Shakespeare in DC--the Folger Library

The Folger Shakespeare Library is located in Washington, on Capitol Hill, not far from the multiple museums that make up the Smithsonian. It is a wonderful place, homethe world’s largest and finest collection of Shakespeare materials and to major collections of other rare Renaissance books, manuscripts, and works of art.  There is an Elizabethan garden on the grounds, and the actual building is so lovely you can rent it for events.

Photo by Julie Ainsworth

Imagine mounting a play in this jewelbox of a theater.
For people who can't visit in person, they have a lively Digital Folger program that includes podcasts (Shakespeare in American life), lectures, audio tours of the grounds and exhibitions, poetry readings, acting tutorials, play deconstruction, and recordings from the Folger Consort.  They also have a variety of newsletters to serve a variety of interests, particularly teachers and academics. You can find the catalogue for the library here.
They also have a great gift store with t-shirts and posters and prints and all the other stuff you expect from a museum gift shop. There are some lovely posters, including a map of Shakespeare's Britain, nesting dolls of Henry VIII and his wives and the t-shirt I got my brother as a present when he graduated from law school--decorated with the quotation, "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."
In September it will be the first stop in the US tour of a new Shakespeare's Globe production of Hamlet, starringMichael Benz and directed by Dominic Dromgoole and Bill Buckhurst. 

Here's a little teaser for the production, which is touring the UK now.

I'm baaaack.

I'd forgotten how really beautiful DC and the surrounding 'burbs are.
I am so envious of the Metro system, which goes everywhere. In LA, you can get downtown on the metro and that's about it.
The Smithsonian Institution's museums are FREE.
Will be back to posting tomorrow.

Shakespeare Geek for the Shakespeare Geek.

"You had me at forsooth!"  Shakespeare Geek is a fun little site with jokes and news (release date for Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing), random Shakespeare posts (a gift guide for the Shakespeare Geek) and resources. You can buy message t-shirts ("Mercutio drew first") and Shakespeare-imaged iPad covers. Check it out.

Ms. Tomlinson is going to Washington

Photo by Mihal Tamasila

I have been in an eye study for the past three and a half years. My doctors are testing the use of a drug called Lucentis (already approved for age-related macular degeneration) on diabetes-rekated retinal bleeding. (Judi Dench has the age-related kind and she's going blind, so it's a serious condition.) I was an undiagnosed diabetic (none of the symptoms) for several years (no medical insurance) and damaged my eyes significantly before a routine eye exam discovered  my retinas were in bad shape.
Lucentis is a miracle drug.  When I started the study I was losing my color vision, which meant I really wasn't comfortable driving. I had a lot of trouble seeing gray cars if the morning was cloudy. Reading was a challenge. And I read for a living. Enter Lucentis...and three years later, I'm driving again. I'm reading books again.
So I've been asked to come to DC and talk to the Feds about the drug as part of the approval process. I am happy to do this for all the right reasons but also happy because my brother lives and works in the area and I'll be able to see him for the first time in a couple of years.
I've served on a jury. I vote. And now I'm testifying to a committee.  That about ticks off the list of participatory Democracy actions.  (I guess I could run for office.)  I have to say, I think it's kind of cool.
I'll be back on Friday. Stay cool.

R.I.P. Sally Ride

1951-2012
First American woman in space.

Shakespeare and Chocolate

Chocolate had been imported to Spain early in the 16th century and chocolate beans were given as part of royal dowries all over Europe by the 17th century, so of course Shakespeare knew about it, and had probably partaken of the hot beverage that would later become an addiction alongside tea and coffee. He would not, however, ever tasted a Cadbury bar or a silky Godiva truffle.

Shakespeare's Chocolate in Davenport, Iowa, sells chocolate, pretzels, do-it-your-self s'mores kits (although that sounds kind of redundant) and more. One of their best sellers is a trio of "ice cream cones" crafted out of white and dark chocolate, tagged "Candy Crunch."  Definitely a company to check out if you buy mail order sweets for Christmas (or other holidays).

Even the greatest writer ever can have an off day!

Like any writer, Shakespeare had his ups and downs. He is generally  believed to have written 37 plays (in only 20 years) but if you look at the plays that show up in rep year after year after year, you start to see the same 15 or so plays over and over. Someone's always reviving Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, the Tempest and Much Ado About Nothing. You can take your pick of Macbeths and Henry Vs and any number of Two Gentlemen of Verona.
Just try, though, to find a production of Pericles.  According to some sources, Shakespeare was just a co-writer on this play, responsible for roughly half the lines. (The other writer is supposed to be a man named George Wilkins. Not much is known about Wilkins. He was apparently an inn-keeper who was into some dodgy activities.

The basic plot is that a man offers his daughter's hand in marriage to anyone who can solve a riddle but those who fail to solve the riddle will die. Pericles, Prince of Tyre, understands the riddle but ... well, it's not that simple is it?
Welsh actor Mike Gwilym, who played Dick Francis' jockey hero Sid Halley in some early adaptations of the novel The Racing Game, played the prince in the BBC adaptation of the play. Welsh-Canadian actor Geraint Wyn Davies, now a mainstay at the annual Stratford Shakespeare Festival (he's in Cymbeline this year), played the part for them at least two decades ago. (My friend Susan Garrett, who did a lot of fan fiction based on his cult series Forever Knight, had a photo of herself taken with a standup of the actor in his Pericles armor. It's a great picture but I can't find it.)
I've never seen this play performed live. I did see the TV adaptation with Gwilym but remember almost nothing about it except that Gwilym had the most intense eyes.