the shakespeare project

my grandmother lives around the corner from this beautiful university, where every summer they feast on pure Shakespeare, garnished with a smattering of other fine theatrical productions such as Pride and Prejudice and Great Expectations. I grew up looking forward, every time we visited, to taking the very short walk across campus and spreading ourselves out on the lawn. we'd giggle at puppets and envy the dancers, and beg mum and dad to buy us tarts.

   { photo from this kind soul on flickr. }

this month, if all goes according to at least one of the various tentative plans I've got tucked in my pocket, I will attend my sixth Shakespeare performance of the year. this spontaneously suggested and serendipitously followed quest of mine has been really cool. and not as hard as you might think. Shakespeare is everywhere, even if you aren't looking very hard. here's a quick review:

March 6. Macbeth at Brigham Young University, Idaho
(gosh. completely gripping. very worth driving five hours there and back just to see it.)

April 23. Twelfth Night at Salt Lake Community College, Utah
(odd. good thing Shakespeare can take a few eclectic additions and still be lovely.)

May 1. A Midsummer Night's Dream at Murray High School, Utah
(probably the most hilarious and energetic high school performance I've seen in a million years.)

June 5. Much Ado About Nothing at Bingham High School, Utah
(they set this version in Vegas, complete with an Elvis to perform the weddings. awesome.)

July 24. Othello at Luther Burbank Park, Washington
(it plodded little by little towards its everso dramatic ending. perfectly tragic.)

for August I had hoped to revisit that old family tradition down in Cedar City, but I'm not sure I can afford the tickets now that I have to pay rent and, now that EFY is over, spend money on food. luckily, I've just today come across this little company of Shakespeare enthusiasts. perfect timing. and this way I don't have to settle for seeing a play I've already seen. how is it that I haven't been to a stage production of Romeo and Juliet before?

how long will this monthly Shakespeare project last? there's no telling. when I first made the suggestion to myself I had not counted on it being so simple. but for six months I've had the bard falling into my lap. sometimes I go all by myself. sometimes I drag others along. sometimes it's amazing, other times it's a little strange. you never know. the most I've spent on any of these is $7. a few of these shows haven't cost me anything. it's beautiful, all this. and now that I'm about to cross this significant milestone of six whole months, I guess I should blog about the project a bit more seriously. how would that be?

in the running for future tentative plans, we have:
an adapted version of The Taming of the Shrew (September?)
Pericles (October?)
Troilus and Cressida, a tragedy (November?)

also for future reference: Grassroots Shakespeare.

if you know of any other performances this fall, especially in the Salt Lake area, by all means tell me about them! and if you're ever up for a little Shakespeare yourself, I'll totally take you with me.