Submit to my Shakespeare literary magazine!

The Wikipedia page on Richmond, Virginia describes an extensive history of important theater in that city going back to Colonial times. Including Shakespeare. You might work up a little sheet or pamphlet outlining this history. With a full description of earlier Shakespeareans there. This puts your efforts into a historical framework.

I would stop thinking and start doing. I would advocate you getting a crusty expert on delivery down there, put him up in your house, and have him train the daylights out of any people old or young who want to know how to do this.

"This" is presenting what Shakespeare wrote. Not thinking about it. I know, I know, you can't escape making decisions about what and how to do that, but you get the idea. The stuff itself.

Do a lot of googling of "Skakespeare" so you are master of every project anybody ever did to bring S to the masses and the school kids.

Look around, physically. Identify an architecturally charming and traditional looking interior near you. Maybe a lobby. Maybe a library. Get permission to start rehearsing there and get your Old Crust going with a few volunteers. People will come like flies to honey to peer past the casually placed screen, when they hear him hollering the grand language. LET THEM. The attempt at privacy is fake. You WANT them peering and gathering. People love to peer at what they are not allowed to see. Much more than sitting in lined up seats and passively listening.

Have Crust take a break and start ordering appropriate-looking people into the cast. Most will go along with this.

One week to talk about it, distribute parts, get familiar with the material, explain hard words. At the end of that week, a read through. Week two, scene work and blocking. Week three, in costume, more run-throughs. Week four, you are performing. That's right, you got three weeks rehearsal. Swim or die. Four weeks performance. Three performances a week.

During those four weeks, the next play is in preparation according to the above schedule.

"Around the year (not just two months in the summer), Around the canon (not just the more famous plays), Around the corner (try for mobility to many schools and lobbies so the whole city can have convenient performances near where they live).

And use oldsters, crazy people, ugly people and anybody who can yell.

Your main task is to teach people to yell. No mikes. Yell nicely without straining their voices, clearly.

The early performers were hog-callers.

But cast conventionally. Keep to gender and age when casting.

Shopping Bag Shakespeare. There are two people and they are assigned a shopping bag. One is the character, and the other is the dresser and assister and rehearsal coach. Then, they switch. Both can do both. Say, two similar-looking women. They are each other's Shakespal.

The atmosphere should be "let's get this up". Like a team sport. Not about the individual star.

/r/shakespeare Thread