In today's episode, we are exploring the character of Malvolio by diving into the history of the Puritan Movement in Early Modern England. Because Malvolio is described throughout the play as a Puritan, we will examine what a contemporary understanding of Puritanism would have added to the play (and especially that letter scene) for Shakespeare's audiences. 

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Note: When this episode was recorded, Kourtney Smith was using the stage name "Korey Leigh Smith".

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

Works referenced:

Simmons, J. L. “A Source for Shakespeare’s Malvolio: The Elizabethan Controversy with the Puritans.” Huntington Library Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 3, University of California Press, 1973, pp. 181–201, https://doi.org/10.2307/3816599. Accessed 3 Sept. 2021

Thompson, James Westfall. “Shakespeare and Puritanism.” The North American Review, vol. 212, no. 777, 1920, pp. 228–237. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25120573. Accessed 30 Aug. 2021.

Winship, Michael P. Hot Protestants: A History of Puritanism in England and America. Yale University Press, 2018. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvbnm3ss. Accessed 4 Sept. 2021.

In today's episode, we are talking about what might be the most famous theatre in the English-speaking world: The Globe Theatre, and what we know about what it would be like to be an audience member seeing a Shakespeare play at The Globe. 

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Note: When this episode was recorded, Kourtney Smith was "Korey Leigh Smith".

Episode written and researched by Kourtney Smith.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

Works referenced:

Alchin, L.K. “Globe Theatre Interior.” Elizabethan Era, Siteseen Ltd., Accessed on 16 May 2012 from http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/globe-theatre-interior.htm. 

Bryson, Bill. “Ch. 6 Years of Fame 1596-1603.” Shakespeare: The World as Stage, Atlas Books, New York, 2016, pp. 124–127. 

“Globe Theatre.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Aug. 2021, Accessed on 25 Aug. 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Theatre. 

Henslowe, Philip. The diary of Philip Henslowe, from 1591 to 1609. Printed from the original manuscript preserved at Dulwich college. London, Shakespeare Society, 1845.

No Sweat Shakespeare. Lord Chamberlain's Men and King's Men Company Member Timeline. Instagram, 29 August 2021, https://www.instagram.com/p/CTKPYXxr7Y6/?utm_medium=copy_link.

“Who Were These People? Audiences in Shakespeare's Day.” Seattle Shakespeare Company, Seattle Shakespeare Company, 23 Jan. 2018, Accessed on 27 Aug. 2021 from https://www.seattleshakespeare.org/who-were-these-people/. 

Where did Shakespeare get his jokes? In today's episode, we dive into the comedic tropes Shakespeare uses in the plot of Twelfth Night and where they came from. 

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Note: When this episode was recorded, Kourtney Smith was "Korey Leigh Smith".

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

Works referenced:

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Commedia dell'arte". Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Nov. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/art/commedia-dellarte. Accessed 21 August 2021.

Felver, Charles S. “Robert Armin, Shakespeare's Source for Touchstone.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 7, no. 1, 1956, pp. 135–137. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2866142. Accessed 21 Aug. 2021.

Gray, Austin K. “Robert Armine, the Foole.” PMLA, vol. 42, no. 3, 1927, pp. 673–685. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/457397. Accessed 17 Aug. 2021.

Hobgood, Allison P. “‘Twelfth Night’s’ ‘Notorious Abuse’ of Malvolio: Shame, Humorality, and Early Modern Spectatorship.” Shakespeare Bulletin, vol. 24, no. 3, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006, pp. 1–22, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26347474. Accessed 20 Aug. 2021.

G. Salingar. “The Design of Twelfth Night.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 9, no. 2, 1958, pp. 117–139. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2867233. Accessed 21 Aug. 2021.

“La Commedia Dell'arte.” La Commedia Dell'Arte, sites.google.com/site/italiancommedia/home?authuser=0. Accessed 21 Aug. 2021

Penuel, Suzanne. “Missing Fathers: Twelfth Night and the Reformation of Mourning.” Studies in Philology, vol. 107, no. 1, 2010, pp. 74–96. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25656037. Accessed 15 Aug. 2021.

