Via Twitter I hit up a couple of celebrities (one of whom follow me back!) to see if I could get them to mention Shakespeare on the air (they are both currently on television daily). I don’t expect much from that one, but hey, you never know what catches people’s attention :). Had my daughter’s sixth birthday party this weekend, and made sure to tell any parents that would listen about the local Shakespeare show coming to the library this week. Also, while at the market I made sure to point out the posters to my kids loudly enough that fellow shoppers could hear. “Look kids, there’s Daddy’s poster for the Shakespeare show at the library this week!” Who else? (I know some folks commented on the original Friday post. Consider this followup a guilt trip for those that read that post and didn’t pimp Shakespeare at all this weekend :))
Wow! Your twitter-celebrity-idea is absolutely great! Hopefully, the celebrity will really mention the bard on screen.
I really enjoyed your little assignment and therefore I went a step further than trying to get a kitten named "Shakespeare" (see original post): I am having my farewell party next weekend (I'm moving to London) and I told everyone that they'll have to recite a Shakespeare quote in order to get in. This way, I managed to have 50(ish) people getting in touch with Shakespeare and, as I hope, taking some time choosing a quote which really suits their personality!
I'm really curious about which quotes they will choose and I desperately hope that there will be no NotByShakespeare moment. 🙂
Hmmm, does complaining to my family about the casting of Russel Brand in the new Tempest movie count?
Yes, that was my plan B too, Duane. I was thinking about very, very famous quotes ("All the world's a stage" or "nothing will come of nothing" and things like that) and maybe some people will then have some kind of epiphany: "Oh, that's Shakespeare? Didn't know that!"
It was an unfortunately timed mission for me; I spent all day Saturday in Stratford-upon-Avon seeing a pair of Tragedies, then all day Sunday at the Globe theatre seeing a pair of Histories. Shall we try again next weekend?
Only if you explained why, Elizabeth :). That reminds me, I've shown my kids the pictures that are going around. It's fun to hear children look at movie posters and ask, "Ok, so, which one is Trinculo? That must be Stefano, then," when you know that most of the near adults out there that only know Russell Brand from MTV couldn't do that much. 😉
Great idea, Katja, but I hope you don't end up with a very small but well-studied going away party!
Fallback plan : Have a set of lines at the door and when somebody shows up who thought you were kidding, make them recite something on the spot.
Haha! King Lear and Romeo & Juliet at the RSC, and Henry IV 1&2 at the Globe. Lear was excellent if a little confused in places, R&J was the best production I've seen of the play with the only likeable Romeo I've ever encountered, and the H4s have had me grinning like a loon since I first saw this production in July (I have a Histories bias 😉 ). Incredible Falstaff, and the rest of 'em ain't bad either. Definitely buy the DVD when it comes out!
I did just receive a brilliant comment on my personal blog though, from someone who doesn't really know Shakespeare but loves reading about my excitement because it gets her all enthusiastic in turn. So I consider this mission an inadvertant success and shall keep spreading the word! 😀
I'm sorry, Weez, but I'm going to need you to turn in a written essay on what you saw and what you thought :). Which plays? How was it?
The mission is an ongoing one, you're always allowed to talk up our favorite Bard, any day of the week, and report back.
Sounds great, Weez – want to share the link to your blog? If you're talking about Shakespeare on a regular basis, and getting some conversation going, I want to know about it 🙂