TWO posts from Desiree

The Play's The Thing

This week I thought I would just do a broad search on Shakespeare.  It seems like others have begun to catch onto moving in order to learn Shakespeare.  Fiona Banks has written a new booklet that outlines exercises.  She says that, “reading his plays without any form of active engagement, without his words in our mouths and emotions and actions in our bodies, is like trying to engage with a piece of music by looking at the notes on the page but not listening to the music itself – or like reading a television script without watching the programme that was made.”  The exercises call for students to not simply look at Shakespeare as being "text" but to encourage them to be actors and play the words.  What really made me curious about this new booklet is one of the techniques that is mentioned in the article.  I actually remember this from Acting 2-- using the Haka War Cry beat for emphasis.  We did this in Acting 2 not with soliloquies but with other pieces of text.  This new booklet from the Globe will also occur at the same time that students are getting to see A Midsummer Night's Dream this coming year.  

Plays The Thing:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/plays-the-thing-globe-theatre-wants-learning-shakespeare-to-be-fun-not-a-chore-8976039.html

Shakespeare in Bollywood

Those that know me know that I LOVE Bollywood movies!  So I couldn't help but put this post up.  Shakespeare is still relevant today.  This article discusses several Bollywood films that use plays such as Romeo & Juliet in their plot development.  Interestingly one of my favorite films, Devdas, is based off of Romeo & Juliet.  Vishal Bhardwaj has begun to explore more of Shakespeare's plots and has given them a twist because usually Romeo & JulietI is the play plot of choice.  As Bhardwaj said, "I try to identify with the spirit and essence of the play by giving it a twirl that appeals the Indian audience."  The attraction to Shakespeare in Bollywood is said to date back to 1935.  This article even includes some film posters from some of Bollywood films mentioned in the article.  I have personally seen a few of them and they are worth watching if you have some time or just want some colorful entertainment!

Shakespeare In Bollywood:

 http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/influence-of--shakespeare-in-bollywood/1/327165.html