If Shakespeare had written Star Wars...

via amazon.com

One author, Ian Doescher, has envisioned the entire Star Wars trilogy as triad of Shakespearean plays, available for purchase on amazon.com here.

If you want to take a look inside the cover, brainpickings.org did a small article on the books, which include a few pictures and passages to peruse.

Something tells me that, as long as Leia is written as a strong female, our own Lily Stockbridge would be all over this.

Happy birthday to the Bard!

To celebrate Shakespeare's 450th birthday, take the quiz to test your knowledge of the Bard's work!

How NOT to play Ophelia

Speaking of binge watching BBC shows, if you're a theatre geek (especially of the Shakespeare variety) and you have never seen Slings and Arrows, get thee to Netflix and fix that post haste!

Playing Shakespeare by Gandhi and Friends!

If you're an actor in the mood for binge-watching dated BBC shows, this is for you.

Patrick Stewart, Ben Kingsley, Ian Mckellen and Judy Dench smoke on TV in bad 80s hairstyles and teach us how to act the Bard's work. Mark it well, young players!

Think you got "swagger"? Well, you can thank Shakespeare...

... Because he invented the word to use in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

via fremdeng.ning.com

What a cheater! Who does this dude think he is, just making up gibberish because he can't find the right words for what he wants to say? No wonder people think his plays are so hard to understand!

But when you take a closer look into the words that he jumbled together, you realize that he is actually believed to have invented over 1,700 of the words that we use today. Somehow, he had such a vast effect over the entire English language that helped to create a sizable chunk of it. And not just words, but common phrases, too.

via Becky/tumblr

Kinda impressive. And shows that this heightened language that so many claim is difficult to impossible to understand is actually much more familiar than we think. 

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today: Ben Lundergaard

Ben Lundergaard is a WilliamWorld rookie in many ways. Prior to joining us this summer he has never before performed the work of the Bard nor done any kind of acting before nor had any particular interest in the work or life of William Shakespeare. 

But after stopping by the faire to give a ride to his sister Viola, he caught a glimpse of our lovely Lily Stockbridge and the investment banker decided to give WilliamWorld a chance. Lord what fools these mortals be...

Ben Lundergaard is played by Alex Galick.

Alex Galick has several years of professional acting experience including repertory seasons with the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and the Utah Shakespeare Festival, as well as extensive on-camera experience.

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today: Tori Steppinfeld

Tori Steppinfeld wears many hats in WilliamWorld. last summer alone she was in charge of Costumes, makeup, hair, Pony wrangling and laundry. We hope she has another stellar season and fully recovers from last summer’s nervous breakdown.

Tori Steppinfeld is played by Kristina Rodby.

Kristina Rodby is an actress in Minneapolis. Among her many acting roles, she does crisis training with the Crisis Company.

Meet The WilliamWorld Players! Today: Erica Snodgrass

Erica Snodgrass is an actress/model/recovering glue addict from Los Angeles. She will making her first WilliamWorld appearance this Summer as Beatrice while attending the pheasant on a stick stand. She be seen in such illustrious films as Brokeback Mountain, Zero Dark Thirty and American Hustle. She hopes to someday graduate to speaking parts. 

Erica Snodgrass is played by Michelle Schwantes.

Michelle is also a professional on-camera and theatrical actor. She has extensive experience in theatre, voice overs, radio, film, promotions and modeling.

Michelle is the Artistic Director of Poetry Alive. Poetry Alive is a professional touring theatre company that produces high-energy performances, workshops and professional development for educational institutions, literary conferences, and libraries. 

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today: Bradley Alan Brooks

Bradley Alan Brooks is a former child star of the 80s and recovering drug addict who joins the WilliamWorld cast for the first time this summer and looks forward to playing Othello. His experience with the Bard consists mainly of having played Don Pedro in Much ado about Nothing with Adam Rich and Joyce DeWitt at the San Marcos Community Theatre/Taco Bell parking lot. 

He hopes to remain with WilliamWorld well into the future or at least until he hears from Ikea about that cashier position. 

Bradley Alan Brooks is played by David Copper.

David Copper is a Minneapolis writer and actor and who likes some things and not others. He is allergic to the number eight.

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today: Daphid Pritchard

Daphid Pritchard is excited about joinng WilliamWorld for the fifth time. He will be playing Michael Cassio to his BFF Erin’s Desdemona while attending the handkerchief stand. 

His name is pronounced Da-vid, just like the name David, as the name Stephen is pronounced Stev-en, just like Steven. If he has to explain that one more time he will likely gouge someone’s eyes out. 


Daphid is played by Nicholas Nelson.

Nicholas Nelson recently completed a three-year engagement as a Resident Artist with Portland Opera. As an operatic bass, he has also appeared with Central City Opera, Tacoma Opera and Opera North in New Hampshire.  

