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Shakespeare and Practice-Based Research: Special Issue of CJPRT Just Released
CASP is pleased to announce the recent publication of Shakespeare and Practice-Based Research, Volume 3, Number 1 (2011) of the Canadian Journal of Practice-based Research in Theatre.
Here's the Editorial Comment from Claire Borody:
The Canadian Journal of Practice-based Research in Theatre has now
existed for two years, has undergone a change in editorial staff, and an expansion in the mandate designed to serve further inclusiveness – that of creative process in theatre pedagogy – while retaining the original purpose for CJPRT’s existence “as a forum for personal, artistic reflection”. We at CJPRT continue to be interested in research work that is being generated in the name of practical experimentation and how that serves the advancement of the art, and/or the way in which theatre and performance is discussed and subsequently theorized.
In his 1910 essay, How We Think, John Dewey talks about the importance of reflecting both at the beginning and at the end of an experience in order to fully register the difference that was made in an individual’s way of viewing the world: “Observation exists at the beginning and then at the end of a process: at the beginning, to determine more definitely and precisely the nature of the difficulty to be dealt with; at the end to test, the value of some hypothetically entertained conclusion” (77). This notion is even more important in the present, in a world in which sustained thought and reflection are no longer part of most peoples’ lives. This rare quality of careful reflection is precisely what the contributors to this edition of CJPRT have done: each in their own way.
The issue features three articles and a suite of poems that all use the work of William Shakespeare as a starting point for very different explorations of the Bard’s work. In essence the collection illustrates, in a very precise way, the range of research expression that we at CJPRT embrace as practice-based research. Furthermore, this fascinating range of experimental approach and form is accentuated by the fact that all offerings feature an interaction with Shakespeare’s writing as the impetus for research.
Sky Gilbert’s practical and theoretical musings on The Shakespeare Project – a three-year SSHRC funded project – question the nature of physical constructs of masculinity and femininity through the process of staging three distinctly different versions of Shakespeare’s texts; a recontextualized contemporary interpretation, a true-as-possible historical recreation and a camp construction of the same scenes. Donnard Mackenzie and George Belliveau’s article, presented as a dialogue, explores the processes of creative negotiation between a professional playwright and a SSHRC funded research team, led by Belliveau. This project studied a group of elementary school students, their teacher, other staff and administrators and parents, as the class rehearses and performs A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream as a medium for both curriculum and community building. Clayton Jevne reflects on the origination of his One Man Hamlet and on the two and a half decades of continuous development and adjustment of the piece during over 600 performances worldwide. Finally, Per Brask offers a suite of poetic reviews –spectapoems – inspired by the viewing, the seeing, of a series of Shakespearean plays in various locations over the course of two years.
In a move toward a more multiplatform journal—capable of hosting archival materials such as scripts, designs and videos—we are also pleased to offer the illustrated play-text produced by Mackenzie with reflections from the research team, and videos of Gilbert’s The Shakespeare Experiment shot by Ian Jarvis.
We hope you enjoy your journey through this newest issue of CJPRT.
The Editors
To download a .pdf of Sky Gilbert's article, "The Shakespeare Experiment: A Seduction in the form of an Essay," click below.
New Romeo+Juliet Shakespeare app. Released
The Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project in concert with InteractiveReaders Inc. is pleased to announce the release of its new Romeo+Juliet Shakespeare app. for Apple devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod).
Click on this link to access the Guelph Mercury article on the app.
On November 3, 2011 Dr. Fischlin also appeared on CBC's Ontario Morning for an interview with program host Wei Chen about the Romeo+Juliet Shakespeare app. Click below to listen to the podcast version of the show. Note that the interview occurs at the tail end of the show.
The full University of Guelph news release is below as well as here.
Prof’s New App to Bring Shakespeare to the Masses
October 31, 2011 - News Release
What’s in a name? That which we call an "app"… Four years ago, Prof. Daniel Fischlin envisioned an affordable, content-rich multimedia device delivering literary classics to the digital generation. Now that Romeo + Juliet: The Shakespeare App is available for iPads, iPhones and iPods, the University of Guelph professor can be satisfied that Shakespeare is but a click away.
“I wanted to create a unique teaching and learning tool that appeals to the tech-savvy among us, and I’m relieved that the app passed Apple’s rigorous review process,” Fischlin said. “I’m also keenly aware of how much more there is to do in terms of making it accessible on other software platforms.”
Fischlin, University Research Chair and a professor in the School of English and Theatre Studies (SETS), worked with student research assistants and members of the Guelph IT community to develop Romeo + Juliet: The Shakespeare App.
“When I launched the Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project (CASP) in 2004, I recognized the fact that youth spend significant amounts of time in digital environments not always geared toward quality content or learning in positive ways. By 2007, I felt that something more interactive would be interesting for young people, and the app grew from there,” said Fischlin.
The Romeo + Juliet application offers note-taking and share functions as well as images for challenging words, making it ideal for Shakespeare neophytes, according to Fischlin.
“It’s organized in a user-friendly interface that can appeal to students, teachers and performers alike. With the app, you can watch videos of set designers, dramaturges, critics and playwrights talking about the play from their own perspectives, and all the source texts Shakespeare used to write the play are also available in digital format,” he said.
“This app probably offers the most complete, media-rich version of Romeo and Juliet ever created. It is intended to provide a template not only for Shakespeare’s works but also for just about any other text.”
