Stratford Festival 2017 Photo Comics (part 2)

It's "Stay Sane September"! That means I'll be sharing some of my "greatest hits" from social media and Patreon to keep you entertained while I take the month off in order to avoid burnout, take some theatre trips, and get caught up on various tasks and projects that I have been neglecting. 

Today's installment features MORE photo comics cobbled together from the Stratford Festival's official production photos, starting with HMS Pinafore:

Next up, Twelfth Night:

Then it was time for Treasure Island:

Next up was an ultra-modern Tartuffe with an ultra-modern script by Ranjit Bolt. 

Anyways, that's all for now! Tune in Thursday for another "Stay Sane September" installment!

Upcoming Events

September 28: Cincinnati Museum Insights Lecture

WHO: Me! Again!
WHAT: Talk followed by Q&A on the development of Good Tickle Brain and approaches to making Shakespeare accessible to new audiences. 
WHEN: Thursday, September 28, 7:30pm
WHERE: The University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
WHY: Because they have a cool Shakespeare exhibit going on right now! 
HOW: Reserve a FREE ticket at the Cincy Museum website!

Iamb What Iamb

It's "Stay Sane September"! That means I'll be sharing some of my "greatest hits" from social media and Patreon to keep you entertained while I take the month off in order to avoid burnout, take some theatre trips, and get caught up on various tasks and projects that I have been neglecting. 

Today's installment features two iambic pentameter-themed bonus comics drawn for my $5 supporters on Patreon. 

I apologize for nothing.

Every time I seen an uncapitalized "lambic" I get really excited until I realize it's beer. (I'm not a big drinker.)

Thanks to my supporters on Patreon (from whence I re-appropriated these comics) for helping me continue to develop Good Tickle Brain! For $5 a month, you'll get bonus comics like these every week!

Upcoming Appearances

September 28: Cincinnati Museum Insights Lecture

WHO: Me! Again!
WHAT: Talk followed by Q&A on the development of Good Tickle Brain and approaches to making Shakespeare accessible to new audiences. 
WHEN: Thursday, September 28, 7:30pm
WHERE: The University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
WHY: Because they have a cool Shakespeare exhibit going on right now! 
HOW: Reserve a FREE ticket at the Cincy Museum website!

Stratford Festival 2017 Photo Comics (part 1)

It's "Stay Sane September"! That means I'll be sharing some of my "greatest hits" from social media and Patreon to keep you entertained while I take the month off in order to avoid burnout, take some theatre trips, and get caught up on various tasks and projects that I have been neglecting. 

Today's installment features some comics I put together during my trip to the Stratford Festival two weeks ago. I deliberately didn't take my computer so that I wouldn't be able to work. However, once I got there I found myself wanting to document my theatre-going, so I downloaded all the official production photos, ran them through a basic comic app, and here they are.

First up was Timon of Athens, which I previously saw 13 years ago, when I was far too immature to appreciate this famously hard-to-appreciate play. Here's how it unfolded:

While I'm still not particularly fond of the play itself, I thought this was a great production - very clear and comprehensible, with excellent acting, especially by Joe Ziegler, who managed to somehow make me not lose all interest in Timon once he slid to the "UNRELENTINGLY BITTER" end of the spectrum. 

I then saw Thomas Middleton's The Changeling. This was my first Middleton (not counting his possible collaborations with Shakespeare) and it was a doozy:

This was an intense play. I'm struck by how very different Middleton feels to Shakespeare as far as the language and characterizations are concerned. It all feels much more melodramatic, with the result that I empathize less with the characters involved, but enjoy all the horrible, over-the-top atrocities that occur. 

Next up was Romeo and Juliet. We all know how this one goes, right?

Confession: I'm really really really sick of Romeo and Juliet. It's just done ALL the TIME, and it's always pretty much the same, and you can't seem to get away from it. However, this production managed to rekindle my interest in the play, thanks primarily to the ludicrously engaging performances of the two leads, Sara Farb and Antoine Yared. 

Finally, I saw The Breathing Hole, a new play commissioned by the Stratford Festival. It goes like this:

I really loved this production, and not just because the bears are ADORABLE and PERFECT and LOVELY. Apart from the bears (who were adorable and perfect and lovely), my favorite scene was one in which two Inuit hunters meet and try to communicate with British explorer Sir John Franklin and his crew. It was perfectly written and acted. 

Anyways, that's all for now! Tune in Thursday for another "Stay Sane September" installment!

Upcoming Events

TOMORROW: September 6: Stratford Festival Forum - Willy Shakes: Fanboy

WHO: Me! And also Conor McCreery of the Kill Shakespeare comic book series.
WHAT: Panel discussion on Shakespeare in pop culture and graphic novels. Part of the Stratford Festival Forum series of events. 
WHEN: Wednesday, September 6, 10:45am
WHERE: Chalmers Lounge, Avon Theatre, Stratford, Ontario.
WHY: Because they asked me! 
HOW: Buy tickets at the Stratford Festival website. 

September 28: Cincinnati Museum Insights Lecture

WHO: Me! Again!
WHAT: Talk followed by Q&A on the development of Good Tickle Brain and approaches to making Shakespeare accessible to new audiences. 
WHEN: Thursday, September 28, 7:30pm
WHERE: The University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
WHY: Because they have a cool Shakespeare exhibit going on right now! 
HOW: Reserve a FREE ticket at the Cincy Museum website!

