{"id":8547,"date":"2015-07-14T23:08:45","date_gmt":"2015-07-15T03:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?p=8547"},"modified":"2024-09-11T21:04:06","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T01:04:06","slug":"shakespeare-backlash-and-brawl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2015\/07\/14\/shakespeare-backlash-and-brawl\/","title":{"rendered":"Shakespeare Backlash and Brawl"},"content":{"rendered":"

My Wall Street Journal\u00a0<\/strong>piece\u00a0on Washington’s Silent Shakespeare Oxymoron<\/a> outraged Synetic Theater\u00a0and its devoted fans.\u00a0 Synetic posted a long response on Tumbler and hit the alarms.\u00a0The Washingtonian<\/strong> <\/a>did an informative article this evening on the controversy – “Wall Street Journal to Synetic Theater: Do Shakespeare With Words<\/strong>!”\u00a0 Their reporter emailed me at 5:17 p.m.;\u00a0at 7:17 p.m., I\u00a0sent him a detailed response to Synetic’s grievances – but\u00a0his piece went online before 6 pm.\u00a0 (Mystified why I am described as\u00a0\u00a0“a libertarian policy analyst by day” –\u00a0not sure if the reporter relied on 1990s sources rather than the WSJ tagline). The Washington City Paper<\/strong> joined in with a blog entry touting the Washingtonian piece<\/a>. I’m be curious to see who else joins the fray.<\/p>\n

Here is a slightly-edited version of the response I sent the Washingtonian<\/strong>, followed by Synetic’s complaints about the article:<\/p>\n

Synetic says that my article \u201cuses made-up examples from Richard II, the Henrys and Love\u2019s Labour\u2019s Lost.\u201d Quoting Shakespeare is not using a \u201cmade-up example.\u201d It is simply relying on the Bard\u2019s robust English to vividly capture the power of spoken words.\u00a0\u00a0 It is irrelevant whether Synetic performed those particular plays.<\/p>\n

Synetic states that \u201cSynetic\u2019s wordless Shakespeare has never been recommended as improving upon or replacing his plays produced in the traditional way.\u201d My WSJ article articles quotes director Tsikurishvili declaring that by doing wordless Shakespeare, \u201cI take it to the next level.\u201d I don\u2019t know the pantomime gesture for a smoking gun.<\/p>\n

Commenting on\u00a0 Prokofiev\u2019s Romeo and Juliet, Synetic comments that \u201cNone of those elements are absent from Synetic productions as audiences at Synetic are just as familiar with Shakespeare\u2019s characters and story lines…\u201d Romeo and Juliet is better known to more Americans than any other play.\u00a0 It is laughable to suggest that Americans are \u201cjust as familiar\u201d with the plot and characters of The Tempest (Synetic, 2013), Much Ado About Nothing (Synetic, 2015), or Anthony and Cleopatra (Synetic, 2010).<\/p>\n

Synetic is very patronizing to deaf people when it states that \u201cWordless Shakespeare\u201d benefits \u201cthe deaf and hard of hearing community.\u201d Sign language interpreters have provided deaf access to Shakespeare since 1894. The best pantomime artist in the world cannot convey 10% of the substance that a good sign interpreter delivers.\u00a0 The Wall Street Journal ran a touching piece last August 12 by Joanne Kaufman headlined, \u201cHelping Make the Beauty and Poetry of Shakespeare’s Plays Accessible for the Hearing Impaired<\/a>.\u201d For crucial passages, interpreters will sign out the words letter by letter to assure audience members grasp the meaning.\u00a0 One attendee at an ASL-Shakespeare interpretation gushed that \u201cmoments like these are life-changing.\u201d\u00a0 Simple gestures would not have changed that woman\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

Synetic boasts that its performances allow ESL students and \u00a0people with learning disabilities to \u201cenjoy wordless productions on equal footing with the rest of the audience.\u201d\u00a0 This equality is achieved by removing the vast majority of the intellectual content of the plays.\u00a0\u00a0Wordless Shakespeare expunges the ideas that can inspire and awaken people to new realms in their lives.\u00a0\u00a0 To expunge the words to put everyone on an “equal footing” denies theater goers of a wonderful bounty of thoughts, metaphors, and wit.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not my fault that \u201cthe Emperor has no nouns and verbs.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Synetic’s response<\/a>:<\/h2>\n

A response to “The Wall Street Journal” and James Bovard from Synetic Theater:<\/p>\n

To begin, it is unclear to us from The Wall Street Journal\u2019s latest opinion piece whether or not the writer James Bovard has seen a Synetic production, or whether his opinion has been formed from YouTube videos and editorial content from other publications.<\/p>\n

