Shakespearean History Bingo

One final remastered and expanded Shakespearean bingo card today. I’ve saved my favorite genre for last: history!

Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt

I haven’t worked it all out, but I suspect this is the easiest card to get “bingo” on, given the preponderance of Henries, Edwards, Richards, Yorks, Lancasters, and Gloucesters.

Here’s the original:

Many MANY thanks to my pocket dramaturg, Kate Pitt, for collaborating with me on these. Two heads are often better than one, especially when one of them is Kate’s.

I’m taking May off! Because I really need to. There may or may not be some fun filler content, depending on <gestures vaguely> circumstances. Either way, I’ll see you back here in June for some more Shakespeare fun!

Shakespearean Tragedy Bingo (Remastered)

Let’s continue with more remastered and expanded Shakespearean bingo cards! Up today is tragedy.

Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt

The free square used to be “very poor life decision” but that proved harder and less satisfying to draw than a big ol’ pile of bodies.

Here’s the original:

Upcoming Event

It’s Shakespeare’s birth month, and you know what that means… lots of random online events celebrating Shakespeare! I’m excited to be a part of Hark Journal’s birthday celebration this year.

• Who: Me! And also Devon Glover, Ian Doescher, Conor Hanratty, David Serero, and Wendy Lennon! What an awesome line-up.

• What: Six awesome Shakespeare people chatting about their work and Shakespeare! Wheee!

• When: Monday, April 19, 7:30pm

• Where: On Zoom! Where else? Register here!

Shakespearean Comedy Bingo (Remastered)

Just over six years ago I drew a series of bingo cards for each of Shakespeare’s major genres. They weren’t perfect; for starters, they were a 4x4 grid instead of the standards 5x5 grid. So, to celebrate Shakespeare’s birth month, I decided not only to give them the old “remastering” treatment, but also to team up with my pocket dramaturg, Kate Pitt, to add nine extra squares per card. Print them out and bring them to the next Shakespeare play you see!

Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt

Here’s the original:

I keep picking things to “remaster” with the idea that they will be quicker and easier to do than original comics, to give me some time to work on other projects. I keep being proven wrong.

Upcoming Event

It’s Shakespeare’s birth month, and you know what that means… lots of random online events celebrating Shakespeare! I’m excited to be a part of Hark Journal’s birthday celebration this year.

• Who: Me! And also Devon Glover, Ian Doescher, Conor Hanratty, David Serero, and Wendy Lennon! What an awesome line-up.

• What: Six awesome Shakespeare people chatting about their work and Shakespeare! Wheee!

• When: Monday, April 19, 7:30pm

• Where: On Zoom! Where else? Register here!

Shakespearean Tragedy Bingo

We've had Comedy Bingo and History Bingo. There's only one genre left to cover...

Ah, tragedies.... 

Shakespearean History Bingo

The Shakespearean Bingo train keeps rolling with today's follow-up to last week's Shakespearean Comedy Bingo. Today we take a look at the histories.

I was really tempted to put squares in that said "Someone is named Henry", "Someone is named Richard", "Someone is named Edward", but it got a little repetitious. Not any more repetitious than "So-and-so is killed", I realize, but you can't really avoid that in the histories. The histories are all about so-and-so being killed. 

Shakespearean Comedy Bingo

Last summer I put together an Operetta Bingo sheet, scientifically designed to capture the most popular cliches present in light opera. Well, it just seemed obvious to apply the same process to Shakespeare's plays. Given the huge number of cliches present in Shakespeare, I thought it wise to break them down by genre. Today we look at the comedies. 

BINGO

Operetta Bingo

I am intensely fond of all things Shakespearean, but my first theatrical love was operetta, those fluffy, lyrical stage confections that aren't quite operas but haven't evolved into musicals. My parents took me to a local production of Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus when I was three years old (I fell asleep in Act 3), followed shortly afterwards by a trip to the Stratford Festival to see their Pirates of Penzance. I was hooked.

Fortunately for me, the Ohio Light Opera is not too long a drive away from my home. Now in its 36th year, OLO's mission is to perform as many random operettas, light operas, comic operas and early musicals as possible. I have been going there for almost my entire life and shall be driving down again this week to get my annual operetta fix. 

To celebrate, I've put together a small bingo sheet covering some of the most common (and beloved) operetta tropes. If you are going to see an operetta anytime soon, print out a copy and take it along. Just please don't shout "BINGO" in the middle of the performance.

The sausage roll song, incidentally, is from Gilbert and Sullivan's The Grand Duke. This will probably not be the last time Gilbert and Sullivan is featured on this blog...