Ode to Shakespeare

 Welcome to Shakespeare's BlackFriar Theater. Well a recreation of the theater in Staunton, VA but still it's pretty legit. We took a tour of the theater which I have to add to my bucket list as a first since I have never toured a theater stage before. I also had never been to a show at this theater so the whole trip was a first for me. The day was perfect almost like a mid summer nights dream.

 The theater was so quant inside. The atmosphere really felt like I had stepped back in time to the Elizabethan era.

 Taking a tour of the backstage we came across the prop room where we found a dead body with a decapitated head. Wonder what play that's from?

 Here we have the men and women's dressing rooms. Normally Shakespeare would have been performed by all men playing both the male and female parts I'm glad that today we try to keep more with the correct gender playing their role. Even so, they still have more men than women performers so the mens dressing room (left) is much more crowded than the women's (right). But considering how women's dressings tend to have big hoop skirts I think the space is pretty even.

 In trying to keep with the atmosphere they have chandeliers with candles for lighting which look amazing. They also perform with the lights on. (yes you can take your mind there).

 The whole gang. Rachel, Annie, Chelsey, Mandy, Diana, Kara, Jessica, Whitney, Austin, Emma and AnnaLisa. We made our grand entrance through the Discovery curtain.

After our tour we had a fabulous potluck lunch at Gypsy Park before returning back to the theater to see the Merchant of Venice. I had never really heard the story so I had no idea what it was about. Surprisingly, or not so surprising, I really liked it. I tend to like most things. It was a story about justice and mercy. Of course you have a love story mixed in as well with a lesson about looking at the beauty within and keeping your vows, aka. don't give away a gift from your lover.

It was a very pleasant day with great company and a cultured experience. I'm so blessed to have great friends of cultural influence in my life.