You and whose Armada, sirrah?

It’s time to smack down, Shakespeareanlyspeakingwise!

I am referring of course to the Ultimate Shakespeare Smackdown, an event of April 24, 2025, here in Newnan, GA — a collaboration of Lacuna Group and the Newnan-Coweta History Center, for whom this is a benefit.

All you have to do is sign up to perform a solo, sonnet, or scene from anywhere in Shakespeare. The more adventurous you are in your interpretation, the more fun we all have.

What’s that you say? You don’t know how to “do” Shakespeare? Then you’ll want to sign up for the “How to Do Shakespeare” workshop on Sun, Mar 30. And you’d be smart to book a coaching session (with me) on Mon, Apr 14.

Info, rules, FAQs, and forms are all over at Lacuna Group.

But wait, there’s more! If you’re a longtime reader of this blog (or my other blog), you may know that I am a burner, i.e., someone who attends regional gatherings based on the big burn, Burning Man. My theme camp, 3 Old Men, is renowned, but let that pass. Next month I will be at Emergence, the small South Carolina burn that serves as my “vacation burn” — I don’t take the labyrinth or most of the gang. It’s just basic tents, a propane fire pit, and our craft cocktail bar.

This time, however, another camp announced they were interested in doing a Shakespeare thing, and a friend put me in touch with them. I made the suggestion of doing a kind of Smackdown at the burn, and they said sure, make it so.

I came up with the idea that we could host those who came with pre-prepared scenes, but what if we accosted the passing hippies and challenged them to smack down? What if I selected 20 scenes/sonnets and we bullied innocent bystanders into rolling a 20-sided die and then give them five minutes to recruit a cast and get ready to perform?

Turn, turn, kick turn — yes, IT WILL WORK!