Written by: Natajia Sconiers
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​What sonnets did you work on and in what capacity? 
Charlotte: I was a writer for Sonnets 65, 96 and 150
Tay: I performed in sonnet 82, adapted by Erlina Ortiz

Had you had any experience adapting classical work before?
Charlotte: I have had experience taking classical work and creating a  streamlined script for production. The most intense piece I ever did was taking Fair Maid of the West, parts 1 and 2 and making them into one script for the PAC production in 2015. That took me AGES. Basically, almost every script that PAC produces has gone through some sort of process. Classical work is like bread - gotta knead the dough to make good bread. That might be a silly metaphor but that's what I got.
Tay: Never! This was my 1st time working on a piece that was directly adapted from Shakespeare’s works, and I was really excited to discover and also curious to learn more about the process and Tai was super gracious and more than willing to sit down and discuss with me all the work that went into this project and the entire process

What is your experience with Revolution Shakespeare as a company?
Charlotte: I have been a part of 2 of the all-women readings and have directed one. I love what Tai is doing and can't wait to see what she does next.
Tay: I’d seen a couple productions and worked with Tai Verley during my time at Del Shakes but this is my first (and hopefully not the last) project with Revolution Shakespeare.

What resonated with you the most in your sonnets?
Charlotte: Maybe it's just my cynicism speaking but I definitely heard some snarky voices in my head when I was working on these pieces. The sonnets are pretty raw in terms of the emotion that threads throughout them. The raw love and passion and self-flagellation at times can be overwhelming, appealing and repulsing all at once for me. Definitely speaks to the passion of love in perhaps a younger Shakespeare. Yeah, I feel like an old lady when I read some of them - they are just so private in public, you know?
Tay: What was so endearing to me about the sonnet I performed in is that the writer is expressing or acknowledging that this person they admire makes an effort to get attention/validation from others online and they are good at it. They are acknowledging “hey, you are gorgeous and other people/strangers you don’t even know think so too… but I see you without all the makeup and the show of social media, and I think you are beautiful in public and private”. It’s not shaming or belittling the person for “performing” for others ( because who are we kidding? I think we all do that/seek validation to some degree) but it is accepting all parts of the person. Saying i see all parts of you and i think they are all equally beautiful.

What is similar in the sonnets (or) how would one identify the sonnet as coming from you? What about your sonnets are essentially "you"?
Charlotte: Sonnet 150 spoke to me the most. As an immigrant, the thought of loving something so flawed and yet wanting to put all you have into it made me examine my own relationship with the United States. People often ask me, "Why do you live here?" "Why don't you go back to Canada - especially now?" And I really struggle with the answer because most of my adult life has been spent in the US and I have a deep love/hate relationship with it. And the US I moved to in the late 90's isn't the same place as it is now. So, Sonnet 150 somehow speaks to that - I'm not sure I achieved that but that's what I was going for…
Tay: I've always been super into visuals and cinematography, mood achieved through colors and lighting and effects. I’ve always been super aware of aesthetics in television and film and how are they affecting/manipulating my emotions and experience as an audience member overtly or subtly? I tried to achieve that in the way I filmed my sonnet.

What was the most fun about working on this project? What was the most challenging?
Charlotte: Fun was trusting myself and actually putting pen on paper. Challenging was actually trusting myself and putting pen on paper.
Tay: The most fun was actually filming the things outside and seeing how things came together when editing. The most challenging was trying to figure out how i would physically achieve the things i wanted to do in my head...and the sound quality! I hope everything I did matched what the playwright wanted or they were at least interested/intrigued by my take on their words.

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Written By: Jamie Hafner

On the sidewalks of Fishtown, Harriet’s Bookshop owner Jeannine Cook can be found bringing the store’s shelves of books and other goods outside on the weekends.

The Coronavirus outbreak has not stopped Cook’s mission; To celebrate female writers, activists, and artists while creating a space for dialogue and discussion. 

“Our mission is slightly different now” Cook noted when discussing the adjustments her bookshop made to continue to serve customers, adding that, “We [Harriet’s Bookshop] took some lemons and made lemonade”.

