The First Folio

Having a backstage pass to the Shakespeare Library in Stratford has its advantages. #1 is getting to see one of the 200 (or so) surviving copies of The First Folio (Historians believe somewhere between 700 and 1000 were originally printed in 1623). We treated it like the Holy Grail--you should have see the 12 of us oohing and aahing over this delicate, beautiful book. Seeing it up close and personal was also a fairly big deal because of the recent excitement circulating the globe about the recovery of the Durham First Folio in Washington, D.C. Here's a link to the story if you aren't familiar :-) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7502893.stm. As our historian told us at the Library, "it's been SUCH an exciting weekend around here!" Gotta love it.

In all seriousness, the Shakespeare Library in Stratford is INCREDIBLE. Shakespeare lovers unite. They have a wealth of resources, performance pictures and programs, prop books, critical materials, play reviews...it goes on and on. In addition to getting to see The First Folio (which I have to say is a gorgeous book), we were able to see pictures of some of the most famous Shakespearean performances and actors, each described by both the resident historian and Miriam. Their enthusiasm over the Hamlet production of 1978 or The Taming of the Shrew set in 1997 couldn't help but make us fall in love with the Shakespeare magic. There is SUCH a tradition of innovative, thought-provoking performances that inspire audiences to reconsider the plays in new ways...it really did confirm both the genius of Shakespeare and his living tradition. Our visit will forever be one of my favorite memories.

After lunch, we had the priveledge of sitting down with Mark Hatfield, who played Puck in RSC's production of Midsummer a week ago. Our hour conversation with him included his vision of his character (a goblin who desperately wants there to be order in the universe simply because he wants to be the one to disorder it), the relationship between Oberon and Titania, the role he mosts wants to play (Richard III because he is the perfect combination of a comic and historic figure), and how the actors and directors initially decide what the production is going to look like. I loved how they did it this time: Everyone involved in the production sits around a table with the text in front of them. They go around the table, each speaking a line (not necessarily "his" or "her" own part) until a section of a scene has been covered. The director stops the reading and then initiates a conversation on what images, tones, and word meanings everyone envisioned in that particular section. They also reference multiple editions of the play to get different editors' interpretations. Hatfield said this process took 3 WEEKS for the Midsummer cast--they didn't really even get to practice their own parts until a month into rehearsals. I have so much respect for quality Shakespeare productions now. So much thought goes into every decision.

After our intimate discussion, a few of us headed to Holy Trinity Church in Stratford--Shakespeare's grave site. We saw his baptism and death documented in the church records, and we also got to see the gravesite of his wife, Anne, and his daughter, Susanna and her husband. We all wondered where Judith, his only other surviving child, was buried. Being there definitely made us want to know more about his familial history. Unfortunately, there are very few facts known about his personal life.

We then headed to Miriams's house for tea and class on Taming of the Shrew. Although we had a very revealing and challenging discussion on the play, it still didn't prepare us for what we were going to see that evening at the Courtyard. Wow. Again, it deserves a seperate posting. Very disturbing. Anyways, we discussed the play for a few hours and then headed to dinner (we ate WELL yesterday). Ali, Jesse, Terry, and I went to Hussein's for Indian food and it was delicious--it totally hit the spot. By the time 7:00 rolled around, we were on our way to the theatre for another incredible night.

For more pictures of the First Folio and our day in Stratford, check out the slideshow of Week 2's pictures.