Rosalind: They say you are a melancholy fellow. Jacques: I am so; I do love it better than laughing. Rosalind: Those that are in extremity of either are abominable fellows. Shakespeare's As You Like It I have always known that I am partly melancholic. Melancholics are deep thinkers and feelers; they look for happiness in the worth and truth … Continue reading The Problem of Melancholy
Shakespeare
The Curse of the Scottish Play
Good to be back in the saddle! Last weekend was our performance of Macbeth. We spent all summer working on it. The road was hard, especially the last two weeks. My job was to pull together props, costumes, makeup, backdrops and a few last-minute casting decisions… I lived a few days of dread, and a … Continue reading The Curse of the Scottish Play
Desire
My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man That function is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is but what is not. ~Macbeth, Act I, Scene 3 ____________ Desire Sometimes, you look around and realize that you are content. You have a good family, a job, friends, “golden opinions … Continue reading Desire
Assume a Virtue
Let’s look at what we said last week from another angle: Shakespeare. Queen: Oh Hamlet, Thou hast cleft my heart in twain. Hamlet: O throw away the worser part of it, And live the purer with the other half. Good night, but go not to mine Uncle’s bed, Assume a virtue, if you have it not. Refrain … Continue reading Assume a Virtue