Jaques

It's the question on everyone's lips.... HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE "JAQUES"?

Don't forget the poor second Jaques in As You Like It, the deus-ex-machina man himself, Jaques de Boys. 

Upcoming Appearances

September 6: Stratford Festival Forum - Willy Shakes: Fanboy

WHO: Me! And also Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery of the Kill Shakespeare comic book series.
WHAT: Panel discussion on Shakespeare in pop culture and graphic novels. Part of the Stratford Festival Forum series of events. 
WHEN: Wednesday, September 6, 10:45am
WHERE: Chalmers Lounge, Avon Theatre, Stratford, Ontario.
WHY: Because they asked me! 
HOW: Buy tickets at the Stratford Festival website. 

Taking September "Off"

I've got a very busy September coming up, so instead of new comics I'm going to be posting some filler material taken from past social media posts and some of the bonus comics I share with my supporters on Patreon. It will hopefully (a) still be fun for all of you, and (b) allow me to take the time to get the rest of my year's tasks and projects in order without having a nervous breakdown.  Thanks for understanding! 

The Good Tickle Shoppe, with all its objectively awesome merchandise, will remain open for business, although orders placed between September 4 and September 11 won't ship until September 12. 

Shakespeare Quotes for Rock Climbers

When I'm not drawing Shakespeare comics or going to the theatre, I am often found at my local rock climbing gym. I love rock climbing, and whenever I love something, I tend to mash it together violently with other things that I love. And so here we have...

I had to tweak a couple pronouns here and there, but otherwise those are all very real and applicable quotes. Try them out the next time you're climbing!

Upcoming Appearances

September 6: Stratford Festival Forum - Willy Shakes: Fanboy

WHO: Me! And also Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery of the Kill Shakespeare comic book series.
WHAT: Panel discussion on Shakespeare in pop culture and graphic novels. Part of the Stratford Festival Forum series of events. 
WHEN: Wednesday, September 6, 10:45am
WHERE: Chalmers Lounge, Avon Theatre, Stratford, Ontario.
WHY: Because they asked me! 
HOW: Buy tickets at the Stratford Festival website. 

Taking September "Off"

I've got a very busy September coming up, so instead of new comics I'm going to be posting some filler material taken from past social media posts and some of the bonus comics I share with my supporters on Patreon. It will hopefully (a) still be fun for all of you, and (b) allow me to take the time to get the rest of my year's tasks and projects in order without having a nervous breakdown.  Thanks for understanding! 

The Good Tickle Shoppe, with all its objectively awesome merchandise, will remain open for business, although orders placed between September 4 and September 11 won't ship until September 12. 

Crocodile Danedee

The bear in The Winter's Tale gets all the glory, but there are actually many underrated animals in Shakespeare. Three of my favorites are in Hamlet: the beaver, the porpetine, and... the crocodile!

I would love to see a production of Hamlet where Laertes and Hamlet duel with live crocodiles instead of swords. Just putting that out there...

Upcoming Appearances

September 6: Stratford Festival Forum - Willy Shakes: Fanboy

WHO: Me! And also Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery of the Kill Shakespeare comic book series.
WHAT: Panel discussion on Shakespeare in pop culture and graphic novels. Part of the Stratford Festival Forum series of events. 
WHEN: Wednesday, September 6, 10:45am
WHERE: Chalmers Lounge, Avon Theatre, Stratford, Ontario.
WHY: Because they asked me! 
HOW: Buy tickets at the Stratford Festival website. 

How "Measure for Measure" Should Have Ended

After I did my "How Much Ado About Nothing Should Have Ended" comic, I stopped to think about what other severely problematic endings there are in Shakespeare's canon. It turns out (unsurprisingly) that there's a lot of them! Here's how I'd fix Measure for Measure's ending:

Poor Isabella has SUCH a rough time, and is given such a rough time by everybody for prioritizing her religious convictions (i.e. not agreeing to sleep with Angelo) over the life of her brother. And then what happens at the end? The duke is all "EVERYTHING IS SETTLED, YOU'LL MARRY ME NOW, IT'S ALL GOOD".

To be fair, he leaves the question marginally more open than that, but he is the DUKE, and it's super-hard to say "no" to a Duke. Her response to his proposition is deafening silence, and how she actually reacts is up to interpretation. 

"Burn in all down" is just my interpretation...

Upcoming Appearances

September 6: Stratford Festival Forum - Willy Shakes: Fanboy

WHO: Me! And also Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery of the Kill Shakespeare comic book series.
WHAT: Panel discussion on Shakespeare in pop culture and graphic novels. Part of the Stratford Festival Forum series of events. 
WHEN: Wednesday, September 6, 10:45am
WHERE: Chalmers Lounge, Avon Theatre, Stratford, Ontario.
WHY: Because they asked me! 
HOW: Buy tickets at the Stratford Festival website. 

Shakespearean Vocabulary, part 5

Time to once again check in with Shakespearean Vocabulary, my ongoing series looking at Shakespearean words that don't necessarily mean what you think they mean.

"List" is a fun one. It crops up all over the place. Make sure you LISTen for it the next time you see a Shakespeare play. (SEE WHAT I DID THERE??)