2-07-13

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     We are about to begin reading Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Shakespeare is a great play writer. In Shakespeare's texts he didn't include a lot of stage directions, but yet the actors and directors were still able to act of the scenes. They did this by reading the text, and then adapting the scene to what they believed would be happening. This is why no two Shakespeare plays are the exact same.
     Shakespeare was well educated for his time. He is believed to have attended the King's New School. This school was in Stratford. The school was one of the grammer schools of the time. He left the school to go to London to be part of the theatrical world, but according to the Folger Shakespeare Library it is unknown as to why or when he left to go to London.

William Shakespeare
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     Shakespeare's plays first came around before stage lighting came around. In his time, they used "universal lighting" or the light from the sun. The light they used was the light of the sun because they did not have the lights that we have today. If they had to act as if it was night, it was told through the text or characters. The plays were popular enough that even the commoners were able to attend them. The commoners were allowed to pay a lower price, but had to stand. They were called "groundlings" because they had to stand on the ground in the theater.
     At the beginning of Shakespeare's time, women were unable to be in the plays. If there was a woman in the play, the part was played by a man. In Twelfth Night, there would have been no females playing the female roles. Later on, women were finally allowed to be part of the plays. According to the Folger Shakespeare Library, Shakespeare is buried in Stratford in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church.