7-23-09 Cultural Opportunity

Last night was great, seeing Shakespeare under the stars. I have wanted to go every year, but could never find anyone to go with me. I should have used the same technique Stephanie used to get her husband to join us. There were so many ages represented there, in addition to our class.
Before the play started I sat thinking about how many people have seen it performed since it was written in the 1590's, and the amount of times a director has taken "liberties" with it. For instance, last night with the Cajun accents. That to me is a big liberty, and even though I was told beforehand that they were doing it that way, I found it more difficult to understand the actors than if they would have had an British accent. Maybe if everyone would have had the same accent I could have become accustomed to the rhythm of it. The set in Bloomington reminded me of stories I had heard in High School about the famous "Theatre". I'm sure they didn't give out cushions for their seats in 1596. This is supposed to be one of Shakespeare's most popular works. I wonder if that is because it is a comedy. One would suppose that even in the 1500's that people needed a little comic relief in their week. The costumes, even though not elaborate were very creative and well done.