stories that inspire my generation.” “Galinda wants to be popular, and so do we.” I must get the full text of this; impossible to take it all down. Terrific stuff.
2:30 PM
Head of social media at CitiBank, Frank Eliason, up next. Where has service gone?, he asks. If continue on the path we’re on, Broadway will not exist, but let’s put that aside. He starts giving examples of frustration at customer service, and says it gets to core of what’s wrong with theatre today. He talks about companies adding technology, outsourcing, ongoing process. Says that people have lost human connection in business; cites Seth Godin book Linchpin, saying we’re still in the industrial age. 20 to 30 years ago we weren’t part of a process, not part of a process, allowing to make decisions. Today it’s a metric era; everything is numbers, even theatre. As long as we think like big business, we have a problem.
Internet is changing the world; giving consumers a voice against big business. People only talk about you if you create a good experience. Why do we think stars are a draw? Because marketers tell us so. Now we can just get opinions on Twitter or Facebook. Now it is the renaissance, about the artistic experience. We’ve been missing human connection, and Broadway will not exist unless we change — must be about human connection.
What is the experience of being part of a good show? Standing in line like commuting. That’s not what theatre used to be like. Used to be special, and not like it now. Says we no longer feel a connection to people on stage; big money shows are mostly special effects, but we can get that on TV or in movies. Broadway is missing it because the best shows won’t attract masses. Broadway numbers look great, so “we’ll keep delivering the same damn thing,” just like, say AOL. Need to evolve while still on top.
Competing with videos, with “way too much content.” Yes, there’s human connection, but it’s not different enough from other sources. What has happened on Broadway over 10 years? Up and up and up. Without changes, consumers will say they’ve had enough.
Now that audiences can connect directly with artists, marketing budgets will be reduced. You will see audiences encouraged to keep their phones on and communicate about theatre — and artists getting to know their audiences in unique way. Unnamed people will become stars, because new communication can make that happen. Talks about taking his children to Mary Poppins. Rushed in, rushed out, employees everywhere who didn’t care; interactions with people inside the theatre wasn’t a great experience. The kids loved the show, but Frank said it felt like going to a movie theatre. He says it’s the consumer’s own fault for saying it’s acceptable and that the next 20 years will be consumers fighting back. The future? He thinks artistic houses outside Broadway will be more successful than Broadway unless there’s real change.
2:50 PM
Kara Larson says that we are always predicting the future – but we’re terrible at it. Our dream of the experience at Disney world is delightful; we don’t anticipate heat, crowds, crying children. [HESherman note: why the Disney bashing today?] So if we’re terrible at making predictions, what can we do. Predictions in science and business are based in facts, but always leave out variable; sometimes too complex, sometimes we don’t know what the variable is. We have blind spots; situational bias; she cities a military commander in 1911 thinking airplanes would be of no value militarily, Margaret Thatcher saying no woman would be prime minister of England in her lifetime. Larson says it is nearly impossible for us to predict a future completely different from our own; we are trapped in its own history.
What of Broadway? Physical place, dream factory. In 20 years, predicting only that Broadway is a street and there will be theaters that people attend. Suggests we shouldn’t predict, but adapt (per Danish physicist). Accept change as it happens, accept it as it arrives. Or, create change — make it happen. Best way to predict the future is to create it, and let others adapt to you.
3:00 PM
Next presentation is by Steve Gullans. Speaks about the wisdom of crowds; opinion of 100 people is better than opinion of one, even an expert. But when we ask opinions, we have to consider whether we have the right crowd; you need the right opinion, the right audience, and how do you find them? He reviews networks in social networks – Facebook, Twitter, etc. [I have opted not to summarize this; it’s all theories about networks, social contagions, etc.; not uninteresting, but not new and feels textbook.]
Broadway could use social media better. How do you find the right networks? How do most people get connected to Broadway for information — connections are too distant. We’re not far from “smart networks,” people like you with same interests and issues, and they will be virtual, with key influencers at the center. Privacy is an issue and will be solved. We already have networks of friends, but not enough about themes; a matter of time before two cultures merge and smart networks will grow using emerging new technology. In the future, we will see what’s in the laboratory today in the real world: voice analysis, brain waves, smart fabrics, facial analysis; we will move from active input (typing) to passive input. A portion of audiences will have passive inputs uploading information to the cloud to be analyzed in a way that informs and improves what’s out there, including Broadway.
3:20 PM
Event organizer Damian Bazadona of Situation Interactive wants us to think of Broadway as an idea factory that opens hearts and minds. To be the best in 2032 is to fill our idea factory with the greatest talent over other idea factories — innovators. Technologies will open talent pipeline: 1) means to fuel our creativity, 2) access to join collaboration and 3) perspective to support our purpose; a perfect storm for talent. How will we win? By expanding the exposure of Broadway. Why so optimistic? Innovators will want financial opportunities for growth; drama and theatre arts among professions with lowest earning potential. Must increase exposure of Broadway to expand financial opportunities for innovators. Bazadona says our talent can’t be limited solely to theatres, and believes it is starting to happen; the more distribution, the more financial opportunities, the more people will choose to work on Broadway. How do you draw talent to field with limited supply and playing at 80% capacity? Only by expanding distribution channels. There must be growth potential for innovators to impact change. Innovators will want to believe in our greater purpose. Currents auds are 83% white with average household income of $250,000 — that’s not where innovators will come from. He notes that people’s willingness to pay ever higher prices shows commitment, but it’s an impediment to getting potential innovators to see the work. There is no financial model for new audience development on Broadway in a marketplace driven by supply. By growing business, we will alleviate reliance on ticket revenue and create new ways for people to touch Broadway.
In 2032: incredible original productions, full theaters with more diverse audiences, less risk from external factors (“screw those external factors” like press attention and arts education), healthy progressive investment, expanded potential for new works and a wider platform to share our greater purpose. “I think we can win the talent war.”
3:40 PM
Due to technical problems, I have lost my contemporaneous summary of the talk by Barry Kahn. From memory, his theme was one of greater cooperation, rather than competition for ticket sales. While I have not been editorializing to date, I will say that his theme was solid, but did not seem fully cognizant of the current means of Broadway sales, in particular his repeated references to box office sales at a time when most Broadway sales occur over the internet, or the various cooperative efforts made by The Broadway League or Serino Coyne’s “Season of Savings” promotions. He spoke about how fragmentation has led to the creation of new sales channels like Groupon, StubHub and ticket brokers and said that these channels should be combined with regular sales means for a better audience experience.
4:10 PM
South Bronx public school principal Vincent Gassetto is next up, following a video about students from his school attending Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. He believes that schools partnering with Broadway has infinite possibilities. He needs to expose students to as many things as possible to hope they make a connection or find an interest that may propel them to a positive future, creative a drive or desire for something different. Planning Broadway trips are a logistical nightmare. But impact is immeasurable: students want to be in show, create sets, play music — discussing their future. Attending the theatre also showed students positive social interaction. So how can schools contribute to making Broadway the best it can be in 20 years? Schools offer 1.1 million students, an opportunity to reach into population of young, talented and driven people who are nearby, and that can have an impact on the industry by creating new artists and audiences. If changes are not made, students will grow up without interest in industries like Broadway and arts education is not coming back anytime, so principals want to partner with industries to create arts education.
4:20 PM
Juan Enriquez is the next speaker. Wonders why are there so few medical and science plays on Broadway? What evidence is there that anyone would be interested? All of the television programs about science and medicine (Grey’s Anatomy, ER, M*A*S*H, etc). So how to we get back to what theatre did best? Addressing fatal flaws in heroes. Stories about the gods. At Harvard Medical School, students are reading Sophocles, in order to prompt students to address their studies with heart, not just science. Should theatre remind work about Sophocles? Because art is long, but life is short. Maybe we want to revisit this on Broadway in the next 20 years. What else can we threaten people with beyond death? Immortality. This is a theme we’re constantly considering in life, but not seeing in our stories. How are we immortal? Facebook as an electronic tattoo, a global tattoo that will likely last longer than the body. Does Google equal immortality? We are moving to the side of the Greek immortal gods, instead of the flawed hero. Are we voyeurs or narcissists? We no longer need to be an architect to become immortal in the age of Google. From immortality, we are moving to pre-reincarnation, e.g. cloning. So perhaps theatre can explore these themes. [HE Sherman comment: Enriquez continues to present medical progress, with the purpose of provoking thought among creative artists. yet I wonder how many creative artists are here today to take up this information. And progress in life and science are certainly fodder for theatrical work, but isn’t all of life, not just the science of life itself?] What happens if we don’t just preserve the species, but fundamentally change what it is to be human?
4:45 PM
Entertainment market researcher Joseph Craig is next. He suggests that Broadway doesn’t think about or talk to their audiences on a regular basis. He reviews audience demographics of Broadway and says that we are not replenishing audiences, and in 20 years they’ll be going to theaters not suited for their physical needs and limitations. Talks about how men don’t talk about shows they see. Cites annual audience of 12 million visitors to Broadway must grow; 80% capacity is not enough. Audiences 83% white, but that’s the race with slowest growth rate over 20 years. Are we going to be inclusive or exclusive? We have to get “See a show” into the lexicon of every visitor to New York; need collaboration to get people to Broadway in general. For future, Broadway must address aging audience whose income grows more limited as prices rise, the proliferation of distractions vying for entertainment dollars, the move of the “instant gratification” generation into our market and Broadway does not make it easy for them to participate, and how do we look beyond tourism growth and grow domestic audiences. Cites example of Las Vegas losing its appeal and need to rebuild and rebrand in late 80s and early 90s; Las Vegas had become a joke. So when was the last time that kids thought going to a Broadway show was hip? Cites Disney as being smart and bringing whole new generation into to the theatre [finally, someone who praises Disney]. Vegas experience shows Broadway the dangers of being complacent. “There’s a lot of cat fighting between shows on Broadway. We need to put that pettiness aside and think about what’s best for Broadway.”
