The Asheville Shakesperience

Well, "The Asheville Shakesperience" closed tonight and it's all very sad. I really believe that it is far and away the best show of the Montford Park Players' season thus far (but here comes Faustus!). I really was quite a thrill to be involved with this singular sensation, this amazing and innovative show directed by a first time director! The amazingly talented Julia Cunningham! For those of you who don't know, the first act consisted of a series of Shakepearian scenes, all of which were introduced with Sonnettes (Mini-Sonnets, Bite/Fun Size Sonnets, etc.) which introduced the characters and story. I will be posting these for your reading enjoyment later in this post. Please be forgiving, these show some of my earliest experimentation with iambic pentameter. I am very glad I got up the courage to tell Julia that I was in fact now writing in blank verse, in case she needed some sort of prologue or some other piece of extra writing. It has been great exposure for my work, and many people have complimented me on my work. And many thanks to the wonderful cast, who always made me sound good.

AS YOU LIKE IT
As You Like It is an important lark,
Twas first in Asheville, first at Montford Park.
Two girls have run away from home past dark,
Fearing their father slash uncle's loud bark.
But one of their boyfriends has follow’d quick,
And the other one knows and plays a trick.
So she does tease her friend like a wood tick.
Rosalind doesn't know, her heart's lovesick.

OTHELLO
Othello, great Shakespeare’s most wrong-ed moor,
Was told by Iago his wife was whore.
Desdemona and Othello by score,
Were great lovers with passion seen ne’er more.
Yet somehow Othello believed this lie.
By seeing handkerchiefs stole by and by,
The moor did know an answer he must try.
Tragedy’s over, and someone must die.

HAMLET
To love, or not to love, that is his question.
Lord Hamlet falls into deep depression.
Father’s ghost has taken a possession,
And now poor Hamlet lost his discretion.
But what of Ophelia, his sweet flame?
In his fury, will he treat her the same?
What piece will move in Hamlet’s mad chess game?
The Bard’s great master work, we now proclaim.

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
Petrucio has come to seek a wife.
In Padua, his partner is in life.
But wives do not come without some small strife,
And so, he plays a trick, with lute and fife.
This does bring him near to what he pursue,
But the wife whom he seeks is quite the shrew.
But he has plans to make her now subdue,
For the Taming of Shrews, he's one cool dude.

HENRY V
If you have seen some theatre in this town,
You might have seen an actor of renown.
Jason Williams! Whom we all love and crown,
An awesome friend will speak to all around
A speech he loves, of King Henry Five’s fight,
Where the score o' his men is not quite right,
Numbers are small and his lords would take flight,
Henry will prove that his passion has bite.

ROMEO AND JULIET
Oh Romeo and Juliet’s love sweet,
Has enchanted large crowds that theatres greet.
Of all the scenes that players bark and tweet,
There is one scene that we all think is neat.
Since having locked their eyes for the first time,
And finding there the bells of love that chime,
To find at last the love e’er so sublime,
Romeo his love’s balcony does climb.

LOVE'S LABOURS LOST
The twinge of love a Spaniard now does feel.
In turn, like us, he wonders if it’s real.
And so in time his happiness does steal,
Until wiseness is his only brain meal.
He thinks that he is wise as a great sage,
But will be shown a fool soon by his page.
The loves of great men from old will they gage,
Love's Labours Lost will now be seen onstage.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
In Midsummer Night's Dream they show a play.
Perform'd by blue collars, who worked with clay,
and were called mechanicals, for their way.
Community theatre for Shakespeare’s day.
But like so many who have gone before,
When trying to show great love’s tragic lore,
They accidentally create much more.
Come see the tragedy, and laugh until sore.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
In Much Ado About Nothing we see
A pair of lovers who never agree
And love to spite the other with so much glee
Great wordsmiths of Shakespeare’s you will agree
But knowing the sweet buds of love are there
Their friends set traps to make them both aware
And through the ploys of the character’s prayers
They will swap their cat fights for loving stares

Hopefully, I will soon be able to announce full details regarding the reading of a few local original plays, so keep your fingers crossed. I'll be posting what I still need soon on facebook.

Heigh, ho!
Nathan.