We asked our Twitter followers to share their favorite stories from outdoor Shakespeare performances: incredible actors, unexpected animal visitors, dramatic weather events, and more. Tell us your story using #SummerShakesMemories.
Long ago. Washington monument grounds. Night show. Hamlet first scene on the battlements. Plane flies in low right after “Peace, break thee off! Look where it comes again!”
— Deborah Doyle (@Zorrah) June 28, 2019
Much Ado with the boys returning home from WWII. Loud, low flying plane buzzes us. An annoyed Dogberry (completely impromptu), shouts "AIR RAID" and the whole Night Watch (also completely impromptu) hits the deck or scatters completely. Conrad and Boraccio stand, stunned.
— Nathan Metcalf (@NateMetcalf) July 25, 2019
In Ottawa, @bearandcompany’s Romeo and Juliet few years back: Juliet was lying dead, & cat wanders in, about to sit right on her. The actor was deathly allergic to cats. Also, since her eyes were closed, had no idea why everyone was laughing. The Friar had to scoop up the cat.
— Jay Baltz (@jaybaltz) July 1, 2019
There was once a vicious duck fight in front of the stage during a production of Coriolanus I was stage managing for Upstate Shakespeare Festival.
— Emily Lathrop (@ERLathrop) June 25, 2019
I saw an outdoor production of The Tempest in Central Park and it started right after a really intense thunderstorm — the references to the recent storm drew similar nervous laughter #SummerShakesMemories
— Alex Armstrong (@AlexJArmstrong) July 2, 2019
Hello, yes, I have a couple outdoor Shakespeare stories to share with you, starting with "Squirrel Butt Romeo". #SummerShakesMemories https://t.co/egoY6yKDFp
— Good Tickle Brain (@GoodTickleBrain) July 2, 2019
This happened last week.I’m Oberon in MSND, in a walled garden which is part of a public park. I’m on the rampart looking down on the quarreling Lovers, when I’m joined by a guy in running gear, who has interrupted his run to see what’s going on.#SummerShakesMemories
— michael mc hugh (@michaelmc_hugh) June 28, 2019
https://twitter.com/MysticCindi/status/1144474064397848581
I took my 4 month old on stage at the end of Act IV of AMND as The Indian Boy. The audience response was visceral. We could have started a whole new play at that point and the audience would have stayed with us.
— mac Domhnaill (@xmacdonald) July 19, 2019
Inhaling a huge moth at the beginning of Banquo’s soliloquy and coughing through the whole thing, tangled by Texas wind in a huge cape as Cornwall during the fight scene pleading with an ineffective and frozen servant to “Kill me!” after being unable to extricate myself and then being hauled off to peals of laughter, and being arrested by an incompetent officer while playing Antonio in Twelfth Night when the officer drew his sword with a flourish and lost his grip and it clattered down two flights of stairs to land at my feet (I picked it up and held it while convulsed with laughter, sat down on the steps and just handed it to him when he came down to arrest me). Those are memorable but they don’t compare with Moonshine when he entered with his dog for our first full dress with an enormous basset hound that proceeded to hump his leg lustily during the entire scene. The actor had great fun playing through and we all cried from laughter. The dog was replaced with a nervous chihuahua for the final dress and during the same scene became so frightened it turned butt first towards to audience took an enormous, shaky crap at the same moment. Opening night found the dog transformed into a stuffed toy tied to the actor’s foot. I missed the rejected canines and heartily missed what could have been their first steps on the road to stardom.