Romeo + Juliet: The Shakespeare App is available online.
To download the Romeo+Juliet: The Shakespeare app. poster, click below:
Conference at Guelph to Examine Shakespeare's "Outer Limits"
Shakespeare's writing is so embedded in our cultural fabric that when media technologies change and evolve, new ways of relating to the Bard are sure to follow closely behind.
So say the organizers of a path-breaking conference taking place at the University of Guelph this November. “Outerspeares: Transcultural / Transmedia Adaptations of Shakespeare” is the first Annual Conference of the Guelph Early Modern Society, a collaboration between students and faculty in the School of English and Theatre Studies at the University of Guelph.
Arguing that our globalized, digitized media environment has truly become, in Shakespearean terms, a "brave new world," the conference aims to show how new media are changing the way we understand Shakespeare and, in the process, are transforming our understandings of history, culture, and media itself.
The keynote speakers for the conference include Anthony Del Col, Connor McCreery, and graphic novel artist Andy Belanger, co-creators of the Kill Shakespeare graphic novel series, which is soon to be adapted into a major motion picture, and Tom Magill, director of "Mickey B," an adaptation of Macbeth whose cast is made up of prison inmates from Northern Ireland's notorious Maghaberry Prison.
Magill's work as both a dramaturge who has worked extensively with Augusto Boal and as a prisoners' rights advocate and arts educator can be viewed in the short clip below. The clip addresses the question "Can prisoners become positive role models for youth at risk?" and was filmed at a public debate on this question held at Newtownabbey just outside of Belfast (a debate marking the launch of the educational pack associated with Mickey B in 2011).
<p>Can Prisoners Become Role Models? from Educational Shakespeare Co on Vimeo.</p>
For further information on the development film work undertaken by the Educational Shakespeare Company check out the following video:
<p>Second Chance For Change Year One: Making of The Films from Educational Shakespeare Co on Vimeo.</p>
Other talks consider diverse topics such as Shakespeare on Facebook, Shakespeare in film after 9/11, YouTube culture, Iranian adaptations, and much more.
The Outerspeares Conference is being produced in collaboration with the School of English and Theatre Studies, the SETS Visiting Speaker’s Committee, the Guelph Central Student Association, the School of Languages and Literatures, the College of Arts, and the Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project (CASP) directed by Dr. Daniel Fischlin.
The conference is free to the public and to the university community at large, and will take place at Peter Clark Hall in the University Centre on November 1 from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM. Contact the Guelph Early Modern Society for more details.
For a review of the conference published in The Ontarion click here. For the CFRU FM review of the conference ("Outerspeares Conference Shakes Up Early Modern Studies") click here.
Conference Poster:
Conference Review in the Ontarion (.pdf)
Web Links:
Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project
CASP: Killer Interview with "Kill Shakespeare" Creators Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery
In 2011 CASP Research Associate Lynne Bradley performed an extended "killer" interview with the Canadian creators of Kill Shakespeare, a 12-book graphic novel series soon to be a film. CASP is pleased to publish this revealing interview with Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery in full, along with a provocative critical introduction by Bradley, and a new trailer of the film.
Kill Shakespeare …
An epic adventure that will change the way you look at Shakespeare forever.
In this dark tale, the Bard’s most famous heroes embark upon a journey to discover a long-lost soul. Hamlet, Juliet, Othello, Falstaff, Romeo and Puck search for a reclusive wizard who may have the ability to assist them in their battle against the evil forces led by the villains Richard III, Lady Macbeth and Iago. That reclusive wizard? William Shakespeare. (from the Kill Shakespeare website)
Click on the following hyperlink to access "Graphic and Novel: An Interview With the Creators of Kill Shakespeare," by Lynne Bradley. Bradley received her PhD from the University of Victoria, Canada. She works as an independent researcher in Toronto and in 2010 published Adapting King Lear for the Stage (Ashgate). To access the introduction to her book, click on the gallery below.
Alexander W. Crawford and Early Canadian Shakespeare Criticism
CASP is pleased to make available the full 1916 version of Hamlet, An Ideal Prince and Other Essays in Shakespearean Interpretation, which represents the earliest known extended Canadian critical scholarship on Hamlet and indeed Shakespeare, by the University of Manitoba Professor of English Alexander Wellington Crawford. Crawford was distinguished for also offering a course in Canadian poetry at the University of Manitoba in 1919-20 (this at a time when English Literature courses in Canadian literature were rare), and has been recognized as a pioneer in the early teaching of Canadian literature. In 1909 the Departments of Electrical Engineering, English, Political Economy, and History were established at the University of Manitoba. E.P. Fetherstonhaugh, Alexander W. Crawford, A.B. Clark, and Chester Martin were appointed as Chairs of these new departments.
Crawford, in addition to publishing Shakespeare criticism, published The Philosophy of F. H. Jacobi in 1905. He received his M.A. from the University of Toronto and his PhD at Cornell in 1902 working with Hiram Corson (1828-1911), who had published An Introduction to the Study of Shakespeare in 1889. Both works taken together, and made available for the first time as a pair, show the evolution of early Shakespearean criticism in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries in the U.S. and Canada. It is not surprising that there are pedagogical connections between the scholars producing this early criticism. Click here to access links to the books on the CASP Essays, Documents, and Books site or click on the hyperlinked titles below to access each work. Hiram Corson, An Introduction to the Study of Shakespeare (1889)