“Twelfth Night (Theatre).” TV Tropes, tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Theatre/TwelfthNight. Accessed 15 Aug. 2021.

In today’s episode, we’ll be covering cross-dressing in early modern England. Shakespeare depicts cross-dressing in multiple plays, but what was the contemporary cultural context? We'll dive into early modern reactions to cross-dressing both onstage and off and how Shakespeare uses cross-dressing as a plot device across his plays. 

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Note: When this episode was recorded, Kourtney Smith was "Korey Leigh Smith".

Episode written and researched by Kourtney Smith.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

Works referenced:

Cressy, David. “Gender Trouble and Cross-Dressing in Early Modern England.” Journal of British Studies, vol. 35, no. 4, 1996, pp. 438–452. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/176000. Accessed 28 May 2021.

Howard, Jean E. “Crossdressing, The Theatre, and Gender Struggle in Early Modern England.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 39, no. 4, 1988, pp. 418–440. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2870706. Accessed 19 May 2021.

Saccardi, Nadia. “Women Cross-Dressing and the Early Modern.” The Costume Society, The Costume Society, 2014, accessed 18 May 2021 from costumesociety.org.uk/blog/post/women-cross-dressing-and-the-early-modern. 

In today's episode, we explore Shakespeare's Twelfth Night through the lens of Gender and Queer Theory. We take a look at how Early Modern concepts of gender and queerness may have influenced the writing of Twelfth Night and how modern productions use the play to explore themes related to gender and queer identity. 

In the second half of the episode, we are joined by our first ever guest of the pod, Dr. Sawyer Kemp to continue our discussion on Gender and Queer Theory. 

Dr. Sawyer Kemp (they/them) is a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow in Transgender Studies with the Gender & Women’s Studies department at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Sawyer’s current book project investigates the rhetoric and industry of “accessibility” in contemporary Shakespeare performance. Exploring access as a tool for feminist and queer critique, this project analyzes theatres’ impact on and outreach to communities of trans and gender non-conforming people, sexual assault survivors, and people with disabilities.

Sawyer’s work has appeared in Shakespeare Quarterly, Shakespeare Studies, The Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies, and the edited collection Teaching Social Justice Through Shakespeare. Their most recent article, “Two Othellos: Transitioning Anti-Blackness” is forthcoming in Shakespeare Bulletin.

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

When this episode was recorded, Kourtney Smith was "Korey Leigh Smith".

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

Works referenced:

Ake, Jami. “Glimpsing a ‘Lesbian’ Poetics in ‘Twelfth Night.’” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, vol. 43, no. 2, 2003, pp. 375–394. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4625073. Accessed 20 June 2021.

Aughterson, Kate, and Ailsa Grant Ferguson. "Chapter 4: Cross-dressing and Gender Transgression(s)". Shakespeare and Gender: Sex and Sexuality in Shakespeare's Drama. The Arden Shakespeare, 2020, pp. 97-121. Accessed 19 June 2021.

Barker, Roberta. “The ‘Play-Boy,’ the Female Performer, and the Art of Portraying a Lady.” Shakespeare Bulletin, vol. 33, no. 1, 2015, pp. 83–97. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26355090. Accessed 19 June 2021.

Charles, Casey. “Gender Trouble in ‘Twelfth Night.’” Theatre Journal, vol. 49, no. 2, 1997, pp. 121–141. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3208678. Accessed 19 June 2021.

Coontz, Stephanie, et al. “Marriage vs Friendship.” Call Your Girlfriend, 2 Aug. 2009, www.callyourgirlfriend.com/episodes/2019/08/02/marriage-vs-friendship. 

Dekkar, Thomas, and Thomas Middleton. “The Roaring Girl. OR Moll Cutpurse.” Folger Shakespeare Library, 21 July 2017. https://emed.folger.edu/sites/default/files/folger_encodings/pdf/EMED-Roaring-reg-3.pdf

“Introduction.” Twelfth Night, edited by Keir Elam, The Arden Shakespeare, 2008, pp. 57-68, 111-119. Third.

