Hamlet to Hamilton: Exploring Verse Drama
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© Hamlet to Hamilton: Exploring Verse Drama
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Why write like Shakespeare...when you could write like you? Exploring old verse and new, H2H seeks to provide free education to all those looking to write, perform, or teach verse drama, as we continue to make "new Shakespeare plays" for everybody Shakespeare *didn't* write for!
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And now for something completely different:
H2H is partnering with the Beyond Shakespeare Company, and this time we're pleased to present the BSC's full audio cast production of "The Harrowing of Hell" - one of the very first Anglophone verse dramas, from around 1250 CE.
We'll be back soon with the beginning of the Tudor period as we continue to explore the history of English drama. In the meantime, you can listen to our exploratory session with this text and other Medieval dramas in S4 E1: the Earliest English Verse Drama: http://www.hamlettohamilton.com/s4e1.html
Beyond Shakespeare: https://beyondshakespeare.org/
We're at our Season 3 finale! Looking at how to use poetic imagery and poetic techniques to enhance your verse drama...or to ruin it. (Bless you T. S. Eliot, for showing us what not to do.) We're looking at how Shakespeare succeeds (Antony and Cleopatra) and fails (Romeo and Juliet) at using poetic imagery, as well as how T. S. Eliot uses poetic techniques well in his poetry (Four Quartets)...aaaaand not so well in his plays (The Cocktail Party). PLUS! You get to hear Emily laugh for a full minute, before attempting her version of a very posh British accent for good old Eliot's work.
Up next, we're going to be offering you various interviews from contemporary verse dramatists, before we jump into Season 4, which will look at the evolution of the history of Anglophone verse drama from the Medieval Ages through to the closing of the theatres in the 1640's. That's in conjunction with the brilliant Beyond Shakespeare Company podcast, so check them out while you're waiting for S4 to drop!
Website: http://www.hamlettohamilton.com
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
We close out our exploration of creating character through line breaks by looking at Sir Gawain from The Table Round and The Siege Perilous by our own Emily C. A. Snyder. We're breaking down how a character can go from complete end-stopped thoughts, to open-ended insecurity, as well as how caesura and broken lines can define a character's arc. Strap in as we look at one character...and then tell us how you're using line endings, caesura and schwumpf in your own work!
PLEASE NOTE: Sir Gawain suffers sexual coersion and two of his speeches touch briefly on his feelings as he puzzles out what he experienced. These are flagged during the episode, so that the listener can skip if they prefer.
Read the texts: http://www.hamlettohamilton.com/s3e15.html
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/hamlettohamilton
Let's look at some hyper contemporary verse to see how line endings are used in some Broadway and Off-Broadway plays. We're delving into Lucas Hnath's A Doll House, Pt. 2 and Jeremy O. Harris' Slave Play to see how enjambment and end stopped lines work when we're not in iambic pentameter.
(Note: Fear not! Although Slave Play contains difficult material, there is no content warning for this episode as the portion quoted is a neutral and not charged speech. Phew!)
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
Website: http://www.hamlettohamilton.com
We're sitting down with the woman herself: Monica Cross sits down with us to chat about character building through line endings. We're looking at an early modern play and one of Monica's works in progress that makes Hero the heroine of Much Ado About Nothing.
Monica Cross Online: https://monicaatcross.wixsite.com/theroaringgirl
Monica Cross Twitter: https://twitter.com/theroaringgirl
Monica Cross on New Play Exchange: https://newplayexchange.org/users/1040/monica-cross
Website: hamlettohamilton.com
Patreon: patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
How do you discover your character through the use of line breaks when writing verse? We're starting a mini-series on that very question, thanks to some great insight from playwright, Monica Cross. In this episode, we define five different dramatic reasons why a line ends (end stopped, enjambment, silence, stage direction and interruption), and we start looking at primarily end stopped lines. We also contrast King Arthur in Arthur Phillips' The Tragedy of Arthur, compared to King Henry V in William Shakespeare's Henry V. (And Emily goes nuts over good poetry.)
