Theater: 'Cymbeline' tells an epic fairy tale

Imogen Sleeping (from Shakespeare's Cymbeline) by N.M. Price**
(1905 edition of Charles and Mary Lamb: Tales of Shakespeare.

From Orlando Shakespeare Theater comes the play known as "Shakespeare's Fairy Tale" - and no, I'm not talking about A Midsummer Night's Dream. It's Cymbeline (brief synopsis at the link): a play complete with a very evil stepmother, a sleeping potion, a defiant and resourceful princess, running away to hide in a forest and even a return from the (seeming) dead*.

"It's really like a Roman-era 'Snow White,'" says Jim Helsinger, artistic director of Orlando Shakespeare Theater.  

From the official website:

Cymbeline  Februrary 8 - March 18, 2012Written by William ShakespeareDirected by Jim Helsinger  Shakespeare's epic fairy tale is a sweeping story of love, laughter, betrayal and redemption. Evil queens, forbidden love, mistaken identities, banishment, magic potions and poison fill the stage in this storybook adventure. After brave Princess Imogen is falsely accused of adultery and escapes her father's court, she sets forth on a treacherous and miraculous journey to reclaim her place in society and reunite with her true love.

You can see some more photos of the production on the Flickr account HERE.

The production runs from February 8 to March 18, 2012. You can find more information about showings and tickets HERE.

Article source: HERE
* Shakespeare based Cymbeline on an ancient Celtic legend: Cunobeline.
** The style of this painting looks very familiar but I can't find any mention of the artist - only that the image is public domain. CREDIT UPDATED 4-8-14 thanks to comment by Anonymous

Article: "Once Upon A Time" - What Counts As A Fairy Tale Exactly?

This is interesting. Laurel Brown, a writer at buddyTv.com, heard the latest Once news - that Alice In Wonderland will be a featured tale very soon - and she has a good question:

For Once Upon A Time, what counts as a fairy tale, exactly?

Now, we've had plenty of hints Once writers would be adding Alice characters, both in props used in Rumpelstiltskin's (ahem, I mean Mr. Gold's) pawn shop, a picture in Henry's book and via a passing mention in an interview (if memeory serves). (You can see fan summary and speculation about other items in Mr. Gold's shop HERE and HERE.)

Here's how Ms. Brown's article begins:

Apparently, for Once Upon a Time, the term "fairy tale" is loosely translated as "a story famous as a Disney movie." That's the only possible explanation for the most recent story announced for the fantasy show. Because it is not, by most definitions, any sort of fairy tale. Keep reading to find out the new story coming to Once Upon a Time. 

According to EW.com, a Once Upon a Time will soon take on the classic tale, Alice in Wonderland. The episode, expected to air in March, will be called "Hat Trick" and will feature Roger Daltrey (of The Who) as the voice of a talking caterpillar. 

But Alice in Wonderland is not a fairy tale. 

It is a familiar story, beloved by children for generations and the subject of several film adaptations, but Alice still isn't a fairy tale. What is it then?

Ms. Brown goes on to give a brief history of what the Alice stories are and the connection to Disney, which is worth taking a look at if you're one of the people that keeps reading on fairy tale blogs that Alice isn't a fairy tale and you wonder why.

Just like Once, you'll find more than a passing mention to Alice in Wonderland on fairy tale blogs (like this one!) despite that we know it isn't really a fairy tale. While I don't know if the creators of Once consider Alice a fairy tale or not, it really doesn't matter. In the mind of the public, it generally is. I think it's because of how it's been almost "diluted" in popular culture so Alice really does seem like a fairy tale to most people now.

Roger Daltry is confirmed as playing a talking caterpillar on ABC's Once Upon A Time in ep 1.17 Hat Trick

Ms. Brown does have a good point about a problem in using Alice* - or any of her other Wonderland character friends - as a story component within the premise of Once though.

To her mind, to have Alice appear breaks the contract of the uniquely fairy tale version of "suspension of disbelief" that we've been working with so far. I think she may be on to something with that concern. So far Once has been more successful than I expected it would be in keeping away from the sense that Storybrooke is a demented Disneyland (a fear I had, especially after seeing the first three or so episodes, which appeared a little like a disorganized mash-up at times). With Alice arriving on the scene there's a definite difference in the manner of spanner being thrown into the Once-works this time. Fairy tales are more real than not. They just have Wonder added. Alice is a confusion of imagination on steroids which sucks the entire world around it into it's irresistible - and very mad - rabbit hole. Unless we're about to see Storybrooke's asylum and have Doc Hopper being overworked I'm not sure how this is going to work.

