Maris Smith

  I can officially say that I have seen the most avant garde play after seeing the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Pericles , and I loved it. The play Pericles is about the grief of losing your family, and being lucky enough to find them again. Obviously there is much more that goes into this play than losing and finding your family, but when I think about Pericles , I think about family. When originally reading the program for the Royal Shakespeare Company production, it made it seem that their specific production would revolve heavily around leadership - both good and bad - but after watching their production, I did not really find that to be the forefront of their approach. It seemed to me that they focused more on the loss and reuniting of family. All I could think about while watching act 5, scene 1 was “ that’s how you stage a family reunion!” When Pericles realized that Marina was his daughter, I had actual chills all over my body; it was done correctly in my opi...

 What is closure ? Is it the act of closing something? Is it a word that we are using to sum up this past month? Is it both? If there is one thing I know, it is that I am not ready for this summer to come to a close, nor am I ready to sum up this past month. I have been given one of the best opportunities I could have possibly received, and I know that this past month is one that I will constantly look back on.  I came on this trip having very little expectations for what July had in store for me. I knew that I had high expectations for plays at The Globe, I wanted to see historical London, and I had to see Big Ben. I can happily say that all of my expectations have been met, and then some.  I was raised in a non religious household. That does not mean that I did not know about God and the Bible. I had a general understanding, but if it helps you to understand my lack of knowledge prior to this trip, I learned why Easter is celebrated when I was eighteen. During this trip...

  This past Tuesday we took a day trip to Oxford and were able to see Wild Goose Theatre’s production of Twelfth Night . When originally reading the text of Twelfth Night , I was actually laughing out loud which is not the case when I read other comedies written by Shakespeare. My favorite character when reading the play was the fool, but unfortunately they were my least favorite character when watching the show.  In terms of direction taken for this production, it did not seem as though there was a clear and defined one. Though I thoroughly enjoyed the production, it felt like one I would have seen performed by a high school. There was nothing that really stuck out to me, and I was a bit disappointed that as a cast they did not really lean into the queerness of the text. It is no secret that Twelfth Night is a queer play, with characters such as Orsino expressing his interest in Viola both when she is Viola and when she is Cesario, and Antonio being interested in Sebasti...

 Today was awesome!  I was able to walk around the British Museum (and get lost a few times) and see amazing historical artifacts. Being in a building that large with so many people was very overwhelming at times, but it was worth it to be able to see statues of Greek Gods such as Zeus and Apollo. If there is one thing I have learned on this trip, it is that I honestly have such a hard time believing that the pieces of artwork that I am looking at are the original pieces that I have only seen in pictures. Sure, I have seen statues of Greek Gods before, but I am used to looking at recreations of these famous pieces of artwork.  Statue of Apollo.  Statue of Zeus.  By far my favorite thing that I saw today was the statue of Cupid. When I was looking at it I was reminded of what David told us about a popular statue in Piccadilly Circus. Many think that the statue in Piccadilly Circus is of Cupid, but it is actually of Anteros, Eros' (Cupid's) brother. Regardless of ...

  Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is, in my opinion, one of his most problematic and offensive plays. Though this play has been staged for many centuries, it is unclear to even the most knowledgeable Shapespearians if this is Shakespeare’s original text. The Taming of the Shrew was first published in the first Folio of Shakespeare’s works, but a similar play titled The Taming of a Shrew was published in a Quarto roughly thirty years prior. The two texts are similar in many ways, such as overarching storylines and characters, yet the two are also different from one another, such as the character Christopher Sly having more of an involvement in the text of The Taming of a Shrew . Regardless of whichever text is being performed or if it is a combination of the two, scholars (and myself) believe that this is the one Shakespeare play that should not be staged.  After a quick Google search, I found that the term “shrew” has been used since the 11th century, possibly even e...

 When visiting Hampton Court Palace today I was almost immediately in awe of how beautiful and expansive it is. Back when Henry VIII was King, this was where he lived. I was able to walk through his living quarters and learn all about its history, as well as some other remarkable places in Hampton Court Palace such as William III's living quarters, the chocolate kitchen and Henry VIII's kitchens.  Courtyard at Hampton Court Palace. 

 Today we visited the British Library! There were many cool things to see in the exhibition that we walked through, but my favorite things to look at were the Shakespeare Folios and the Quartos of Hamlet  and Richard III . After taking Shakespeare's Later Works with Dr. Orvis in the spring and being on this trip, I have a much larger appreciation for Shakespeare and his plays. One thing about the folios that I think is fascinating is that without them we would have lost many of his plays, including my favorite play of his; Measure for Measure !  The First Folio. 