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
Website: http://www.hamlettohamilton.com
Monica Cross Twitter: https://twitter.com/theroaringgirl
Monica Cross on New Play Exchange: https://newplayexchange.org/users/1040/monica-cross
We've talked about the basics of writing soliloquy...but how do you find your character's voice? In this episode, we look at T. S. Eliot's idea of the "Three Voices of Poetry," as well as examining Abigail Thorn (of PhilosophyTube)'s brilliant use of breaking iambic pentameter in her new verse play, "The Prince." BONUS! Emily guides you through exploring prosody. How do you feel about iambics? Trochees? Anapest? What rhythms do your characters speak in?
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
Website: http://www.hamlettohamilton.com
Prosody (metric rhythms): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_(prosody)
Eidetic.
Adetosic.
Stichic.
Protean.
Morphic.
What the *hell* do all these words mean?
What are they and how do they work?
How might they interact with the concepts we dug into last week: schwumpf and uvriel?
Colin asks Emily all of this and more in another installment of SHAKES NOTES. Join us in finding out the answers AND, for free, get a dose of fascinating conversation on much more than *merely* verse drama!
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
Website: http://www.hamlettothamilton.com
Season Three we're talking about soliloquy! We've covered how Shakespeare has used soliloquy, but we can learn so much more from how musical theatre employs soliloquy. From Howard Ashman's iconic "I want" song, such as in The Little Mermaid, to the much-anticipated "double soliloquy" such as the final number of The Last Five Years, we've got some fun ideas for you writers out there.
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
Website: http://www.hamlettohamilton.com
In Season Three, we're looking at soliloquy! For the conclusion of our look at Shakespeare's use of soliloquies, we turn to the meta-theatrical soliloquy, from Bottom playing Pyramus to Hamlet declaring that the play is the thing.
Sure, we know that Characters can perform Soliloquies...but what happens when those Characters "play Characters?"
We're talking about kangaroo pocket dimensions. We're talking about that one time an Elizabethan actor punched an audience member. We're talking about meta-theatrical soliloquies!
Support: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
Website: http://www.hamlettohamilton.com
We're hitting pause on our look through Shakespearean soliloquies to take a moment to share our latest discovery! With the inspiration of Kyara Hunter, a Masters student at the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, we're bringing to you the idea of another type of formatting:
Bullet Formatting
What's this? How is it different from verse or paragraph? And how do Abbot and Costello use it in their famous "Who's on First?" routine?
Picture: Abbot and Costello "Who's on First?" - Kate and Petruchio in Gaudete Academy's "Taming of the Shrew" (2010) - "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" at the Old Vic
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
Website: http://www.hamlettohamilton.com
In our continuing Season Three deep dive into soliloquy, we have come at last to "madness" in soliloquy. We'll be taking a look at King Lear from Lear, Lady M from Macbeth, and Ophelia from Hamlet.
CONTENT WARNING: This episode does discuss disassociation, and historically misguided views of "madness" and "hysteria." There is also mention of suicide as it pertains to the plots of Shakespeare's plays.
What happens when we look at these soliloquies through the eyes of the actors? How do what we'll call "disassociative" soliloquies function in a play? What makes them different from the cut or drift soliloquies we see in Macbeth? And how can we do better in our own contemporary writing?
Learn more: http://www.hamlettohamilton.com
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
You've heard about Peter Oswald's plays...now hear from the man who directed those new verse plays at the Globe! That's right, Colin and Emily sit down to chat with none other than the Artistic Director of the Shaw Theatre, Tim Carroll. (And a note from Colin: definitely listen to the end of the episode to hear one of the most heartening pieces of advice for every theatre artist and person we've yet committed to audio.)
In this interview, we'll chat about the Barton/Hall Royal Shakespeare Center approach to text, the experience of directing and collaborating on new verse (such as Peter Oswald's The Golden Ass starring Mark Rylance at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre), and so much more.
http://www.hamlettohamilton.com
http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
Season Three we're studying soliloquy! This week we look at the villain soliloquies. Or the, "this is what I've done, am doing, will do" soliloquies. Or the, "I've already got a plan and am letting you in on it" soliloquies.
