If All the World’s a Stage, Which Shakespeare Character Are You?
(keep reading for the fun game bit!)
Way back in college (way back), I got to play Juliet in Measure for Measure. It was my first acting introduction to Shakespeare and I immediately fell in love with his work. I also learned two things:
Shakespeare is such a wonderful playwright that there truly are no small roles. Even a role with just a few lines (like Juliet in M for M) gives an actor some great meat to chew on.
If one of your castmates draws a smiley face on the skin-touching side of your fake pregnancy belly, the heat of stage lights plus a ten lb. costumes will transfer said smiley face to your actual belly where it will remain for weeks.
Later, I was lucky enough to work with The Courtyard Players, a Phoenix-based Shakespeare theater that produced mostly condensed versions of the plays. I got to play some great characters, including Sylvia in Two Gentleman of Verona;
Phebe in As You Like It (this photo and the Twelfth Night one by the lovely and talented Kristina Brendel);
Murdering Sylvius (Brad Eaton) with my eyes
Lady Macbeth in the Scottish play (which was performed in a Scottsdale nightclub for part of the run—way cool):
Viola in an ill-fated production of Twelfth Night, which would have been great (with fabulous Phoenix actors Ken Love as Orsino and Mike Lawler as Malvolio!) if it had actually been produced. The actor playing Toby Belch threw us over for a film role a week before opening night. Sigh.
Cindy and Chris Daly as twins Viola and Sebastian. Yes, twins.
And a lover in a sonnet show. I’ve forgotten the name of my character and the show, but do remember how beautifully playwright Julie Peterson wove Shakespeare’s sonnets together to create a storyline about four lovers:
With Ken Love, Gavin McLeod, and Luhr (a wonderful actress with a glorious voice, whose last name escapes me).Plus my favorite costume ever, by Esther Turner.
But when I played this “Which Shakespearean Character Are You?” game, I was none of the characters above. I’ll tell you which character represents the real me after you play, too:
Okay, I was Romeo. I believe the site said something about being naïve, romantic and impulsive. Busted.