Harriet’s Bookshop continues to serve the community every Thursday through Saturday, creating socially distant spaces for conversation and book-sharing in a Coronavirus-safe manner. The bookshop’s collection of books changes monthly, thanks to Cook’s monthly collaborations with different female artists who curate the shop’s book selection.

“This is the right thing for me, celebrating women,” Cook said, detailing that “For the most part, [I had] never been to a bookstore that celebrated women and black people. There was a void”.

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Harriet's Bookshop is located on:
​ 258 E Girard Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19125
www.harriettsbookshop.com/

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Fellow Philadelphia bookstore owner, Lynn Washington, also noticed a void when serving as Design Studio Supervisor at the Free Library of Philadelphia in 2001.

“My job put me in the position to be acutely aware of the abysmal numbers of African-American children who were not able to read by third grade,” Washington remembers.

“My daughter learned to read by kindergarten, and I knew that that happened because I and her father talked, read and sang to her since she was a baby”.

Once Washington discovered that she could create her own bookselling business, she knew that she could make a difference in the lives of Philadelphia African-American children. 

“My main objective was to get quality books and other educational items, such as puzzles, quiz cards, into the hands and homes of low-income parents, for themselves and their children”.

Now, Washington houses Philadelphia’s largest selection of Afrocentric Children’s Books at her bookshop, Books & Stuff.

Even though the pandemic has temporarily shut Books & Stuff’s doors, interested customers can still purchase books and merchandise online, including by purchasing new SURPRISE! packages. 

“My daughter prompted the idea of "surprise" packages. Soon after I had to close, because of COVID-19, I began thinking about closing the shop for good. She encouraged me to refocus my efforts towards my website shop. My daughter suggested selling packages of books/gifts for children to have something to do, as summer was approaching” Washington stated.

Shoppers can select a price point and age range, allowing Books & Stuff to tailor the perfect package for each customer.

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Written by: Jamie Hafner

The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window - Lorraine Hansberry (1964)

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Along with creating the image for The Sea Voyage also created portraits for each character based on each actor cast in the role in the show. These eleven portraits were also created in a similar style as the graphic created for the show.  Andrew Criss’s idea to incorporate a “meet the cast” component to his vision for the artistic media for The Sea Voyage was extremely unique, and a refreshing take on allowing the cast faces to be a part of the storytelling as well.

“When you do a portrait you really study the person... get to know them and you're also telling the story of their character, so it's a great way to begin character research as well, as well as study the play and think how can I tell the story of this play... the graphics are the first introduction to the play, so that poster that advertisement that postcard, is the very first thing that the audience might see, especially if they don’t know the play, it's one of the first impressions of the play that they have, so there's an important responsibility" - Andrew Criss

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We've worked with a number of tremendously talented photographers over the years -- look no further than David Comdico's stunning images of the men aboard the Tall Ship Gazela in The Sea Plays or his etherial black-and-white portrait of Chris Coucill's Timon of Athens. We've jumped up and down excitedly when collaborating with Kate Raines (yielding images such as our eerie, falling bride of Blood Wedding), and there was simply nothing else to do when viewing Kyle Cassidy's Vanity Fair-style portrait of our actors in Mary Stuart but gasp, and have it framed immediately. 

So photographer Ashley LaBonde had some tall shoes to fill when tackling the promotional shots for "He Who Gets Slapped" -- during which we asked her to arrive at our space, capture images of the actors on a tight schedule after being thrown into makeshift costumes, and document the process. 

Her work continues to astonish and astound us, and some of our favorite images from that shoot are the behind-the-scenes candids of makeup artist Jessica DalCanton hard at work, or the glimmering moment when actor Bob Weick, killing time before his costume fitting, began practicing a hat trick. The decision to photoshop her images into the poster design was directly inspired by the painterly quality that she brings to the table, yielding our oil-painting poster with our actors' faces, perfectly captured by Ashley. Enjoy this gallery of images, and don't miss HE WHO GETS SLAPPED.