\u201cWant to know my first experience with Shakespeare?\u201d Hannah Simpson, actor and recent OWU alum, says with a mischievous grin.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely,\u201d I respond eagerly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brother was more of a theatre kid than I was at the time, so we watched a production of Macbeth<\/em>. When Duncan\u2019s bloody ghost came on and went BLAAAH! I got so scared, and I did not sleep for three days.\u201d<\/p>\n Luckily, Hannah was able to get over her initial reaction to Shakespeare\u2019s theatrics and became a bit of an expert on his works. She petitioned to minor in Shakespeare, but, unfortunately, it is Wnot possible. She didn\u2019t let it stop her, though. Throughout her OWU career, she took every Shakespeare course offered. But the fascination had to start somewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cI played the apothe- cary and some other randos in Romeo and Juliet<\/em>,\u201d she says with a bag of pretzels in her hand. \u201cI know I read Hamlet my senior year of high school,\u201d she continues, with her usual animated demeanor.” Dr. Long encouraged me to apply to the Travel-Learning Course [\u201cShakespeare at the Globe\u201d] and I got accepted. That\u2019s when I realized that [Shakespeare] was something I was good at, and it\u2019s im- portant. I didn\u2019t take any Shakespeare my sophomore year, and I realized I never wanted to do that again.\u201d<\/p>\n While at OWU, Hannah spent her final year creating and acting in her own version of Hamlet<\/em>, in which all the parts were played by women\u2014a twist on the Renaissance practice of only allowing male actors on stage. Now, she\u2019s acting in a theatre company in the heart of Chicago called Odd\u2019s Bodkins. The group was founded in 2015, and is entirely run by women. They perform Shakespearean plays as well as some modern productions. What\u2019s interesting about Odd\u2019s Bodkins, though, is its mission statement: They aim to diversify their casts and bluntly defy norms.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have seven members, and we try to replicate the original practices, but we\u2019re particular about the practices that we use,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re just a bunch of Shakespeare lovers.\u201d<\/p>\n She explains that they take the practices that benefit the experience the most. They do not use lights or sets, but don\u2019t use other techniques Renaissance theatre companies would have employed.<\/p>\n Hannah has acted in two Shakespearean productions so far\u2014Touchstone in As You Like It<\/em> and Balthasar and Dogberry in Much A do About Nothing<\/em>\u2014and has composed the music for Much A Do<\/em> on her ukulele. Though, she continues to credit her education at OWU for how far she\u2019s come.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really lucky I was able to tailor my education at OWU to Shakespeare. If I didn\u2019t have that training or education, I wouldn\u2019t be here now.\u201d<\/p>\n Hannah\u2019s next Shakespearean role will be in Mid- Summer\u2019s Night Dream<\/em> as Bottom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cWant to know my first experience with Shakespeare?\u201d Hannah Simpson, actor and recent OWU alum, says with a mischievous grin. \u201cDefinitely,\u201d I respond eagerly. \u201cMy brother was more of a theatre kid than I was at the time, so we watched a production of Macbeth. When Duncan\u2019s bloody ghost came on and went BLAAAH! I… <\/p>\n