How can you differentiate your villains (or go-getters)? How can you keep a character's personality in tact when they're giving exposition? We look at some Shakespearean characters to see how the Bard failed, and eventually succeeded. Take a walk with us as we compare Richard III (Richard III), Iago (Othello), Edmund (King Lear), Don John (Much Ado About Nothing) and Petruchio (The Taming of the Shrew).
Learn more: http://www.hamlettohamilton.com
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
Season Three, we're talking about Soliloquy. Last time, we saw Hamlet's "Classic Soliloquy" - where a character pours their heart out on stage. This time, we're rolling through Macbeth's soliloquies...which aren't quite what they seem. Learn four new ways to write soliloquy by listening to Macbeth. Including:
1) Cut Soliloquies - Where the speaker "cuts away" from the action of the scene
2) Drift Soliloquies - Where the speaker "drifts away" from speaking to someone to not caring if they're overheard
3) Apostrophe Soliloquies - Where the speaker conjures a person, scene, or object (dagger, anyone?) to "speak to" in soliloquy
4) Villain Soliloquies - Where the speaker turns to the audience...and reveals their dastardly plan! Exposition, baby!
But how do you write them? Give a listen to find out.
Show Notes and Texts: https://www.hamlettohamilton.com/
Verse Types: https://www.hamlettohamilton.com/what-is-verse.html
Support: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
Season Three is taking a deep dive into soliloquy. And where better to begin by strolling through Hamlet's Seven Soliloquies. How does "To be" measure up? Should Shakespeare have used a different type of verse? Should soliloquies be performed to yourself or to the audience? How great is the TV show Sling and Arrows? All this and more as we look at that role and peasant slave, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.
Show Notes and Texts: https://www.hamlettohamilton.com/
Verse Types: https://www.hamlettohamilton.com/what-is-verse.html
Support: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
We know that poetry isn't the same as verse...but have you realized that prose isn't the same as paragraph form? Even more exciting: we've identified four different types of verse, all of which perform differently on the stage! It's a doozy of an episode, but enjoy this deep dive into what verse drama can do.
Show Notes and Texts: https://www.hamlettohamilton.com/
Verse Types: https://www.hamlettohamilton.com/what-is-verse.html
Support: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
The patrons have voted, and in Season Three we will be exploring how to write and perform soliloquies! In today's episode, we begin by defining what a soliloquy is, how it's different from a speech, a monologue, and address...and whether Hamlet ought To Be Or Not To Be alone on stage.
Show Notes and Texts: https://www.hamlettohamilton.com/
Support: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
You may know our guest Peter Oswald from his translation of Schiller's Mary Stuart, but we're here to chat with him, in this latest installment of our "Bar(d) Talk" series, about his time as the first new verse dramatist at Shakespeare's Globe, writing for no less than Mark Rylance. But Oswald's verse career didn't stop there: he's been finishing Schiller's unfinished verse plays, as well as writing more original pieces of his own. Here he talks about the highs and lows of being one of the first authors to kick off our current 21st Century Renaissance of contemporary verse drama.
Like what you hear? Consider supporting us on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
Season Three is kicking off with an Unhinged Rant about the plays of T. S. Eliot. Strap in for a wildly biased, barely scholarly, totally unhinged rant from Emily C. A. Snyder. Hide the kids, and get out your popcorn.
The first two Unhinged Rants will be available for all listeners from your favorite podcatchers. To access all the Unhinged Rants, become a patron on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton
Today's Unhinged Rant focuses on Eliot's view of his three major plays, Murder in the Cathedral, The Cocktail Party, and The Family Reunion. The text used is On Poetry and Poets, essays by Eliot about...well poetry and verse drama and writing and other writers and things. It's a very good read. Even if Emily's copy is full of angry marginalia putting a certain poet in his place, TOM. Book: https://www.amazon.com/Poetry-Poets-FSG-Classics/dp/0374531978
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