Richard III - Softcover

Shakespeare's Richard III is the story of a man determined to achieve the Crown of England, by using any means necessary — deceit, betrayal, murder, wooing — really an extraordinary ambition, finally undone by public revulsion at his exploits. As history, it has been claimed that the facts were distorted to justify the history leading to the then current Queen, Elizabeth, and solidify public support for her line of succession. As story, it's fascinating, compelling to follow the progress of a ruthless man in a ruthless time. This Playbook is designed as a notebook/workbook for directors or producers to keep track of all the various components that go into creating a live Shakespeare play, from designing the playbill to budget, set design, costumes, timeline, acting tips, audition, entrances and exits, stage management — the whole team effort behind the actors on stage. Included for the script are plenty of spaces for sketching out ideas or notes, keylines per scene, stage diagram for placement of sets, plus a glossary for unfamiliar terms. As Paul Freeman says, "A producer's dream. Just add actors." The list of Playbooks available: Hamlet (www.createspace.com/3742231) Merchant of Venice (www.createspace.com/3862570) Taming of the Shrew (www.createspace.com/3938142) Twelfth Night (www.createspace.com/3894336) Romeo and Juliet (www.createspace.com/3891241) A Midsummer Night's Dream (www.createspace.com/3893774) Much Ado About Nothing (www.createspace.com/3965392) Macbeth (www.createspace.com/3967549) Othello (www.createspace.com/3963830) As You Like It (www.createspace.com/3940714) Richard III (www.createspace.com/3962607) Henry V (www.createspace.com/3969195)

William Shakespeare, the third of eight children, was born on April 23, 1564 in the English market town of Stratford-upon-Avon. His father became the mayor of Stratford in 1568 and worked as a glovemaker and a moneylender. Four years after leaving school at approxi-mately the age of fourteen, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in November of 1582; their first child Susan-nah was born in May of the following year. Two years later, Anne gave birth to twins, Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, a period called “the lost years,” there is almost no evidence about Shakespeare’s life, nor is there any solid evidence about how or why he made his way to London to become a dramatist. By 1592, however, Shake-speare’s reputation as a playwright and poet had begun to grow. In 1594, he helped found a new theater company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, and be-came the company’s dramatist. Shakespeare’s success increased, and by 1598, the year he registered The Merchant of Venice, he had already purchased one of the biggest residences in Stratford. Some of Shakespeare’s richest dramatic work was written after the founding of the Globe Theater by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men in 1599, including Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. After 1611, Shakespeare largely retired from the theater to spend more time in Stratford. He died in 1616 on his birthday, April 23, when he was fifty-two years old.