In addition, Mr. Bovard uses made-up examples from Richard II, the Henrys and Love\u2019s Labour\u2019s Lost, none of which have been translated into wordless format by Synetic yet. Our full wordless Shakespeare repertoire is easily located on our website or Wikipedia page.<\/p>\n

Putting this lack of experience with the productions he is writing about aside, there are many points made in Mr. Bovard\u2019s piece that deserve a response.<\/p>\n

First and foremost, this article opens by citing wordless Shakespeare as “the latest Shakespeare fashion\u2026”, though Synetic has produced 11 wordless adaptations of Shakespeare plays over the last 14 years. The conceit is not new, but the interdisciplinary performance techniques and theatrical devices do continue to evolve with each production as part of Synetic\u2019s mission to expand the boundaries of theatre and the theatrical literacy of its audiences.<\/p>\n

Synetic\u2019s wordless Shakespeare has never been recommended as improving upon or replacing his plays produced in the traditional way, focusing on and emphasizing the richness of the prose and poetry as it appears in English (however many a mewling schoolboy would contest that Shakespeare\u2019s language is not English). At Synetic, his words are translated into physical language and visual poetry, just as they have been translated into countless other languages and art forms throughout history. These interpretations simply underscore the success and timelessness of The Bard\u2019s plays. Synetic follows Shakespeare\u2019s example of adapting classical tales in the parlance of his time for his audiences, appealing to both the groundlings and the gentry.<\/p>\n

Mr. Bovard goes on to use Synetic as a grand example of waste by highlighting our receipt of grants. In fact the majority of our support actually comes from our audiences through ticket sales and individual donations \u2013 individuals choosing Synetic based on the consistent quality of our work. Though Mr. Bovard thumbs his nose at D.C. cultural community as a whole, Synetic\u2019s work is an example of a rich and diverse cultural community. Our work has also garnered numerous awards and worldwide critical acclaim.<\/p>\n

Mr. Bovard misinterprets a Washington Post quote from a favorable review of the Synetic classic and the original wordless Shakespeare Hamlet \u2026the rest is silence. The quote in question is “You don\u2019t understand this Hamlet \u2013 you feel it in your gut.” Mr. Bovard seems to think this means audiences don\u2019t understand Synetic\u2019s interpretation of Hamlet, when any reasonable reading of that quote would take it to mean that the understanding of Synetic\u2019s Hamlet goes beyond the words and creates a visceral reaction in the core.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most contradictory paragraph involves Mr. Bovard\u2019s comparison to Prokofiev\u2019s Romeo and Juliet. He states, “\u2026that presentation succeeds thanks to magnificent music and viewers\u2019 familiarity with the characters and storyline.” None of those elements are absent from Synetic productions as audiences at Synetic are just as familiar with Shakespeare\u2019s characters and story lines, and our Resident Composer Konstantine Lortkipanidze provides beautiful, original soundtracks for our productions.<\/p>\n

Physical theatre as an art form is by no means new \u2013 it has a long history dating back as far as performance and art itself and Synetic is one of many contemporary physical theatres in existence today.<\/p>\n

Wordless Shakespeare also benefits a number of underserved audiences including ESOL students, non-native English speakers, the deaf and hard of hearing community, younger students, students with learning disabilities, and audiences in foreign countries. All of these audience members are able to enjoy wordless productions on equal footing with the rest of the audience, allowing Shakespeare\u2019s story and characters to transcend all manner of language barriers. Synetic simply does what Hamlet demanded of his players; we fit the action to the word, and the word to the action.<\/p>\n

In the end, the best art has always been provocative! We are confident enough to let our work “speak” for itself and invite Mr. Bovard to visit our theater in the next month to see our highly lauded interpretation of A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream. While text-filled productions of Shakespeare\u2019s plays abound, our wordless Shakespeare is something you won\u2019t see anywhere else.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My Wall Street Journal\u00a0piece\u00a0on Washington’s Silent Shakespeare Oxymoron outraged Synetic Theater\u00a0and its devoted fans.\u00a0 Synetic posted a long response on Tumbler and hit the alarms.\u00a0The Washingtonian did an informative article this evening on the controversy – “Wall Street Journal to Synetic Theater: Do Shakespeare With Words!”\u00a0 Their reporter emailed me at 5:17 p.m.;\u00a0at 7:17 p.m., […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[637,630,636,635],"class_list":["post-8547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-brawl","tag-shakespeare","tag-wall-street-journal","tag-wordless"],"yoast_head":"\nShakespeare Backlash and Brawl - James Bovard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"My Wall Street Journal piece on DC's Silent Shakespeare Oxymoron provokes angry denunciations; 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