Hamlet to Hamilton: Exploring Verse Drama

Did you know Gilbert and Sullivan wrote a King Arthur play?  Well, okay, that Sir Arthur Sullivan provided music for a King Arthur play in new verse, which was such a hit that it toured the UK and the US? And did you know that it was only one of three plays either performed or published in 1895?  We did!  Today, we take a look at King Arthur: A Drama in a Prologue and Four Acts , wi...

Get ready to swoon in every single scene , because we're focusing on our first Canadian playwright, William Wilfred Campbell's melodramatic Mordred: A Tragedy in Five Acts .  We're jumping out of windows, we're stealing armor, we're mistaking our identities, and choosing our romantic partners by way of dibs.  Start twirling your moustache and enjoy the melodrama! As an extra special bonu...

It's time to look at Emily's favorite new author!  Richard Hovey's The Tragedy of Guenevere - as well as the Gilbert and Sullivan-esque The New King Arthur: An Opera Without Music by Edgar Fawcett. Season Two we're looking at Arthur Through the Ages , looking at how English verse playwrights took on the King Arthur myth, from 1587-2019. Episode Guide: https://www.hamlettohamilton.com/episodeg...

It's time to dive in to Lancelot and Guinevere scenes with Reithmuller's The Misfortunes of Arthur and Akhurst's Burlesque Extravaganza !  We've got the noble knight jumping out of casements and dishing out puns as we continue looking at Arthur Through the Ages. Season Two we're looking at Arthur Through the Ages , looking at how English verse playwrights took on the King Arthur myth, from 15...

It's time to talk international verse drama with none other than Dr. Kasia Lech! Her new book, Dramaturgy of Form: Performing Verse in Contemporary Theatre looks at new fusions of verse drama, hiphop, slam poetry, multilingual artists and more. H2H LISTENERS: Use the code FLY21 for a discount code when you buy the book today! Learn more at: hamlettohamilton.com Follow Dr. Kasia Lech on Twitter

We're looking at the overlap of burlesque and verse drama, with not one - not two - but FOUR iterations of Henry Fielding's Tom Thumb the Great .  From the original publishing of the fairy tale, through to Fielding's two rewrites of his play, to the burlesques (verse musical comedies) that were derived from the same.  Phew! Season Two we're looking at Arthur Through the Ages , looking at...

Today we're looking at a truly interesting and pivotal moment in the development of verse drama as we know it, as we delve into the origins of the verse "opera," with John Dryden's King Arthur, Or The British Worthy . Show Notes: http://www.hamlettohamilton.com Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton

Before we jump back into Arthur's world, we want to give you this interview with playwright Caeden Musser!  Caeden is an actor-combatant, playwright, opera singer, and so much more.  Their new Cassandra-inspired play was featured in several of the "Tool Boudoir" episodes from Season One, and Caeden's here today talking about how music and movement influences their writing in verse. Pleas...

Welcome to Season Two: "Arthur Through the Ages," where we'll be looking through King Arthur-inspired English language verse plays from 1587-2019.  Welcome season cohosts, Nick Ritacco and Colin Kovarik, as we jump into our first play, The Misfortunes of Arthur by Sir Thomas Hughes, written in 1587. ACCESS SHOW NOTES to texts, links, and full transcripts: https://www.hamlettohamilton.com/show...

We're finishing our survey of the Tool Boudoir with a look at silences, spacing, stage directions and shared lines, as we come to the end of Season One of Hamlet to Hamilton ! Featuring verse from: Hamlet and King John by William Shakespeare, Our Town by Thornton Wilder, The Lifted Instants Before the Fall by Becca Musser, The Other, Other Woman, Cupid and Psyche, and The Siege Perilous by Emily C...

HOW do you use spelling, typography, punctuation, and spacing to imply cadence? Don't worry. It's sooooooooooooo easy. This week we look at the rules of emotive formatting: rules that are available not only to verse playwrights, but to anyone who's writing anything! Featuring verse from: "may i feel said he" by e. e. cumming ACCESS SHOW NOTES to texts, links, and full transcripts: https://www.haml...