5:00 PM
Gregory Mosher opens by saying we’ve reached the point in the event where everything has been said, but not everyone has said it. His talk: “Don’t Be The Turkey,” based on story about turkey who is so happy about growing bigger and bigger…until mid-November rolls around. Keeping the avian imagery, he talks about inductive reasoning — if we only see white swans, we conclude all swans are white but they aren’t. As we move ahead to 2032 we must build on facts, not assumptions, even though we’re in the hope business. So we have to define our business. We’re in the theatre business — but tell that to The New York Times or Kodak, whose business has changed so radically. Customer satisfaction can actually hold us back, especially when faced with disruptive technology (i.e. electric car). We have to accept that we’re good at sustaining technologies, but hard to jump into disruptive if you’re great at the other. Broadway? Remember that we’re good, but that what makes us good is the thing that makes us get not good. Don’t expect same project margins or volume with disruptive technology. Get your disruptive tech people “off somewhere” so they can be on their own to become very excited about even small things that are only at the beginning. When you have a disruptive technology, go find a new audience. Overall, accept failure. Many great things were mistakes: chocolate chip cookie, Post-It Notes, Viagra. We don’t have the luxury of a generation to find what’s new. We must commit to tinkering and failure, because that generates research and progress. We must commit to encouraging.
Mosher talks about the change in neural patterns that allow him to multitask (on a computer), but overall we can’t engage deeply, with a book or (though he has the habit) in a play. New textbooks are multimedia. It’s useless to Google in order to truly understand evil, loyalty, friendship, or a broken heart. And that’s why we need Tony Kushner and a group of great artists to show us that.
“Broadway for 30 years overlapped with the work of the greatest artists. It may once again.” But Mosher doesn’t care. Serious work will play in smaller spaces because that will return us to the way it was for thousands of years.
5:20 PM
TedX Broadway has drawn to a close. What’s above may well be irrelevant once the videos from the day are posted for all to see, but in the meantime I do hope this provides some window into what went on at the event.
Peter Marks and I had already planned to renew the Twitter forums we began in 2011, but before we could even discuss a topic, one leapt out at us. Prompted by a blog in the education section of The Folger Library’s website, we were plunged one early January afternoon into a frenzied discussion about whether Shakespeare is still Shakespeare if his language is altered, be it simplified or modernized. After some 30 minutes of tweets whizzing about, I suggested we hold further conversation for a planned session, to allow for more participation. The resulting Twitter dialogue took place on Thursday, January 19, and participants included Michael Kahn, artistic director of The Shakespeare Theater in Washington DC (making his Twitter debut under @ShakespeareinDC and noted here as #mk), as well as Mike LoMonico (@mikelomo), the educator whose Folger blog started everything off.
As before with these transcripts, they are reconstructed to the best of my ability, relying upon participants’ use of the #pmdhes hashtag for tracking; some scofflaws resulted in a choppy start as you will read, but the hashtag did allow for tracking discussion that continued after the allotted time had run out. I have cleaned up some common Twitter abbreviations for ease of reading, and I spelled out Shakespeare’s often-abbreviated name in every case, but I was cautious about converting anything where I wasn’t absolutely sure about meaning; sticklers, as a result, will find some messages that exceed Twitter’s 140 character limit. Retweets of messages within the conversation have mostly been excised, unless accompanied by comments which expand upon them. In addition, many left the conversation with kind words for Michael, Peter and me, which are appreciated, but which have been removed so the transcript focuses on the main topic. Finally, the transcript is most expediently prepared (and trust me, it’s not an easy process) in reverse chronological order, so you’re advised to jump to the end of this post and then scroll upward for proper continuity.
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KristiCasey 5:09pm I like to think of them as the first meta monologues, breaking the 4th wall RT @ASC_Amy: @ShakespeareinDC: @RivierePatrick Soliloquies
Whitneyje 4:30pm “@ASC_Amy: @HESherman I think classical actor training varies WILDLY. ” And most isn’t in undergrad. I’d have loved more.
Tony_McGuinness 4:09pm @charlenevsmith – regarding all-male Shakespeare prods. Do you ever feel that a line you’re delivering misses what was originally a joke?
Whitneyje 3:58pm @HESherman Not anti-Caesar. I just think it’s a little dense. Especially when so many others would better engage students.
RSTStatusReport 3:56pm @kateddc But “just do the thing” can be taken different ways. Does it mean traditional dress, or contemporary? Both are “concepts”.
Whitneyje 3:56pm I strongly believe in “planting the seeds” with kids. Not everyone will like #Shakespeare today but who knows about tomorrow.
RSTStatusReport 3:48pm @kateddc What defines a “clean” production of Shakespeare?
Kateddc 3:44pm @petermarksdrama @pommekoch Why can’t language win? I’d rather see a great, clean production than another concept for concept sake.
Doctorogres 3:38pm @JHudsonDirect But all of the histories are very “rah rah Britannia!”
Doctorogres 3:38pm @JHudsonDirect By many accounts Richard III was a pretty good guy– there’s a society devoted to restoring his rep. richardiii.net
Coug_ee 3:37pm @reduced Perhaps what a Shakespearean character doesn’t say suggest more char’s priorities since s/he tends to share most thoughts w aud?
shakespeare_d 3:33pm Food for his modern thought RT @reduced: Even a Shakespearean char chooses to NOT say things. What s/he doesn’t say is the subtext.
Petermarksdrama 3:33pm @pommekoch I agree 100 percent. I think that sometimes, the effort exceeds the know-how regarding technique. And that can be painful.
Shakespeare_d 3:33pm Food for his modern thought RT @Reduced: Even a Shakespearean character chooses to NOT say things. What s/he doesn’t say is the subtext.
Petermarksdrama 3:33pm @pommekoch I agree 100 percent. I think that sometimes, the effort exceeds the know-how regarding technique. And that can b painful.
Raoulbhaneja3:32pm @Klange @Linthenerd @Charlenevsmith @HESherman @The_Globe A chip that is understandable said the “ethnic” actor 😉 #hamletsolo
RebeccaMcBee 3:32pm Me too! RT @bamoon: I think it’s outrageous when Shakespeare is watered down. It’s outrageous when any author is paraphrased.
Linthenerd 3:31pm @Charlenevsmith @Klange Ahhhh, merci. (sorry for misinterpreting)
Raoulbhaneja 3:30pm @Klange @Charlenevsmith @HESherman @The_Globe unfortunate but perhaps the truth. I heard Vanessa Redgrave lead all female Tempest
Kingfinny 3:30pm @Klange @Linthenerd @Raoulbhaneja @Charlenevsmith @HESherman @The_Globe Often switch-gender is gimmick and not tool. Should educate
Shakespeare_d 3:30pm RT @ShakespeareinDC: @HESherman Many of Shakespeare’s plays revolve around the characters’ relation to his consciousness. #mk
JHudsonDirect 3:29pm @Doctorogres LOVE Richard III! Interesting… I’m sure we couldn’t say one way or another but I was interested to hear your posturing.
Klange 3:29pm @Charlenevsmith @Linthenerd Also true.
Klange 3:29pm @Linthenerd @Raoulbhaneja @Charlenevsmith @HESherman @The_Globe I’ll grant you that. I have a lady actor chip on my shoulder. 😉
Coug_ee 3:29pm RT @ShakespeareinDC: @HESherman Many of Shakespeare’s plays revolve around the characters’ relation to his consciousness. #mk
Charlenevsmith 3:28pm @Linthenerd I think @Klange is speaking not to how she feels, but how these productions are perceived
Raoulbhaneja 3:28pm @ShakespeareinDC Plummer wants to play Falstaff but needs fat suit that is hyper-cooling #saidatGoldenGlobes
Doctorogres 3:28pm @JHudsonDirect Impossible to say, other than that it’s present. Richard III is pure propaganda, but also awesome. Same wrt racism in MV.
Petermarksdrama 3:28pm Thanks Michael! @ShakespeareinDC hour whizzed by. Next time, how about a marathon session: through the night? #ANDTHENTHEREWERENONE
Reduced 3:28pm Even a Shakespearean character chooses to NOT say things. What s/he doesn’t say is the subtext.
ASC_Amy 3:27pm @Klange I don’t feel it any more of a “stunt” than other concepts and can be quite illuminating.
Linthenerd 3:27pm @Klange @Raoulbhaneja @Charlenevsmith @HESherman @The_Globe no. can be v interesting in diff way.
JHudsonDirect 3:27pm @ShakespeareinDC thanks for the words of wisdom!
HESherman 3:27pm And to my partner in these convos, a big hand for @Petermarksdrama, the most accessible theatre critic in America!
ShakespeareinDC 3:27pm Michael Kahn had to go to casting. Thanks so much, everybody! You’re now back to tweets from our Communications team.
HESherman 3:27pm And to my partner in these condos, a big hand for @Petermarksdrama, the most accessible theatre critic in America!
Raoulbhaneja 3:26pm @HESherman I’m north of the 49th and Grad of National Theatre School but I would say last 15 years focus more on self creation.
Klange 3:26pm @Raoulbhaneja @Charlenevsmith @HESherman @The_Globe Anyone else get the feeling: All male prods=original, All female=stunt.
JHudsonDirect 3:26pm @Doctorogres what role would you say Propaganda played for him? Did he believe these things, or just say it as a means for profit?
LindaInPhoenix 3:26pm Yay for us geeks! RT @HESherman: To be truly geeky for a moment, the Latin roots of “entertain” = “to hold between.”
HESherman 3:26pm Thanks to everyone and especially @ShakespeareinDC for today’s conversation.
Petermarksdrama 3:25pm @ShakespeareinDC Woodcut?
