_Cymbeline_, Actors Shakespeare Project

The venue is depressingly squalid, the production values are almost non-existent, and the material is certainly not Shakespeare's best. But it turns out that none of that is actually required for theatrical magic to happen. The show was really excellent, despite, or perhaps to some extent because of, its limitations.

( lots of details and spoilers below )

The production reminded me rather of my all-time-favorite Shakespeare performance, by a group called "Actors from the London Stage", which did similarly small-cast, low-production-values, highly-successful productions.

Perhaps the highest praise I can give this show comes not from myself, a sophisticated long-time Shakespeare geek. There was a small boy in the audience, perhaps ten years old, who remained rapt with attention throughout the whole 2 1/2 hours. *That* says good theater.

Highly Recommended.

http://www.actorsshakespeareproject.org/season7/winter_festival.html

Overly Long Words

There's a book that was on my Wish List for a while, and herooftheage got it for me for Christmas: _The Ethics of Computer Games_, by Miguel Sicart. I've been reading it snippets, as my 'book to read during meals if kestrell isn't around'. So, this morning, the first words which presented themselves to my eyes were:

The ludic hermeneutic circle operates as a layered interpretational moral process, which starts with the becoming of the player and goes through a series of interpretative stages that conclude in the development of the ludic phronesis.

The scary part is that I understood it... (Approximately: "Games, players, and game communities influence each other in ways that lead to players understanding how they should play the game.")

Tom asked me to let him know if the book was any good. Well, I feel I am getting some value out of it -- but man, it's a slog. I can't really recommend it, unless you happen to have that rare intersection of interests: games and academic philosophy.