theatre

When Minimal Isn’t Enough

12.16.2013 Minimal

Minimalism isn’t about having or doing the very least. It’s about having or doing things simply, when simple is best. I enjoy simplicity, but I also dearly enjoy extravagance and blowing the top off when it’s called for. You can watch a movie on your phone, but in my opinion you are not practicing minimalism […]

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The Higher Calling Of Art

10.07.2013 Art

I am an artist. I am a writer and playwright. My two daughters are artists. One is a musician and the other a painter. I know many artists at many different stages of their development. When I hear an artist bemoan the fact that they can’t make a living doing their art I understand what […]

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Writing Assignment: Review A Shakespeare Play

03.01.2013 Theater

I’ve had fun writing this week’s series, “Brush Up Your Shakespeare.” Now it’s time for you to do some writing. Writing reviews is a more difficult task than most people think. Everyone has an opinion about the things that they see. But that doesn’t mean that they have the ability to think critically about plays […]

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Brush Up Your Shakespeare: Understanding The Funny Bits

02.28.2013 Books and Literature

Even in the darkest Shakespeare plays you’ll find some very funny stuff. Take, for instance, the gravedigger scene in Hamlet. I’m betting if your English teacher tortured you with Hamlet you completely missed it and sailed right on to “Alas poor Yorick.” The gravedigger scene comes right before that. Some productions cut it out, but […]

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Brush Up Your Shakespeare: First Learn About Elizabethan Stagecraft

02.27.2013 Books and Literature

I’ll admit that many of you will think this next advice far too much work, but bear with me a moment. I don’t believe that you can understand Shakespeare by reading his plays without first learning about the business and performance of the theater of his time. I stand by my earlier advice  and I’ll […]

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