Shakesfearean Characters (Visual Aid)

A scene from Django Unchained that reminded me of King Lear, when one of the characters gets his eye's plucked out. Pretty gruesome!

A scene from the movie The Monster Squad that got me the idea of what Caliban from The Tempest would look like. "My name is Horace!"

 A scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream with Nick Bottom transforming into a donkey.

 A scene from The Grudge. I want the same effect with Lavinia, but instead of a jaw-less girl with a tongue hanging out. It will be Lavinia without a tongue!   

 A scene from The Ring. I want Ophelia to have the same effect that The Ring Girl gad in this movie!

A scene from Zombieland. I want Yorick to be like the Zombie Clown. 

"It's time to nut-up or shut up!"

The scene from Richard III that inspired me to have ghosts!

A mix up from Romeo & Juliet and The Walking Dead episode. Juliet Comes back as a Walker!

A scene from Hamlet. I think Ophelia sing this song would be creepy!

Sleep No More

While I was emailing a variety of Shakespeare companies, I received over a handful of positive responses and possible working with a number of them. One of which from NY talked about a Halloween event called "Sleep No More". He told me that it was loosely based on the play Macbeth. I decided to look it up on Youtube and this is what I found:

After watching this, I thought this would be perfect for entertainment before getting spooked! People would be sitting in the theatre and watch a dance number while they're waiting to enter the dark basements of the theatre!

Shakesfearean Characters

So far these are the main Shakesfearean Characters that will help in the main event! More are still on the way!

Zombie Shakespeare: The Host and Greeter for Shakesfeare!

Titus Andronicus: A blood thirsty cook!

Juliet: A presumed dead problem!

Nick Bottom: A transformed stubborn "Jackass"!

Puck: A mischievous hob goblin!

Hamlet: A vengeful killer gone rogue!

Lavinia: Hands off! She is a speechless dame!

Ophelia: A suicidal princess drowning her sorrows!

Lady Macbeth: There's blood on her hands!

Macbeth Witches: Hags with double the trouble!

Richard III: I have a hunch he's a sly dog!

Richard III Ghosts: A horde of Richard III's bloody past!

Yorick: A bone-chilling court jester back from the dead!

Ariel: A shape-shifting charmer!

Caliban: Half witch, half devil... all trouble!

Demetrius & Chiron: Defilers and murderers!

Julius Caesar: A stab in the dark!

My Nightmare is Slowly Becoming a Dream!

During Spring Break 2013, I was following almost every Shakespeare Company I could find on Twitter. While doing so, I was emailing all the Art Directors and Managers and telling them about my idea for the event called "Shakesfeare"! Upon doing so, I've various compliments and the idea and even had responses saying that they would love to work with me!

Here are what some of the Shakespeare Companies have said regarding my idea:

"I'll bookmark your email for future reference..."

"I really like this idea and would like to chat more with you about it ... [I] would love to find a time, perhaps, in late April."

"Sounds like a great idea."

"Sounds like a cool idea ... send me a reminder in May, I'll forward it to our graduating members. There may be some interest."

"...your approach to Shakespeare plays is certainly novel."

"It sounds like this is exactly what you were trying to do by pulling the "fear" out of Shakespeare!  We have a tradition of putting on spooky Shakespeare plays around Halloween (and usually even a show at midnight on Halloween) where we don't shy away from gore, guts, or goblins!  It would be great to meet with you when you finish up the semester and see if there is anyway we could work together.  We are always looking for exciting people who are interested in joining our team and helping us spread our mutual love of the Bard's word."

Needless to say I had a very positive and effective Spring Break! I can't wait to meet these people!

Kill Will: Costume 1 & 2

When I was talking to Scott Philips about my idea with "Shakesfeare", we began talking about how else we could get money. We thought of costume contests!
When there's a movie premier that is popular in the pop culture, fans of a particular franchise want to dress up as their favorite characters.

Now you're probably wondering why I'm calling this idea "Kill Will: Costume 1 & 2". Well firstly "Will" is obviously short for "William". I also wanted  this phrase to transition from the movie "Kill Bill: Volume 1 & 2".

When I thought of the phrase "Kill Will", I wanted to find a way for this phrase to work with my event. Then one of my favorite quotes from the movie "Dumb & Dumber" came to mind, "KILLer boots man!" With this quote in my mind,  when people see a 'cool' costume they normally say, "That costume is KILLing it!" With that being said, "Kill Will" will be a costume contest!

You're probably wondering, what's with the "Costume 1 & 2". Allow me to explain it to you. Same transition with "Kill Bill: Volume 1 & 2".

When you walk into the event to pay for your ticket, if you have a Halloween costume, you can get in cheaper. In this adaption the "Costume 1" will refer to a normal Halloween costume, but it has to be a legitimate costume, you can't just ware a shirt that has a Batman sign on it, or say that you're an extra in a movie! That just won't fly for Costume 1!

"Costume 2" is the same thing, but in order for you to get in the event even cheaper, You have to dress either from the Shakespearean era or as a Shakespeare character from the play!

This will be perfect for people to get clever with their costumes! If they want to save money for this event, they will need to get to know Shakespeare plays even more!

Shakesfeare T-Shirts

Shakesfeare T-Shirts

 

Now who doesn't like T-shirts? You can collect them, ware them and they help you remember that specific event that you went to. My initial idea is to have the "Shakesfeare" at the top and have the iconic "Zombie Shakespeare" in the center. My other idea that I want to take happen is have scary Shakespeare quotes on the back of the T-Shirt! Here are some ideas that I have picked out:

"Something wicked this way comes!"

