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Back on the Boards - The Return of Shakespeare
We’re back, and we cannot wait to see you again.
Now the Hungry Lion Roars, And the Wolf Behowls the Moon
Shakespeare from the Ground contributor Katie Barnett told us, “I learned this monologue for college back in the day. It still speaks to me, not only in context of the play but also as a conspectus of the magical experience of theater - specifically of the moment just before the audience is released back into the "real world."”
Time Hath, My Lord, a Wallet at his Back
Shakespeare from the Ground contributor Christopher C. Gibbs has shared a special monologue for us. From Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cresida, this is Ulysses' advice to Achilles. “I did a Zoom monologue for a friend who is slowly dying of cancer,” Gibbs said. “The message is, don't give up; keep striving.”
All Places That the Eye of Heaven Visits Are to a Wise Man Ports and Happy Havens
“Father must reconcile his fatherly advice for his son’s honor and safety, with the understanding that in counseling his son’s acceptance of an unjust exile, he himself will almost certainly die before his son returns,” Hulett shares…
For Life, I Prize it As I Weigh Grief
“Hermione is accused by her own husband of adultery and suffers many losses including her crown and her children. Though she is not at fault, the odds are against her and is forced to be brought on trial. In this monologue, Hermione finally responds to the charges brought against her.”
Now the Hungry Lion Roars
“What drew me to this monologue, aside from its eye-catching use of certain wonders of the natural world, is the kinship I feel in the character Puck. Here you have this maker of mischief with a big heart. It is the fusion of merriment and compassion that led me to this choice.”
'My Gold!' Quoth He
“This monologue is a fast paced and humorous retelling of two people having two vastly different conversations because of mistaken identities. It’s quick, it’s absurd, it’s a lot of fun, and it teaches a crucial lesson - communication is key.”
To Be, or Not to Be, I There's the Point
We asked Penczak what drew him to this piece of work. “The opportunity to counter scholars and critics,” he said, “who dismiss, or worse, snicker at it in comparison to [the Second Quarto, First Folio], and so on. I like to think I'm illuminating their dim view by demonstrating how actable it actually is.”
O for a Muse of Fire
“I have been drawn to the prologue of Henry V since my early theater days. I love the pace and flow of the words and the images they carry. This piece speaks to me of what theater is and what we must do as actors or audience to participate in a magic that only requires our “willful suspension of disbelief.”
Meet the Board
Imagine the theatre board you get when you take away the hierarchy and listen to everyone’s voice. That’s what you get from Theatre from the Ground. Our Circle of Leadership includes people with various business expertise and community connections. We have eliminated the financial buy-in that board members are usually required to bring to the table; this allows for a more equitable mix of members…
Let Us Once Lose Our Oaths to Find Ourselves
“Love’s Labour’s Lost is my favorite comedy, probably because unlike most of Shakespeare’s comedies, it does not end in marriage, but instead a promise to meet again. The show’s ending brings about the idea that nothing can last forever, but before it comes to a somber end, we get to experience the magic of falling in love. This show is about studying and language. It is filled will beautiful wordplay, wit, and rhetoric. It is hard not to relish in the lines that are written.”
Sweet, Bid Me Hold My Tongue
Troilus and Cressida takes place against the backdrop of the seventh year of the Trojan War and follows several of the complex relationships therein. The Trojan prince Troilus falls in love with Cressida, the daughter of a Trojan priest who has defected to the Greek side. Troilus engages her voyeuristic Uncle Pandarus to arrange a meeting with her. However, Cressida pretends indifference, thinking that doing so keeps Troilus's interest active.
Oft Have I Heard of You
“Rosaline has a little speech towards the end of 5.2, which happens to be the longest scene in the canon (one more reason to love the weirdness of this play), where she gives Berowne the what's-what about the shallow advances he's made toward her that have consisted mostly of his biting wit. It's a great speech about the nature of humor and how empty it can be if a comic uses his wit solely for his own purposes and not for those of his audience.”
Sweet Mistress, ‘What Your Name is Else, I Know Not
Believed to be one of Shakespeare's earliest plays, The Comedy of Errors is Shakespearean Farce at its best. With its two sets of twins, the play has a nearly continuous flow of mistaken identities, miscommunications, and unforeseen romances. This week, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse theatre student, Wriley Hoffner, performs as Antipholus of Syracuse in this week’s monologue.
This is the Excellent Foppery of the World
Michael Bubbers is new to our ensemble but has so much to contribute. He said he “really liked this monologue because of its slap in the face, get over it buttercup, harsh reality. Yes, life is hard sometimes. No, it’s not always your fault. Sometimes it just is what it is and you have to roll with it. You can’t spend life going around and blaming your misfortunes elsewhere.”
Release Me from My Bands With the Help of Your Good Hands
The Tempest is a story of shipwreck, magic, revenge, reconciliation, and forgiveness. For 12 long years Prospero has been exiled on an enchanted island. When he sees those responsible for his exile sail too close, he conjures a storm to shipwreck them on the island. While dispensing justice and watching over his daughter’s emerging romance, Prospero’s old wounds begin to heal, and reconciliation and forgiveness seem within reach for all.
All the World’s a Stage
“It is a monologue that will always stay with me, as solid as ever, while I myself move through these 7 stages of life. It's interesting to not only think about the stages, but where you are I regards to them , and where you came from.”
It is Their Husbands’ Faults if Wives Do Fall
“[Emilia] is a woman before her time, and I think that’s shown in this monologue. She pleads the case of mistreated women everywhere, and makes the (then controversial) argument that women are just as human and just as full of desire and emotion as their husbands. Despite the dire fate of all the women in this show - Emilia is an early feminist and one of Shakespeare’s fiercest female roles.”
What a Piece of Work is Man
“As a modern reader,” Nelson-Sommerfeldt says, “I see a person dealing with depression trying desperately to make a connection. He knows that there is beauty both in the natural world and in people, yet he can't reconcile what he knows with how he feels. The current pandemic has brought out so many of the negatives that as a society we try so hard to bury that I feel this speech will resonate with many.”
I’ll Be Sworn Thou Art
“I have always loved Olivia as a character because of her passion and courage to overcome grief and accept love back into her life (albeit comically misplaced!),” Stark said. “In this monologue, [Olivia] discovers her feelings and at the end, in a beautiful moment decides to let love in.”