http://upstartdramaturg.com Thu, 24 Jan 2008 07:47:32 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en  Whether you  want to exchange venom with your friends or "swear horrible" at your most formidable foes, here's a list of 50 insults from Shakespeare. Use these invective terms wisely, or else you may suffer a bloody coxcomb.  cur rascal rogue natural coward without instinct foe to nobleness crafty devil fiend unbaked and doughy youth amorous surfeiter O vile viper! foul ... http://upstartdramaturg.com/?p=22 Question: Are pencils period at all? Answer: Yes, some sort of pencil could be used, but it would not be the manufactured wooden sticks we are familiar with today. The first mass-produced pencils weren't created until   1662. Graphite was discovered in England by 1594. It was almost immediately quarried and used to create writing ... http://upstartdramaturg.com/?p=21 Question: Did people in 1602 make the sign of the cross? Answer: Yes. There are examples of early Christians making the sign of the cross since 200-300 A.D. Early indication of the sign would have been made with two fingers marking the forehead. It was used as a greeting to ... http://upstartdramaturg.com/?p=20  What happened after an Elizabethan author finished a script? http://upstartdramaturg.com/?p=19 I have a new packet of information about rhetorical hand gestures. This translating captions from John Bulwer's 1644 publication Chirologia, The Natural Language of the Hand. For your benefit, I have translated the captions into English. Please note, the words and phrases are not directly translated. Instead, I chose to ... http://upstartdramaturg.com/?p=17 In our Meet & Greet, several people mentioned that they were introduced to Shakespeare through productions like Twelfth Night, or Whatever... Now I'm wondering if any of our New York affiliates got to see the recent Twelfth Night of the Living Dead? Thanks to Lillian (one of the production's stitchers) ... http://upstartdramaturg.com/?p=16 Our third rehearsal began with a meet and greet with the entire PCS staff. It takes a lot of bodies to get a production on its feet, and we had a sizable congregation to meet or greet.  We introduced ourselves with a brief explanation of our first exposure to Shakespeare.  ... http://upstartdramaturg.com/?p=15 Today marks the beginning of the tablework process for both plays. I like tablework, particularly because it is an active outlet for dramaturgy. I think I was particularly antsy to get this process underway after spending he past few weeks holed up in my apartment (or nursing the same cup ... http://upstartdramaturg.com/?p=14 I am posting this entry as a placeholder for communications. This is a good place to: alert me to resources you want to share ask questions  say hello I check for comments frequently and I am equally accessible by email (which can be found on the production contact sheet). Thanks! http://upstartdramaturg.com/?p=13 “By the way, I’ve just finished most of the books you gave me—I’ve got Lyly, just done Euphues, Sydney, Spenser (and oh, by the way, a-DORED Catullus—)” Will, p. 53 The Beard of Avon Lyly John Lyly (1554-1606) was playwright, raised in Canterbury and educated at Oxford. Lyly moved to London after ... http://upstartdramaturg.com/?p=12