Forsooth!
Wow, only three days and I'm remembering to post again. Huzzah!
Went to see a high school production of "The Taming of the Shrew" tonight, and dare I say it, it was fantastic! I'm not the world's biggest Shakespeare fan, mainly because it gets shoved down your throat so much in school that by the time I finished grade nine I was cursing the bard for writing so much stuff that I had to study. That and I find Romeo and Juliet to be extremely overrated, which just so happened to be the one my classes spent the most time on, but that's a personal problem.
However during my final year of high school, I was forced to read MacBeth at around the same time that our school was doing a production of - wait for it - MacBeth. Ironic? Yes. Ultimately a life-changing experience? Surprisingly yes. I struggled through reading the first act and was about ready to gouge my eyes out. Fun fact: dyslexia and weird old english words do NOT get along well. At all. I'm talking - to keep with the theme - a sort of Montague/Capulet rivalry. The only reason that I even agreed to go watch the play was because a good friend of mine had landed his first big stage role as MacDuff and I wanted to be supportive.
And somehow I fell in love. With the play, I mean, not with him. Just to clarify. It was the first time in my life that I had ever gotten to see Shakespeare performed - I mean really performed, not just in a movie - and it was absolutely entrancing. I've always been a fan of theatre over any other visual medium, but watching that small town high school production of MacBeth was mesmerizing in a way that I had never experienced before. I loved it so much I went back to watch it a second time the following day. Those silly and complicated words that seem so ridiculous while on paper sound like the purest form of poetry when spoken - even when being spoken by a cast of half-pubescent teenagers in ill-fitting tunics with swords that wobbled if swung too hard.
After watching the play, suddenly reading it became a cinch. Or at least something closer to a cinch. The sentences that had never made any sense in my brain suddenly brought to mind the scenes I had watched and I was able to follow along with what was happening in the story a hundred times easier. It was nothing short of a literary miracle. For anyone who's curious, I passed my tests on MacBeth with a ninety-two percent.
So tonight, the same earlier mentioned friend was performing in "The Taming of the Shrew" and again, to be supportive, I went to see it. Of course this time I was a little less prepared for what I would be watching. I hadn't read this play beforehand, was completely unfamiliar with the often confusing character names, and fully expected to find myself lost and confused before the end of the first act. In fact, the full extent of my knowledge about the play was that it was what inspired that Heath Ledger movie. I was pleasantly surprised at just how easily I followed what was happening, and I spent most of the play trying not to fall out of my chair laughing.
If you have never seen Taming, go see it now! It was hilarious. I've only ever seen Shakespeare's dramas before this one, and while the man writes a good drama, his comedies are top notch. I wish it wasn't closing night tonight because I want to go see it again. Don't you hate that?
In other news: my hearing is up to almost 60% now. I am once again trying to kick my Dr. Pepper addiction - wish me luck, this goal never seems to last longer than a week. One of my best friends, who is so close we're often mistaken for sisters, had a baby on Friday and now I'm going to be an "aunt." I'm ecstatic. My brother stabbed me in the arm with a fork at lunch yesterday - be wary of blind men with cutlery, especially if you are ignoring them when they really want you to pass the salad dressing. And... I think that might be it for now.
Peace, Love, and Happiness.
-Artie
Went to see a high school production of "The Taming of the Shrew" tonight, and dare I say it, it was fantastic! I'm not the world's biggest Shakespeare fan, mainly because it gets shoved down your throat so much in school that by the time I finished grade nine I was cursing the bard for writing so much stuff that I had to study. That and I find Romeo and Juliet to be extremely overrated, which just so happened to be the one my classes spent the most time on, but that's a personal problem.
However during my final year of high school, I was forced to read MacBeth at around the same time that our school was doing a production of - wait for it - MacBeth. Ironic? Yes. Ultimately a life-changing experience? Surprisingly yes. I struggled through reading the first act and was about ready to gouge my eyes out. Fun fact: dyslexia and weird old english words do NOT get along well. At all. I'm talking - to keep with the theme - a sort of Montague/Capulet rivalry. The only reason that I even agreed to go watch the play was because a good friend of mine had landed his first big stage role as MacDuff and I wanted to be supportive.
And somehow I fell in love. With the play, I mean, not with him. Just to clarify. It was the first time in my life that I had ever gotten to see Shakespeare performed - I mean really performed, not just in a movie - and it was absolutely entrancing. I've always been a fan of theatre over any other visual medium, but watching that small town high school production of MacBeth was mesmerizing in a way that I had never experienced before. I loved it so much I went back to watch it a second time the following day. Those silly and complicated words that seem so ridiculous while on paper sound like the purest form of poetry when spoken - even when being spoken by a cast of half-pubescent teenagers in ill-fitting tunics with swords that wobbled if swung too hard.
After watching the play, suddenly reading it became a cinch. Or at least something closer to a cinch. The sentences that had never made any sense in my brain suddenly brought to mind the scenes I had watched and I was able to follow along with what was happening in the story a hundred times easier. It was nothing short of a literary miracle. For anyone who's curious, I passed my tests on MacBeth with a ninety-two percent.
So tonight, the same earlier mentioned friend was performing in "The Taming of the Shrew" and again, to be supportive, I went to see it. Of course this time I was a little less prepared for what I would be watching. I hadn't read this play beforehand, was completely unfamiliar with the often confusing character names, and fully expected to find myself lost and confused before the end of the first act. In fact, the full extent of my knowledge about the play was that it was what inspired that Heath Ledger movie. I was pleasantly surprised at just how easily I followed what was happening, and I spent most of the play trying not to fall out of my chair laughing.
If you have never seen Taming, go see it now! It was hilarious. I've only ever seen Shakespeare's dramas before this one, and while the man writes a good drama, his comedies are top notch. I wish it wasn't closing night tonight because I want to go see it again. Don't you hate that?
In other news: my hearing is up to almost 60% now. I am once again trying to kick my Dr. Pepper addiction - wish me luck, this goal never seems to last longer than a week. One of my best friends, who is so close we're often mistaken for sisters, had a baby on Friday and now I'm going to be an "aunt." I'm ecstatic. My brother stabbed me in the arm with a fork at lunch yesterday - be wary of blind men with cutlery, especially if you are ignoring them when they really want you to pass the salad dressing. And... I think that might be it for now.
Peace, Love, and Happiness.
-Artie