An Evening with Shakespeare...

Ophelia

World Poetry Day came and went without much of a fanfare. March 21 was held in awe by many as the first (or second) day of spring leaving poetry to hang out under the waning gibbous moon. I know I kept a poem in my pocket on that day and lit a candle in my garden to celebrate. I am not alone in these celebrations, yet most do not know of this wonderful day.

World Poetry Day was founded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1999 in Paris. The first celebrations were held in the year 2000 and we have been celebrating ever since.

I love that a national organization realized the importance of poetry in our lives. As you know, I grew up with poetry. My dad loved poetry, and we spent hours learning and memorizing verses of poetry. “Keep them in your pocket,” he said. Not only do I keep them in my pocket, but I share my love of poetry wherever I go. I am naturally curious about the beginnings of poetry. Where and when did it start? With a little research I found one of the first poems to be written almost 4,000 years ago. The title, “The Epic of Gilgamesh.” With a little help from the Yale University Press, I learned that this poem was written on clay tablets. It was written in Mesopotamia which is now Iraq and Syria. Of course, it is a love story. There is no author to thank for this remarkable piece. That has been lost to time.

I do start each class with a poem, unless there is not time. Last week one of my students caught me and said, “Hey, you forget the poem today.” Yes, I did. I made up for it by grabbing “Do Not Go Gentle Into the Good Night” by the Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas. I read poetry to my lovely troupe on opening night…all opening nights. I read Emily Dickinson’s poem about how it will never come again. And that is so true.

If I haven’t lost you yet in my history of poetry, stay tuned for a lovely event on April 17^th! Following our Edgar Allan Poe night at the Cline Museum, I was asked by the board if I would do another night of poetry. That is like asking me if I want another piece of chocolate cake. Of course, I will.

In years past I have read Shakespeare on the square in front of the Brokaw. Once I started with the theatre, that went by the wayside a bit. Now a new event has emerged, “An Evening with Shakespeare,” at the Cline Museum. I gathered my theatrical friends including Jan, Jacob, Amy, and others to see if they were interested. Of course they were. On that night we will be reading pieces from Shakespeare’s most famous speeches and narratives. Jacob and Jan are preparing, “To be or not to be.” Other pieces include “Romeo and Juliet,” “King Lear,” and “Hamlet.” I am working on a soliloquy of Ophelia from “Hamlet,” act 4, scene 5.

The other day I was given a bunch of old theatre scripts from Dr. Brad Jopek, our new music director at Trine. It was a box full of treasures, and with my own show in full production, I barely had a chance to look them over. However, my eye caught one that I just adore. “When Shakespeare’s Ladies Meet” is a wonderful short script written by Charles George in 1942. It is a dialogue between Juliet, Portia, Cleopatra, Ophelia, and Katherine…all leading ladies in Shakespeare’s plays. I have a feeling that parts of that script will end up in our show.

We are very excited to share our love of Shakespeare with you on April 17 at 7:00 at the Cline Museum. This will be presented by members of the community theatre and sponsored by the Steuben County Historical Society. We would love to see you in the audience! Maybe you want to read a sonnet or help out? Let me know…I will definitely find something for you!

Poetry is just another way to celebrate the beauty of life. Poetry brings us together as in act 3, scene 5 in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “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 my opposing, end them.”