 --Macbeth

"There is something rotten in the state of Denmark!"
 --Hamlet

"I shall grind your bones to dust..."
 --Titus Andronicus

"Beware the Ides of March!"
 --Julius Caesar

"One pound of flesh!"
 --The Merchant of Venice

"I am feared in field and town!"
 --A Midsummer Night's Dream

 "Bloody thou art, bloody shall be thy end!"

 --Richard III
"A plague o' both your houses!"

 --Romeo & Juliet
"Hell is empty and all the devils are here!"

 --The Tempest
"...the spirits of the dead may walk again..."

 --
"I can call spirits from the vasty deep."

 --
"And ghosts did shriek and squeal about the streets!"
 --
"Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble!"
 --Macbeth
"thus with a kiss I die"
 --
"These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triump die, like fire and powder
Which, as they kiss, consume"

--Rome & Juliet
"To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more;..."
--Hamlet

"In time we hate that which we often fear."
--Antony & Cleopatra

Needless to say the list is endless...

Movies and Books That Have Inspired Me!

Obviously the Shakespeare plays, but I'm going to focus the inspiration  on other types of media that will be discussed in this post. So... here it goes:

Inspired Characters

 1-Gremlins, The Monster Squad, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit- Mostly because Gollum and a bunch of other creatures remind me of Caliban from the Tempest.
2- The Grudge- The Grudge Girl reminds me of the character Lavinia from Titus Andronicus.
3- Warm Bodies- The two main characters would work perfectly for Romeo & Juliet.
4- Hocus Pocus, The Witches- The 3 witches from Macbeth.
5- Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber Fleet Street, Hannibal Movies, The Midnight Train- The story an characters reminds me of Titus Androncius from the play that is under the same name.
6- The Ring- The Ring Girl reminds me of Ophelia from Hamlet.
7- Wolfman- The wolfman transformation would work perfectly with the character Bottom from A Mid Summer Night's Dream.
8- Th13rteen Ghost, The Sixth Sense- The ghosts from Richard III.
9- The Woman in Black, Stay Alive- The scary women in these movies would work very well with Lady Macbeth from Macbeth.

Suspense/Thriller

The Scream Movies, Saw, I know What You Did Last Summer, Wait Until Dark, Urban Legend, Zodiac, Se7en and  Signs.

Zombies

 Zombieland, Shaun of the Dead and The Walking Dead.

Haunted/Ghosts

 Paranormal Activity's Movies, The Cabin in the Woods, The Amityville Horror(2005), 1408 and House of Haunted Hill.

Slapstick/Pun/Humor

Tucker and Dale vs Evil, So I Married an Axe Murderer and Beetlejuice.

Books

John Dies at the End, Thinner, The Dark Tower Series, Locke and Key Series, World War Z, The Walking Dead Series and the American Vampire Series.

You Mean I've Been Quoting Shakespeare This Whole Time?

This is an article that I found from this website:
http://www.folger.edu/documents/You%20Are%20Quoting%20Shakespeare.pdf

YOU ARE QUOTING SHAKESPEARE

This activity works best with younger children. Have the group gather in a circle on stage and

read in order of the numbers on the cards. It helps for you to hold on to a complete script.

Prompt the students to join in for the ―all‖ phrases: ―You are...‖ ―QUOTING SHAKESPEARE!‖)

Have they heard these phrases anywhere before?

1. If you cannot understand my argument, and declare ―It’s Greek to me,‖

ALL: you are quoting Shakespeare!

2. If you claim to be more sinned against than sinning,

ALL: You are quoting Shakespeare!

3. If you recall your salad days,

ALL: You are quoting Shakespeare! 

4. If you act more in sorrow than in anger,

5. If you wish is father to the thought,

6. If your lost property has vanished into thin air, 

ALL: You are quoting Shakespeare!

7. If you have ever refused to budge an inch

8.or suffered from green eyed jealousy,

9. if you have played fast and loose,

10. if you have been tongue tied,

11. a tower of strength,

12.hoodwinked, or in a pickle,

13. If you have knitted your brows,

14. made a virtue of necessity,

15.insisted on fair play,

16. slept not one wink,

17, stood on ceremony,

18.danced attendance (on your lord and master),

19.laughed yourself into stitches, given something short shrift, had cold comfort,

22. or too much of a good thing;

23. if you have seen better days,

24.or lived in a fool’s paradise

25.why, be it as you may, the more fool you,

26. for it is a foregone conclusion that you are,

27.as luck would have it,

ALL: Quoting Shakespeare!

28.If you think it is early days and clear out bag and baggage,

29. If you think it is high time,

30.and that that is the long and short of it,

31. if you believe that the game is up and that truth will out,

32.even if it involves your own flesh and blood;

33. if you lie low until the crack of doom

34. because you suspect foul play;

35. if you have your teeth set on edge (at one fell swoop),

36. without rhyme or reason;

37. then, to give the devil his due,

38.if the truth were known

39.for surely you have a tongue in your head,

ALL: You are quoting Shakespeare!

40. Even if you bid me good riddance and send me packing;

41. if you wish I was dead as a doornail,

42.if you think I am an eyesore,

43.a laughing stock,

44.the devil incarnate,

45.a stony hearted villain,

46.bloody minded or a blinking idiot, then

47.by Jove!

48.O Lord!

49.Tut, tut!

50.For goodness’ sake!

51. What the dickens!

52. But me no buts!

53.Tis all one to me, for,

ALL: YOU ARE QUOTING SHAKESPEARE!