1. To be, or not to be, that is the question...
William
Shakespeare's
World
To be, or not to be, that is the question...
This above all, to thine own self be true...

2. The Man That Would Be Shakespeare
William
The Man That Would Be Shakespeare
April 23, 1564 – April 23, 1616 (52 yrs old – life expectancy 35)
Started out performing with “The Lord Chamberlain’s Men”
Later became “The King’s Men”
Gave him a chance to write a play
Henry IV, Pt. 1- It stunk, but they gave him another shot

3. Reconstructed in the 1990’s
Many playwrights with nowhere to “play”
Barn turned into theatre (Yeah!)
Puritans burn it down (Evil theatre! Boo!)
Globe built! (Yeah!)
Globe burns (sniff, darn cannon!)
Globe rebuilt! (Yeah!)
Globe burns (Dang that Fire of London!)
The Globe
Reconstructed in the 1990’s

4. 3 levels
roofless (no electricity)
Globe Theater a.k.a “the wooden O”
the Heavens & Hell (trapdoors)
banned inside city limit as immoral

5. When in a play... Only men were permitted to perform
Boys or effeminate men were used to play the women
Costumes were often the company’s most valuable asset – was Renaissance style and elaborate
Scenery & props were minimal
Crowd reaction / involvement was expected

6. The Cost of a Show 1 shilling to stand (groundlings)
2 shillings to sit in the balcony
1 shilling was 10% of their weekly income (today equals 24 cents)
Broadway Today:
$85 Orchestra
$60 Balcony

7. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Comedy of
Time & place written London, 1594 or 1595
Setting Ancient Greece and Renaissance England
Tone  romantic, comedic, satirical, joyful
Themes  · the difficulties of love, magic, the nature of dreams, the relationship between fantasy and reality
Motifs (recurring images) love out of balance, opposites within the play (short and tall, clumsy and graceful)
Symbols - the hounds as the coming of morning, the love potion as power and instability of love