HaleyAWard 3:25pm @ShakespeareinDC Best of luck! Thanks for all the insight.
Mrs_Speck 3:25pm @Petermarksdrama I saw the Cuban Much Ado with my students. Definitely helped some understand, but I didn’t love it or the changes.
HESherman 3:25pm @LindaInPhoenix To be truly geeky for a moment, the Latin roots of “entertain” mean “to hold between.”
LeeLiebeskind 3:25pm @ShakespeareinDC Thanks for the chat man…good to hear your insight.
Dloehr 3:24pm @ShakespeareinDC Thanks for playing along with us today.
ASC_Amy 3:24pm @ShakespeareinDC Thanks for participating! #mk
Raoulbhaneja 3:24pm @Klange @Charlenevsmith @HESherman Check out Mark Rylance @The_Globe this summer in 12th Night with all-male cast… Pretty incredible
ShakespeareinDC 3:24pm This is great talking to you all, but I’ve got to go cast our next production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. #mk
ASC_Amy 3:24pm @Raoulbhaneja @RivierePatrick Yep.
Klange 3:24pm @LeeLiebeskind @HESherman If you don’t act in a lot of Shakespeare, you get rusty.
Reduced 3:24pm @HESherman @jesswinfield Shakespeare created it, actors/directors interpret it.
Jesswinfield 3:23pm Wait, there’s graduate training in classical theater?
HESherman 3:23pm I sense we’re running out of steam. Should we wrap up?
LindaInPhoenix 3:23pm @HESherman Just this morning on @HowlRound: “We create meaning together.”
BankyHimself 3:23pm In Supple’s Indian Dream, audience understood 10% of language but 100% of the play’s themes, story, ideas.
ASC_Amy 3:23pm @Petermarksdrama What do you mean by “unknowable”?
ShakespeareinDC 3:23pm @DCtheatre Expensive to produce. I would have loved to have taken my Love’s Labor’s Lost or my Othello. Or my Richard III. #mk
Raoulbhaneja 3:23pm @ASC_Amy @RivierePatrick I thought Stanislavski created subtext?
LeeLiebeskind 3:23pm @HESherman Older trained actors seemed to have less of an issue with this
HESherman 3:22pm @Reduced @jesswinfield But did Shakespeare write it, or do modern productions create it?
Linthenerd 3:22pm RT @Klange: I think updated/new setting adaptations are fun. Shows how relatable the work/words are in any time.
Mikelomo 3:22pm @Petermarksdrama I don’t know it, but I really have no problem with non-English additions. It’s the watered-down English I deplore.
Doctorogres 3:22pm @JHudsonDirect And he was writing plays about the royal family: Banquo in Macbeth, all of the Henry‘s, Richard III. Propaganda is huge.
LeeLiebeskind 3:22pm @HESherman where the classically trained actor can only do classics and has a hard time doing modern, or vice versa
Petermarksdrama 3:22pm @ShakespeareinDC @RivierePatrick And yet there are unknowable characters who talk directly to us. Iago. (imo)
ASC_Amy 3:22pm Indeed. RT @ShakespeareinDC: @RivierePatrick Soliloquies are subtext made verbal. #mk
Klange 3:22pm @LeeLiebeskind @Charlenevsmith @HESherman pbltttt.
LeeLiebeskind 3:21pm @HESherman As a casting director…its a 50/50 split. With classical training I see it go not far enough or too far to come back
BankyHimself 3:21pm Easy to land on concept should enhance side of the argument, but how many directors proceed with concept thinking theirs won’t?
Klange 3:21pm I think updated/new setting adaptations are fun. Shows how relatable the work/words are in any time.
Raoulbhaneja 3:21pm @LindaInPhoenix @kingfinny “Uh, Mister Director, am I in my light?” “Quiet we don’t open till tomorrow. I’m still “listening”!
ASC_Amy 3:21pm @HESherman I think classical actor training varies WILDLY.
Charlenevsmith 3:21pm @jesswinfield Or maybe she is, and that’s the tragedy.
JHudsonDirect 3:21pm RT @Doctorogres: @JHudsonDirect Right on. Early Modern England was brutal and authoritarian and Shakespeare was the King’s playwright.
LindaInPhoenix 3:21pm RT @ShakespeareinDC: @RivierePatrick Soliloquies are subtext made verbal. #mk
ShakespeareinDC 3:21pm @RivierePatrick Soliloquies are subtext made verbal. #mk
Reduced 3:21pm Agree with @jesswinfield: there must always be subtext in Shakespeare. When there isn’t you get boring recitation of ‘only’ text.
HESherman 3:20pm Actor training today? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Charlenevsmith 3:20pm @HESherman Not in America.
Petermarksdrama 3:20pm @mikelomo Mike, you still there? How do you feel e.g. about word changes in Cuban Much Ado?
Productionkat 3:20pm @HESherman from the new crop of actors I see I say no
Doctorogres 3:19pm @JHudsonDirect Right on. Early Modern England was brutal and authoritarian and Shakes was the King’s playwright.
Mikelomo 3:19pm @HESherman And how about a few words about teacher training at college and grad level on how to teach #Shakespeare?
Klange 3:19pm @Charlenevsmith @HESherman Concur. Why not go back to all male actors if we want to be extra faithful? (said with a wink)
Charlenevsmith 3:19pm Truth. RT @kingfinny: Many prods say they put language center. Alas, few really do
Raoulbhaneja 3:19pm “@Petermarksdrama: @LindaInPhoenix Absolutely! Why is “Shrew” being set in 17th Century Antarctica? ” GENIUS!!
ASC_Amy 3:19pm @RivierePatrick Funny, I actually think it is all in the TEXT with not a lot of subtext at all in #Shakespeare.
RivierePatrick 3:19pm I recall Maurice Daniels saying it’s ALL in the subtext with #Shakespeare, especially if we are to relay the classic text today.
ShakespeareinDC 3:19pm I believe directors can conceive the plays as they wish, if it helps illuminate the text in some way. #mk
Linthenerd 3:18pm @LindaInPhoenix @kingfinny as HM once saw people bring script with them to Maccers to compare and read along. Did not like.
Raoulbhaneja 3:18pm @HESherman @ShakespeareinDC Better than reading Coles Notes as introduction to those plays for a young person (10 years and younger)
ASC_Amy 3:18pm @kingfinny Indeed, but there are some who do. How to distinguish for potential audiences? @Petermarksdrama @ShakespeareinDC
JHudsonDirect 3:17pm Really agree with most on that concept should *enhance* Shakespeare language and story, not water it down.
Jesswinfield 3:17pm @HESherman Mark Lamos is, in this case, wrong. What is Kate really thinking at the end of Shrew? Not her text, I hope.
Dloehr 3:17pm @LeeLiebeskind @GwydionS @ASC_Amy I love some plays, dislike others, avoid yet others entirely. But I don’t need to rewrite them.
BankyHimself 3:17pm Best Shakes I ever saw was Tim Supple’s Dream at the RSC. Production was in 7 languages featuring an all Indian cast.
LindaInPhoenix 3:17pm @kingfinny I knew director who watched all rehearsals from balcony w/ eyes closed to “listen to language. but it’s not a radio play
Charlenevsmith 3:17pm @HESherman Many people say that. I think it’s a saying that has some truth, but has been overstated.
Doctorogres 3:16pm Nature Theater of Oklahoma’s production of Romeo and Juliet cuts right to the core of this argument.
ShakespeareinDC 3:16pm @Linthenerd Cool! Put the quote on your Facebook page. Thanks. #mk
Linthenerd 3:16pm @LeeLiebeskind @ShakespeareinDC both – saw play on Tuesday, seeing musical next Friday. Tell you which is more “Shakespeare” 😛
Raoulbhaneja 3:16pm @Petermarksdrama @ASC_Amy @ShakespeareinDC I agree but think there’s a pressure on directors to deliver their take vs The Story
ShakespeareinDC 3:16pm RT @Linthenerd: @ShakespeareinDC @LeeLiebeskind – you would like Two Gents, I think. Really modern, fast-paced, young and furious.
JHudsonDirect 3:15pm RT @Linthenerd: @JHudsonDirect BOOO on them!
JHudsonDirect 3:15pm @ShakespeareHigh Me too! I feel like Shakespeare was anything but safe! How can you make commentary of society’s failings when safe?
Kingfinny 3:15pm @Petermarksdrama @ASC_Amy @ShakespeareinDC Many prods say they put language center. Alas, few really do
Rosalind1600 3:15pm @HaleyAWard @HESherman … Although doesn’t mean updated productions can’t fit with language.
ASC_Amy 3:15pm @Kateddc Bingo.
ShakespeareinDC 3:15pm @LeeLiebeskind If only I’d known it would sell a ticket, I’d have done that. 🙂 #mk
Charlenevsmith 3:15pm @Linthenerd Or, feel free to distort the story! Make art however you see fit! Just be honest about the distortion.
LeeLiebeskind 3:15pm @Linthenerd @ShakespeareinDC Is that the musical?
HESherman 3:15pm @jesswinfield How do you mean transparency? Should altered text be noted in ads?
ASC_Amy 3:15pm @Petermarksdrama @ShakespeareinDC That’s when the director doesn’t trust his/her actors and/or expects little from audience.
LeeLiebeskind 3:15pm @Dloehr @GwydionS @ASC_Amy That’s me. I comprehend Shakespeare, just not a big fan. Need a modern bent to get me into the play.
Linthenerd 3:14pm @ShakespeareinDC @LeeLiebeskind – you would like Two Gents, I think. Really modern, fast-paced, young and furious.
Charlenevsmith 3:14pm @HESherman In a market oversaturated with talented women, I don’t think it’s fair to always expect them to take a back seat.