My real question is: what effect will a character like Alice (or any other Wonderland inhabitant) have on the sensibilities of the Storybrooke residents? Even more of a question is, what effect it will have on their fairy tale counterparts?

Curiouser and curiouser...

The Once Upon A Time Alice-themed episode 1.17, titled Hat Trick will likely air in March.

You can read the whole article HERE.

*Note: it appears Alissa Skovbye is set to play Alice but I haven't heard any confirmation other than the IMDB database of that, which obviously isn't up-to-date. Roger Daltrey isn't currently listed in the cast.

Ribbonesia's Animal Ribbon Art

Is it fairy tale related - yes!

OK, not directly but it feels very fairy tale-y so I had to share. :) I can see these being used in fairy tale productions, in photo shoots and to give fairy tale gifts.

Here's a little info, courtesy of Anthology Magazine:

In 2008, after working for a long time as a painter and illustrator, artist Baku Maeda decided to experiment with ribbon and other soft materials to try to capture the expression and character of various types of animals. Baku continues to create new animals and design variations, and the Ribbonesia creative team now includes six individuals, including the artist. 

No two pieces are exactly alike, and they are all stunning—certainly an reminder of how any material can be made into something remarkable, in the hands of an artist. To see more pieces and learn more about the studio, visit the Ribbonesia blog.

These lovely bows by Japanese company Ribbonesia are so beautifully crafted.. you don't need a gift inside the box!

Here's a closer look at a few. They look really classy here:

It appears they can tackle any form, no matter how complicated. Check out their 2012 Dragon ribbon sculpture:

They have quite a large variety (which isn't immediately obvious when you see the website). Have a look at the displays below:

Apparently sample boxes are available (for stores?) but they would make lovely little treasures on their own.

They're also advertised as being accessories: from unusual hat adornments to lapel pins.

They look lovely as wall art too:

I only wish I could read Japanese to let you know about the originators and artists involved but rather than copy a bad Babelfish translation I'll let you go to the website and have a look for yourself. I can, however, show you a couple of pictures of the talented team:

I also recommend hunting around the various sections of the website to see tons more pictures of ribbon animals, events and the artists at work. I believe they are all handmade (!) and that Ribbonesia is currently looking for interested people to take on the craft and expand the business.

It certainly seems like the business is quickly becoming successful! Check out the fronts and window display of this department (I think) store.

They even have workshops for people to go and learn how to craft various ribbon animals, especially birds (look at the variety below). From what I can gather, it's not an easy task for the average person to reproduce most of the designs.

They're available for purchase HERE.

You can get company and product updates via Twitter for updates too.

My wish list just keeps getting longer and longer...

Originally found via SuperPunch.

Happy Birthday Mr. Dickens!

Google logo honoring Dickens 200th birthday, Feb 7th 2012

I ran out of oomph last night when I saw the google logo appear in honor of Charles Dickens 200th birthday but I couldn't let it pass without at least a mention because, well, Dickens is awesome. Plus a lot of his work grew out of his love of fairy tales.

You probably know this quote:

(Yes you can get it on a t-shirt now.)

 In case the image is too fuzzy to read, I've added the quote below.)

“In a utilitarian age, of all other times, it is a matter of grave importance that fairy tales should be respected.” 

― Charles Dickens

If you need a refresher, here's a lovely little BBC animation overview of his life:

Heidi at SurLaLune has posted a lot of wonderful posts in honor of Mr. Dicken's today so rather than repeat her I'll just give you an excerpt from her first post then send you over there to read it all:

Today is the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens, a lifelong supporter of fairy tales. So I wanted to devote a few entries to him today in celebration.  

We already know somewhat that Dickens loved Little Red Riding Hood. He once wrote: "Little Red Riding Hood was my first love. I felt that if I could have married Little Red Riding Hood I should have known perfect bliss."

But fairy tales informed more of his work, not directly with fairy tale retellings like some of his contemporaries, but he alluded to them frequently and even defended them when he felt it was necessary as some of today's entries will show.