It's time to talk Emotive Formatting (part of the Tool Boudoir ), starting with Shakespeare's First Folio!  And who better to help us out, than our own  Esther Williamson, speaking about how punctuation can completely alter  the clarity of a moment of a play. Featuring verse from: Henry IV and The Tempest (William Shakespeare) Featuring the voices of: Esther Williamson Learn more ab...

What happens when you get a bunch of actors to try out some end-stopped and open-ended lines?  This episode, obviously! So often, we rely on the magic of actors to fix our verse drama, that it's time to let the actors give their honest opinion about what they need from a line of verse. Looking at King Arthur verse from 1587 to the 2008 Cupid and Psyche "Bad Quarto", we're moving gently and wi...

It's time to talk LINE BREAKS! From John Barton to Kristin Linklater, from Romeo and Juliet to The Winter's Tale , we're looking at how line endings work, how to act them...and that perennial question:  To enjamb or not to enjamb? Featuring verse from: Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, The Winter's Tale (William Shakespeare), The Mother of God Visits Hell (Daniel Guyton), I...

It's time to explore our Tool Boudoir: that is, all the tools used on a line of verse.  First up?   Scansion , meter , and foot ...BUT(!) not as you think you know them.  Introducing repeated , sprung , juxtaposed , and free meter - and how each of them work to help tell your story in verse. Featuring verse from: Richard II (William Shakespeare), The Second Shepherd's Play (The Wake...

HERESY!  Our podcast is on trial for claiming that there are no such things as feminine line endings, iambic pentameter is boring and we'll prove it, and worst of all... Shakespeare doesn't matter . Featuring verse from: Measure for Measure (William Shakespeare), The Mother of God Visits Hell (Daniel Guyton) Content Warning: Frank discussion of gender politics, the use of the word "queer" as...

What do you do after a show? Go to the pub! In this bonus episode, H2H creators Colin and Emily talk about how the show came to be, networking as an introvert, that one time Emily directed 425 kids in The Wizard of Oz , the virtue of cross country trips, and much more. PLEASE NOTE: Bar(d) Talk episodes do include swears, but are rather light on drinks.  Bring your own beverage. ALSO: Yes, the...

We're sitting down with Deb Victoroff, the author of the very timely The Tragedy of the Election of the Citrus King .  (PLEASE NOTE: This episode contains very light spoilers for Citrus King.) Citrus King also referenced in Episode 1: Defining Verse Drama and Episode 3: Schwumpf, There It Is Citrus King available to read and request performance rights on New Play Exchange ACCESS SHOW NOTES to...

What is "Schwumpf?"  Well, it's about making connections.  It's about  bringing ideas, feelings, emotions, facts, heresies, and so much more  together on a single line of verse. So sit back, grab some tea, pet a cat, and join us as we learn a bit about the philosophy of what verse drama does really, really well. Featuring verse from: Hamlet (William Shakespeare), The Tragedy of...

Why is Hamilton the superior musical to 1776 ?  What makes Heathers soar, while Mean Girls is just okay?  Why are we talking so much about musicals, when we should be talking about verse? Because the question we're answering today is: When should we be writing in verse?  Well, we'll take our cue from Uncle Stephen Sondheim, who told us quite succinctly: CONTENT DICTATES FORM. Light...

Soooo...what is "verse drama" anyway?  Just a bunch of poetry?  Skulls and doublets and hose, oh my?  Or something else? Season One kicks off with definitions of verse vs. prose drama, examining Hamlet , Hamilton ...and our first mystery playwright! ACCESS SHOW NOTES to texts, links, and full transcripts: https://www.hamlettohamilton.com/s1e1.html PATREON: http://www.patreon.com/ham...

Welcome to Hamlet to Hamilton: Exploring Verse Drama ! H2H is a weekly podcast, dropping every Wednesday, wherein we'll be exploring how to write and perform verse drama - from Shakespeare to your own voice in verse, and beyond! H2H is a special project of Turn to Flesh Productions : Audio Division.  TTF is a theatre company in New York City that develops new plays in heightened text with vib...