Petermarksdrama 3:14pm @GwydionS I’m sorry, sir, do you have a ticket to this event? 🙂
Kateddc 3:14pm Make a good production & Shakespeare automatically is accessible. Concept should illuminate, not be used to “dumb down.”
LindaInPhoenix 3:14pm @Petermarksdrama Shouldn’t “concept” illuminate, rather than obscure?
HESherman 3:14pm @ShakespeareinDC I remember Mark Lamos once saying that there is no subtext to Shakespeare’s characters. They say what they think.
Dloehr 3:14pm @GwydionS @ASC_Amy Nothing is for everyone. But liking is different from comprehending.
ASC_Amy 3:14pm @GwydionS It doesn’t have to be FOR you for you to GET it. I disagree on the language barrier issue.
Raoulbhaneja 3:14pm “@HESherman: My parents had Lambs’ Tales From Shakespeare.” Excellent place to start. Did with my five year old before seeing Tempest
ShakespeareHigh 3:13pm This makes me sad. RT @JHudsonDirect: …we were discouraged from taking risks. Stick with the safe, they said.
LeeLiebeskind 3:13pm @ShakespeareinDC Did you set it in modern day South Africa? Cause then I am there!
Petermarksdrama 3:13pm @ASC_Amy @ShakespeareinDC Sometimes, it feels as if concept is meant to obscure fact that language can’t be conquered!
Jesswinfield 3:13pm Sorry I’m late. Any and all textual changes are GAME ON. As long as there’s transparency.
ASC_Amy 3:13pm @Petermarksdrama @ShakespeareinDC Agreed.
GwydionS 3:13pm @ASC_Amy I just don’t think Shakespeare is FOR everyone. And I think there are (a few) language barriers that cannot be overcome.
Linthenerd 3:13pm @HESherman (Prospera), only if you change the story (as in Taymor film). Cirque is “inspired by,” not textual, so has more freedom.
Dloehr 3:12pm @LindaInPhoenix @HESherman @sleepnomorenyc Great minds tweet alike.
HESherman 3:12pm @ShakespeareinDC I resisted the Lambs’ summaries completely. Stodgy, dull and I wanted to discover the stories for myself.
Mikelomo 3:12pm @HESherman @Linthenerd @Cirque Non-traditional casting is not a problem for me, but it’s a whole different conversation.
LeeLiebeskind 3:12pm @Linthenerd @playwrightsteve can rationalize textual support for any choice as a director doesn’t mean all are good.
LindaInPhoenix 3:12pm @HESherman @Dloehr It seems Sleep No More is its own thing.
Rosalind1600 3:12pm @Dloehr @HESherman Agreed! Both. To a large extent, the characters are their language, I think.
Petermarksdrama 3:12pm @ASC_Amy @ShakespeareinDC I’ve seen so many prods where I sit and think: just do the PLAY! Absolute best are when language is front & center
Buttercupples 3:12pm Did for me. MT @HESherman: In high school…only a handful of the plays are in most curriculums? Does that limit appeal?
Karricatur 3:12pm RT @ShakespeareinDC: I’m so glad everybody agrees. You’re all invited to see one of my shows. #mk
Dloehr 3:12pm @HESherman No doubt. It is its own experience.
Doctorogres 3:12pm @Dloehr I actually had that reaction the second time I saw it, even though I had both seen it before and spent the week cutting Macbeth
Raoulbhaneja 3:12pm @ShakespeareinDC Fair point. It’s easy for Purists to bemoan over conceptualized Shakespeare but I don’t have to sell tix to ninth Mackers
ASC_Amy 3:12pm @GwydionS I believe that everyone can “get” Shakespeare. Not saying everyone will like/love it, but the can “get” it, if done right.
Linthenerd 3:12pm @JHudsonDirect BOOO on them!
ShakespeareinDC 3:12pm @HESherman Many of Shakespeare’s plays revolve around the characters’ relation to his consciousness. #mk
LeeLiebeskind 3:11pm @ShakespeareinDC You know I have never seen a show at Shakespeare Theater, except for The Liar. Need to see something soon….
Linthenerd 3:11pm @playwrightsteve Don’t disagree. But any concept should have at least some textual support.
HESherman 3:11pm @Dloehr If you watch Sleep No More specifically looking for the Shakespeare, you may be sorely disappointed in some scenes.
Klange 3:11pm @Dloehr @Doctorogres I think if you went in expecting Macbeth in linear fashion, disappointed. But just for an experience? Awesome
Dloehr 3:11pm @ShakespeareinDC Next time I’m in town, I’ll do my best, sir.
Linthenerd 3:11pm @ShakespeareinDC @HESherman I had BBC Shakespeare: Animated Tales after finding R&J at 8 years old. Devotee ever since. All original language.
JHudsonDirect 3:11pm In my Shakespeare class in college I felt like we were discouraged from taking risks. Stick with the safe, they said.
Dloehr 3:11pm @HESherman I still think language & character are inextricable to a degree. So I’d say both.
HESherman 3:10pm @Linthenerd Use of Prospera in Tempests now becoming common (even being used by @Cirque du Soleil). Does that violate the work?
ShakespeareinDC 3:10pm I’m so glad everybody agrees. You’re all invited to see one of my shows. #mk
ShakespeareinDC 3:10pm @HESherman When I was 5, my Russian immigrant mother read me the real Shakespeare. I fell in love with it like you did with the Lambs. #mk
HaleyAWard 3:09pm @HESherman Outside of schools too. When productions modernize a play, etc., but keep the language – does the audience relate more?
HESherman 3:09pm What about the idea that Shakespeare was the touchstone for “modern” thought? Is that language or character?
Petermarksdrama 3:09pm My wife still talks about Michael Kahn’s Woodcut version of Merry Wives. So it can be great. I wonder if message is sent that words are fungible.
Mikelomo 3:09pm @HESherman Yes, good teachers allow that sort of higher-level thinking.
Linthenerd 3:09pm @HESherman Always. “Where would you put this scene?” “What situation does this sound like to you?” imagination/relatability is key
Playwrightsteve 3:09pm @Linthenerd Not language change I’m thinking of. Some concepts are so ridiculous that the play is smothered under them
ShakespeareinDC 3:09pm @HESherman That’s what we do in schools. They produce their own scenes in any style they want, using the words. #mk
LeeLiebeskind 3:08pm @Dloehr @Doctorogres One of my top 5 shows ever
Raoulbhaneja 3:08pm @HESherman I told kids at a university while on tour w #hamletsolo that if Shakespeare was alive today be half Jay-Z, half Spielberg
Dloehr 3:08pm @Doctorogres I know lots of people who loved Sleep No More, but I know about as many people who hated it, were lost & confused.
HESherman 3:08pm My parents had Lambs’ Tales from Shakespeare. Suggested I always read before going to see when I was young.
Linthenerd 3:08pm @playwrightsteve correct. If you have to add/change too much of text (Prospero to Prospera, for example), then the concept’s a mistake
LeeLiebeskind 3:08pm @ShakespeareinDC some do, but most do not…they want to see the world reinvented and re-envisioned and re-related to them
Playwrightsteve 3:08pm @Doctorogres Synetic’s silent Romeo and Juliet was the 1st time I ever saw the heart of that play clearly portrayed. Why I defend changing language.
ShakespeareinDC 3:07pm @Charlenevsmith Right. You don’t learn true English history from Shakespeare’s history plays. #mk
ASC_Amy 3:07pm @ShakespeareinDC But do you think it takes a concept to make it a different production?
Dloehr 3:07pm @Doctorogres I’m down with that. But to someone who knows nothing of the story, it might not connect.
HESherman 3:07pm In schools, are students given free rein to imagine different settings, concepts? Would that help them “relate” better?
Petermarksdrama 3:07pm Word. MT @ShakespeareinDC Sometimes. But Shakespeare’s going to survive us all. #mk
ShakespeareinDC 3:07pm But I don’t think people go to Shakespeare to see the same production that they had seen at another time. At least I hope not. #mk
Doctorogres 3:06pm @Dloehr Not talking about a good production here, more that I think that there can be Shakespeare with no language at all, listed examples earlier.
Playwrightsteve 3:06pm @Linthenerd @Petermarksdrama @ShakespeareinDC Except when those concepts actually obscure the story/meaning of the play
Charlenevsmith 3:06pm @Petermarksdrama Conceptual liberties in Shakespeare — Richard III versus actual history. Clarence was an SOB in real life.
ShakespeareGeek 3:06pm I do that so that, when given the text, they’ll be able to focus on the words. The actual Shakespeare words.
Mikelomo 3:06pm RT @bamoon: I think it’s outrageous when Shakespeare is watered down. It’s outrageous when any author is paraphrased.
ASC_Amy 3:05pm “Ain’t that the truth! @ShakespeareinDC Shakespeare’s going to survive us all. ” #mk
Linthenerd 3:05pm @Petermarksdrama @ShakespeareinDC One of beautiful things about Shakespeare is that new concepts keep it fresh without distorting story
Mrs_Speck 3:05pm @HESherman Introduce the plot with a few key lines and get the kids up and acting them out.
Petermarksdrama 3:05pm @ShakespeareinDC lol
HESherman 3:05pm RT @HaleyAWard: We wrote our own sonnets to help discover how the structure and language worked. It made the text easy.
Dloehr 3:05pm @HESherman @mikelomo If it can help children master long words & complicated dialogue, it can help with Shakespeare.
ShakespeareinDC 3:05pm @Petermarksdrama Sometimes. But Shakespeare’s going to survive us all. #mk
Mikelomo 3:05pm @Petermarksdrama @ShakespeareinDC No, cuts and concepts are fine as long as the language stays. Check out privateromeothemovie.com
ShakespeareHigh 3:04pm @HESherman Kids need to get up on their feet and experience the language. Gives them ownership.
