Pericles 201

This week we dive deep back into Pericles to talk about the perils of traveling while female (in early modern plays, that is…and maybe now, too…), and bemoan what online study guides get absolutely wrong about this play. We revisit apposition (a type of addition) as the main rhetorical trait of our title character. We talk about what “fully funded” actually means in our How to Grad School segment. Finally, we can neither confirm nor deny that we may or may not also fall down a Journey rabbit hole. Join us for the…journey…

Also, here’s that link to Erin Bartram’s spreadsheet we talk about in the How to Grad School segment.

And the link to info about the staged reading of The Macbeth Travesty in Tuscaloosa, AL.

A Chaste Maid in Cheapside 101

While the title alone should be enough to pique your interest, we devote this entire episode to the “finer” points of Middleton’s A Chaste Maid In Cheapside because we want you to love it as much as we do. We introduce a new 101 feature, “A Taste of Text,” in which we read the shortest scene in the play to give you a sense of its linguistic flavor; we re-introduce the contemporary, Thomas Middleton; we give you a fast and furious summary of this goofy city comedy as well as a LOT of dramaturgical background for all the allusions it contains; we play a round of Line Roulette; and Jess talks about a Haley Bachrach article on the play Six. Gird your loins and summon your Gossips because it’s an action-packed episode!

Here’s a link to Haley’s article: Six’s Sexist Agency

Romeo & Juliet 301

In this 301 episode we examine the Q1 variations of Romeo & Juliet and how some of the most crucial differences between it and the “authoritative” Q2 have MAJOR performance implications for a few of our favorite characters. We also discover that early modern page signatures are not helpful in locating act and scene breaks. (We struggle so you don’t have to. #yourewelcome)

All's Well That Ends Well 201

Aubrey’s feelings are back for a second round with her favorite play, All’s Well That Ends Well (and Jess is just along for the ride). We revisit the rhetorical implications of Bertram’s use of hyperbaton (aka “Yoda-speak”), as well as the concept of bed tricks, and talk about some first day of school pointers we wish we had known in our How To Grad School segment. We also closely examine Bertram and his many foibles as, perhaps, the dramatic hinge of the entire play, as well as the dramatic stakes at play in Act 2, scene 5, when Helen literally begs Bertram to kiss her. To kiss or not to kiss? Find out in this episode!

Here are the theaters producing All’s Well in the next year:

www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk/show/alls-well-that-ends-well/

Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, May 30–October 13, 2019

ASC Theatre Camp

Macbeth 301

There is quite literally nothing we want to talk about more for our Macbeth 301 than the 19th century’s Macbeth Travesty by Rush Moore. This gem of a spoof features terrible rhymes, delicious profanity, and completely inappropriate pairings of Scottish folk tunes with the OG Macbeth’s dark subject matter. It’s so very, very bad it’s good.

Also, here’s the link to the David Sterling Brown article we mentioned in the gossip section.