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UNMASKINGSHAKESPEARE:DISCUSSION/STUDYGUIDE

JohnHudsonfoundedtheDarkLadyPlayersanddevelopedtheAmeliaBassanotheoryafterpioneeringnewbusinessmodelsinseveralindustries.Hehasworkedoninnovation,strategyandcommunicationssincethe1970s.Inadditiontodegreesinmanagementandsocialscience,heisagraduateoftheShakespeareInstituteattheUniversityofBirmingham,andtrainedinDialogueatMIT.Watchanextract

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwX5sM3xLsM

fromhisUniversitylectureatEasternConnecticutStateUniversity.Toexplorewaysofworkingtogether,invitehimtogiveatalk,leadadiscussion,orfortheDarkLadyPlayerstoperformtheirupcomingproductionatyourlocation,pleasering(212)7699537oremailJohnHudson41@gmail.com.

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“Thrilling”(RabbiMarkSameth,PleasantvilleCommunitySynagogue).“Newandbreathtaking”(ProfessorKellyMorgan,DeanofArts,andfounderoftheMintTheater).“Marvelousandrevolutionary”(ProfessorVickyMcMahon,UniversityofWinnipeg).“Valuableandexciting"(Dr.JackWann,formerChairofTheater,NorthwesternStateUniversity).“Amazing”(ProfessorMelodyBrooks,founderofNewPerspectivesTheater).

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TheElizabethanRenaissance

wasaperiodofintellectualtransformation,thebeginningofthe‘modern’andanexplosionofinnovativescience,discovery,theater,andeconomicgrowth.HerearefiveareasofquestioningthatgroupsmayliketodiscussafterreadingMichaelPosner’sarticle,togetherwithfurthermaterialstoexplore.Allofthem,indifferentways,inviteyoutotakethekindofdetailedquestioningyoumightuseinreadingtheTorah,andapplythemtoShakespeare.Theresultsareastonishing.

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Discussion 1. Thinking Out-of-the-Box

Humanbeingsoftenfallintoakindofthoughtprocessthatsocialscientistscall‘groupthink’.Thisisakindofdelusionalsystemor‘bubble’inwhichthethinkingofanentiregrouprejectsrationalevidenceandoutsidedata,butcolludesinmaintainingadelusionalsystem,knownasa‘mentalmodel’,whichisbackedupbydefensiveroutines.Naysayersandcontrariansaredismissed.Thishappensinpoliticallife,whereIraq’snon‐existentweaponsofmassdestructionwereonesuchdelusionalmodel.Italsohappensinbusiness‐‐wherefalsebeliefsabouttheInternetledtoamassivestockmarketcrash.Mostrecentlythefalsebeliefineverincreasingpropertypricesledtothecurrenteconomiccrisis.YetanotheristhebeliefthatMr.Shakespearewrotetheplaysthatbearhisname.Groupthinkcanbecounteredbyakindofcriticalthinkingknownas‘dialogue,’whichasksagrouptoexploreitsunderlyingassumptions,andthemetaphorswhichunderliethem,inordertogetbeyondmereopinionandpoliticalposturing.Majorcorporationshaveusedthisapproachtoreframetheirbusinesses,rethinktheirproductsandcreateinnovations.ItissuggestedthattheJewishcommunityshoulduseittoexploretheirassumptionsaboutShakespeare.

