#FOLIO MEANING SHAKESPEARE FULL#
#FOLIO MEANING SHAKESPEARE SERIES#

Let’s all just take a moment to be grateful we aren’t living in Elizabethan England: punctuation was even worse, because there was no standardization.

#FOLIO MEANING SHAKESPEARE SERIES#

So, part 1 of our “Why the Folio?” series begins with a segment I like to call, “WTF Punctuation?”Īnybody who has suffered through high school English knows that punctuation is annoying and omnipresent. There’s so much punctuation, and it doesn’t seem to be used consistently or correctly.

The road signs start with punctuation – it’s where actors start mapping a pathway through the text, it’s what editors take their red pens to first, and it’s how readers get tripped up when looking at the Folio. Modern editions dilute all those cool road signs Shakespeare put in the words to guide the actor. We use the Folio because it is a primary text. Shakespeare’s actors didn’t get many rehearsals and Shakespeare didn’t write stage directions, but they didn’t need them. Every punctuation mark is a clue, an invitation to a choice, a change in tone. Shakespeare is telling the actor something when the verse rhymes (or when it seems it ought to), when the rhythm falters (or when it holds strong), when words repeat, when assonance appears, or when alliteration shows up, etc. The pathways for finding interpretive choices are in the verse. Thankfully, Shakespeare gave us a map: the verse. This is by no means an easy feat, even if the plays in question hadn’t been written 400 years ago. You need a roadmap for making interpretive choices you have to delve into the text and find not just understanding and comprehension but the human experience as well. But if you want to perform Shakespeare, then you have no need of definitions and notations (that’s what dictionaries and the internet are for). If you’re in the classroom or curled up in your bed reading Shakespeare (which we all do, right?), then by all means pick up the Arden edition and enjoy.

#FOLIO MEANING SHAKESPEARE FULL#

Modern editions of Shakespeare are full of nifty things – definitions of arcane words, translations of outdated phrases, notations by editors, introductions and essays by very smart people.

So, without any further ado, here’s Part 1! This is a 4-part series explaining why the original Folio makes a great rehearsal text. Stay tuned for updates on how you can experience our work in this exciting new platform.Here is some work I did for NYU Gallatin’s current production of Measure for Measure. You can find it on their blog, at /m4m, under “Mapping the Text.” It can also be found on the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival’s website, at . Honors include the 2008 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, the prestigious Honorary OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in recognition of her contributions strengthening British-American cultural relations, as well as multiple Joseph Jefferson Awards for Best Production and for Best Director. Since founding the Theater in 1986, Barbara has directed nearly sixty Chicago Shakespeare productions, including thirty of Shakespeare’s plays. Chicago Shakespeare Theater Founder and Artistic Director Barbara Gaines invites you to join her for an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at her artistic process with an online Folio Masterclass. A hallmark of Barbara's career in directing Shakespeare, the Folio technique centers on a rigorous analysis of Shakespeare’s First Folio text, unlocking clues in the timeless poetry to illuminate character and meaning. Step into a virtual rehearsal room with Barbara and two actors well-known to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater audience as she breaks down the building blocks to clear and thrilling Shakespeare performance.

Folio meaning shakespeare