Hi Casey - Thanks for taking the time to describe all this. Great to hear the kids are alright. Also great to hear of a life lived with purpose.
There’s plenty of good cheese under the mold we’re seeing these days. Grateful for your reminder of that. Carl > On Apr 25, 2026, at 1:14 PM, Anne Smith <[email protected]> wrote: > > Wowzers. All that in one day!!! > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Apr 24, 2026, at 1:10 PM, Mary Collins <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> >> Casey, thank you for reporting on your long and stirring Shakespearean day! >> Good for your students, and good for you and your family. >> >> Mary Collins >> 646-554-3076 >> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >> >> >> On Fri, Apr 24, 2026 at 12:19 PM Casey Caldwell <[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>> Hi, all, >>> >>> I had a busy day on April 23rd, the day we traditionally celebrate as >>> Shakespeare's birthday, and I found myself thinking about our Winedale >>> family a lot throughout. In these dark times, I thought it might be nice to >>> hear about it. >>> >>> I started my day teaching from Ian McEwan's What We Can Know, a >>> (post-)post-apocalyptic novel that, at its heart, is about the role >>> literature and literature professors can play after the world has >>> collapsed. There are many allusions to Shakespeare in the novel and if >>> you've not read it, I highly recommend you do. Yesterday, we focused on the >>> novel's depiction of future college students' lack of interest in history >>> and whether they saw themselves in these students—most said that in high >>> school they found rote memorization boring but in college they were >>> becoming more interested in history as a conversation and contested >>> subject. A hopeful note! >>> >>> Next, I hosted a Shakespeare Sonnet Festival by the lake on our campus. >>> Many students came out to read and discuss Shakespeare's sonnets on the >>> grass by the lake. The day was beautiful, sunny and warm. If you're >>> familiar with the weather in the Midwest, you know April (but also May) is >>> the cruelest month, so these truly spring days must be cherished. I broke >>> the ice by reading sonnet 98 >>> <https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/shakespeares-sonnets/read/98/?q=April,%20winter#line-98.1>; >>> I noted that I'm happily married to a wife that was nearby, so the spring >>> day was actually a spring day for me, but that I had spent many wintery >>> Aprils in my earlier life. >>> >>> After, my Shakespeare course met to watch the Joel Coen film adaptation of >>> Macbeth (with Denzel Washington and Francis McDormand). We read Macbeth a >>> couple weeks ago and next week they'll be performing short dialogs from the >>> play. The students really like the two lead performances, the creative >>> choice with Kathryn Hunter as the witch(es), and what I called Coen's >>> creation of a "Super Ross" whose motives seemed to transcended the world of >>> the play. >>> >>> After a quick breather and snack bar, I went in to rehearsal for the >>> English Players, a student group I direct that I have re-oriented around >>> Winedale's learning through performance practices. We'll be putting on two >>> scenes from The Tempest (a play I selected because we'll be taking students >>> in the fall to the Stratford Festival in Ontario and it will be one of the >>> performances they'll see). Last night we were playing with 3.2, the scene >>> in which the drunken clowns brag about how much they can drink, plot the >>> murder of Prospero, and rhapsodize about the isle being full of noises. We >>> had good fun trying out different versions of Stephano's beating on >>> Trinculo and thinking about how they advanced the story the story in >>> different ways. Right now, she's flicking Trinculo on the nose in the >>> belief that this is very intimidating. I remembered warmly David Ziegler's >>> inimitable and drunken Borachio not wanting any colors colored in our 2015 >>> reunion Much Ado. >>> >>> I then had just enough time to walk-jog over to an auditorium in the >>> student union where I was hosting a movie night. I was showing students the >>> documentary, Grand Theft Hamlet >>> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OloHiBOMPm8>, which follows two British >>> actors during lockdown in 2021 attempting to put on a production of Hamlet >>> in Grand Theft Auto Online. It's a funny and surprisingly touching look >>> into two actors seeking to continue their art and find human connection >>> during a time of isolation. An ensemble builds up around them in an >>> inspiring way. The students loved it (plus the $200 worth of pizza and soda >>> I supplied; I'd have included a keg of Shiner if the college would have let >>> me; as an adjunct, I have my own version of the Sword of Damocles I must be >>> ever-mindful of). >>> >>> Finally (and this may have been my favorite part of the day), I walked back >>> across campus to the arts building for a staged reading of Macbeth. A >>> student in my Shakespeare course told a friend with whom he shares strong >>> Scottish lineage that we were reading Macbeth and they decided to do a >>> reading of the play, just the two of them. Word of mouth spread, however, >>> and this spontaneous event blossomed into fourteen students and two >>> professors, homemade costumes, wooden swords, sound cues including a >>> screeching owl, and a couple kilts. They improvised and improved all of >>> this themselves in a truly ensemble spirit (with two Peter Quinces to guide >>> the overall process). The pure spirit of play in the room would have been >>> immediately recognizable for all of you. It was vivifying. I had no idea >>> this was happening until my student told me about it a week or so ago; it >>> was truly student created and led, I was merely a contingent factor. >>> >>> On my hour-long drive home last night, I was tearing up from the complex >>> mix of emotions and exhaustion. This last event affected me the most. >>> Thoughts swirled of the production of Twelfth Night my Winedale classmates >>> and I put on after our 2003 summer and of James Loehlin attending our >>> Midsummer the same day he'd had back surgery; of Doc and the first students >>> originating Winedale in the same spirit of play and exploration and how the >>> practical origins of the circle created a lasting ritual; of my children >>> asleep at home with my wife who is also a Shakespearean and how I'm about >>> the same age my dearly-departed father was when he came out to Winedale in >>> 2003 and finally understood the life I'd chosen (Doc, he was a Vietnam vet >>> and the bootcamp structure helped with that a lot!); and of just the simple >>> joy I could see in the students' faces as they experienced Macbeth for the >>> first time last night. >>> >>> As I write this, my daughter, Viola, is engaging her imagination with >>> Play-Doh, creating something she is calling a "boody puppy," while our real >>> puppy, Sebastian, dances about her feet. >>> >>> In these frightening days, some of the kids are alright. Thought you'd like >>> to know. >>> >>> Taking pains to be vigitant, >>> Casey >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Be vigitant, I beseech you! >>> --- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "Shakespeare at Winedale Email List" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>> email to [email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>> To view this discussion visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/shakespeare-at-winedale-email-list/CAAzejW-NH5sBF4XyUc%3D6jJm6E%2BN6UB6o98FNE_rtGELK2msJAg%40mail.gmail.com >>> >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/shakespeare-at-winedale-email-list/CAAzejW-NH5sBF4XyUc%3D6jJm6E%2BN6UB6o98FNE_rtGELK2msJAg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>. >> >> >> -- >> Be vigitant, I beseech you! >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Shakespeare at Winedale Email List" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>. >> To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/shakespeare-at-winedale-email-list/CA%2B8OBZV1FiSQ%3DdUkEM7uqcrXTifK5i5N9Fzwk34WEV0dP72Qfg%40mail.gmail.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/shakespeare-at-winedale-email-list/CA%2B8OBZV1FiSQ%3DdUkEM7uqcrXTifK5i5N9Fzwk34WEV0dP72Qfg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>. > > > -- > Be vigitant, I beseech you! > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Shakespeare at Winedale Email List" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/shakespeare-at-winedale-email-list/5742CB59-AE5D-4A9B-8DF0-4199DA1F2789%40gmail.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/shakespeare-at-winedale-email-list/5742CB59-AE5D-4A9B-8DF0-4199DA1F2789%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>.
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