Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Minecraft Style
Fight choreography via teleconference. As You Like It @steelcityshakespeare
Toasting Shakespeare at the Bard’s Birthday Bash
Organized by Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Park.
Carolyn’s Theater Bio for Prime Stage’s The Outsiders (Mar 6-15)
Actor biography sample Program bio example
Shakespeare's Will
“I don’t view Shakespeare’s work as intimidating anymore.” — midterm reflection from college freshman
“It has made me more confident in myself, and I don’t view Shakespeare’s work as intimidating anymore.” –freshman student reflecting on the first half of my “Shakespeare in Context” course. In lieu of reading comprehension quizzes, I have students post informal responses. They respond to an orientation lecture and each act of the play as…
Saint Crispin’s Day Speech from “Henry V”
Dennis Jerz performs the famous speech proclaimed by the titular king before the Battle of Agincourt, from William Shakespeare’s “Henry V.” (WAOB Audio Theatre)
Preview of “The Fantasticks” (thanks, Tribune-Review, for covering the arts community)
For Luisa, Jerz’s character, “the world is still a magical place, full of epic characters and situations and — above all — romance.” She says the audience should like Luisa and care about her, not wanting the world to hurt or change her. A fun show to perform “‘The Fantasticks’ music is uniquely beautiful, and…
Me (glares in iambic pentameter)
Me: I need to post the opening lecture for my online Shakespeare class. Also me: I should compose it in blank verse. Me (glares in iambic pentameter): Also me: O for a Canvas of fire, to surpass The farthest distance of instruction. SHU tech is cool, but can a Macbook hold A seminar discussion? Can…
Your Brain on Shakespeare
Fast-paced, articulate cast shines in Viking-themed Othello
I saw my first Food for Groundlings show this weekend. It won’t be my last. I see a lot of theater, and am used to seeing professionals here or there stutter or jump a line. But the actors in Othello at CCAC Sunday night really impressed me with their mastery of Shakespeare’s verbiage. Desdemona in…
Set Phasers to Teach!
Fans of Star Trek have thus already been introduced to the plays of William Shakespeare, and experienced intertextual analysis in action as the aforementioned Star Trek episodes directly relate to Hamlet and Henry V. The same can be said of the motion picture The Wrath of Khan, which portrays Ricardo Montalban’s villain as a futuristic Captain Ahab from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.…
Because Internet: the new linguistics of informal English
I’m planning to begin my online Shakespeare class with commentary on how it’s a good thing that language changes, so that students will (I hope) see the effort they will need to put into understanding English from 400 years ago as part of the process of engaging with a living language, the same process that…
Quantum’s King Lear at Carrie Blast Furnace
The girl and I were thrilled to catch Quantum Theatre’s outdoor production of King Lear. The smell of a storm in the air, gusting wind, piped-in industrial sounds (metallic groans and rumbles) and the knowledge that the only reason we were able to get tickets was this was a special add-on performance to make up…
Laughter and Light Abound in Prime Stage’s “Twelfth Night”
Kudos to Prime Stage for a Twelfth Night that truly sings. Stage director Andy Kirtland has created a lovely adaptation of Shakespeare’s 1601 comedy. A vibrant intimacy connects the players and audience, supporting a wonderful production that’s superbly enjoyable for both those who know this play and for anyone experiencing Shakespeare for the first time. Kirtland transports an ensemble…
PICT PROUD: PICT actress Carolyn Jerz takes on Viola in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
PICT PROUD: She’s appeared on our stage in “Jayne Eyre,” “The Merchant of Venice”, “Oliver Twist” and “Great Expectations.” Not once, not twice but three times she’s won the Shakespeare monologue contest at Pittsburgh Public Theater. Now she is starring in Twelfth Night at Prime Stage. We are so proud of Carolyn Jerz! —PICT Classic…
First Day in the Theatre for Twelfth Night (May 3-12)
Daughter: (is sad her “first day in the theatre” post got fewer likes than her “felt cute” post) Me: (makes this meme)
‘Twelfth Night’ is a Shakespearean hoot, and Prime Stage actors Carolyn Jerz, Malcolm MacKenzie, and Dana Babal have their hootin’ duds on. (photo courtesy of Prime Stage Theatre)
Why is Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night enjoying a new wave of popularity? Perhaps real life has become so bizarre that no contemporary comedy can match it, so we have to go back 417 years to find one. Anyhow, the play has been turning up on schedules regularly, and now Pittsburgh’s Prime Stage Theatre is doing Twelfth Night. This comedy…
Prime Stage Theatre Makes A Statement With Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”
For Carolyn Jerz, who plays Viola in Prime Stage Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the Bard runs in her blood. “My dad is an English professor at Seton Hill University and he teaches a Shakespeare class,” she says. “So from a very young age he would just tell me whatever his students were learning in…
Prime Stage presents ‘Twelfth Night’ as season-ending production
Looking forward to seeing this! Set in the colorful world of Portugal and enhanced by traditional Portuguese fado music, “Twelfth Night” follows Viola as she disguises herself as a page boy to find her twin brother, but finds herself at the center of a love triangle, Prime Stage says. The oft-quoted line, “If music be…