Look what just fell into my lap! Open Mic Shakespeare The Burren Somerville, MA September 11, 2010 4pm FREE I did this (well, attended) once, a couple of Shakespeare’s Birthdays ago. Not this event, specifically, but an Open Shakespeare Mic Night. A great time! If you’re in the neighborhood, come check it out. If my social director (i.e. wife) tells me we’re free and can swing a babysitter I’ll almost certainly be there. If you can’t be there, feel free to answer this question: Given the opportunity to do an open mic Shakespeare performance, what would you perform?
Free Will : Open Mic Shakespeare
I think I'd do the "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech. I feel like I could generate a lot of emotion from that without professional rehearsal.
I'd do Richard's big monolog from 3 Henry VI. "Can I do this, and cannot get a crown?/ Tut, were it farther off, I'll pluck it down." It's pretty much Richard III's supervillain origin story. 😉 The best part is that everyone is familiar with the character, but not many people know the play, so I'd be able to introduce them to something both new and familiar.
Tough call, but I think some Richard II would be nice, "Let us sit upon the ground"
Alexi: Great choice. If not the best, one of the best "bad boy" monologues he ever wrote. And while "playing the chameleon", you could show versatility from the same play and back to back do Henry's "O God methinks it were a happy life"-another of my favorites.
"Friends, Romans, countrymen . . ." Because it absolutely drips with ironic demagoguery.