SHAKESPEARE TO SHEPARD BLAKE KEUCHER

WELCOME TO THE CLASS During my time in class, as we dove into the works of Shakespeare and Sam Shepard, the experience I took away was the creativity of the authors. Shepard’s Savage/Love is a beautiful spin on relationships and how they can effect you, all done in a few short stanzas. When faced with the works of the playwrights, I tapped into my own creativity and attempted to make two adaptations of Savage/Love. I truly enjoyed the capability to do this because it made the class my own to play with and gave me the ability to learn in my own way. I take pride in my LOTR reading of Savage/Love ☺

MACBETH ANNOTATIONS This performance of Act 5, Scene 1 is one of the more interesting videos of a project done for a class. It’s simply made, taking place in the house of one of the cast, but what makes it interesting is their use of camera angles and a flashlight in order to gain a dramatic effect. During the middle portion of the video, we go from simply watching Lady Macbeth attempt to wipe her hands to being right behind her and watching her expressions as she pleads with herself. This video is another version of how Act 1 Scene 1 should go. The eight minute adaptation starts with six minutes of the three witches chasing an unknown girl through the woods, eventually capture her and doing things involving blood. It’s not expanded on, but it’s an interesting concept seeing the witches in a different light (which I pretty much only see them as a means for comedy). It takes the opening of Macbeth, which is so short in the script and without detail, and expands it to a horror theme to catch the audience’s attention. It’s a really well done spin on the play’s first act.

MACBETH ANNOTATIONS For seniors in high school that don’t want to read Macbeth, they can watch an eight minute video made by seniors in college that summarizes the whole play beautifully. What’s best about this summary video is it’s exactly that, a summary that doesn’t take away from the story or the way the play was written whatsoever. The set and costumes reflect the time of Macbeth and camera angles are used to keep the interest of the audience. For example, in the beginning with the three witches huddled over the fire, the camera changes between the three of them while also giving a little time to Macbeth. The lines are simple, “When are we going to meet? Just before the battle for Macbeth. Fair is foul and foul is fair,” and it’s enough to give anyone watching a general idea of what’s going to happen. I was surprised to learn after watching that it wasn’t a professionally made video because it had all of the qualities of one. I love Patrick Stewart. Like, LOVE Patrick Stewart. His intensity when he performs is consistently beautiful, and during the most intense moment in Macbeth, as he sees the dagger before him, Patrick gives it the intensity it deserved and more. As he stares down the camera and gives his monologue, you can feel how much it’s effecting Macbeth that he’s going to kill his King. You can feel the worried thoughts going through his head. No music accompanies this monologue, as it rightly shouldn’t because to put any distraction on this moment is a crime. Since Patrick delivered this speech, I consider it the best monologue of any Macbeth ever done.

SHEPARD ANNOTATIONS This video was what I based most of my movements during the filming of our adaptation, along with the musical element of the adaptation. This little-known performance of Savage/Love was shown to us in class and it influenced my perception on the play itself. While I didn’t take as much creative license with the lyrics as they did during their performance, their fresh take on the play and how it could be performed let me re-arrange the order of the short poems and get the song I have now. The story of Indiana Hwy 74 is one about a traveler who ends up stuck at a hotel off of Hwy 74 after a large snowstorm hit the area. He’s waiting to see if he can get a room when a woman from 40 years in his past walks in and talks to him, prompting him to leave the hotel after feeling a little uncomfortable and not being able to get a room. After taking off, he starts to emotionally break down in his car, along with the snowstorm not letting him see, so he turns around and goes back to the hotel. The themes in this piece are dealing with loss and trying to cope with everyday life, which the narrator hasn’t. He explains to the woman that he’s dealing with divorce and his kids are away from him so all he does is travel, or try to get away from his problems. When this surfaces, he tries to get away, but his problems have shown themselves to him again after hearing her story and he ends up going back to ask for help from the girl he knew. This short story is closely related to Buried Child, which talks about coming home as one person and becoming another in a certain timespan. Both of the people related to the story have moved from home and gotten away from their problems without truly dealing with them.

WORKS Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm I just noticed I can’t put Word documents on a Powerpoint? So I’m gonna link it.