This post was used to provide coverage for a program celebrating Shakespeare's 450th birthday. The program was held by The Smithsonian Associates and hosted a speaker from the Folger Shakespeare Library.

1. A StandingOvationforShakespeare
In myprevious blogpostonShakespeare,Iwrote abouthow Shakespeare’stimelessthemesare one of
the many reasonsthathe isstill sobelovedafter450 years.Duringthe SmithsonianAssociates’lecture
“Shakespeare 450: A StandingOvation,”onTuesdayevening, Carol AnnLloydStangerillustratedthis
witha heartwarmingandbeautiful example.
In a war camp in Syria,childrenandfamilieslive inacommunitymade of tentsanddirtroads.The
childrendon’tattendschool;itisthe leastof theirconcerns.Syrianactor-turned-directorNawwar
Bulbul wasnotokay withthe prospectof these childrenlosingvaluable timeintheirlivesforeducation
and imagination.So,withthe helpof some of hisfriends,he created“Shakespeare’sTent.”
Thisis a place where childrencancome to puton productionsof Shakespearewithone requirement:
they have to promise Bulbul thatthey will returntoschool assoonas they can.
Withthe promise made,the children settoworkto put ontheirproductionsof King Lear and Hamlet.
Both are playsthat deal withthemesof loss,honesty,andpower.The mostimportantpartof these
productionsforBulbul isthe line,“tobe or notto be,” fromHamlet.
“Theyso craveda safe place totalk aboutlives,fears,theirsense of loss…andthatplace was
Shakespeare,”Stangerexplained.
The childrenperformed theirplaysinthe centerof the camp,on a stage thattook the formof a giant
square drawnin the sand, withswordsmade of broomsand oldbrokenpipes.Theywore the clothes
that theyhad onthat day. Familiesandfriendscame towatchthe performance andeventuallythey
were invitedtoAmmantoperformforan evenlargercrowd.
These children’sentire viewof themselveschanged.Theyhadthe confidence toperforminfrontof all
of these people.Theyhadaway to cope withthe challengesthattheyfaced.Andtheywere shownthe
endlesspossibilitiesthatare outthere.Asone girl commented, she could“be anactor, or a doctor,who
knows?”
Andas one childsaid, “I do notfeel lonelyanymore.”
Withthisstory inmind,Stangerbeggedthe question:WhyShakespeare?
Why dowe continue toreadthe worksof a man whowas born450 yearsago? Why didBulbul choose
himas a pathfor these children’seducation?
The firstanswerthat poppedintomyheadwas the themes.King Learand Hamlet are tragediesthat
feature darkissues. The charactersface loss,the corruptionandchangingof power,andthe choice
betweenwhatisrightandwhatis wrong.Thismay not directlyreflectthe livesof the readerorviewer
(or actor, inthiscase),butthe emotionsandtribulationsbehindthe themesare universal,asare the
waysin whichwe deal withthem. These childrenuseddarkplayswrittenover400 yearsago to cope
withthe emotions theyfacedandthe violencearoundthem.

