Brush up your Shakespeare
Start quoting him now
Brush up your Shakespeare
And the women you will wow…
— from Kiss Me Kate
SAN DIEGO — Every actor needs to keep some Shakespeare in his pocket for auditions. They must speak their speeches “trippingly on the tongue” (Ham 3:2) making Elizabethan iambic pentameter sound like their natural cadence. And every year, for the past eighteen years, the San Diego Shakespeare Society has presented Celebrity Sonnets in which eminent performers present verse from the Bard. On Monday, Oct 7, 2019, devotées and newcomers came out to the Old Globe for Sonnets and Speeches: A Celebration of Shakespeare’s Women.
(Full disclosure: As a member of this society and judge of their student festival, any criticism is tempered by my devotion.)
Author Richard Lederer, former host of A Way With Words, got the ball rolling with an original sonnet of his own in homage to Jonathan McMurtry who has traveled to “that undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns.” (Ham 3:1) Jonathan was a giant of San Diego’s theatre community, a frequent performer of Shakespeare as well as a friend and mentor to many.
As delightful and exuberant as ever, Marion Ross (best known as the mom on Happy Days) graced us with Sonnet 74. With deep local ties, Marion is an Associate Artist at the Old Globe and an alumnus of SDSU with a scholarship named in her honor.
Monique Gaffney voiced her discontent at having to follow Marion Ross. But far from being outshown, she held her own as Phoebe in As You Like It in a delivery that was smart, sassy and funny as Monique is known to be.
Changing hats from critic to performer, Jazz 88’s Pat Launer portrayed Adriana in Comedy of Errors in her characteristic vocal clarity and acerbic wit. Julia Giolzetti of the Off-Broadway Drunk Shakespeare Society gave a powerful speech against the capricious wrath of tyranny as Pauline from A Winter’s Tale, showing that our words can be both timely and timeless.
KUSI news anchor Sandra Maas hadn’t read Shakespeare since high school and had to google what a sonnet was. But she held her own giving Rosalind’s closing speech from As You Like It, demonstrating that you don’t have to be an erudite, classically trained actor to do Shakespeare. After all, nobody in Shakespeare’s company had an MFA either.
The society has a following, but of course there’s always room for more. They host monthly readings of his works as well as the Student Shakespeare Festival every spring. Plus, there are lectures by scholars and even debates for a bookish intellectuals’ night out.
In the past, I’ve seen more participation by student groups and I hope to see more in the future. Bringing new generations on board, Ledor v’dor is how we keep it going. As they’ve expanded the theme to include Sonnets and Speeches, it would be fun to call it “Shakespeare Showcase” by including scenes, songs and some stage combat, making for a more dynamic presentation.
And with that, “I drink to the general joy of the whole table” and bid you adieu. (Mac 3:4)
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Eric George Tauber is a freelance writer who specializes in coverage of the arts. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com