JHudsonDirect 3:04pm @Linthenerd very much so! Recordings can really help students who can’t dissect the language and access it on their own.
Whitneyje 3:04pm Greatest approach to teaching Shakespeare at any age and especially in high school – GET THEM ON THEIR FEET AS THEY READ!!
Dloehr 3:04pm @HESherman @mikelomo We put on captions when our first child was born, have left them on, helped both kids learn to read quickly.
Dloehr 3:04pm @HESherman –to which there were direct references (style, design, in jokes) was great fun. But that was extracurricular.
Linthenerd 3:04pm @mikelomo @JHudsonDirect @HESherman Wouldn’t recordings at home be helpful to students afraid to read in class?
Petermarksdrama 3:03pm @ShakespeareinDC I still want to know if Shakespeareland is guilty of too many conceptual liberties & thus encouraging language distortion
HESherman 3:03pm @BankyHimself Now it’s just getting a bit surreal!
Dloehr 3:03pm @HESherman The Moonlighting spoof of Shrew was first on when I was in high school. Comparing & contrasting to the Burton/Taylor film–
HESherman 3:02pm What a great idea! RT @mikelomo: When showing Shakespeare films in class, turn on closed captions.
HaleyAWard 3:02pm @JHudsonDirect @HESherman We wrote our own sonnets to help discover how the structure and language worked. It made the text easy.
Bamoon 3:02pm I think it’s outrageous when Shakespeare is watered down. It’s outrageous when any author is paraphrased.
Mikelomo 3:02pm @JHudsonDirect @HESherman No recordings. They tend to be British and the kids should perform the words themselves.
Klange 3:02pm @LeeLiebeskind @HESherman @Petermarksdrama Same, but a good production can be revelatory. And need it for referential understanding
JHudsonDirect 3:02pm Loving @ShakespeareinDC in the convo! Join us!
ShakespeareinDC 3:01pm @Petermarksdrama Good! Then Dr. Phil will shut up. #mk
HESherman 3:01pm @whitneyje Why anti-Caesar? I think that was 1st or 2nd play I read (and saw dreadful production @yalerep)
Klange 3:01pm @RSTStatusReport Yes! If you like the film, you might be more interested in making the leap to theater. Gotta work w/ what you have
LeeLiebeskind 3:00pm @HESherman @Petermarksdrama yeah in all honestly I have never been a big Shakespeare fan, more of a modern drama guy.
Dloehr 3:00pm @BankyHimself @HESherman @Petermarksdrama Suddenly having images of Mystery Science Theatre 3000, except in a theatre with Shakespeare’s bust.
Charlenevsmith 3:00pm @Petermarksdrama I understand that frustration. As lover of the Bard I want to shout to the world “He’s for everybody!!!”
Petermarksdrama 3:00pm @HESherman It just breaks my heart. But I adore her all the same. #greatkid
Dloehr 2:59pm @HESherman @BankyHimself “Turn me to the left, I can’t see.” “Scratch my nose. No. Higher.” “ENUNCIATE!” #shxprbustnotes
Reduced 2:59pm Excellent point. MT @ShakespeareinDC: @Petermarksdrama My mother didn’t like Shakespeare. It’s allowed.
JHudsonDirect 2:59pm @HESherman Best tool I’ve seen was a teacher I had who played recordings of the plays while we read along Hearing it out loud helped!
RSTStatusReport 2:59pm @Klange I still have a soft spot for Baz Luhrmann’s R&J. My first quality exposure to Shakespeare as a teenager.
BankyHimself 2:59pm @HESherman @Petermarksdrama I can say from experience Rob will occasionally give notes through him, with a wonderful little Bill voice.
RivierePatrick 2:59pm Greatest tools are well-designed assembly programs that integrate text, history and interaction w students…ACCESS SHAKESPEARE is 1
ASC_Amy 2:58pm @playwrightsteve @ShakespeareinDC @Petermarksdrama Agreed! (but, knowing he’s been dismissed before given fair chance is sad)
Klange 2:58pm @ASC_Amy @HESherman I think, also, teachers need to discuss the intention of the scene with students. Makes the language easier.
ShakespeareinDC 2:58pm @HESherman Regarding high school: Connecting the characters to their lives, the ideas to their lives & the rhythm of the words to their music. #mk
Linthenerd 2:58pm @Reduced Number of novels, too, especially for Young Adults (The Third Witch, Romeo’s Ex, The Wednesday Wars…)
Whitneyje 2:58pm “@Charlenevsmith: @mikelomo I believe that teachers using simplified Shsp texts are underestimating their students ” AGREED!!
Petermarksdrama 2:58pm @ShakespeareinDC You’re now sounding like the Dr. Phil of the William Shakespeare world, Michael.
HESherman 2:58pm @Petermarksdrama Not everything is for everyone, Peter. That absolutism can be why kids *don’t* like Shakespeare. The pressure.
Dloehr 2:58pm @Doctorogres It’s essential on our end of things as we produce, but not for the audience coming to a show.
Mattcosper 2:58pm RT @ShakespeareinDC: @HESherman The depth of character in Shakes comes from what they SAY about what they feel & do #mk
Petermarksdrama 2:58pm @ShakespeareinDC and @mikelomo: Have all the conceptual productions and severe cutting of text made it too ok to change language?
Reduced 2:58pm Also have high hopes for Ralph Fiennes’ Coriolanus. It looks appropriately Shakespearean as well as badass.
Whitneyje 2:58pm Regarding #Shakespeare in the classroom – you don’t need simplified texts if you choose the play correctly. #Caesar = bad choice. #2amt
Imsarahmoore 2:57pm @HESherman Working scenes in the classroom with students on their feet always helps
Mattcosper 2:57pm @HESherman Definitely cite depth of character (as would bloom) as part of his genius. That depth is revealed through language.
Playwrightsteve 2:57pm @ShakespeareinDC @Petermarksdrama Nice! Liking Shakespeare is not a law.
ASC_Amy 2:57pm @Dloehr You know @Charlenevsmith is studying out here, right? / @GwydionS @playwrightsteve @LePetomaneTE
Linthenerd 2:57pm @Petermarksdrama Finally (sorry) best to see a play where the actors KNOW what they’re saying and the concept/design is engaging.
HESherman 2:57pm @BankyHimself Does the bust of #Shakespeare give notes? 😉
_plainKate_ 2:57pm @HESherman I get the men at the prison up on their feet with the words. Shakespeare & Company has text lay-ups exercise, for example.
Reduced 2:57pm Modern non-Shakespeare films can also serve as intro to Shakespeare for the nervous. 10 Things I Hate About You, She’s The Man, The Sopranos.
Imsarahmoore 2:57pm RT @ShakespeareinDC You know I believe firmly that if audiences don’t understand a prod it’s usually director’s & actors’ fault. #mk
ASC_Amy 2:56pm @HESherman Always getting the kids on their feet & words into their mouths. #Shakespeare
ShakespeareinDC 2:56pm @Petermarksdrama My mother didn’t like Shakespeare. It’s allowed. Give your 19-year-old a break. #mk
Doctorogres 2:56pm @Dloehr Totally. But that mythic quality and it’s context in 200 continuous yrs of performance history is essential to Shakespeare.
Klange 2:56pm @_plainKate_ @Petermarksdrama @Linthenerd Themes are very relatable for teens. I’m going to be sacrilegious and suggest films as gateway
Dloehr 2:56pm @GwydionS @playwrightsteve @Charlenevsmith Y’all should go to @ASC_Amy’s place or check out @LePetomaneTE when they do Shakespeare.
Linthenerd 2:56pm @Petermarksdrama For classrooms, rec. activities with snippets/death lines/action rather than whole plays or scenes.
HESherman 2:56pm Beyond seeing productions, what have been greatest approaches/tools you’ve seen used in teaching #Shakespeare at high school level?
Charlenevsmith 2:55pm @Petermarksdrama Reclaim your daughter’s love of Shakespeare by bringing her to the @shakespearectr
LeeLiebeskind 2:55pm @Charlenevsmith Having talked with many program planners I don’t think the public domain at major theaters is an issue
Linthenerd 2:55pm @Petermarksdrama Some of the best/clearest interpretations are on film easily and readily available.
Shakespeare_d 2:55pm Quite possible “@ASC_Amy: @LeeLiebeskind …At the American Shakespeare Center, we believe even Shakespeare cut his plays for performance. ”
BankyHimself 2:55pm It’s a playful reminder to ask himself What would Bill think/do in this situation?
JHudsonDirect 2:55pm @HESherman think it limits appeal very much! They drag out the same old war horses. Some good lesser known works could draw kids in!
Petermarksdrama 2:55pm @Charlenevsmith I DO blame the teacher! But now I’ve got a 19 year old who’s convinced it’s not for her. And it IS for her.
ShakespeareinDC 2:54pm @Charlenevsmith Please come back to DC and teach. We’ll bring you our TextAlive! workshops. #mk
Shakespeare_d 2:54pm @TheShakesForum We do note scripts available aren’t necessarily accurate. Nor is the Bard perfect. But he did use words with purpose
Rosalind1600 2:54pm @Linthenerd @Reduced But doesn’t the language largely create the characters?
Charlenevsmith 2:54pm @LeeLiebeskind Because the programs would get too long… 😉 again, it’s all in the public domain do legally no credit is required
BankyHimself 2:54pm Regarding editing and adapting, Rob Clare of UK National Theatre/RSC often directs with a small Shakespeare statue near his seat.
JHudsonDirect 2:54pm @Reduced True! his works were meant to be performed!
LeeLiebeskind 2:54pm @JHudsonDirect beauty of any art. and the reason we can debate and all be correct.
Dloehr 2:53pm @ShakespeareinDC @ASC_Amy Even Mamet is inert on the page compared to read aloud, re living things. #mk
Rosalind1600 2:53pm @HESherman @Mrs_Speck Love for Shakespeare as teen definitely increased by leaps & bounds after seeing plays/films. Think seeing important part of education.
