There are three super-famous quotes in Julius Caesar, and today's installment of A Stick-Figure Julius Caesar features one of them.
Nobody ever listens to soothsayers. It must be an incredibly frustrating occupation.
Julius Caesar: Act 1, Scene 1
OK, let's start Julius Caesar with a big old street party.
This scene introduces us to Julius Caesar's arguably most important character: the mob. They get talked down here, but don't underestimate them.
The other two guys are the tribunes Flavius and Marullus. You will never see them again.
Julius Caesar: Dramatis Personae
Yes, it's that time again... time to start another scene-by-scene journey through one of Shakespeare's plays! This time we're tackling Julius Caesar. As always, let's get started with a good, old-fashioned who's who:
Things I learned putting this together:
Julius Caesar has a LOT of random minor characters.
Seriously, there's tons of them. And they all have similar-sounding Roman names.
It's really hard to visually distinguish characters when they are almost all Roman men, who historically were all clean-shaven and, according to their busts, all had identical combed-forward hairstyles.
Seriously, I'm going to have to print this out for reference, and I'm the one drawing this stupid thing.
So... sorry about that in advance.
Desdemona Ditties
It's "Stay Sane September"! That means I'll be sharing some of my "greatest hits" from social media and Patreon to keep you entertained while I take the month off in order to avoid burnout, take some theatre trips, and get caught up on various tasks and projects that I have been neglecting.
Today's comic comes from Patreon, and features pretty much exactly what happened when some friends and I took a day trip to the Stratford Festival and were driving home at 2am, trying to stay awake by brainstorming Shakespeare musical parodies.
2am on the 401 is apparently the best time and place to write musical parodies.
Thanks to my supporters on Patreon (from whence I re-appropriated this comic) for helping me continue to develop Good Tickle Brain! For $5 a month, you'll get bonus comics like these every week!
Upcoming Appearances
September 28: Cincinnati Museum Insights Lecture
WHO: Me! Again!
WHAT: Talk followed by Q&A on the development of Good Tickle Brain and approaches to making Shakespeare accessible to new audiences.
WHEN: Thursday, September 28, 7:30pm
WHERE: The University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
WHY: Because they have a cool Shakespeare exhibit going on right now!
HOW: Reserve a FREE ticket at the Cincy Museum website!
Stratford Festival 2017 Photo Comics (part 2)
It's "Stay Sane September"! That means I'll be sharing some of my "greatest hits" from social media and Patreon to keep you entertained while I take the month off in order to avoid burnout, take some theatre trips, and get caught up on various tasks and projects that I have been neglecting.
Today's installment features MORE photo comics cobbled together from the Stratford Festival's official production photos, starting with HMS Pinafore:
Next up, Twelfth Night:
Then it was time for Treasure Island:
Next up was an ultra-modern Tartuffe with an ultra-modern script by Ranjit Bolt.
Anyways, that's all for now! Tune in Thursday for another "Stay Sane September" installment!
Upcoming Events
September 28: Cincinnati Museum Insights Lecture
WHO: Me! Again!
WHAT: Talk followed by Q&A on the development of Good Tickle Brain and approaches to making Shakespeare accessible to new audiences.
WHEN: Thursday, September 28, 7:30pm
WHERE: The University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
WHY: Because they have a cool Shakespeare exhibit going on right now!
HOW: Reserve a FREE ticket at the Cincy Museum website!
Iamb What Iamb
It's "Stay Sane September"! That means I'll be sharing some of my "greatest hits" from social media and Patreon to keep you entertained while I take the month off in order to avoid burnout, take some theatre trips, and get caught up on various tasks and projects that I have been neglecting.
Today's installment features two iambic pentameter-themed bonus comics drawn for my $5 supporters on Patreon.
I apologize for nothing.
Every time I seen an uncapitalized "lambic" I get really excited until I realize it's beer. (I'm not a big drinker.)
Thanks to my supporters on Patreon (from whence I re-appropriated these comics) for helping me continue to develop Good Tickle Brain! For $5 a month, you'll get bonus comics like these every week!
Upcoming Appearances
September 28: Cincinnati Museum Insights Lecture
WHO: Me! Again!
WHAT: Talk followed by Q&A on the development of Good Tickle Brain and approaches to making Shakespeare accessible to new audiences.
WHEN: Thursday, September 28, 7:30pm
WHERE: The University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
WHY: Because they have a cool Shakespeare exhibit going on right now!