In spoken theater, he has appeared locally with 20% Theatre Company and most recently in Nimbus Theater's production of The Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky. In addition to sung and spoken theater, Nicholas is active as a guitarist and thereminist.

2013 Florida Renaissance Festival Cleavage Contest Part 1

Such bawdiness!

Finally somebody understands The Bard! Laura Benanti explains Macbeth

Now I get it.

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today:Carl Lundergaard

Divorced dad of two, Carl Lundergaard is a rookie at WilliamWorld. After decades away from theatre, he figured a summer at the faire would be a good way to re-connect with his Shakespearean root -- and to stop his daughter Viola from nagging him to do it. Two birds, one stone. Carl will be playing Richard the Third and attending the pony rides at the My Kingdom For A Pony stable.


Carl Lundergaard is played by David Otto Simanek.

David has been in the following films: Dear White People, Written, Produced and Directed by Justin Simien, To Say Goodbye, Written and Directed by Tim Tarabpour, Produced by Hamid Tarabpour, and Problem Solving America, by The Diviney Brothers, Produced by DivineyPictures.com. Commercial work includes: Best Buy/Intel’s Dragon Assistant, Produced by Dan Orozco with Canary Inc. and Sound Check Inc., First Dakota National Bank Commercial, Directed by Greg Kiesow-Knutson, Produced by Fresh Produce. 

And on the stage he has been seen in: Lorca In The Green Dress, by Nilo Cruz with Teatro del Pueblo/Pangea World Around The World In Eighty Days, by Mark Brown and The Hobbit, by Patricia Gray with Open Window Theatre, Chickens on the Freeway; film at11…the musical, written by J.B. Eckert with music by J. Roth with Walking Boxes Theatre.

Apparently, the dead don't cough! Stuff People at a Shakespeare Festival Say

I came across this on Youtube. I relate to it far more than I'm willing to admit. 

That is all.

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today:Viola Lundergaard

Viola Lundergaard is a WilliamWorld regular, having graced the faire with her lovely presence for three years now. This summer she’ll be playing Kate and serving as the troubadour with lute in hand. If her lute looks suspiciously like a ukulele, Viola wants us to understand that ukuleles look enough like lutes to fool most people and seriously does anybody have any idea how expensive a lute is?

Viola Lundergaard is played by Aimee Chenal.

Aimee Chenal grew up acting, painting and making home movies in a small town just across the Wisconsin border. She acts, directs and produces movies. She currently lives in the woods where she is currently working on a music video and writing a feature comedy to be shot in Minnesota.

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today: Cassie Rowlands

Faire manager Cassie Rowlands is new to WilliamWorld. Her background is in the corporate world where she climbed to the top of the ladder with hard work and what she calls “a pit bull’s sense of empathy.” 

She looks forward to the opportunity to replace our beloved Craig (still recovering from his Crystal Meth addiction. Third time’s a charm, Craig!) and introducing the WilliamWorld staff to a more professionally run way of life.  While she’s not as well-versed in theatre as most WilliamWorlders, she claims a big love of Shakespeare, “especially that Oliver Twist thing.” Yes, she actually said that.

Cassie is played by Dawn Brodey.

Dawn Brodey is a full-time, freelance actress and writer living in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has appeared in such productions as Tony and Tina’s wedding, We Gotta Bingo, Romeo and Juliet on the Moon and King Lear. 

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today: Lily Stockbridge

This summer marks Lily's third year as a WilliamWorld performer and concessionaire. She's proud to play the role of Ophelia while selling her homemade organic, gluten-free, dolphin-safe, non-animal tested, fair trade kelp cookies. Here's hoping she sells one this year!

Lily Stockbridge is played by Ali Close.

Ali is originally from the Madison, Wisconsin area. She received her BA in Theatre Performance from the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse. She moved to the Twin Cities in 2011 for a change of pace. Since then, she's worked with several companies, including playing "Celia" in As You Like It with Public Theatre of Minnesota, "Lucy" in Dracula with Lyric Arts of Anoka and "Helena Landless" in The Mystery of Edwin Drood with Chameleon Theatre Circle. 

Other favorite roles include: "Ophelia" in Hamlet (Open Spaces), "Hodel" in Fiddler on the Roof (Stoughton Village Players), "Alcyone/Pomona" in Metamorphoses (UW La Crosse), "Isabella" in The Glorious Ones (Music Theatre of Madison), "Abigail Williams" in The Crucible and "Lola" in Damn Yankees (both with Saint Bernard Players). 

She was also a ballerina for over 18 years and helped to created the role of "Lucy" in a ballet version of Dracula, entitled "Drakula: The Performance" with Stoughton Center for the Performing Arts, playing the role three years.
In 2007, she was an Acting Apprentice for Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, MN, where she understudied the role of "Celia" in As You Like It. 

