The `Speare Bearer: One-Man Street Shakespeare

25 Jun

The Speare Bearer: Performing Macbeth in Ruidoso, NM, in a Starbucks, April, 2012 (by Deborah Voorhees)

This is from my time in Ruidoso, when I was staying with my new friends Deborah and Rich, who were at the time editing a feature film they’d shot imagining Shakespeare as a contemporary Hollywood screenwriter called Billy Shakespeare. This was a performance they’d arranged for me when I first met them. Good folks, I miss them, hopefully we cross paths again soon. This was shot wondefully by Rich. I know this is June, and the video is from April, but I only just got this video the other day, so figured I’d post it.

9 Apr

4 notes

rjpesquire:

The `Speare Bearer: Group I managed to gather to perform for, in Deming, New Mexico, 04/09.

The director of the library, Angela Wilde, is in the back with a blue t-shirt, and Ed, a kind-hearted gentleman who also works for the library, was nice enough to offer to let me stay the night at his place. That’s him sitting in the front left, in the purple shirt. New Mexico is treating me soooo well.

When I got to Deming, I realized it was a small town (bout 4000 people) and I wasn’t sure if I could make a performance happen, not did I think I had enough energy to poke around for one. After trying to get some leads at the local Performing Arts theater (no one was around), and the visitors center, I was directed to the library. They couldn’t offer me much in the way of leads either, but I think it was a day off from school, and there were so many kids hanging around I asked the director if I couldn’t just try to make a performance happen there. The director Angela gave me the kids reading room to use as a space and said I could perform for whomever’s parents said it was OK. So I went and spoke to a bunch of parents, including one grandmother who required English to Spanish translation from her grandaughter.

This wasn’t my best performance, I was getting heckled a little, but I did Twelfth Night, and Romeo and Juliet the best I could. Hopefully someone got SOMETHING out of it, and quite a few of the kids did ask me for my card.

9 Apr

The `Speare Bearer: Performing for/Interrupting some kids at a BBQ, Deming, New Mexico, 04/09

Saw these young people BBQ-ing on the way to my host Ed’s house and I had to stop. Again, wasn’t my greatest performance, (I can’t ever tell if people care, or are paying attention or not, but here’s their reaction.)

MIGHT have footage of the performance coming soon.

(Source: youtube.com)

7 Apr

1 note

The `Speare Bearer: Group of New Mexico State University Theater Arts students I performed a Hamlet scene for, 04/06.

The one day I had top make it to campus, to visit the theater department, which i like to do when I’m in a college town happened to be Good Friday, so there were no classes, and barely anyone around. I was pretty dissapointed, but uckily these four theater students were in the costume shop which I found by poking around, working on costumes for their upcoming production of “Shout!” They were really cool, and encouraging, and I had a great time performing for them. And they gave me a heads up on performing in the Las Cruces Farmer’s Market, where I made some good money, so thanks guys!

7 Apr

The `Speare Bearer: Group of Engineering students I performed my Julius Caesar scene for on the New Mexico State University Campus, 04/06.

They were nice guys to stick around, and werea really great audience, even when a lady and her friend passing by walked through my scene, and quite gravely warned the boys to beware of false prophets, and then indiscreetly gestured toward me. As soon as she walked up the guys urged me to come out of my stunned daze and finish my scene, which I did. Always interesting.

7 Apr

The `Speare Bearer: 04/06 My new friend Andrew from Las Cruces, New Mexico, who I’m staying with now while I’m here. He’s a friend of Dennis, a nice man who came to my show in Carrizozo, and called Andrew to let him know I’d be coming his way, and Andrew was nice enough to offer me a place to stay. Awesome.

Ralf at White Sands

What if Shakespeare were a Hollywood screenwriter??? He is in the upcoming film "Billy Shakespeare"!

Check ou the upcoming comedy produced, written, and directed by Ruidoso, NM based filmmaker Deborah Voorhees and her husband Rich Beer. They are my new friends and I’m excited about their project. Check it out!

5 Apr

1 note

The `Speare Bearer: Show I did in Carrizozo, NM, on 04/03 for a small, invited audience. The show was put together by my friends, filmmakers Rich Beer and Deborah Voorhees, a wonderful couple I’ve made good friends with, who are producing a comedy about Shakespeare (http://www.billyshakespearethemovie.com/), that I stayed with for 3 nights, and another friend, local producer, Marc Cohen. Photo’s by local photographer Dave Schultz (http://365.daveshots.com/).

5 Apr

1 note

The `Speare Bearer: 4 young men of Miss Ball’s class I performed for today at Ruidoso High, in Ruidoso, NM. 04/05

I did a Hamlet’s ghost scene, Macbeth/Lady Macbeth, and a Romeo and Juliet scene. They seemed interested, and we had a really cool conversation about strength of mind versus strength of heart, making art, deciding to be an artist, fear, and lots of other stuff. It was awesome.

3 Apr

10 notes

The `Speare Bearer: Roswell, NM 03/31

I tried and tried, and hustled, and pedaled my little exhausted heart out to try to perform here, for the one afternoon I was here, tried to make a show happen with the Fire Department… but no dice. Interesting town though. And I got a free motel room out of the deal.

The `Speare Bearer meets some like-minded film artists/Shakespeare lovers/Kickstarter alumni in Ruidoso, New Mexico!

This is crazy. I get dropped off in Ruidoso, NM. Caught a lift from a guy the last 25 mi here on my 75 mi journey from Roswell. I get here, tired, have a burrito, and rest for a bit, trying to figure out where I’m going to sleep, if I’m going to try to fight through the fatigue and try to perform in town (I ended up performing Romeo & Juliet for the mother and daughter who ran the burrito joint), and at random I just good “Ruidoso, NM, Shakespeare.” And holy shit, did that search deliver. It let me to Deborah and Rich, a husband and wife filmmaking team who also raised money on Kickstarter to do a Shakespeare project. The are in the final stages of completing a film that takes a comedic look at what it would be like for Shakespeare if he were a screenwriter in the modern day. It’s called “Billy Shakespeare.” We met, and they were kind enough to feed me, take me in, and we’re actually trying to set up a few small shows here in town. Take a look at their project!

Isn’t this crazy???? God is good. Hope I can do something positive with this opportunity, but at the very least, it’s awesome to make new friends.

The `Speare Bearer: The road to Roswell, NM, 03/31.
Terrain getting more and more desert-y.

2 Apr

1 note

The `Speare Bearer: Performed some Macbeth here for these ladies in Tatum, New Mexico, after they closed up shop for the night, 03/31.

They were really sweet, and one lady in the group (all of whom were married), said in response to the scene about lady Macbeth: “Well if I were a man, I don’t think I’d like to have a wife like that.”

Love it.

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