McManus, Clare. “When Is a Woman Not a Woman? Or, Jacobean Fantasies of Female Performance (1606–1611).” Modern Philology, vol. 105, no. 3, 2008, pp. 437–474. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/591257. Accessed 18 June 2021.

“Volume 19, Number 4, Fall 2019 Special Issue: Early Modern Trans Studies Guest Editors: Simone Chess, Colby Gordon, and Will Fisher.” Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies, Project MUSE, 24 Sept. 2020, muse.jhu.edu/issue/42946.

In today’s mini-episode, we are exploring Shakespeare’s Language Framework.

In this episode, we will discuss technical elements of how Shakespeare plays  were written,  as well as provide tips and tricks for navigating what can be a major hurdle to reading and performing Shakespeare: the text itself. How do you actually start to understand what is written on the page?

We dive into the clues that can be found by looking at the syllables in each of Shakespeare's lines. 

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Note: When this episode was recorded, Kourtney Smith was "Korey Leigh Smith".

Episode written and researched by Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

Works referenced:

Shakespeare, William, et al. Speak the Speech!: Shakespeare's Monologues Illuminated. Faber and Faber, 2002.

Scholars know that Shakespeare's Twelfth Night was performed at court. But what does that mean? 

In today's episode, we're diving into what producing a play at court looked like for Shakespeare and his contemporaries as well as how performing at court influenced characters and themes of plays like Twelfth Night. 

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Note: When this episode was recorded, Kourtney Smith was using the stage name "Korey Leigh Smith".

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

Works referenced:

Bergeron, David M. “Court Masques about Stuart London.” Studies in Philology, vol. 113, no. 4, 2016, pp. 822–849. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44329617. Accessed 18 June 2021.

Henslowe, Philip. The diary of Philip Henslowe, from 1591 to 1609. Printed from the original manuscript preserved at Dulwich college. London, Shakespeare Society, 1845.

Hirrel, Michael J. “Duration of Performances and Lengths of Plays: How Shall We Beguile the Lazy Time?” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 61, no. 2, 2010, pp. 159–182. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40731154. Accessed 23 May 2021.

Lucy Munro. “Actors, Plays and Performances in the Indoor Playhouses, 1625–42: Boy Players, Leading Men and the Caroline Ensemble.” The Yearbook of English Studies, vol. 44, 2014, pp. 51–68. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5699/yearenglstud.44.2014.0051. Accessed 18 June 2021.

RANKIN, MARK. “Henry VIII, Shakespeare, and the Jacobean Royal Court.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, vol. 51, no. 2, 2011, pp. 349–366. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23028079. Accessed 24 May 2021.

Streitberger, W. R. “Chambers on the Revels Office and Elizabethan Theater History.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 59, no. 2, 2008, pp. 185–209. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40210263. Accessed 23 May 2021.

“The Royal Household and Its Revels.” Music in Elizabethan Court Politics, by Katherine Butler, NED - New edition ed., Boydell & Brewer, Woodbridge, Suffolk; Rochester, NY, 2015, pp. 76–104. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt7zst07.10. Accessed 23 May 2021.

Vanhoutte, Jacqueline. "Introduction" & "3: Remembering Old Boys in Twelfth Night". Age in Love: Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Court, University of Nebraska Press, 2019, pp. 1–32 & 121-158.

In this episode, we will go over the major themes of Twelfth Night and touch on topics we will cover in depth in future episodes as well as any fun facts. 

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Note: When this episode was recorded, Kourtney Smith was using the stage name "Korey Leigh Smith".

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

Works Referenced:

“Introduction.” Twelfth Night, edited by Keir Elam, The Arden Shakespeare, 2008, pp. 1–26. Third.

SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNotes: Twelfth Night.” SparkNotes.com, SparkNotes LLC, 2005. Accessed 14 May. 2021 from https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/twelfthnight/.

It's time to dive into our second play! To cleanse our palates of the murder and mayhem of Macbeth, we are switching to one of Shakespeare's comedies: Twelfth Night!

