Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the tag “theatre”

29 Jan 2024
4 Comments

Just Another Streamer


I grew up with movies being a big deal. Going out to the movie theater was a special event involving dressing up and best behavior. Stars like Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Streisand, and Gregory Peck graced the screen. Bugs Bunny cartoons opened the show and it wasn’t unusual to have a double feature with “B” film sometimes being better than the main movie. Theaters had only one screen, with two floors, complete with balconies. There were even smoking rooms and crying rooms for babies. I really aged myself there, didn’t I?

Velvet plush seats—no cup holders—very retro

Of course television changed access to movies, which changed how we watched movies. Then VCRs, DVDs, Blu-Ray and now streaming has all but obliterated the theater experience.

I held out for the theatre experience for the longest time. Going to matinees with my girlfriends, then moving on to boyfriends, and finally creating my own family outing.

Then the movie experience changed. People used to watching movies at home brought that casual attitude to the theater. Talking, feet up on the seat backs, and don’t get me started about phones during the show.

“Let’s wait for the DVD,” became the going phrase in our house. Plus, we like those special features. As discs gave way to streaming I remained hesitant, especially since it involved paying for a service that I might not use enough to justify. Besides, I can check out free DVDs at the library.

No more little envelopes in the mail

Then my phone carrier offered free streaming for two major companies. “Why not?” The problem is that there are hundreds of choices. Selecting a movie has gone from one of several up on the marquee or grabbing a couple off the library rack to an involved decision-making process that can take longer than watching a movie. There is also the issue of internet connection cooperation.

I admit I haven’t been in a theater for over three years. I still have an AMC gift card from 2019. I’ve become just another streamer and I am not sure if that is considered evolutionary progress.

Simple question: do you prefer the theater experience for watching a movie or appreciate watching from the comfort of your home?

Posted in America, Family, Films, humor, Reflections and tagged , , ,
20 Aug 2022

Bard Bits: Playing with Propaganda


Today’s playwright might fear a bad review if a play doesn’t meet the critic’s choice, but if Shakespeare blew a play he faced a fearsome critic: The Queen, QEI, and then later a king, James I. A monarch for a main critic could involve more than a “We are not amused” commentary (okay, that was Victoria, not Elizabeth). It could have involved being hanged, drawn, and quartered. A bad review takes on new meaning, in that regard.

Photo by Katarzyna Modrzejewska on Pexels.com
Plays were the cat’s meow in the 1600s

The Master of Revels, as jolly as a title as that sounds, was a fearsome critic. His duties included scrutinizing all plays for possible slander against the royalty. He had the power to remove any possible line that hinted trouble. In fact, the monarchy was to be presented in the best possible manner. That might explain why QEI’s father, King Henry VIII, a rather notorious fellow, is presented more decently than not in the Henry plays by Shakespeare. The man not only knew how his bread was buttered, Shakespeare was consciously aware of the knife in the butter dish.

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No one, not even the Bard, could knock Henry off his horse

Shakespeare took advantage of how the 1600s was moving from Latin being the language of literature to that of English. His puns, sonnets, banter, and general wordplay, which gave double meanings to many of his words, helped establish England’s identity as a country whose people could have a bit of fun with the language and keep a straight face–something seen throughout the ages with the likes of Monty Python and long lasting shows such as Dr. Who.

Shakespeare followed the dictates of his monarchs and his country’s tastes, which is why his plays have disparaging lines about foreign aspects, particularly concerning the French. While snide lines might have been popular in his time, they tend to ruffle and offend as time moves on.

Playing with words amounted to Shakespeare fashioning some propaganda to suit the need. Shakespeare not only moved words around to move the audience, he moved his nation to be one established as possessing wit and a respecter of language, although in his heyday he tended to play with propaganda.

So, a question pops up: is Shakespeare still “…not of an age, but for all time,” as Ben Jonson once said? With more emphasis on cultural, social, and political awareness, are some of Shakespeare’s plays, and even sonnets, facing censure?

Are his plays to be taken with a grain of salt as a reflection of his period or just plain taken off the reading list?

Posted in America and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
23 Sep 2021
7 Comments

Bard Bits: Time to See a Play


Photo by Monica Silvestre on Pexels.com

Let’s return to school for just a moment. Did you study any of these plays as a student?

  • Romeo and Juliet
  • Julius Caesar
  • Macbeth
  • King Lear
  • Hamlet
  • Taming of the Shrew
  • Midsummer Night’s Dream
  • Othello
  • The Tempest

Now, let’s take a quick quiz. In what order do you think the plays were presented?

Here’s some appropriate music to play in the background while you are thinking. Thinking–not consulting Siri or Googling your request.

Ready?

Here is the dated order (per scholarly agreement):

Romeo and Juliet: 1593-96

Julius Caesar: 1599

Macbeth: 1606

King Lear: 1606

Hamlet: 1600

Taming of the Shrew: 1590

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: 1595-96

Othello: 1604

The Tempest: 1611

While these are not always studied in schools, most people are familiar with them. According to the list Romeo and Juliet would be among his earliest plays, along with The Taming of the Shrew The Tempest among his last. Going from the consequences of hasty decisions and dysfunctional families to prolonged revenge definitely showcases how Shakespeare was able to present a range of human emotion during the span of his stage career.

Posted in Reflections and tagged , ,
22 Mar 2017
2 Comments

Bardinator Mission


Tuesday, over one hundred teens experienced live theatre for less than the cost of a latte. For $2.00, a group of middle schoolers and high schoolers decided to take a break from class for one hour and invest in Shakespeare. 

The Shakespeare Festival troupe travels around the state performing for students and this year’s play was A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I think it important students experience live theatre. It’s such a radically different experience than watching a film. That connection with the actors as live drama enfolds right there in close proximity is such an invigorating, unique experience. 

I almost feel it’s my mission as a Bardinator to encourage as many students as possible to see Shakespeare performed. He was never meant to be read from a textbook, or watched as a movie. That’s one reason the acting troupe advertises the event as Shakesperience. Experiencing Shakespeare as performed theatre should be a requisite of education. 

Currently it’s a once a year option and it’s a tough sell to get students to buy a ticket, to invest in a memory that costs less than their daily caffeine candy in a cup.

Last year the audience was barely fifty students. A few years ago we used to have double performances with a full house of 250 each.  It makes me wonder if trying to infuse culture on our campus is a lost cause. This year’s jump in attendance gives me hope. And I will continue to make the arrangements for the yearly visit (even though I vow to not do it again).

I shall prevail. After all, as it’s been said, “the perchance to dream.” And Tuesday’s performance showed students that life is but a dream. A magical one they will remember for a long time.

Image:libbeybowl.org

Posted in education, Reflections, Shakespeare and tagged

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