Shaking it Up With Shakespeare: An Introduction to the Bard

This week we’d like to give you a little introduction to the man that is deemed one of the greatest playwright’s of all time, the one and only William Shakespeare. Shakespeare is the author of our Young Company show A Midsummer Night’s Dream and although we’ve had to make some edits for the sake of time (we only get 50 minutes!), our director, Nat Reed, has stayed true to his script and story.

Writing and performing in London in the late 1500’s and early 1600’s, Shakespeare made a very significant impact on drama, literature and the English language as a whole. No doubt you’re familiar with some of his other famous works: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, and many more. Here are some fun facts about Shakespeare and his influence!

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England in the spring of 1545.
It is thought that the Greek and Latin stories he studied in grammar school were used for inspiration in writing A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It was very common for Shakespeare to draw on previously told stories or events in creating and writing his plays.
Shakespeare moved to London and began playwriting and even acting in a troupe called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. They performed for Queen Elizabeth, who was a great lover of the arts.
Right after Shakespeare moved to London, theatres throughout the city were closed due to the plague! Fortunately, the plague subsided and the theatres reopened around 1594.
Shakespeare was the joint owner of the Globe Theatre—it burned down during a performance of Henry V when a cannon misfired and caught the whole theatre on the fire! A very real (and unfortunate) special effect!
It is believed that Shakespeare authored around 38 plays and over 150 poems and sonnets! That’s a lot of writing!
The first collection of Shakespeare’s work was officially published as the First Folio in 1623, seven years after his death.
It is said that Shakespeare introduced nearly 2,000 words into the English language. Even though we don’t use all the words in everyday language, he also introduced commonly used phrases like “one fell swoop,” “vanish into thin air,” and “flesh and blood.”

Make sure to check back next week to learn more about how we’ve adapted Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the BYU stage!

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A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

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by Emme Corbett, dramaturg As a senior student studying history at BYU. One of the first concepts you learn as a history major is that when you study history, it is vital that you do not bring your modern-day biases with you. As strange as some past behaviors or occurrences may be to our modern eyes, understanding the reality of what life was like in historical societies allows for a more authentic and rich study of the past. It also becomes evident fairly quickly that no matter what point in time you’re studying or where you are in the world, there will be commonalities across many cultures. The shared similarity of the human experience allows these connections to occur, so it is no surprise that researching various time periods could be related back to Caesar in Ancient Rome. It was necessary in our dramaturgical research to explore three major time periods that are encompassed within this play in one way or another. These time periods are first, 49 B.C. Rome, when Julius Caesar first became a dictator of Ancient Rome, and the setting for the original script. Second, 1599 England, when William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar was first performed, most likely at the Globe Theatre. And third, 1919 Italy, when Italy was recovering from participating in the First World War, and the setting for our performance at BYU. This weakened state created a situation where authoritarianism could ensue. It was an interesting experience to be able to connect the culture of Ancient Rome to that of Italy in the early 20th century. The reason for choosing this production of Julius Caesar to take place in 1919 Italy is not random. The significance of that time period is to draw upon the reality that history repeats itself. An aspect of history that is repeatedly detrimental to countless societies is when a group of people finds itself weak and vulnerable--whether that is due to lack of resources, a change in leadership, exiting a war, or simply evolving generations--and a power vacuum is created. This moment in time when desperation allows for someone to assume leadership (based purely on the need to rely on anybody) and provide temporary relief is often too quickly turned into an authoritarian government. The third time period that we also had to account for in this production was the time of Shakespeare in 1599 England. Some of the questions we had to ask ourselves were: Why Julius Caesar? What elements from the story of Caesar’s assassination did Shakespeare feel would resonate with his audience? From these questions and further research on the Elizabethan period, we discovered that, like in 1919 Italy, there was a concern with the succession to the Crown. Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne at the time and created conflict among the people beyond her just being a woman in power. Queen Elizabeth never married and subsequently never bore any children, thus failing to secure a successor who was in her direct line. Another element of the play that related to Shakespeare’s audience was the role of the plebeians. Their behavior in the play could symbolize how the lower class in the Elizabethan Era, while uneducated and changeable, contribute largely to the success of their society.

Shaking it Up With Shakespeare: An Introduction to the Bard

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