2. A StandingOvationforShakespeare
Stangerhad a much longerlistof reasonsfor“Why Shakespeare?”whichshe callsherShakespeare Top
10. She usedthislistto not only shedlightonthe questionathand,but alsoto provide the audience
witha lookinto the life andtimesof Shakespeare.
Right Time: In England,duringShakespeare’slife,there were manychangesoccurring.Itwasa time
for explorationintonewworlds,new sciences,andnew social structures.These new findingsand
ideasneedednew language tocommunicate them,andShakespeare wasjustthe manfor the job.It
was alsoa time whenthere wasa shiftfromtheater asa groupof travelingplayersto theaterasan
establishedbuilding,or“the theater”aswe thinkof ittoday.
Right Place: Shakespeare’sfatherheldmanycivicpositionsintheirtownof StratfordUponAvon.
One of these positions,bailiff,requiredthathe approve all playsthatwere tobe puton for the
people of the town. Players wouldcome tohishouse andperformjustfor him.Itisn’thard to
imagine ayoungwide-eyedShakespeare sittingwithhisfatherwatchingthese playsandhavinghis
interestforthe theaterheightened.Shakespeare wasanactor before he wasa playwright,anditis
speculatedthathe mayhave joinedone of these travelinggroupsthatcame throughhistown.
Royal Support: DuringShakespeare’stimeasan actor and a playwright,twomonarchsheldthe
throne:QueenElizabethIandKingJamesI.Bothwere highlyfondof pageantry,celebration,and
flamboyance, whichledtoaninterestinthe theater.There wasseriouscensorshipduringthistime
and more oftenthannot,one wouldwrite theirplaystoplease the monarch. Stangermentioneda
funstory: manylike tothinkQueenElizabethIlovedthe characterof Falstaff in Henry IV so much,
that she askedShakespeare use himmore often.Fromthiscame The Merry Wives of Windsor,
where Falstaff makesmore of anappearance.
Social Changes:Social mobilitywasbecomingmore of a factorat the time.Shakespeare appliedto
have a coat of arms made for hisfather,whichcanbe seenatthe FolgerShakespeare Library.The
fact that a familywith aslittle political powerasShakespeare’swouldbe grantedacoat of arms was
a reflectionof the times.More andmore people were applyingandbeinggrantedcoatsof arms
duringhistime.
Actor’s Eye: Asmentionedpreviously,Shakespeare wasanactorbefore he wasa playwright.He
may have actedin some of hisownplays,and some scholarsthinkhe performedasthe Ghostof
Hamletinhisproductionsof Hamlet. Playswere writtennottobe read,but to be watched,and
Shakespeare’sexperienceasanactor gave himvaluable insightwhenhe transitionedtothe role of a
playwright.He knewhowtowrite forthe actors, for the stage,andfor the audience.
Comedies:Shakespeare’scomediesalmostalwaysfeaturethe promise of marriage,atrickor a
prank,a worldthathas beenputback together, aknotthat has beenunknotted, andfamily.Some
examplesare Much Ado AboutNothing,MidsummerNight’sDream,andTwelfth Night.
Histories:The historyplays,whileoftendreadedthe mostbyschool children,are “endlessly
adaptable”asStangersays. Theyfeature boththe pastand what is to come,politicsthenandnow,
and questionwhoisandwhoshouldbe king.Inhishistoryplays, Shakespeare doesnothesitateto

3. A StandingOvationforShakespeare
playaroundwithcharacters and plot,tomake it more entertaining,aslongas the historical
outcome isthe same.Modern renditionsof the historyplayscanbe usedto reflectsentimentsat
the time.
Tragedies:Shakespeare’stragedieshave the abilitytobringusto the edge of our seat,to tears,and
to cause us to thinkdeeplyaboutthe questionshe posesthroughhischaractersandtheiractions.
There isalmostalwaysan endingwhere the worldisstill brokenandthe deathtoll ishigh.“It’sbeing
catapultedtowardan outcome youcan't prevent,"Stangercomments,andIthinkthisiswhatkeeps
us so intriguedandinterested.We sodesperatelywantRomeotowake upintime,or Othellotofind
out the truth aboutDesdemona,butwe know withShakespeare’stragediesitisnotlikely.
Timeless:If I have saidit once,I’ve saidita thousandtimes.Shakespeare’s themes, andevensome
of hischaracters,are timeless.Thatiswhythe childreninSyriaperformedhisplaysandthatiswhy
manypeople are gatheringthroughoutthe worldthisyeartocelebrate his450th
birthday.
Language: Stangerpointedoutto the audience that,because mostof Shakespeare’splayswere
basedoff of existingnarratives,the theatergoersdidnotattendhisproductionsforthe plotorthe
outcome,butinsteadtheymusthave gone tolistentothe beautiful languagethathe crafted.