She currently lives in Saint Paul with her fiancée Mike and their two cats and will be getting married in November of this year.

Take a look at Lily's audition video:

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today: Desmond Farah

Desmond Farah makes his WilliamWorld debut this summer while playing Aaron the Moor and serving as WilliamWorld’s traveling juggler. The Somalian born, British reared Desmond makes no effort to mask his disdain for the Americanization of The Bard. He recently suffered a detached retina from rolling his eyes at the mispronunciation of the word visage. 

Desmond Farah is played by Sadeeq Ali.

Sadeeq Ali is a British, American-Somali actor. Most recently Sadeeq depicted "Elijah" in Mission Theatre Company's production of "Modern Prophet." Sadeeq performs with the Murder Mystery Company on a regular basis, and can be seen in various student film, and live theatre productions. Sadeeq is a freshman at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities, and graduated from a Saint Paul public high school in June of 2013. 

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today: Doris Lundergaard

Doris Lundergaard is a WilliamWorld virgin, making her debut as Queen Gertrude and concessionaire at the cupcake table in this year’s faire after a lengthy absence from the theatre, Shakespeare and anything else that doesn’t involve loading up a minivan and driving one of her kids to somewhere just east of Golden Valley. 

Despite her break from acting, she is an avid fan of theatre when they don’t use the f-word too much. 

Doris Lundergaard is played by Holly Windle.

Holly started acting in community theatre at the age of seven in Arlington, Virginia.  Now a voice actor with Voicebox Talent, she also is part of the acting troupe for the Barbara Schneider Foundation’s crisis intervention training program.  She has a master’s degree in Speech-Communication from the University of Minnesota, where she has participated in educational role-playing for the Dept. of Mortuary Science and the Law School.  She has worked with Theatre Terra Firma, Gadfly Theatre Productions, Eat Street Players, Flower Shop Project, Bedlam, and Rosetown Playhouse, as well as singing with The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company.  

More than 100 of her limericks have been approved for the on-lineOmnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form, and her book about an Iraqi-Armenian woman pianist,Baghdad Barcarolle, was published in 2008.

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today: Erin Falklander

Erin Falklander is a self-professed Bard rat and a mainstay at WilliamWorld. This year she’s playing Desdemona while working concessions at the handkerchief stand. 

Noted for her sarcastic demeanor and fiery temper, Erin’s string of four consecutive appearances at WilliamWorld was nearly ended after an ugly incident at the archery field in last year's faire. She was given a two week unpaid suspension for something she’d rather not talk about. Ever.

Erin is played by Taylor Van Denburgh.

Taylor has been working as a freelance performer in the Twin Cities since completing her BAs in Vocal Performance and Sociology at The College of St Benedict/St John’s University in 2009. Recent credits include, The Lower Depths with Nimbus Theatre, Guys and Dolls with Rooftop Theatre Company, Hamlet with the Minnesota Opera, and The Nark-A World Premiere with Freshwater Theatre Company-winner of an Ivey for best playwriting in 2013. Taylor’s newest adventure has been delving into the world of circus performing. 

She takes classes in aerial arts at Xelias in NE Minneapolis, and recently tried her hand at the flying trapeze with Twin Cities Trapeze in St Paul. If you ask, she will proudly show you her most recent bruises! 

Find out more at taylorevandenburgh.webs.com and like her on Facebook! 

RadioBard: Shakespeare does Radiohead's Creep

When last thou grac’d this lonely land with glee
Thine eyes, in faith, I could not gaze upon 
An angel from above thou art in truth
A weeping most sincere thy skin inspires
Thou doth recall a feather as thy float 
In lands most pleasing to the maker’s eye
Devoutly I would cast my soul so special
As art thou

I am but a rogue! 
I am a libertine!

I know not wherefore I dwell in this place
But in this land I fear I belong not

If pain usurps my soul I shudder not
I seek but to design my very fate
And in this fate I seek a flawless form
A form to match a soul most without spot
And when I dwell here not I would thy mark it
For thou art special as the act of coupling

I am but a rascal!
I am a lecher!

I know not wherefore I dwell in this place
But in this land I fear I belong not

She doth flee from the entrance!
She doth flee! She doth flee! O’ she doth flee!

All which pleaseth thou
All which thou doth desire
Would I were special

As art thou

I am but a knave!
I am a debaucher!
I know not wherefore I dwell in this place
But in this land I fear I belong not


In this land I fear I belong not

How now, Bard Geeks!

Do you love Shakespeare?

Have you ever been temped to order a pizza in iambic pentameter?

Did you manage to stay awake through Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet?

Have you ever voluntarily worn a doublet?

Do you own a lute?

Sounds to me like you love Shakespeare! Then behold a new web series Adventures at WilliamWorld!

This bold and raucous comedy takes you behind the scenes at a Bard-themed faire! The romantic! The comedic! The awkward!

Coming this summer!