One of the greatest aspects of Thanksgiving weekend in Acadiana is how it is packed full of great shows. In order to tantalize your tastebuds for turkey and tryptophan Thursday, come the night before, Nov. 23, to the Bard Yard Bash at Blue Moon Saloon and get your Shakespeare on along with your dancin' shoes.
One of the greatest aspects of Thanksgiving weekend in Acadiana is how it is packed full of great shows. In order to tantalize your tastebuds for turkey and tryptophan Thursday, come the night before to the Bard Yard Bash at Blue Moon Saloon and get your Shakespeare on along with your dancin' shoes.
Far from the staid experience with the stiff upper English lip that is the stereotype, Shakespeare's plays were meant for the working class people. The performances were a time of revelry - think Mardi Gras but instead of watching a parade, you watched a play. Part of that merriment was songs. Many were lost, but the last decade has seen researchers recover them. These are part of Wednesday's performances.
Some songs will be directly lifted from Shakespeare's time, and some will be crafted out of his sonnets and other works. Expected to perform are Andrew Toups, Christiaan Mader, James Van Way, Feufollet, Fights!, Jake Hebert, and some cat named Walter Pierce. As far as we know he is the wild card. The musicians will perform Elizabethan tunes with their own interpretations.
Bard Yard Bash is a fundraiser and celebration for the local Acting Up! Theatre Company's Summer Youth Shakespeare Ensemble. This bash kicks off A Year of Shakespeare for them. Acting Up! conducts a clinic every summer featuring kids, from wee little to high school seniors, and in two weeks the kids learn to perform Shakespeare, totally off script. The kids learn choreography, stage direction, set design, how to act and the history of the Bard's legacy.
The iambic pentameter-loving shindig starts at 8 p.m. and goes until a seance is held to rise the Bard from his grave, or thereabouts. Cover is $10.
Questions about Acting Up! or its Bard Yard Bash? Contact [email protected].