Shakespeare Quotes

If you've been on Instagram, Pinterest, or the Internet in general, you've probably seen those lovely images with a quote on them being shared for inspiration or for laughs. I see these all the time (heck, I MAKE at least one every day), and I am FLOORED by how frequently people will share a quote attributed to Shakespeare that is, in fact, not his work at all! The following three examples are some of the top offenders that I see on Instagram on a daily basis.

Example #1

This is one that I almost can't believe people could mistake for Shakespeare. The list of "advice" doesn't have a logical progression, and if any character in Shakespeare's plays would have said something like this, it would probably be for comic effect. It's something that sounds like solid advice on the surface, but is cliche and/or nonsensical when you start to consider the meaning. If you truly didn't expect anything from anyone, you wouldn't expect to get paid by your boss, or for your waiter to bring you the item you ordered. It's nonsense, and Shakespeare didn't write it! He DID, however, write a speech of only-marginally-helpful advice in Hamlet, when Polonius is talking to Laertes:

This speech is also quoted often, but Shakespeare actually wrote it! The language is so much richer than the "You know why?" that we see in the imposter. And we can imagine how a young man like Laertes might be rolling his eyes while his father drones on and on about not taking out loans, wearing the right clothes, not starting fights but finishing them, and nurturing true friendships. SO much better than "before you hurt, feel"!

Example #2

While it seems fairly obvious that umbrellas have been around for thousands of years (and well before Shakespeare's time), the word "umbrella" doesn't appear in any of his writing. The phrase "you find a shadow spot" seems odd to me; why not a "shady spot" or even a "shadowed spot"? The phrase is awkward. Instead, how about quoting Sonnet 93?

This sonnet captures the idea that this person will always look sweet and loving, but it's impossible to tell whether their love is true or not! Their appearance doesn't show what they're thinking or feeling, and it worries the writer that they won't ever be entirely sure what's going on. It would suck to be in love with someone who leads you on all the time, and Shakespeare nails it in Sonnet 93.

Example #3

I'll admit that this is a sweet sentiment. I'm a sucker for "love at first sight" stories, too. But Shakespeare simply did not write this. He did, however, write this:

Rosalind says that in As You Like It. There's also this:

Ferdinand says that in The Tempest. Why bother making up fake Shakespeare quotes (or sharing them) when there are so many fantastic real Shakespeare quotes to choose from? I post a Shakespeare quote image every day on my Facebook page - follow me to be sure to start your day with the best of the Bard!

Bonus:

Did you think that was Shakespeare? It is, and it isn't. Marlowe wrote this line in Hero and Leander, and Shakespeare was actually quoting Marlowe when Phebe says the line in As You Like It! Hero and Leander came out a year before As You Like It.

 

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Easy Inspiration

When was the last time you went to see a show? I'm not talking about the latest Bond movie (although I'm sure it's great), but an honest-to-goodness live piece of theatre? Where you're in the same room as the performer(s) - you can see them, they can see you, and it will only happen exactly that way with exactly those people ONCE?

I see several shows a month. My minimum is two shows per month, but I often exceed that. I absolutely love live theatre, not just because I'm an actor, but because of the stakes involved in each performance. There is no "take two". It's all about NOW, what's happening in the moment. All of us are in the same room, part of the same shared experience, but I might walk out loving the show and the guy next to me might leave at intermission because he hates it so much. There's subjectivity. It's personal, even though there may be hundreds of people in the audience.

I'll see just about anything. I tend to lean toward Shakespeare or other classical plays because it's so useful to me to see what choices are being made in performance. I'll see the same play by different companies over and over and over, because no two productions are ever the same. It's great to see different interpretations of these stories. Last night, I went to see something more experimental: a rap/hip-hop version of a Shakespeare play, and it was a lot of fun!

Let's be real, the hundreds of plays I've seen over the years haven't all been successful (though most of them were). I've seen some shows that really fell flat on their faces, but these shows taught me just as much if not more than the shows I enjoyed. In seeing shows that I didn't ultimately enjoy, I also got to consider what about it wasn't working for me, and why, which can inform my future work as an actor.

A few years ago, I was preparing for my first production of Much Ado About Nothing, And while I knew the show inside out, I hunted down videos on YouTube, re-watched the Branagh film, saw the Joss Whedon film the day it came out, as well as the BBC TV version and every live production I could catch in NYC, all before rehearsals started! Knowing what others had tried helped inform my choices, so that I could have even more tools in my toolbox as I went on to find how I would put my stamp on the character. For example, I learned that I didn't like Beatrice if she didn't smile in the first scene. The lines are a sharp and witty, but I found that if Beatrice smiles, I like her, and if she doesn't, I just think she's a jerk, which is tricky when you have to root for her character. It's a seemingly simple thing that I might never have discovered if I had not had so many productions to compare.

Lately, I've been going to the opera. The Met is pretty much the ultimate theatrical experience - it is bigger than Broadway in every way I could think of, without microphones!

At The Met on Friday, November 6th, to see Tosca

I initially thought that a night at the opera would be more about being seen by others than about what's happening onstage, but the acting, musicianship, and storytelling of these masterpieces is stunning. When Tosca jumped from the tower, I gasped aloud. I was very worried for Gilda's safety during intermission of Rigoletto. Opera has very little to do with my career, but I have found myself wrapped up in the storytelling every time, and learning just as much from these performances as from any other.

I think everyone, especially actors, but EVERYONE,  should see as much live theatre as possible. Even if you hate it, it will teach you something. It will inspire you. It will give you motivation. It will make you feel alive.

Click here to get my FREE cheat sheet on the Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions!