{"id":539,"date":"2016-06-21T18:42:05","date_gmt":"2016-06-21T18:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/?p=539"},"modified":"2020-03-21T03:11:35","modified_gmt":"2020-03-21T03:11:35","slug":"you-know-youre-a-shakespearean-actor-when","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/you-know-youre-a-shakespearean-actor-when\/","title":{"rendered":"You Know You’re a Shakespearean Actor When…"},"content":{"rendered":"
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You Know You’re a Shakespearean Actor When…<\/h3>\n
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Written by Ashleigh Gardner<\/p>\n

June 17, 2016<\/p>\n

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Like me, if you know and\u00a0love, love, love\u00a0<\/em>The Bard, you’ll find yourself nodding your head at most (if not all) of these.<\/p>\n


You have a list of Shakespeare\u2019s plays with three categories you are <\/span>dying<\/span><\/i> to check off: Read It, Seen It, Performed It.<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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Your eye twitches when people pronounce \u201cwanton\u201d like \u201cwonton.\u201d<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You catch people staring at you when you count the syllables of Shakespeare\u2019s iambic pentameter on your fingers repeatedly while doing scansion<\/u><\/a>.<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You need a broom to sweep up the eraser shavings after you mark, erase, and re-mark stressed words and syllables.<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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Your breves and slashes ( ? and ` ) start to look the same after you\u2019ve been doing scansion<\/span>\u00a0for three hours straight.<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You catch yourself often thinking about how <\/span>you <\/span><\/i>would perform Hamlet\u2019s \u201cto be, or not to be” speech.<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You quietly giggle to yourself every time you understand a dirty joke disguised in a metaphor.<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You\u2019ve always wanted to do a Sharks-and-Jets-style opening to <\/span>Romeo & Juliet <\/span><\/i>(even though <\/span>West Side Story<\/span><\/i> is based on <\/span>R&J<\/span><\/i>)<\/span>.<\/span><\/i><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You\u2019ve played a cross-dressing girl, and during at least one of those times, your costume included a pair of ridiculously large nerd glasses, a fake hook-on beard, a wig, or all of the above.<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You can insult someone without saying a single cuss word. “Thou cream-faced loon.”<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You bought your first Shakespearean lexicon<\/u><\/a> in high school, and by now the pages are falling out.<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You know more about Greek and Roman mythology than any person should because of Shakespeare\u2019s innumerable allusions. <\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You consider <\/span>Cymbeline, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>The Merchant of Venice<\/span><\/i> dramas, but they\u2019re classified as comedies. <\/span>This<\/span><\/i> drives you absolutely insane. <\/span><\/i><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You don\u2019t even consider classifying the problem plays<\/u><\/a> like <\/span>Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida<\/span><\/i>, and <\/span>All\u2019s Well That Ends Well <\/span><\/i>because…well, that\u2019s a waste of time<\/span>.<\/span><\/i><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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Your head explodes every time someone says that \u201cwherefore\u201d means \u201cwhere\u201d. You know it means \u201cwhy\u201d.<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You bring movie adaptations of Shakespearean plays to parties thinking they\u2019ll be a great movie to watch. No one pays attention, and you are left alone as everyone leaves the room.<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You argue with your Shakespearean-actor friends about whether or not all of Shakespeare\u2019s plays are connected.<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You vehemently reject the theory that Shakespeare did not exist. Ain\u2019t nobody got time fo\u2019 that.<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You can\u2019t believe that <\/span>Two Noble Kinsmen, Henry VIII, Edward III, <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Cardenio (or The Second Maiden\u2019s Tragedy) <\/span><\/i>are not included in most complete works volumes. \u201cWHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PUBLISHERS?\u201d you scream into the night.<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You go insane trying to figure out if <\/span>Love\u2019s Labours Won<\/span><\/i> is the <\/span>alternate title<\/u><\/span><\/a> of <\/span>Much Ado About Nothing <\/span><\/i>or <\/span>As You Like It<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You shed a tear when you think about Shakespeare\u2019s lost plays being burned in the Globe Theatre fire of 1613.<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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When you find another Shakespeare nerd, you feel like you\u2019ve found family.<\/span><\/h4>\n \"\"<\/span>
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You\u2019ve memorized the Othello rap.<\/span><\/h4>\n