Mrs_Speck 2:53pm @HESherman Our job as teachers is to draw them in–whatever preconceived notions they may have. @mikelomo has some great methods!
_plainKate_ 2:53pm @Petermarksdrama @Linthenerd Take her with you to American Shakespeare Center.
Linthenerd 2:53pm @Reduced I am in love with characters, plots, etc as well as lang
ShakespeareinDC 2:53pm @HaleyAWard Absolutely. #mk
Charlenevsmith 2:53pm Education: I’ve taught middle school residences in the DC area, and kids will step up to the plate if you trust them to
RivierePatrick 2:53pm I think it’s two things…making classic Shakespeare accessible to a modern audience and rethinking those stories in mod ways i.e. Bombitty of Errors
LeeLiebeskind 2:53pm @ShakespeareinDC Haha! now that is something for PR department to deal with
Reduced 2:53pm One could also say Shakespeare in classroom ‘not’ Shakespeare, only Shakespeare in performance.
Mikelomo 2:52pm @Petermarksdrama @Charlenevsmith If a student is hating #Shakespeare in school, the teacher is doing something wrong. Go to @folger
Petermarksdrama 2:52pm So how do I reclaim her? MT @Linthenerd It’s supposed to be spoken, explored aloud
Tony_McGuinness 2:52pm @HESherman I think he is unique, but not sacred.
JHudsonDirect 2:52pm @LeeLiebeskind I guess that’s the beauty of theatre… Subjectivity!
HESherman 2:52pm In high school classrooms, is it also an issue that only a handful of the plays are in most curriculums? Does that limit appeal?
ShakespeareinDC 2:52pm @LeeLiebeskind No we’d have to say ‘Original story by Ovid, adaptation by Shakespeare, additional words by whatever director monkeys with it now’ #mk
Klange 2:52pm @ASC_Amy @HESherman I agree. I majored in English/Literary Criticism & Shakespeare never really came alive until I saw performances
BatfishLD 2:52pm @playwrightsteve I’m into seeking to elevate ourselves & audience, not lowering Shakespeare to the least common denominator.
Reduced 2:51pm Aren’t we talking ‘soul’ or ‘spirit’ of Shakespeare? Yes, language was distinct, but so was his vision, scope, style collusion etc
Linthenerd 2:51pm @Petermarksdrama @Charlenevsmith @mikelomo If she was just “reading” text then no wonder. It’s supposed to be spoken, explored aloud
HaleyAWard 2:51pm @HESherman Should Shakespeare be seen before it is read? Especially by young students?
ASC_Amy 2:51pm @ShakespeareHigh Agreed, wholeheartedly.
ShakespeareinDC 2:51pm @ASC_Amy Absolutely. The play should be read out loud in class before students are asked to parse words. They’re living things #mk
LeeLiebeskind 2:51pm @ShakespeareinDC That’s a great point of view, can’t blame the user, problem lies in creation if not understood love it!
Charlenevsmith 2:51pm @playwrightsteve I disagree with this. Every great Shakespeare production I’ve seen had no barrier due to language
Dloehr 2:51pm @ShakespeareinDC @Petermarksdrama Amen to that. #mk
JHudsonDirect 2:51pm @Petermarksdrama I think audiences are getting smarter when it comes to Shakespeare, esp. language.
Rosalind1600 2:51pm @TheShakesForum Disagree. I may be wrong about what they mean. But think there is a meaning. Many right interpretations, some wrong.
Dloehr 2:50pm @Doctorogres Having kids has made me watch a lot of things newly through their eyes, and it’s amazing.
ShakespeareHigh 2:50pm Forcing kids to use simplified texts leads them to the belief they aren’t capable of understanding Shakespearean language.
ASC_Amy 2:50pm MT @ShakespeareinDC: You know I believe firmly that if auds don’t understand a prod it’s usually director’s & actors’ fault. #mk
Kellereno 2:50pm @HESherman: I, thankfully, never had a course growing up where performance wasn’t incorporated into the classwork; but I’m lucky.
Raoulbhaneja 2:50pm @JHudsonDirect @LeeLiebeskind @HESherman And one could debate what a full Hamlet really is… #quartos #folio #hamletsolo
LeeLiebeskind 2:50pm @Charlenevsmith If that is the case then why don’t we say a play by Ovid translated by Shakespeare, we create the idea of ownership
Dloehr 2:50pm @Doctorogres We know Luke Skywalker will win in the end, it’s a classic construction, but we don’t know how he gets there.
ShakespeareinDC 2:50pm Right on, @Rosalind1600! #mk
_plainKate_ 2:50pm Yes! RT @ShakespeareinDC: I believe firmly that if audiences don’t understand a production it’s usually director’s & actors’ fault. #mk
TheShakesForum 2:50pm @HESherman I believe you cheat a class by looking at Shakespeare as precious literature. #GetEmOnTheirFeet
ASC_Amy 2:49pm @Mrs_Speck Not too easy an answer, you hit the nail on the head!
ShakespeareinDC 2:49pm @Petermarksdrama They’ve let either too many disparate ideas or lack of technique get in the way. #mk
HESherman 2:49pm @Mrs_Speck I worry that young people are put off #Shakespeare by studying before seeing.
HaleyAWard 2:49pm RT @hungerf9: To me, it’s often the language that makes the plays truly beautiful, the plot that makes them accessible.
Petermarksdrama 2:49pm @Charlenevsmith @mikelomo But my daughter started on WS w/ reading in hs class in original language-hated it. Now won’t go. Period.
Charlenevsmith 2:49pm @LeeLiebeskind Shakespeare had an eye for spotting already-existing stories that would make great drama.
ShakespeareinDC 2:49pm @Petermarksdrama You know I believe firmly that if audiences don’t understand a production it’s usually director’s & actors’ fault. #mk
ASC_Amy 2:49pm @HESherman I think it is a disservice to leave Shakespeare on the page, even (especially) when teaching.
TheShakesForum 2:49pm @Rosalind1600 These words can mean what you want them to. Maybe people will disagree….isn’t that art?
Dloehr 2:49pm @Doctorogres Absolutely. But there’s a difference between knowing the mythic aspect & knowing the details.
LeeLiebeskind 2:49pm @_plainKate_ Agreed, when I first did it, had to spend weeks dissecting lines and really learning another language
Charlenevsmith 2:49pm @LeeLiebeskind But what is being translated – is it really Shakespeare, or do we just call it his because he wrote most famous versions?
Rosalind1600 2:48pm I think archaic language overstated as barrier to Shakespeare. I fell in love with Shakespeare’s language long before I understood most of it.
Mrs_Speck 2:48pm As a high school Drama teacher, I must say “the play’s the thing” — the words and story together in performance. Too easy an answer?
ShakespeareinDC 2:48pm @JHudsonDirect If you’ve ever seen a full one, you’ve seen them all put together, which Shakes never saw. #mk
Hungerf9 2:48pm To me, it’s often the language that makes the plays truly beautiful, the plot that makes them accessible.
HESherman 2:48pm Regarding classroom, is it fair to just explore #Shakespeare only as text? As a script, is it only complete in production?
Linthenerd 2:48pm @HESherman @TheShakesForum “Inspired by Shakespeare” is what I’m all about drownmybooks@blogspot.com
Tony_McGuinness 2:48pm Shakespeare as Sacred Writer is expected to stand as a bulwark against the cultural degeneration.
ShakespeareinDC 2:48pm @JHudsonDirect There are several versions of Hamlet all of which Shakespeare took part in. #mk
Doctorogres 2:47pm @Dloehr I would certainly not direct in that way. But don’t you think there’s a certain mythic quality to some of the “big ones?”
LeeLiebeskind 2:47pm @JHudsonDirect yes, but I am just trying to see where line is. can change a few words, cut for time, but don’t adapt all the words
JHudsonDirect 2:47pm @LeeLiebeskind Gotta adapt his plays to the modern day world of tired-behind and full bladder
TheShakesForum 2:47pm @HESherman Reordered according to? Hamlet Q1 and Folio have different orders themselves. Evidence that traveling plays were altered.
_plainKate_ 2:47pm @playwrightsteve Some directors don’t trust that Shakespeare will be interesting, don’t take time to investigate language w/actors.
Petermarksdrama 2:47pm @ShakespeareinDC But do actors still struggle with clarity and projection? I sense more confidence with language these days, but…
ASC_Amy 2:47pm RT @Charlenevsmith: @mikelomo I believe that teachers using simplified Shakespeare texts are underestimating their students
HESherman 2:47pm @Tony_McGuinness Do you think Shakespeare the writer was not so unique?
ShakespeareinDC 2:46pm @HESherman Yes, in a way. And one should be very honest about it. #mk
ASC_Amy 2:46pm @HESherman @ShakespeareinDC Again, it depends. Diff original publications of the plays had diff scene orders.
Charlenevsmith 2:46pm @mikelomo I believe that teachers using simplified Shakespeare texts are underestimating their students
playwrightsteve 2:46pm I’ve seen a lot of great Shakespeare productions, but the language is still a huge barrier half the time
TheShakesForum 2:46pm @ShakespeareinDC Because it gets people in the seats, and those that have closed-minds of what Shakespeare is can open them.
JHudsonDirect 2:46pm @LeeLiebeskind Cutting scenes for time happens all the time to Shakespeare. I have only seen a full Hamlet once.
Hungerf9 2:46pm @LeeLiebeskind That is: derivative, collaborative and possibly transformative work.
LeeLiebeskind 2:46pm @hungerf9 oh I am in agreement, I am not purist…just posing questions to get clarification.
Dloehr 2:46pm @HESherman Would depth of character go towards the language with which he reveals that depth?