As with Macbeth, we are starting off with a summary of the action in the play--just in case it has been a while since you've read the play or if you are unfamiliar with it. 

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Note: When this episode was recorded, Kourtney Smith was "Korey Leigh Smith".

Episode written by Elyse Sharp and Kourtney Smith.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Works referenced:

Shakespeare, William, and Keir Elam. Twelfth Night: or What You Will. Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare, 2017.

We can hardly believe it, but here it is: our final episode in our Macbeth series (for now)! Before moving on to our next play, we wanted to cover how Macbeth has been adapted for stage and screen and how the myth of the hero turned tyrant continues to shape our world narratives. 

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Note: When this episode was recorded, Kourtney Smith was using the stage name "Korey Leigh Smith".

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Additional sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

Works referenced:

• Barnes, Todd Landon. “George W. Bush's ‘Three Shakespeares’: ‘Macbeth, Macbush’, and the Theater of War.” Shakespeare Bulletin, vol. 26, no. 3, 2008, pp. 1–29. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26347734. Accessed 28 Mar. 2021. 
• Bickley, Pamela and Jennifer Stevens. “Macbeth.” Studying Shakespeare Adaptation: from Restoration Theatre to YouTube, by Pamela Bickley and Jennifer Stevens, The Arden Shakespeare, 2021, pp. 165–183
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Theatre of the Absurd". Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 May. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/art/Theatre-of-the-Absurd. Accessed 27 March 2021.
• Brown, Eric C. “Shakespeare, Class, and ‘Scotland, PA.’” Literature/Film Quarterly, vol. 34, no. 2, 2006, pp. 147–153. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43797270. Accessed 28 Mar. 2021.
• Cain, Bill. Equivocation. Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 2014. 
• HOPKINS, D. J. Theatre Journal, vol. 64, no. 2, 2012, pp. 269–271., www.jstor.org/stable/41679587. Accessed 28 Mar. 2021.
• Jarry, Alfred, et al. “Ubu Roi.” The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama, by William B. Worthen, Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011, pp. 714–731. 
• Kevin Wetmore. Ecumenica, vol. 3, no. 1, 2010, pp. 65–67. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/ecumenica.3.1.0065. Accessed 28 Mar. 2021.
• Koehler, Robert. “Makibefo.” Variety, Variety, 18 Feb. 2003, variety.com/2003/film/reviews/makibefo-1200543361/.
• Menon, Sita. “Watch Maqbool. It Is Class!” Rediff, Rediff.com, 30 Jan. 2004, in.rediff.com/movies/2004/jan/30maqbool.htm.
• Piepenbring, Dan. “An Inglorious Slop-Pail of a Play.” The Paris Review, The Paris Review, 9 Sept. 2015, www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/09/08/an-inglorious-slop-pail-of-a-play/.
• Prince, Stephen. “Throne of Blood: Shakespeare Transposed.” The Criterion Collection, The Criterion Collection, 6 Jan. 2014, www.criterion.com/current/posts/270-throne-of-blood-shakespeare-transposed.
• Rooks, Amanda Kane. “Macbeth's Wicked Women: Sexualized Evil in Geoffrey Wright's ‘Macbeth.’” Literature/Film Quarterly, vol. 37, no. 2, 2009, pp. 151–160. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43797714. Accessed 26 Mar. 2021.
• Smith, Alfred Edgar. We Work Again. Performance by Maurice Ellis, and Charles Collins, U.S. Works Progress Administration, 1937. National Film Preservation Foundation, www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-films/screening-room/voodoo-macbeth#. Film notes by Scott Simmon
• Stevens, Jennifer, and Pamela Bickley. “Macbeth.” Studying Shakespeare Adaptation: from Restoration Theatre to YouTube, by Pamela Bickley and Jennifer Stevens, The Arden Shakespeare, 2021, pp. 165–183.
• Taylor, Jane, et al. “Ubu and The Truth Commission.” The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama, by William B. Worthen, Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011, pp. 1710–1724.