I never understood the obsession with reading plays. The works of Shake'n'spear are not great as books.
Well, they aren't "books." They are "plays." Just like a short story isn't a book, a poem isn't a book, a novella isn't a book (though it is book-like). And so on.
A play is text, but it isn't a book.
This may sound like semantics, but I posit that if you approach reading the text of a play like it's a book you are doing it wrong.
To clarify where I'm coming from, a lot of classrooms handle them that way. They're not read as plays. The teachers assign acts like chapters to read overnight and you discuss the next day. It's terrible.
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Seriously, Hamlet is my favorite play from any author. It's a fantastic play.
But five hours worth of play to read is quite different from five hours of play to watch.
Nobody wants to watch a five hour play. Fuck that.
I'm pretty sure most modern stagings of the longer Shakespeare plays edit the text down a bit.
Also, hearing Shakespeare acted aloud is a much different experience than reading it on the page.
Yes, that's my point. 95% of all film and stage representations of Hamlet are trimmed down extensively. As far as I'm concerned, the crux of Hamlet can be communicated by eliminating certain parts of the play. While every scene relates to the text, it's not necessary to produce all of it for a staged or filmed representation to tell roughly the same story.
I never understood the obsession with reading plays. The works of Shake'n'spear are not great as books.
Well, they aren't "books." They are "plays." Just like a short story isn't a book, a poem isn't a book, a novella isn't a book (though it is book-like). And so on.
A play is text, but it isn't a book.
This may sound like semantics, but I posit that if you approach reading the text of a play like it's a book you are doing it wrong.
To clarify where I'm coming from, a lot of classrooms handle them that way. They're not read as plays. The teachers assign acts like chapters to read overnight and you discuss the next day. It's terrible.
Well yeah.. how else would you teach it?
Although we also spent time reading it in class so we'd have people picked for parts for an act or a couple of scenes and they'd say their lines and whatnot.
I remember having a lot of fun with plays in school.
And would murder to see a production of rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead.
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BobCescaIs a girlBirmingham, UKRegistered Userregular
I've been to fair number of plays. I think most of the recent ones have tended to start at 7.30-8pm, have a 15-30 minute interval, and usually finish around 10.30-11pm.
When I was at Cambridge the main show quite often started at 7 and went on till 10.30 with a 15 minute interval because I used to stick around and go to the 11pm 1 hour play/footlights show.
Plays are best appreciated viewed on stage, nothing will convince me otherwise.
You're not going to see Anthony Hopkins/Ian McKellen quality actors at your local playhouse.
I disagree. Some of the best stage stuff I've seen has been put on by small, local groups. I was in an adaptation of Terry Pratchett's "Wyrd Sisters" sme years back, and the guy we had playing the Fool was incredible.
Now that you say that I do recall that I saw a local production of Little Shop of Horrors and I thought the lead guy was better than Rick Moranis.
I never understood the obsession with reading plays. The works of Shake'n'spear are not great as books.
Well, they aren't "books." They are "plays." Just like a short story isn't a book, a poem isn't a book, a novella isn't a book (though it is book-like). And so on.
A play is text, but it isn't a book.
This may sound like semantics, but I posit that if you approach reading the text of a play like it's a book you are doing it wrong.
To clarify where I'm coming from, a lot of classrooms handle them that way. They're not read as plays. The teachers assign acts like chapters to read overnight and you discuss the next day. It's terrible.
No, I understood where you were coming from. I think that method of teaching and discussing a play is fine. Devoting class time to acting out/reading aloud a play is useful as a single exercise, maybe, but not necessary and is rather wasteful in my opinion.
Assigning a play as reading material doesn't magically turn the play into a book. It's not a book. Unless, by "book," you literally meant "something the teacher makes you read at home." Which is not what "book" means.
See I thought you meant old people do because they're racist, and young people do because they're one of the most tolerant generations in history, and that doesn't really line up with islam.
A problem to us specifically. Question asked was "do you think there are too many muslims in norway?" and "Do you think islam is a threat against norwegian culture?"
Although less people said "yes" in norway than in a lot of other west european countries.
Maybe I'm just way too fidgety but I literally cannot sit and watch anything for five hours. I don't want to. I can't even play a video game for that long anymore. After 2-3 hours I have to get up and stretch my legs or do something else. No matter how much I like it or how captivating it is, being stuck watching anything for 5 hours is way too much.
In fact, I think if aliens or God were set to arrive on earth and I had front row tickets I'd start to get antsy around the three hour mark. If God or Z'lthronkian III were taking questions, I'd raise my hand and ask "can we maybe speed this up a little bit?"
Maybe I'm just way too fidgety but I literally cannot sit and watch anything for five hours. I don't want to. I can't even play a video game for that long anymore. After 2-3 hours I have to get up and stretch my legs or do something else. No matter how much I like it or how captivating it is, being stuck watching anything for 5 hours is way too much.
In fact, I think if aliens or God were set to arrive on earth and I had front row tickets I'd start to get antsy around the three hour mark. If God or Z'lthronkian III were taking questions, I'd raise my hand and ask "can we maybe speed this up a little bit?"
I'm the same way with one caveat: If I'm doing something with friends and socializing I can just keep rolling. But yeah, I was playing Batman AC last night and after a an hour or two I was just done with that.
