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Thursday, April 23, 2009

Shakespeare Day

“The play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscious of a king.”

Well, today is Shakespeare’s birthday. Or at least, we think today is Shakespeare’s birthday. Apparently, no one is really sure when he was born, only that he was baptized on the 26th, and at some point someone just randomly decided to celebrate it on the 23rd. Go figure. It also happens to be the day he died, which makes the 23rd a handy all around life-and-death-of-Shakespeare celebration. Convenient, no?

Shakespeare was born in 1564…probably. Which would make him around 445, and would cost a fortune in birthday candles. I have a feeling I’d be pretty tired if I was 445, tired and a bit grouchy, so if you haven’t seen him around lately, you’re probably not missing much. After all, “Crabbed age and youth cannot live together,” according to my Shakespeare quotations book, so if you ever happen to see him, give him some space.

Last year I spent the day at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC, which was more awesome than words can really describe. Seeing shows, watching swordfights, checking out an authentic first folio, reading a monologue onstage, MEETING DEREK JACOBI, it was a good day. If you want to hear about, scroll through my entries from last April, I believe it’s called “ZOMG TEH YANA MASTER!!!”

This year, I’m celebrating by driving around southern New Hampshire. I have a show at Newfields Elementary at around one, followed almost directly after by a show at the River Run Bookstore in downtown Portsmouth at three. This was after I met two of my friends for an utterly random “lets-make-pancakes-and-talk-about-prom” moment, and before I have to somehow make it to the Senior “Movie-and-Free-Chinese-Food” Night at my school. I know the latter two don’t really have much to do with Shakespeare, but you know, its not my fault the world doesn’t seem to realize what day it is.

I’m really excited for the two shows. The first one’s being done for elementary school students (I think, like Kindergarten – 5th Grade, maybe?) so it’s focusing mainly on Shakespeare’s comedies. I’m playing Antipholus of Syracuse in a scene from Comedy of Errors (“Why, but there’s many a man hath more hair than wit!”) and Robin Starveling AKA Moonshine in a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (“All I have to say is, the lanthorn is the moon, I the man’o’the moon, the thorn bush is the thorn bush, and the dog is the dog!”) I was supposed to do Lady Macbeth as well (“Unsex me here, and fill me from crown to toe, top full of direst cruelty!”) but the principle vetoed it. It would have been alright if I didn’t start evoking the powers of darkness to “come to my woman’s breasts and take my milk for gall” about halfway through. But you know, whatever.

The second show, oddly the more lighthearted of the two, has a much broader focus and touches on drama just as much as comedy. It’s also a series of scenes, but it’s more…rehearsed? We have a full script with individual parts separate from our scenes, which is basically just witty banter to keep the energy up. It starts with this professor coming in to read a ridiculously boring paper on Shakespeare to the audience at the store, only to be interrupted by a group of rowdy, hyper, young actors who decide to show her how Shakespeare should be presented, through performance. It’s fun; I get to do a lot of jumping around and making loud noises with a horn. And I get to be Lady Macbeth, which is pretty awesome.

So basically, I’m celebrating Shakespeare’s birthday by running around and performing his works. It’s appropriate, I think, and a hell of a lot more fun than sitting in school and writing a paper on him. Which is what I did yesterday. But we won’t go there.

I’ll leave you with this:

“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.”

- As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII

Go see some Shakespeare, people. If not, read it aloud. Just do something.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends,

*Nelly*

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

A Quick Note...

I don't really have time for a full entry, expect something more later. But for the moment...

Doctor Who.

Sting rays.

OMG.

I would have posted a picture, but I honestly couldn't make it through the first page on Google Image Search. I hate stingrays. I've always hated stingrays. I will never like stingrays, and nothing can ever change that. The fact that they showed up on my favorite show as deadly, flying aliens with giant razor sharp teeth that could devour you in seconds is not helping the fact that I hate/loath/am-utterly-terrified-of anything resembling a stingray.

*shutters*

Just so you know, I will be having nightmares about this. Seriously, whatever happened to the days when Doctor Who aliens were just guys running around in poorly made rubber suits?

*shutters again* I hate stingrays. I just needed to say that.

See ya,

*Nelly*

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

The Youth Behavior Survey

...in which I am reminded just how boring an individual I really am.

Seriously, I just spent ten minutes checking off "I have never had sexual intercourse" on at least twenty different questions. It's great that somewhere, someone is interested in really understanding teenagers, but to be honest, there has to be a better way to do this. We may seem like we're all drugs, alcohol and sex, and know that some of us really are, but for the rest of us, tests like this just make us angry, and annoyed, and embarassed that this is what the world thinks of our age group.

So, in light of this, if I were to create a youth behavioral survey for the type of people I hang around with, here's a sample of how it would go:

1.) About how often do realize you have two papers due on the same day and rehearsal till 9:30 PM?

A.) Never
B.) Rarely
C.) Sometimes
D.) Kind of occasionally
E.) OMG I DON'T HAVE TIME TO ANSWER THIS!!!

2.) On the average day, how often do you actually pay attention in Science Fiction class?

A.) Always
B.) Mostly
C.) Occasionally
D.) Rarely
E.) I take Science Fiction?

3.) About how often do you doodle on important educational documents? (also called notes, tests, worksheets, health forms, rubrics, and dead trees)

A.) Never
B.) Rarely
C.) Sometimes
D.) Frequently
E.) I can't answer, I'm drawing a puppy...

4.) Out of the following, what best describes the type of doodling you have partaken
within the last 30 days?

A.) Spaceships
B.) Aliens
C.) Cute fuzzy animals
D.) Funny pictures of your friends
E.) Didn't I just say I don't doodle?

The following questions refer to your individual interests in regards to popular culture.

1.) About how often do you watch American Idol?

A.) ALWAYS
B.) Frequently
C.) Sometimes
D.) Rarely
E.) What's American Idol?

2.) About how many times did you see The Dark Knight?

A.) 0
B.) 1
C.) 2
D.) 3
E.) I lost count at 50

3.) Are you aware that Hannah Montanna and Miley Cyrus are the same person?

A.) Duh
B.) No kidding
C.) Couldn't care less
D.) I've never heard of either
E.) MY LIFE IS CHANGED FOREVER

4.) About how often do you engage in Twilight-related activities? (reading the books, watching the movie, fangirling the internet, stalking the actors, ect.)

A.) Never
B.) Occasionally
C.) Sometimes
D.) Why do I care?
E.) I WANT TO HAVE EDWARD CULLEN'S BABIES!!!

And...as the bell's just rang, that's all I can give you. It's just a sample, but I think it could be quite effective.

See ya,

*Nelly*