This week we have super-special-witchy guest, Courtney Parker on to talk us through Thomas Middleton’s The Witch! The Rhetorical Device of the Week is hyperbaton (aka Yoda-speak); we bring back our Meet the Contemporary feature and tell you all about our buddy T-Mids; Courtney breaks down why this play is so awesome and yet so under-performed; Jess invents a new game; we gossip about a new program at this year’s SAA conference; and Tambourlaine advances to the next round in the #DickBracket (of course he did, that DICK). Which Witch is the titular Witch? You’ll have to listen to find out!
Hamlet 301
Things get a little emotional in this 301 episode because we kick off Women’s History Month with a tribute to Aubrey’s mom, Dorrie, who passed away two years ago. Back in 1999 she wrote a term paper for a theatre class about “the tortured Dane” and argued that, legally, Hamlet could be considered insane. Aubrey reads the paper and we try to contextualize it for 2019. Then Jess gossips about a production of ‘The Changeling’ she recently saw and we unpack the ethical (ir)responsibility of portraying sexual violence on stage. We also reveal the first match up of our Final Four in the #DickBracket competition. It’s a journey, y’all, and we hope you go on it with us.
2 Henry IV 101
In an unforeseen turn of events, we’re talking about Henry IV part 2 this week! The Rhetorical Device of the Week is assonance; the Burbage Break is all about the wealth of knowledge in the Short Title Catalogue; Jess and Aubrey go back and forth (yet again) about Falstaff; we play a few rounds of F*ck, Marry, Kill featuring characters from the play (and yes, one of us would *definitely* marry Falstaff and the other would kill him). We drop a little ShakesBubble Gossip and advance yet another contender in our #DickBracket. Find out who’s next up, and more, in this 101 episode!
Winter's Tale 201
For this 201 episode we dive back into The Winter’s Tale to talk about Pandosto, its source text, and the healing power of forgiveness. Yes, even for Leontes. We revisit the rhetorical device of aposiopesis, and wonder why we never noticed it literally everywhere in this text before. Comps are the topic of our How to Grad School segment, and we also give you a list of upcoming productions of the Winter’s Tale coming your way in 2019, dish some hot ShakesBubble Gossip, and reveal another matchup for our #DickBracket.
Two Gents 101
In this 101 episode we are seeing double! Two Gentlemen (of Verona), two ladies, two clowns…We’ll help you figure out which is which. Our Rhetorical Device of the Week is erotema (not to be confused with erotica); the Burbage Break is all about who wears the pants in a “pants role”; Aubrey fails at Shakespeare; we talk about body politics and Falstaff in our ShakesBubble Gossip; and announce yet another match up in the third round of our ongoing #DickBracket. Not sure why Proteus was in the Dick Bracket? This episode will show you why! #yourewelcome #sorrynotsorry