_plainKate_ 2:45pm @Rosalind1600 Again, I’m not advocating for change. I leave it along; just making room for possibility, saying call it Shakespeare.
HESherman 2:45pm @ShakespeareinDC I’ve also seen productions where the scenes are reordered. Does that compromise the material?
Charlenevsmith 2:45pm @LeeLiebeskind Sure. But that’s beauty of theatre being a living art. Also, impossible to say which version of script is definitive
Rosalind1600 2:45pm @ASC_Amy @LeeLiebeskind Think still Shakespeare if cut well, but can be cut badly, so that undermine thrust/meaning of play/characters.
Playwrightsteve 2:45pm “A lot of the language in Shakespeare’s plays put up a wall of incomprehension by virtue of its age alone.”
TheShakesForum 2:45pm @HESherman But it may break the rhythm, and so you may just want to adapt it further than just language.
ShakespeareinDC 2:45pm @HESherman The depth of character in Shakespeare comes from what they SAY about what they feel & do #mk
BankyHimself 2:45pm @ASC_Amy Playwrights use their words for a different purpose than a poet or a writer. Evolution weighs heavily on that purpose.
LeeLiebeskind 2:45pm @Charlenevsmith You don’t think there is something that makes his work easily translatable to Dance, unlike other writers?
hungerf9 2:45pm @LeeLiebeskind Yes, it changes the play. That’s the beauty of the public domain & live performance: derivative, collaborative work.
Dloehr 2:44pm @Doctorogres But it’s always new to someone.
TheShakesForum 2:44pm @HESherman Not at all. #ShakespeareInAnyLanguageIsShakespeare
ShakespeareinDC 2:44pm I agree that cutting scenes for time or other reasons is altering the structure of the play #mk
Dloehr 2:44pm @Doctorogres I wouldn’t say that. Never assume everyone knows the story. They may know it’s a tragedy, to be sure.
Mikelomo 2:44pm So could we just talk about the #Shakespeare classroom for a bit? Any thoughts about teachers using simplified texts?
TheShakesForum 2:44pm RT @Charlenevsmith: I am not bothered by some language changes. Murder, instead of murther, for example.
JHudsonDirect 2:44pm @TheShakesForum I can’t help it… I must be too much of a purist. 🙂
Tony_McGuinness 2:44pm Interesting that the discussion is about the uniqueness of Shakespeare as a writer.
ASC_Amy 2:44pm @LeeLiebeskind That’s a whole other debate. At @shakespearectr we believe even Shakespeare cut his plays for performance.
Charlenevsmith 2:43pm No reason other than name recognition for companies like Synetic to bill under Shakespeare – there’s no estate holds rights to those stories
HESherman 2:43pm Many cite plot as being less important, because he borrowed so freely. But what about depth of character?
TheShakesForum 2:43pm @HESherman I’m not suggesting they HAVE to do that. I’m suggesting it’s okay to do.
LeeLiebeskind 2:43pm So altering words is ok in context, but what about cutting scenes for time? Doesn’t that change the his play?
TheShakesForum 2:43pm @JHudsonDirect I don’t think you’re trying to do it better. It’s just how the words relate to you.
JHudsonDirect 2:43pm RT @Charlenevsmith: I am not bothered by some language changes. Murder, instead of murther, for example.
Doctorogres 2:42pm One of the biggest ones, and the reason that there are so many different takes on Macbeth, is that everyone already knows the story.
ASC_Amy 2:42pm @BankyHimself It is still a playwright’s words, regardless of when they were penned.
Doctorogres 2:42pm I guess what I’m saying is there are a lot of elements apart from language that are essential to Shakespeare.
HESherman 2:42pm @LeeLiebeskind That’s a really interesting perspective. That silent Shakespeare is word *translated* to movement.
BankyHimself 2:42pm @ASC_Amy I’d suspect that’d be a more appropriate question in 500 years.
ShakespeareinDC 2:42pm @LeeLiebeskind yes it’s translation like “The Moor’s Pavane” is a dance version of Othello but it doesn’t have same impact #mk
LeeLiebeskind 2:41pm @ShakespeareinDC interesting comparison. But wouldn’t it be more accurate to say a cover in a different instrument?
Playwrightsteve 2:41pm @_plainKate_ @BankyHimself In which case plot and structure are as much a part of Shakespeare as his language. Even if he borrowed
Raoulbhaneja 2:41pm @HESherman I’m only bothered when performing #hamletsolo (in English) and I’m asked what “translation” I used to make it “clear”.
ASC_Amy 2:41pm @BankyHimself But, if you change Mamet’s words is it still Mamet? No one argues he’s a poet not a playwright.
HESherman 2:41pm @TheShakesForum “Inspired by Shakespeare” would fill shelves of libraries (and theaters) be it plays, novels, songs.
ShakespeareinDC 2:41pm @_plainKate_ You don’t call Shakespeare ‘Ovid & Holinshead altered’ so why would you call very-much altered Shakespeare ‘Shakespeare’ #mk
Rosalind1600 2:40pm @_plainKate_ True about changes to source material, but those changes have limited meaning outside context of play’s language
Dloehr 2:40pm @Charlenevsmith Very much so. The name is a brand in some sense, and it’s an easy sell.
_plainKate_ 2:40pm @BankyHimself A playwright, a playwright!
LeeLiebeskind 2:40pm @HESherman They use the words of Shakespeare to create movement, so isn’t it just translation?
Kellereno 2:40pm Gleefully following the conversation. I’m in Shakespeare geek heaven.
Charlenevsmith 2:39pm I am not bothered by some language changes. Murder, instead of murther, for example.
HESherman 2:39pm If language is so essential to Shakespeare, does it cease being Shakespeare when translated from English?
TheShakesForum 2:39pm @ShakespeareinDC No, you wouldn’t say Sleep No More by William Shakespeare. But you could say “Inspired by”.
Mikelomo 2:39pm @Charlenevsmith So Shakespeare still sells.
Doctorogres 2:39pm Or Macbeth Without Words? Or 500 Clown Macbeth? Many adptations with no language at all.
JHudsonDirect 2:39pm It seems almost arrogant to me to think that I could arrange the words better than the Bard had intended! #shakespearelanguage
Playwrightsteve 2:39pm @ShakespeareinDC Have you had a chance to look at Akiva Fox’s recent piece on Shakespeare in production?
HESherman 2:39pm @LeeLiebeskind If you see Synetic’s work, which I don’t, do you think it’s still Shakespeare, despite being wholly visual?
Petermarksdrama 2:39pm How much responsibility does audience have to try to “meet” the language? And how well do u think actors do in giving it shape? #mk
ShakespeareinDC 2:39pm @LeeLiebeskind Synetic does wonderful dance drama but it’s no more Shakespeare than listening to a Bob Dylan song without words/lyrics #mk
Dloehr 2:39pm @Charlenevsmith @ArgoTheatricals Yup. A writer’s words are what make their work unique. Plots are the structures & rarely unique.
_plainKate_ 2:38pm @Charlenevsmith @ArgoTheatricals I’m not advocating for changing the words, btw. I love these words, working them.
Charlenevsmith 2:38pm I think these adaptations use Shakespeare’s name solely for marketing and name recognition.
TheShakesForum 2:38pm Once you have a working script you probably don’t want to change it. But in the rehearsal process?
ASC_Amy 2:38pm @ShakespeareinDC @Petermarksdrama But, don’t you think it is possible to communicate that diff w/ clear acting?
HESherman 2:38pm @ShakespeareinDC I was being playful — and I spent eight years working for Mark Lamos, so Shakespeare is in my blood & bones
LeeLiebeskind 2:37pm @ShakespeareinDC @Doctorogres Why is it not Shakespeare?
ShakespeareinDC 2:37pm @Petermarksdrama …or if it’s a 450-year-old joke and the button doesn’t work #mk
_plainKate_ 2:37pm @Charlenevsmith @ArgoTheatricals Except he changed much of his source material, so even w/altered language, it’s him.
ASC_Amy 2:37pm Jumping in midstream … agree, if you don’t have #Shakespeare’s language, it isn’t Shakespeare. @Charlenevsmith @ArgoTheatricals
ShakespeareinDC 2:37pm @Petermarksdrama The only time I think it might be good to change Shakespeare’s words is if those words mean something else now #mk
Charlenevsmith 2:36pm @ArgoTheatricals Agreed. Once Shakespeare’s language is gone, it’s not him. Then it’s Ovid or Holinshed!
LeeLiebeskind 2:36pm But it’s a good question, when you remove dialogue from Shakespeare, is it still Shakespeare, like Synetic in DC ?
ShakespeareinDC 2:36pm @Doctorogres Sleep No More is a fantastic production but it’s not Shakespeare. #mk
Mikelomo 2:36pm I agree. And teachers do a disservice for using them to teach #Shakespeare
HESherman 2:35pm RT @ShakespeareinDC: MK: It shows you how important Shakespeare’s language is, because you’re quoting it in your question.
Petermarksdrama 2:35pm Michael, are you doctrinaire about Shakespeare’s words? How much leeway do you give directors to change them in Shakespeare Theater’s shows?
ArgoTheatricals 2:35pm @HESherman I say not. The stories aren’t original to him, so if you change the language, what’s left? Not Shakespeare.
HESherman 2:34pm @Doctorogres Sleep No More is a synthesis of Shakespeare and Hitchcock’s Rebecca and god knows what else
HESherman 2:33pm Hi, Michael. @ShakespeareinDC, is #Shakespeare still the Bard when we alteration find?
Doctorogres 2:33pm Is Sleep No More Shakespeare?
ShakespeareinDC 2:32pm Michael is here too. Lay it on us, @HESherman
HESherman 2:31pm I don’t want to keep others waiting. So, @mikelomo, is Shakespeare simplified, or translated, not Shakespeare?