Bogart, if you want I will re-read Hamlet just to refamiliarize myself with the specifics of each scene and will give you a full essay by next week on why a five hour stage production is completely unnecessary to tell the tale of Hamlet.
As a side note, Ian McKellan's "Acting Shakespeare" is really awesome, since not only does he go through the process behind how he delivers the famous "Tomorrow, and tomorrow" soliloquy from Macbeth, and then delivers it, but he also does a hilarious bit where he delivers it in the overblown, weirdly-accented, presentational style that it would have originally been delivered in during Shakespeare's lifetime.
There is a story about Patrick Stewart returning to stage work either shortly after or during the production of TNG. He was appearing in a Shakespeare play - I forget which one - and he was sat in a throne of some sort. As he stood up he tugged on the bottom of his shirt (as he would often do as Picardo n TNG) and the audience erupted into cheers.
He vowed never to touch his clothing on stage again.
Most people don't even understand Hamlet. It's a very dark tragedy, but it's also one of Shakespeare's funniest plays.
I saw a "futurized" version of it where everyone was dressed up as jedi monks and wielding lightsabers but they left the text and diction alone. The fight between Laertes and Hamlet was truly something.
I was quite familiar with the play and everyone else in the half-packed theater was just stone cold silent while I was in the back laughing my ass off. Not just at the temporal shift but there is so much hilarious dramatic irony in a well-done production of Hamlet.
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MyDcmbr, thank you for consuming a caffeinated drink for my benefit. I'm sorry it didn't work out.
To clarify where I'm coming from, a lot of classrooms handle them that way. They're not read as plays. The teachers assign acts like chapters to read overnight and you discuss the next day. It's terrible.
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They are pretty hilarious to read.
Midsummer Night's Dream was a pretty great read as well in all honesty.
Yes, that's my point. 95% of all film and stage representations of Hamlet are trimmed down extensively. As far as I'm concerned, the crux of Hamlet can be communicated by eliminating certain parts of the play. While every scene relates to the text, it's not necessary to produce all of it for a staged or filmed representation to tell roughly the same story.
By estimating the maximum length of time I can sit watching my favorite play without wanting someone to jam an icepick in my eye.
Well yeah.. how else would you teach it?
Although we also spent time reading it in class so we'd have people picked for parts for an act or a couple of scenes and they'd say their lines and whatnot.
I remember having a lot of fun with plays in school.
And would murder to see a production of rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead.
When I was at Cambridge the main show quite often started at 7 and went on till 10.30 with a 15 minute interval because I used to stick around and go to the 11pm 1 hour play/footlights show.
The flaw here is with your attention span.
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And I love Rick Moranis.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1122775/
No, I understood where you were coming from. I think that method of teaching and discussing a play is fine. Devoting class time to acting out/reading aloud a play is useful as a single exercise, maybe, but not necessary and is rather wasteful in my opinion.
Assigning a play as reading material doesn't magically turn the play into a book. It's not a book. Unless, by "book," you literally meant "something the teacher makes you read at home." Which is not what "book" means.
I saw Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan do that a couple of years ago. They didn't suck.
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who would want to watch patrick stewart yak on a set for five hours when you can see him blow up seven motherfucking temporal anomalies
You have obviously never seen him do Shakespeare. The man is simply breathtaking.
A problem to us specifically. Question asked was "do you think there are too many muslims in norway?" and "Do you think islam is a threat against norwegian culture?"
Although less people said "yes" in norway than in a lot of other west european countries.
In fact, I think if aliens or God were set to arrive on earth and I had front row tickets I'd start to get antsy around the three hour mark. If God or Z'lthronkian III were taking questions, I'd raise my hand and ask "can we maybe speed this up a little bit?"
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I'd say the flaw is with everyone else's attention span.
I'm the same way with one caveat: If I'm doing something with friends and socializing I can just keep rolling. But yeah, I was playing Batman AC last night and after a an hour or two I was just done with that.
it's a piece by Wayne Barlowe, who did some uber-creepy illustrations of hell
this one is from Sargatanus: http://waynebarlowe.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/barlowe_sargatanas.jpg?w=653&h=969
Again I say unto thee wut? What kind of drawling Shakespeare adaptations are you going to?
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Our teacher had us read the play right before we all went to actually see it. Facepalm'd so hard.
then pretended to read while doodling all over the pages we got.
He vowed never to touch his clothing on stage again.
As for McKellen... well, there's this:
I...am probably crazy, but do those grey shapes in the upper-right resemble the Minbari Cruisers to anyone else?
I saw a "futurized" version of it where everyone was dressed up as jedi monks and wielding lightsabers but they left the text and diction alone. The fight between Laertes and Hamlet was truly something.
I was quite familiar with the play and everyone else in the half-packed theater was just stone cold silent while I was in the back laughing my ass off. Not just at the temporal shift but there is so much hilarious dramatic irony in a well-done production of Hamlet.
I am 6.2
I mostly notice when other dudes are taller than me, which isn't often
and most guys seem about my height
which I guess makes sense as most men are
...
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I think the arrow saying "yoink!" is the most interesting part of that graph.
What is wrong with you.