 Today we headed over to St. Pauls Cathedral and had the opportunity to walk all throughout it. It was an absolutely gorgeous church, and is tied for my favorite one that I have seen with the chapel inside of the Tower of London. There is really fascinating history both inside and out of the Cathedral, but my favorite part was getting to walk up all 528 steps to the very top of the building and overlook London. If you look in the center of the picture below, just across River Themes, you can see Shakespeare's Globe!  Taken from the top of the Cathedral.  This is Sophia's picture, not mine. I was too scared to take my phone out. 

Today’s political climate in America is less than ideal, as I am sure most can agree. The Globe’s production of Richard III was able to portray the common political fears that most Americans are feeling at this time. Whether it be unworthy men in positions of power, the retraction of women's rights, or the overall silencing of women's voices, each and every thought that I have on American politics was exemplified in last night's show. Within this review, I will be addressing Richard III as he pertains to Shakespeare’s original text rather than the real life monarch that he was.     Within the text as well as most adaptations of this show Richard III has a physical disability. I appreciated the lack of disability within this production. For a character as despicable as Richard III, portraying him as an able bodied person was a pleasant surprise given the political context. It allowed me to recognize that every decision Richard III makes and everything he says is truly...

Before I dive into this blog post I think it is most important that I share this picture with you all. Meet Mime, a local kitty that hangs out around Windsor Castle! Mime, The Windsor Castle Cat

Today was exhausting ! We were able to visit the Tower of London and see super cool pieces of Renaissance history such as the Crown Jewels and the tower that was used as a prison for notable people such as Queen Elizabeth I. Before we saw the Tower of London we stopped at the old public execution spot in London, back when the city of London was much smaller than it is now.  Old public execution location. 

 Good afternoon! I am excited to tell everyone about my long but educating day at Westminster Abbey as well as places such as the House of Parliament and Buckingham Palace. I think it is very important for me to note that before today's tour I had very  limited knowledge on Westminster Abbey as well as the royal family. When the tour started I was expecting to see a church similar to any other, but what I was not expecting was the amount of tombs and notable people buried inside the church.  Ashes of Stephen Hawking. 

      Today was one of the days that I have been so excited for because we got to tour Shakespeare's Globe! (Don't let the name be deceiving, they put on other plays that are not written by Shakespeare.) We began by looking at a new exhibition the Globe has going on, and it is all about Shakespeare's past as well as the history of the theatre. I really enjoyed going through it because it was interactive! They had tiny boxes all containing smells of the Borough Market - which I learned in the oldest fruit and vegetable market in London! They also had noise machines that were similar to how sound effects would have been produced back in Shakespeare's time such as wind storms and thunder. I find it super cool to learn about London's history dating back to the seventeenth-century and seeing what is still around today.  Inside the exhibition 

    This past Friday I was able to see Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing  at the Globe and to call it fantastic would be an understatement. Though life theater always has its quirks, it was easily one of the best shows that I have ever seen. Each character had something that I both loved and hated about them, which adds up being as every Shakespeare character has their quirks. As basic as I may be, my absolute favorite characters from this show were both Beatrice and Benedick.      Amalia Vitale, who played Beatrice, took a complex character and made her someone that I could easily identify with in many ways. Her ability to include the audience within her performance was something that I very much enjoyed, though usually I am not a fan of audience participation within shows as they can take away from the world being built on the stage.      Both Amalia Vitale (Beatrice) and Ekow Quartey (Benedick) had so many strengths to their performance...

 Good afternoon! Today was such a FUN day in London touring the National Portrait Gallery and the Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII's Queens  exhibit! Before going, I was expecting today to be like any normal day walking through a museum or gallery but I was very  wrong, it was so much better! Right after stepping into the six wives exhibit I was looking at portraits of each of the six wives. The portrait of Anne of Cleves' was very eye catching to me because of the plaque under her portrait.  Plaque under Anne of Cleves' portrait. 

Hello, hello! After what feels like forever, we have finally made it to London! Our trip started off with a gruesome eleven hour delay on our flight which resulted in us arriving at our housing at 12:30 am. (But on the bright side I got to see my Winona one last time (;  ) Unfortunately for me, I was unable to sleep my first night here - probably from sleeping so much on the plane. That being said, we have a BIG day ahead of us.  getting ready for take off!