Fuenteovejuna 101

It’s our first ever 101 for a Spanish Golden Age play! Today we’re talking about Lope de Vega’s Fuenteovejuna and all the wild, wonderful customs and traditions of the early modern Spanish theatre. Our Meet the Playwright segment takes you through de Vega’s impressive (and horny) biography; Jess delights with her multitude of voices in A Taste of Text; we take you through the real event that this play is based on - true crime, again, huzzah! - and Aubrey compares the structure and culture of Spanish playhouses to the English ones we usually talk about, plus the added layer of textual instability that comes with second-language translation. The differences may surprise you! Not only that, but this play gives you the perfect excuse for your mistakes and/or crimes: just say “Fuenteovejuna did it!”

Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:

• Aubrey’s rec: follow the @teachingwithcorazon instagram account!

• Jess’s rec: Patronize your local massage school for some self-care on a budget!

Here’s what we talked about in our ShakesBubble Gossip segment:

• This story about OSF’s Artistic Director

• Ian Smith’s new book!

• Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre’s 2022 Expand the Canon titles

Birth of Merlin 101

Sooooooo William Rowley’s The Birth of Merlin actually has very little to do with Merlin or any other part of the Arthurian legend, and it’s more of a history play than its title would suggest. We re-introduce you to playwright William Rowley, who apparently loved to write himself into all of his plays as a “fat clown;” we give you A Taste of Text from Act IV involving a little antic spirit; we talk about how this play doesn’t fit neatly into any particular genre because it is doing The Literal Most at all times, but for all that it’s not even that great; then we gossip a bit and that’s that. Don’t believe anyone that tells you this play was written by Shakespeare, and definitely don’t believe them if they say it’s their favorite play.

Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:

• Aubrey’s rec: Queen City Mischief and Magic Festival

• Jess’s rec: Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Here’s what we talked about in our ShakesBubble Gossip segment:

• Lazarus Theatre UK’s live-streamed performance of Dr. Faustus coming on Oct. 6

• Fall Season opens at ASC

The Changeling 101

In The Changeling 101, we dive into the collaboration stylings of Middleton and Rowley, the early modern version of Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. We bring back our segment, Meet the Contemporaries, to give you quick and dirty biographies of the two authors; the Rhetorical Devices of the week are onomotopoeia and oxymoron; Jess plays a round of Line Roulette; we tell you about a few current production projects in our Gossip segment; and we let you know who from last week's #DickBracket - Angelo or Othello - will advance to Round 3. We sure hope this episode isn't stolen away by the fairies and swapped out for a cursed one. *fingers crossed*