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Shakespeare Anyone?

By: Kourtney Smith & Elyse Sharp
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  • Summary

  • Shakespeare Anyone? is co-hosted by Elyse Sharp and Kourtney Smith, two professional actors and hobbyist Shakespeare scholars. Join us as we explore Shakepeare’s plays through as many lenses as we can by looking at the text and how the text is viewed through modern lenses of feminism, racism, classism, colonialism, nationalism… all the-isms. We will discuss how his plays shaped both the past and present, and look at how his work was performed throughout various periods of time–all while trying our best to approach his works without giving in to bardolatry. We examine one play at a time for an extended window of time, interspersed with mini-episodes about Shakespeare’s time for context. Episodes are released every other week.
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Episodes
  • Much Ado About Nothing: Gender Roles and Norms in Shakespeare's Time

    Much Ado About Nothing: Gender Roles and Norms in Shakespeare's Time
    Jul 17 2024

    In our first deep dive episode into the world of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, we are examining early modern gender norms and how they influence the world of Messina and Leonato's household in Shakespeare's play.

    Join us as we discuss the spectrum of womanhood represented by Hero and Beatrice and examine the early modern anxieties that fuelled representations of cuckoldry on stage (and where did the idea of horns come from?). We'll also explore the early modern ideal of the silent wife and the trope of women at windows before talking about how modern theatremakers can choose to address these themes.

    Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and 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

    You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.

    Works referenced:

    Berger, Harry. “Against the Sink-a-Pace: Sexual and Family Politics In Much Ado About Nothing.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 33, no. 3, 1982, pp. 302–13. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2869734. Accessed 9 July 2024.

    Cohen, Stephen. “‘No Assembly but Horn-Beast’: The Politics of Cuckoldry in Shakespeare’s Romantic Comedies.” Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies, vol. 4, no. 2, 2004, pp. 5–34. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40339529. Accessed 16 July 2024.

    Friedman, Michael D. “‘Hush’d on Purpose to Grace Harmony’: Wives and Silence in ‘Much Ado about Nothing.’” Theatre Journal, vol. 42, no. 3, 1990, pp. 350–363, https://doi.org/10.2307/3208080.

    Lewis, Cynthia. “‘You Were an Actor with Your Handkerchief’: Women, Windows, and Moral Agency.” Comparative Drama, vol. 43, no. 4, 2009, pp. 473–96. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23038006. Accessed 9 July 2024.

    McEachern, Claire. “Why Do Cuckolds Have Horns?” Huntington Library Quarterly, vol. 71, no. 4, 2008, pp. 607–31. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1525/hlq.2008.71.4.607. Accessed 16 July 2024.

    THOMSON, LESLIE. “Window Scenes in Renaissance Plays: A Survey and Some Conclusions.” Medieval & Renaissance Drama in England, vol. 5, 1991, pp. 225–43. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24322098. Accessed 9 July 2024.
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    53 mins
  • Much Ado About Nothing: Stuff to Chew On

    Much Ado About Nothing: Stuff to Chew On
    Jul 3 2024

    To kick off our series on Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, we are (as always) starting with an overview of basic facts about the play and an introduction to the major themes and motifs of the play.

    Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and 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

    You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod

    Works referenced:

    Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing: Revised Edition. Edited by Claire McEachern, 2nd ed., Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.

    SparkNotes Editors. “Much Ado About Nothing.” SparkNotes.com, SparkNotes LLC, 2005, https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/muchado/section1/.
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    26 mins
  • Much Ado About Nothing: Synopsis

    Much Ado About Nothing: Synopsis
    Jun 19 2024

    It's time for our next play, and we are so excited to dive into the world of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. As always, we will start off with a detailed plot summary, breaking down the action of the play scene by scene. Let's dive in!

    Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and 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

    You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod

    Works referenced:

    Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing: Revised Edition. Edited by Claire McEachern, 2nd ed., Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.
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    1 hr and 27 mins
Art Entertainment & Performing Arts
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Profile Image for Anonymous User

Detailed information with contextual relevance

I love this podcast as it is accessible while still being intellectual and engaging. I love all of the contextual information surrounding the “isms” and even as a HUGE Shakespeare nerd, they have taught me things I didn’t know! Huge recommend!

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Profile Image for J. Henderson

Accessible and educational

This podcast takes an in-depth look at Shakespeare through a ton of different lenses. It is well-researched and they cite their sources giving listeners the chance to further explore topics. But they keep information presented in a clear and easy to access way. A must listen for anyone who loves Shakespeare.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Carin

Overly simplified

I am not a scholar but I know enough about Tudor England and Shakespeare to know that this podcast is overly simplified to the point of being inaccurate. I believe the hosts are trying to be entertaining and perhaps "hip" but I would prefer something educational, academic, and balanced.

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