Shakespeare is Funny by Sean Bartlett

Shakespeare is funny.



Clare made that comment in rehearsal recently in an appreciative response.



In rehearsing for Shrew, we find ourselves laughing, much of the time.



While I greatly appreciate the original language of most of Shakespeare’s writing, this show uses a modernization of the script. While some of the music of the words may be lost, the meaning is much more accessible, as is the humor. The actors are finding innumerable ways to accentuate the implicit tenderness, belligerence, and funny bone tickling that the bard bestowed upon us.



Clare and Linda have been working on this show for years, and now that they chose to include us in the process, they are deftly guiding us to find ways to both enhance the presentation as well as overcome our tendency to play to the audience downstage. This is theater in the round, and we have to learn to move (a lot) and to to be expressive with our bodies and the backs of our heads as well as our faces and voices. Cheating takes on a whole different meaning (the theatrical kind people …. ok … there’s a little bawdy humor too, but … ), and audiences can truly have a different experience every time they come – especially if they don’t sit in the same seats.



I love the period in a production when people are starting to get comfortable with their characters and lines because then the hidden interactions are discovered. Things are tried, and experiences evolve, and the best stuff gets kept for the performances. Given what I’ve seen so far, Shrew will pull at a lot of emotional strings – including the funny bone. That’s because...



Shakespeare is funny.

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