Two Mistakes: A Non-Musical Musical
April 16, 2015 2:07 PM Subscribe
Two Mistakes: A Non-Musical Musical
My narrative poem, Two Mistakes took second place prize in the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Competition. It is a reworking of Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors set in the early and mid-19th century in Kentucky (slave) and Indiana (free) states. The above link goes to blog post describing the work. The work itself can be found here.
Shakespeare wrote about a pair of identical twins separated when they were very young by a storm at sea. One set of twins were slaves, one set were their masters. One master and one slave were rescued and returned home to their native city of Ephesus. The other child and his slave were rescued by a different boat and were seemingly lost forever. Eventually the lost twins visit Ephesus. Mistaken identities ensue.
I reimagined A Comedy of Errors, setting it in antebellum America with the Ohio River being the body of water that separates the pairs of twins. The themes of the insidious cruelty of slavery and nature versus nurture are explored. The poem is written as a "non-musical" musical in formal, rhyming verse, intended to echo the flavor of American musical theater.
What is probably clear by now is that this is a massively long poem, over 1500 lines. The blog post (first link) gives an idea of the piece before the full commitment of reading it.
Also:
The press announcement.
The unused prologue.
My narrative poem, Two Mistakes took second place prize in the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Competition. It is a reworking of Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors set in the early and mid-19th century in Kentucky (slave) and Indiana (free) states. The above link goes to blog post describing the work. The work itself can be found here.
Shakespeare wrote about a pair of identical twins separated when they were very young by a storm at sea. One set of twins were slaves, one set were their masters. One master and one slave were rescued and returned home to their native city of Ephesus. The other child and his slave were rescued by a different boat and were seemingly lost forever. Eventually the lost twins visit Ephesus. Mistaken identities ensue.
I reimagined A Comedy of Errors, setting it in antebellum America with the Ohio River being the body of water that separates the pairs of twins. The themes of the insidious cruelty of slavery and nature versus nurture are explored. The poem is written as a "non-musical" musical in formal, rhyming verse, intended to echo the flavor of American musical theater.
What is probably clear by now is that this is a massively long poem, over 1500 lines. The blog post (first link) gives an idea of the piece before the full commitment of reading it.
Also:
The press announcement.
The unused prologue.
Role: author
« Older Customers Included, 2nd Edition... | Fuck Shit Up... Newer »
You are not currently logged in. Log in or create a new account to post comments.