Why I Love Shakespeare: a Love Letter to the Bard
William Shakespeare, AKA
Willm Shakp,
William Shaksper,
Wm Shakspe,
William Shakspere,
Willm Shakspere,
William Shakspeare, or however you choose to spell your name, or if you even exist (another post for another day),
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
Don't worry, I won't wax poetic on you, as much as I love speaking your poetry, I'm not one for writing it. I'll leave that to you, which actually is one of the reasons I've fallen for your words.
Despite having created these plays ages ago, for another world that went about their day to day in a completely different frame of mind than we do today, you've managed to create lives I completely understand and see around me. It's not just kings and politics, but the common man, the jealous spouse, the peacekeeper, the young romantic. And you infuse them all with so much humanity that all an actor needs to do is speak these words the stage is alive with ships, dungeons, forests, and mountains.
I also love you for you comedy. Thank you for making me laugh in every play you write. I've seen productions of your shows where everyone is in gray, and speaks so "importantly" to capture your "pathos", and it makes me want to go insane. Your shows are saturated with passion and energy. With comedy and rage. Thank you for giving us all of those emotions in spades!
Thank you for playing such a huge hand in the addition of the English language. An example: I learned once that you are the one responsible for the word eyeball. Eyeball? I have used that word countless times, as have countless others. Faulkner and E. E. Cummings were wonderful, but they don't hold a candle to your perfection of the fluid use of English to convey understanding to the listener.
I wish I could better express how I feel about you and the love that I have fostered for you since I first saw that 'Wishbone' episode of Romeo and Juliet, but I find that words simply don't do justice, which I guess is what this rambling letter is all about. You give me words. All the chaotic thoughts that crash and bang around in my mind are perfectly brought into order when I get to use your poetry. As the theatre world goes through it's trends of what's important and what's relevant, I will always know that my love for you is unchanging. And that this love is in others as well, I can see it in the eyes of audiences when I speak your words. I see it in the fact that I can be performing at a crowded park filled with helicopter rides, treats, games, and sudden windstorms, and we still have strangers staying to watch our show even though all the actors are literally holding up the stage so it doesn't blow away. Your words are ageless, your words are more powerful than the elements, and your words are a daily part of my life, a fact I will forever wear proudly for all to see.
Your humble servant
Daniel Fenton Anderson,
Baptista,
Richard III,
Nurse,
Don Pedro,
Jaques,
Demetrius,
Prospero,
Catesby,
Clarence,
Montano,
Falstaff,
Sylvius,
Clown
And Snug the Joiner.
About Daniel Fenton Anderson:
Daniel is thrilled to return to the GSC Summer Tour and is exited to be in his third production of As You Like It! This Lindon resident is currently a student at UVU and is a founding member of The Grasroots Shakespeare Company. Some of his favorite roles include: 'Prospero' in The Tempest, 'Falstaff' in both The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV part 2 , 'Giles Corey' in The Crucible, 'Senator Fipp' in Urinetown and 'Pap' in Big River. When not in school or on stage, Daniel loves composing (KCACTF National Finalist for Sound Design), cooking, accordion and violin.
Find Daniel online at www.danielfentonanderson.com.
Find Daniel online at www.danielfentonanderson.com.
***Video featuring Daniel Anderson coming soon. Check our facebook page later this week for the video, then come and see our shows! Details at www.grassrootsshakespeare.com and our Facebook Event. ***
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