Saturday, January 16, 2010
Theatergoers Chase All the Works of Shakespeare and Others
NYTimes.com: "Theatergoers had various reasons to attend the recent opening night of “The Two Noble Kinsmen” by a small New York company called the Guerrilla Shakespeare Project. Some were lured by the play’s tale of two Theban soldiers. Others were friends of the cast or crew, or were there for the free Trader Joe’s sauvignon blanc."
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7 comments:
First, what an incredible accomplishment- seeing all 38 (39) full length Shakespeare productions. I can say that I enjoy Shakespeare, but i would not attempt to follow productions of his work to the extent that this couple did. It is a very interesting phenomenon, the completists. One has to wonder what you gain from such an experience. I believe seeing all of a playwright's productions onstage gives someone who is attempting to be a scholar on that author a significant advantage. This is because these playwrights were writing for their work to be staged. Those who have read and studied the work of these playwrights, and call themselves scholars of such, are still lacking in one area- that of seeing the productions in their true form. That is why these completists have an advantage.
These stories border on obsession, but the devotion of these die-hard devotees is rather heartwarming. Although the Monachs specifically note in the story that they really love Shakespeare, I wonder if at any point the hunt becomes tedious or if you even would be seeing shows only for the purpose of getting the checkmark on your list. And inevitably every playwright has to have at least one bad play. If someone has the money, the time and the access to do this, I say go ahead. But beware pitfalls and boring nights ahead.
Before reading this, I never thought about how difficult it would be to see all the works of a particular author. I think the most challanging aspect of this for those who would want to try this is the fact that some plays simply aren't produced nearly as much as others, people tend to be more drawn towards the "familiar". As the article points out, some of Shakespeare's plays are rarely produced. I think it is interesting that the article has quotes from people who have varied motivations for trying to be completists, instead of trying to define the kind of person who would do that.
I think that it's great that some people go to such lengths to see one author's entire list of works, especially when some plays are so obscure and rarely produced anymore. And especially if you're trying to see all of Shakespeare's works. Not that he wrote more plays than anyone in history, but some of them are hardly ever performed anymore, so you would have to be very dedicated to find productions of some of his more obsucre plays across the country and across the world. It's one thing to read all of one author's plays, but plays are meant to be seen and experience not read, and I think it shows a true love for theatre to go and see all of one author's plays. It will be interesting to see which of our more contemporary playwrights will be followed so closely in the future.
To follow up on Brian's comment, I don't think this would become tedious at all. In fact, if you're at true Shakespeare fan, I think the thrill would only increase with each production. It's a bit like that movie Julie and Julia, where Julie sets out to cook every recipe in her Julia Child cookbook. The experience proves to be rough, but in the end she receives a sense of satisfaction that is completely priceless. If you have a joy for anything, becoming a scholar on that subject is one of the greatest feelings I have ever experienced, personally. Taking pride in the smaller things never loses it's excitement, no matter how many big things happen in one day. I'm a fan of this article, for sure, and I'm contemplating on setting out on a similar task. Maybe I should make it a point to see every Shakespeare show before I die...
This is a very interesting story, as I was unaware that there is a group of theater fans that knowingly seek out every play produced by their favorite playwright. It is one thing to enjoy a playwright's work, and watch a show of their's when it is in town. This is a new level of devotion altogether. What I wonder is how many plays this couple has seen outside of Shakespeare's works, and how many of Shakespeare's pieces have they seen multiple times?
It's really interesting read about these various people going around and seeing all the plays of their favorite playwright. I think it's a great thing to do. It reminds me a lot of being in love with a great music band, scouring the internet and record stores for that one single or EP that so you can have all that bands songs. It takes you to new places and unique venues as you search to complete your collection of in this case, plays seen. It's a great thing to do to really get to know the entire work of a playwright, and seeing all the individual plays gives people a unique perspective, and allows them to see patterns and other nuances in works that others might miss. Overall, a very cool thing to do.
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