HOW: Reserve a FREE ticket at the Cincy Museum website!
Stratford Festival 2017 Photo Comics (part 1)
It's "Stay Sane September"! That means I'll be sharing some of my "greatest hits" from social media and Patreon to keep you entertained while I take the month off in order to avoid burnout, take some theatre trips, and get caught up on various tasks and projects that I have been neglecting.
Today's installment features some comics I put together during my trip to the Stratford Festival two weeks ago. I deliberately didn't take my computer so that I wouldn't be able to work. However, once I got there I found myself wanting to document my theatre-going, so I downloaded all the official production photos, ran them through a basic comic app, and here they are.
First up was Timon of Athens, which I previously saw 13 years ago, when I was far too immature to appreciate this famously hard-to-appreciate play. Here's how it unfolded:
While I'm still not particularly fond of the play itself, I thought this was a great production - very clear and comprehensible, with excellent acting, especially by Joe Ziegler, who managed to somehow make me not lose all interest in Timon once he slid to the "UNRELENTINGLY BITTER" end of the spectrum.
I then saw Thomas Middleton's The Changeling. This was my first Middleton (not counting his possible collaborations with Shakespeare) and it was a doozy:
This was an intense play. I'm struck by how very different Middleton feels to Shakespeare as far as the language and characterizations are concerned. It all feels much more melodramatic, with the result that I empathize less with the characters involved, but enjoy all the horrible, over-the-top atrocities that occur.
Next up was Romeo and Juliet. We all know how this one goes, right?
Confession: I'm really really really sick of Romeo and Juliet. It's just done ALL the TIME, and it's always pretty much the same, and you can't seem to get away from it. However, this production managed to rekindle my interest in the play, thanks primarily to the ludicrously engaging performances of the two leads, Sara Farb and Antoine Yared.
Finally, I saw The Breathing Hole, a new play commissioned by the Stratford Festival. It goes like this:
I really loved this production, and not just because the bears are ADORABLE and PERFECT and LOVELY. Apart from the bears (who were adorable and perfect and lovely), my favorite scene was one in which two Inuit hunters meet and try to communicate with British explorer Sir John Franklin and his crew. It was perfectly written and acted.
Anyways, that's all for now! Tune in Thursday for another "Stay Sane September" installment!
Upcoming Events
TOMORROW: September 6: Stratford Festival Forum - Willy Shakes: Fanboy
WHO: Me! And also Conor McCreery of the Kill Shakespeare comic book series.
WHAT: Panel discussion on Shakespeare in pop culture and graphic novels. Part of the Stratford Festival Forum series of events.
WHEN: Wednesday, September 6, 10:45am
WHERE: Chalmers Lounge, Avon Theatre, Stratford, Ontario.
WHY: Because they asked me!
HOW: Buy tickets at the Stratford Festival website.
September 28: Cincinnati Museum Insights Lecture
WHO: Me! Again!
WHAT: Talk followed by Q&A on the development of Good Tickle Brain and approaches to making Shakespeare accessible to new audiences.
WHEN: Thursday, September 28, 7:30pm
WHERE: The University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
WHY: Because they have a cool Shakespeare exhibit going on right now!
HOW: Reserve a FREE ticket at the Cincy Museum website!
Jaques
It's the question on everyone's lips.... HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE "JAQUES"?
Don't forget the poor second Jaques in As You Like It, the deus-ex-machina man himself, Jaques de Boys.
Upcoming Appearances
September 6: Stratford Festival Forum - Willy Shakes: Fanboy
WHO: Me! And also Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery of the Kill Shakespeare comic book series.
WHAT: Panel discussion on Shakespeare in pop culture and graphic novels. Part of the Stratford Festival Forum series of events.
WHEN: Wednesday, September 6, 10:45am
WHERE: Chalmers Lounge, Avon Theatre, Stratford, Ontario.
WHY: Because they asked me!
HOW: Buy tickets at the Stratford Festival website.
Taking September "Off"
I've got a very busy September coming up, so instead of new comics I'm going to be posting some filler material taken from past social media posts and some of the bonus comics I share with my supporters on Patreon. It will hopefully (a) still be fun for all of you, and (b) allow me to take the time to get the rest of my year's tasks and projects in order without having a nervous breakdown. Thanks for understanding!
The Good Tickle Shoppe, with all its objectively awesome merchandise, will remain open for business, although orders placed between September 4 and September 11 won't ship until September 12.