HESherman 2:31pm I have a starting question for @ShakespeareinDC. Just waiting on Michael.
Reduced 2:31pm Do we have our basic text for the Soul of Shakespeare chat? Then take it away @HESherman & @Petermarksdrama.
HESherman 2:27pm Above all, let’s have fun. After all, how many opportunities are there for live national multi-participant discussions of Shakespeare?
HESherman 2:27pm Because Michael Kahn is not on Twitter personally, his comments will come via @ShakespeareinDC. We’re thrilled he’s with us.
HESherman 2:26pm Don’t be afraid to join in. Even though some participants may be “experts,” we want this to be as inclusive as possible.
HESherman 2:26pm Don’t flaunt your credentials to bolster your views, and let’s be respectful of everyone else. No insults, even Shakespearean ones!
HESherman 2:26pm Lots of folks are declaring their position in advance. Let’s not be absolutists, but share thoughts and ideas. No right answer IMHO.
“How will you make theatre for a better tomorrow?,” I asked. “Send me 6-word wishes for theatre: play, company, field, artists.”
On New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, I inquired of my Twitter followers (and some in turn then asked their followers) about their “Six-word theatre dreams” in variants of the same question: “What are your ‘six-word wishes’ for theatre to come? Dream show; career hopes; changes in business – your call.” “In only six words, what are your desires, plans, visions for the future of theatre?” “Theatre 2012 & beyond: how will you make theatre for better tomorrow?” “From limits, theatrical creativity can emerge. So what are your six word theatre dreams for yourself, artists, companies, or audiences? Imagine!”
After a slow start, the answers came flooding in and, for me, they provided an optimistic, inventive, creative start to the new year. The six-word form, which is certainly limiting, yielded answers that were practical, whimsical, inspirational and at moments even poetic (take that, haiku!).While the participants represent the barest tip of the iceberg of those who make and love theatre, they nonetheless paint a picture of theatre’s possibilities alongside the desires we all have for the discipline. These are the dreams, in ultra-concise form; how many of them will — and how will they — be realized, in this new year or in the years to come?
A few words about my process: every response I spotted, if on topic, is included here (my apologies if I missed yours); not wanting to start placing limits too early in the new year, I have included multiple responses from those who chose to craft them, so a few who were inspired by the challenge will appear more than once. With over 100 replies, I decided not to attempt to organize these thematically, or with a singular through-line; they appear in alphabetical order, which serves to highlight certain themes and words. Even those single words are evocative: I noted ‘more,’ ‘accessible,’ ‘collaboration,’ ‘new,’ ‘work,’ and ‘risk,’ to select but six (in keeping with the original assignment) among those that recurred.
Finally, on the name of every participant, I have added a live link to their Twitter page. If someone wrote something that resonates with you, take the time to reach out to that person, especially someone you’ve not encountered before; follow them, ‘@’ them and strike up more of yet another theme found here often: conversation. “Social media” is a buzz-friendly construction, but new connections with those who share your interests, and our obsessions, is the most marvelous result of this still-new medium. You are not throwing thoughts out into a massive stream of incoherence; you are curating your own community and finding kindred spirits, in this case those who also have your passion for theatre.
Today I am merely a conduit. Revel in the ideas and ideals of those who are your friends, even if you’ve yet to ever meet them onstage, backstage or in the audience. Here are their six-word dreams — and perhaps yours.
* * *
A complete social media theatrical experience. @SimsJames
A Sondheim show in the Sondheim. @Dfact1
A spanking brand-new Sondheim score. @BlueskyFox
A successful non-jukebox Australian musical. @humphriesmark
Accessible, inviting. Engaging the audience’s imagination. @Gedaly
Accessible to all in everyday places. @TheatreSmart
Actors acknowledging crazy workloads techies have? @EmilySchooley
Alchemy over boilerplate, communication over sales. @Travisbedard
Always paid for work I love. @niclabonde
Amen. We re-own the creator’s dream. @HiQuity
Artists work with communities for good. @LindaInPhoenix
Audience feels something real during play. @Wmbish
Audiences choosing theatre over a DVD. @pearliestpearl
Bigger, better, faster, more (and original) @Lacatchat
Book of Mormon tix? Cheap! Easy! @Glennsumi
Bright, bold work supported and seen. @Poorboy_theatre
Bring the funny to the world. @Reduced
Bringing the arts back home. @Walt828
Candy wrappers opened before show starts. @AijaGreen
Challenge assumptions; examine biases; dream untethered. @Halcyontony
Clear visions of challenging new concepts. @SonnetInspired
Collaboration is key to creative success. @Donnachronicles
Collaboration as inspiration to the world. @TheatreSmart
Connecting the four generations working today. @TheatreSmart
Core shakers like Next To Normal. @twayward
Deep engagement, careful listening, connective questioning. @Matthewreeder
Desires-strong / plans-invisible / visions-scary @YesVersusNo
Disney over? Take two weeks OFF! @FriendlyLoner
Emerging dreams; landing real; refining play. @Lisalotta
Everyone being nice to the ASM. @Stagemanager92
Everyone involved who wants to be. @Lacatchat
Excellent, Relevant, Purposeful, Joyful, Accessible, Unforgettable. @Ddower
Extraordinary season: great work/smart investments. @ahrmi
Fewer premium seats in center orchestra. @GratuitousV
Find balance of creativity and marketability. @gabef1ores
Finish my Masters. Get a job. @Catipish
Follies gets filmed before it closes. @K_delrossi
For true collaboration, joy, humanity, community. @Sallycadeh
Funding for our company’s first season. @Askewtheatre
Get into (and outside) new spaces. @Lacatchat
Help make theatre relevant for all. @Kevinhoule
Honest work, accessible, friendly, thought-provoking. @Petricat666
I want to explore the light. @ReeseSondheim
Innovative forms of performance get funding. @LindaInPhoenix
Inspiration at each and every turn. @Keithbennie
Let’s revive original production of Pippin. @BlueskyFox
Lighting designers invited to first meetings. @LindaInPhoenix
Make art on my own terms. @MariahMacCarthy
Many brave, unconventional, bold original works! @BroadwayGirlNYC
Mary Stuart reopens with 2009 cast. @Raisins_Liasons
Me to We, Scarcity to Abundance. @Ddower
Mindbending fully produced dubstep space musical. @Musicisfreenow
Moments that make the hearts beat loud. @Failurefarms
More about art, less about money. @Kre8ivMona
More accessible. More diverse. More original. @CatPop
More arts funding support from cities. @EmilySchooley
More butts in more seats please. @Michaelhharris
More innovation, more David Cromer. @Alexqsmith
More opportunities for talented Canadian artists! @THEATREtc
More poor kids in the audience. @Buttercupples
More sharing of resources, talent, information. @Jfdubiner
More shows choreographed by Steven Hoggett. @TwoShowDays
More than forty percent houses. @Ryanroks
More youth audience for OffOff Broadway. @theaterfanatics
More new play productions, mine included. @GwydionS
Near West Theatre venue gets funded. @MarkWSchumann
New Broadway shows which ask questions. @stephtastic17
New original musicals not closing quickly. @Mdrnhousewivery
New plays get produced and thrive. @Bflood28
New voices, new approaches, new audiences. @Moorejohn
Newsies performed live in my kitchen. @Thecraptacular
No cellphones, talking, singing. (in audience) @Glennsumi
No electronic distractions in the audience. @Backstagejobs
Passionate tenacity leads to success, right? @JessKiva
Pay actors more, community involvement, laughter. @NSBTtheatre
Peaceful, productive three-department musical collaboration. @Naturalreadhead
Performances challenge audiences to THINK. @EmilySchooley
Personal, intimate, breaking all our expectations. @JessHutchinson
Play Harper in Angels in America. @SophG6
Plays people like better than movies. @MichaelRock
Popular, funny, life-changing theatrical experiences! @TheatreSmart
Produce the plays of unknown playwrights. @scriberess
Pub theatre pub theatre pub theatre. @dwbcampbell
Rediscover joy, inspiration, passion and fun. @Beth_wolf
Revival of Rockabye Hamlet – on Broadway. @Minisquiggs
Risk-taking, artistic integrity and conversations @Gbenaharon
Risk-taking new work. Balanced budgets. @RebeccaEnde
Rooms I want to live in. @Msteketee quoting @pollykcarl
RTC transfers Sons of the Prophet. @Shutterbug93
Sands shift, revealing new creative opportunities. @LindainPhoenix
See Art, Create Art, Support Art. @DFooksman
See one new storefront company/month. @ThtrBob
Sell out our run @americanrep. @thelisps
Serve the audience. Think outside box. @DarrenEdward
Shows that take me somewhere else. @GratuitousV
Socio-political Freedom through artistic liberation. @Occupyantigone
Steady work, inspiring teammates, creative progress. @ObsrvatnlstNYC
Students getting jobs in theatre industry. @Fmcctheatre
Summerworks selects Ten Foot Pole Theatre. @Robsalerno
Sustainable funding sources, embracing new voices. @Edenlane
Take big risks. Tell great stories. @CodyDaigle
The Mark Hellinger restored to legitimacy. @Kevinddaly
The world changes into something new. @OLittleGreenPig
Theatre as vital to American culture. @Fmcctheatre
To bring artists and communities together. @Dloehr
To change someone’s life with storytelling. @Amyjalltheway
To see MY plays Off-Broadway. @JOWinNYC
To think outside the box office. @Amyjalltheway
To work under a production contract. @BrittneyMorello
Want to make art? Do it. @Reynaldi
Women cast regardless of body size. @EmilySchooley
Work on something that really matters. @Roxiezeek
Working with former students. @Dramagirl
Write something more than a grant application. @Lacatchat
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My six words for 2012? “I’ll see you at the theatre.”