Questionstoask

:LeadingscholarslikeBrianVickershavealreadyshownthat‘Shakespeare’wasanameunderwhichactsandscenesbyFletcher,Peele,Wilkins,NasheandMiddletonwerepublished.WhythenhasitneverbeforebeensuggestedthatanothercontributortothisworkwasEngland’smajorwomanpoet?HowimportantwoulditbetotheJewishcommunityifamajorco‐authoroftheseplayswasaMarranoJewess?DoesthismakeShakespearemuchmoreimportantbecauseitispartoftheJewishhistoricaltradition?Wouldthisnewparadigmcause‘disruptive’changeorcouldithappensmoothly?HowimportantisitiftheplayscontainJewishallegoriesthatofferacomicparodyofChristiandoctrine?IftheplayswerecreatedasJewishrevengeliterature,whataretheimplicationsforperformance?ShouldtheseplaysbetaughtaspartofasyllabusofJewisheducation?CantechniquesofreadingTorahbeappliedtothestudyoftheShakespeareanworks?CantheJewishcommunitybemobilizedaroundtheseissues?IfthedominantsystemofideasaboutMr.Shakespeareissimplygroupthink,whatisnecessarytobreakit?Whoshouldtakethelead?Doesthisnewperspectiveontheplaysallowaricherandmorecomplexreading?Iftheseplayswerewrittentocommunicateknowledgethatcouldnotbeexpressedinanyotherway,howdoesthistransformourunderstandingofJewishhistory?Isitpossibleatlasttocommunicatetheunderlyingmeaningsoftheplays?Hasreadingtheseplaysatthe

Peshat

levelfor400yearsdumbeddownnotonlyourunderstandingofShakespeare,butourabilitytocomprehendcomplexity?Canrestoringadeepreadingofthesetextshelpimproveadvancedliteracy?Whataretheimplicationsofthisfor

tikkun

andsocialjustice?WhataretheimplicationsforthefuturegrowthofJudaism?Howcanweapplybreakthroughthinkinginourownlivesandcareerstoreframenewopportunities?

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Reading

http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/groupthink%20overview.htmhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/16820098/Supreme‐Court‐Pricks‐Shakespeare‐Bubblehttp://www.scribd.com/doc/29101755/Shapiro‐s‐Contested‐Will‐Who‐Wrote‐Shakespearehttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/was‐shakespeare‐a‐woman/article1433158/http://www.scribd.com/doc/20215319/Can‐Innovation‐Remake‐the‐Theater‐Industryhttp://www.clydefitchreport.com/?p=2039http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GXI5S85Jmshttp://www.enotes.com/topic/The_Dark_Lady_Players

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Discussion 2. Shakespeare’s Brain: Complex Problem Solving

TheElizabethansapproachedtheseplaysequippedwithaverygoodknowledgeoftheBible,Latin,theclassics,andwithlongattentionspans.Theyalsohadagoodintegrationofrationalandintuitivethinking,withtherightbrainandtheleftbrainworkingtogetheronadvancedproblemsolving.Thetheaterbuildingitselfmadeitclearthataplaywasnotrealism,notasliceoflifebut‘metatheater’,anartificialconstructionorpuzzlethathadtobesolved‐‐‐muchaswedocrosswordpuzzlestoday.Wehavelostthatproblem‐solvingapproachtotheplays.YetElizabethanliterarytheorywasthatthewisewould‘digesttheallegory’inanyliterarywork,andonlythemostuneducatedwouldfocusonthe‘honeyedsurfaceoftheverse’.Theplayswereperformedwithoutfrillsandgimmicks,andwithoutscenery,sotherewouldbenodistractionstolisteningverycarefullyandworkingoutthemeaning.Thisrequiredcomplexmulti‐tasking,mentallyidentifyingallusionsandsources,understandingwhatothertextswerebeingreferredto,andhowthoseallusionscreatednewcontextualmeanings.Wehavelostthatabilitytoconcentrate,todecodetheallusions.Indeedformanyyearsthemostsignificantworkofmodernallegory—theHarryPotterseries—wasnotunderstoodasanallegory,notevenafterJ.K.Rowlingstatedthatitwas!Thesortsofcomplexdepictionsintheplaysareoccasionallyfoundinmovies,butmuchmorecommonlyfoundinadvertisements,wherethereisahighinvestmentandsubliminalmeaningsaredeliberatelyusedaspartofthesubtleprocessofpersuasion.

Questionstoask

:Howdoweknowwhenaplayisaskingustothinkallegorically?Whenwefollowatrainofreasoning,wemaydiscarditbecauseofourassumptionsaboutwhattheauthorcouldbesaying.SoforinstanceintheNurse’sScenein

RomeoandJuliet,