This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
alliterator: May I just say that this is brilliant. Especially "You know what else is fun? Murder."
Kilyle: Absolutely agree on that line. This entry is better than I envisioned it, and it's only getting started. Kudos!
Fast Eddie: Did we get too cute with the title of the write up for Mistaken Identity? I couldn't find it, and it is so fundamental a ploy, you'd think we would have it by now.
Unknown Troper who is taking charge of this page, even though she has no proof of the fact : "Mistaken Identity" doesn't show up as a link to anything anymore - look at your own comment - so I changed it. You're right, it is integral to many of the Comedies. Maybe I did get a little too cute with it. Just a pinch.
Kilyle: UT, Fast Eddie isn't against your edit - he's saying that the name this wiki came up with for Mistaken Identity might be too weird to easily guess. I spent about thirty seconds looking for it, and came up with a bunch of Mistaken For X tropes, but nothing like what we're after. Anyone contact SPOON?
Unknown Troper from above: *shrug* Ehh, maybe it's just the wiki threatening to become self-aware again. (Silly Wiki! Self-awareness is for humans!) Anyway, I'd like some feedback on the latest edit I made, including a segment to write about memorable productions of Shakespeare - not films, but live performances that can't be rented at a video store. Is that a good idea, or will it threaten to take over? Thoughts? Thanks.
KEVP: Burbage was a bit overweight, at least by modern standards, but I don't think he qualifies as "very fat". There is no evidence he played Falstaff, that role was probably taken by one of the company's comic actors. There is no evidence he played Henry VIII, he would have been too old for the role (it was a play at the end of Shakespeare's career, none of them were young men any more), he probably played Cardinal Wolsey in that play. This "Burbage was the fatman" theory is a theory of just one particular scholar, and is not universally accepted.
KEVP: The boy players were not inexperienced, they were highly trained from the age of eight and started with smaller roles before moving on to bigger ones. Think of some of the very talented child movie stars and you will realize this isn't impossible.
UT: I recognize your suggestions and have implemented these changes.
Nightsky: I've finally gotten around to turning vifetoile's verse into a proper sonnet. Here's her original, archived: And so, the newest Bard you wish to be!
A task that many have despaired to try
Do you possess a gift for comedy
To make the words sound natural and rhyme?
(They needn't rhyme; that's just the poor-man's view) — In fact, when clowns are stealing the show, you'll notice that the writer drops the poetry entirely!
*cough* Prepare yourself for monologues unmatched
Your quotes the cheese to every Ham's delight
But don't think you can bluff your way to fame
Behind the old-tyme phrase and phallic jests,
The plays hold up a mirror to the age,
And strike at something true within ourselves,
Which gives them such a power on the stage
Still game to try? What ho! Let's have some fun
And make Ol' Shakespeare for his money run.
And here's a spare quatrain I decided to leave out:
You’ll need to write a monologue or two
And make your lines sound natural, and rhyme
(They needn't rhyme; that's just the poor man's view)
Perhaps your work will stand the test of time?
My attempt is up. If anyone wants to take a whack at it, feel free.
Vifetoile: I like it! I approve wholeheartedly. Thank you.
