Shakespeare is a name that inspires horror in many a student. It’s all “please read Act X Scenes LIV through WQ and compare and contrast the punctuation to the last chapter of Ulysses.”
No.
Screw that.
Shakespeare rocks.
There’s a pretty good reason the old Bard’s been kicking around so long. The condition is commonly known as awesomeness, and despite the best attempts of many high school teachers, a cure is far away. Just straight-up going to see a live production is the best anti-vaccine available.
Reading Shakespeare plays instead of seeing them is like proudly showing off your stuffed Chihuahua and telling everyone how much fun you have playing fetch together.
There is something real about reality. Odd how that works. For all that involves people bouncing around in ridiculous costumes and speaking words no one would ever speak, live theatre is pretty good at reaching into the lizardy parts of your brain and saying: I’m a person, and I’m here, and you’re a person, and you’re here. And these people, this drama, this shouting and spitting and loving, is happening here. Now.
That can make all the difference in the world.
And Shakespeare is, well, Shakespeare. Lots of plays tell tales of love and death and people getting randomly attacked by bears. The dramatic arts have drama. But Shakespeare’s magic is in language. The trot and weave of the words in these old plays makes music. The words bounce with happiness in one scene and in another echo as the bits and sounds of the words themselves form a cry of despair no matter how quietly they are spoken.
Look, I’m writing this when the school’s Macbeth hasn’t opened yet, so who knows if it’s good or not. But, even if it’s a trainwreck of HOW DO I BARD, that shouldn’t be a discouragement. Theatre is everywhere, wherever you go. Community theatre can be great and a lot of larger companies have cheaper tickets for people under 30. Or at least student discounts. Theatre is a thing that can happen.
Come on, Let’s see some Shakespeare.