Timothy Mooney Repertory Theater from Buffalo Grove Illinois presented Lots o’ Shakespeare at Orlando Fringe.Timothy began the evening by handing out green circular Lots 0′ Shakespeare stickers. I stuck mine on the cover of my sketchbook. Timothy introduced the show by explaining that he had been going to many auditions and came to realize that he really wasn’t what most Shakespearean directors were looking for as a romantic lead. To remedy the situation he set about memorizing all of Shakespeare’s plays.
A small movie screen was set up with a projector. He used this to place lines that he wanted the audience to call out in response to some of his monologues. A bingo cage was also on stage which he used to select bingo balls which was how each monologue was picked. The added bonus was that everyone in the audience had bingo cards and they could win Shakespearean swag by circling the numbers on their cards. Ball 2B was used to begin his recitation of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be.”
The show turned out to be a real tour de force. I gained renewed respect for this actors tenacity and verve as he recited each monologue with absolute conviction in character. The show remained exciting since he threw himself into every role acting out the scene rather that just reciting the lines. Along with the long series of monologues he also added some sonnets as well. This tuned out to be an amazing hour of theater with amazing monologues tied together with tongue in cheek humor. Pam Schwartz filled in both of our bingo cards as the show progressed since I was occupied sketching. I ended up winning with a diagonal line up on the card. I didn’t collect the Shakespeare script book or coffee mug, preferring to leave it for a future show.