The Play’s the Thing!: Selections from Playing Shakespeare’s Characters, Vols. 1-4

Curated from the first four volumes of Peter Lang’s Playing Shakespeare’s Characters series, this omnibus edition selects the most practical essays for actors and directors wanting to play and produce Shakespeare’s plays. The dozen contributors in this volume explore ways to play Shakespeare’s lovers, villains, monarch, madmen, rebels, and tyrants. It gives critical guidance for directors and producers wanting to stage Shakespeare in the age of Black Lives Matter and #MeToo. The book is a valuable companion for students, actors, directors, and designers who want insight into playing Shakespeare today.

Louis Fantasia iscurrently Artistic Associate of the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles and Series Editor of Playing Shakespeare’s Characters. His books include Instant Shakespeare; Tragedy in the Age of Oprah; and Talking Shakespeare: Notes from a Journey. In 2003, the Council of Europe named the theatre collection at its library in the European Parliament in his honor. In 2016 he was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland) for his contributions to German culture and theater. A monologue from his first play, Dreams of a Sleep to Come (2020), was included in Best Men’s Monologues of 2021.