Before you head over and enjoy a good cup of tea while you read through all the awesome posts Heidi has put up today, I want to bring your attention to a few things first:

The first is an article titled Fairy Tales and Adolescence which you can find HERE. It begins by discussing Dickens and his use of fairy tales (emphasis in bold is mine) then goes on from there:

Dickens notes for The Cricket in the Hearth

We were talking about Dickens’ fondness for fairy tale tropes and figures.  In part this involved us simply in identifying fairy tale tropes in the novel, which is fun, though rather limited: Copperfield is a regendered remix of Cindarella, for instance; like Little Red Riding Hood young David must pass through treachorous territory and overcome the vulpine Murdstone, who has dispatched his mother—or else, some in the seminar thought, must negotiate the trickier sexual wolfishness of Steerforth, dressed in friend’s clothing. (Plus, of course, David has a hood: ‘I was born with a caul, which was advertised for sale in the newspapers at the low price of fifteen guineas’, ch.1).  Several members of the group pulled out references to ogres and giants, to magical flutes, princesses and castles in the novel.  But we also agreed that simply identifyig fairy tales elements was a pretty one-dimensional response.  

We wanted to go beyond just noticing that,  in the words of Elaine Ostrey, ‘throughout his career, Dickens engaged in fairy tales on every level: he wrote them, defended them, alluded to them and used techniques from the genre in his essays and novels … Dickens defends the imagination and fairy tales in the same breath’ [Elaine Ostrey, Social Dreaming: Dickens and the Fairy Tale, (2002), 1].  So we talked a little about the critical context of this question: there have been various studies of Dickens and Fairy tales (Michael Kotzin’s Dickens and the Fairy Tale (1972) and Harry Stone’s Dickens and the Invisible World: Fairy Tales, Fantasy and Novel Making (1979) are two, for instance—Stone’s being probably the best, despite its limitations).  Stone’s argument, broadly, is that the fairy tale element in Dickens work balances the for-want-of-a-better-word ‘realist’ element; that in his early books he doesn’t get these two rather contrary impulses to line up in a wholly effective way, but with the Christmas Books, Dombey and especially inCopperfield and Great Expectations he squares the circle, and creates realistic fairy-tales, or fairy-told realisms, which in turn generate unique and penetrating new insights, affects, kinds of fiction. 

The whole article is well worth the time to read. You can find Social Dreaming: Dickens and the Fairy Tale HERE, though it's pricey (odd, since it was published in 2002).



One new release is: Charles Dickens: The Dickens Bicentenary 1812-2012  by Lucinda Dickens Hawksley, The Charles Dickens Museum (Contribution by), pictured at right and released in mid-December last year.

Overview
Charles Dickens is the definitive interactive illustrated guide to the man and his works. Produced in association with the Charles Dickens Museum, London, it follows Dickens from early childhood, including his time spent as a child labourer, and looks at how he became the greatest celebrity of his age, and how he still remains one of Britain’s most renowned literary figures, even in the twenty-first century. It is an intimate look at what he was like as a husband, father, friend and employer; at his longing to be an actor, his travels across North America, his year spent living in Italy and his great love of France. It introduces Dickens’s fascinating family and his astonishing circle of friends, and we discover when and how life and real-life personalities were imitated in his art.

Charles Dickens was an intriguing personality. He was a man far ahead of his time, a Victorian whose ideals and outlook on life were better suited to the modern world. With beautiful photographs and artworks, and many never before seen facsimile documents from Dickens’s own archives, Charles Dickens brings to life this extraordinary and complex man, whose name remains internationally revered and whose work continues to inspire us today.

Another new release is for children (and grownups of course!): A Boy Called Dickens by Deborah Hopkinson (Author), John Hendrix (Illustrator), pictured at left and released January 10th this year.

Description 

For years Dickens kept the story of his own childhood a secret. Yet it is a story worth telling. For it helps us remember how much we all might lose when a child's dreams don't come true . . .  

As a child, Dickens was forced to live on his own and work long hours in a rat-infested blacking factory. Readers will be drawn into the winding streets of London, where they will learn how Dickens got the inspiration for many of his characters. The 200th anniversary of Dickens's birth is February 7, 2012, and this tale of his little-known boyhood is the perfect way to introduce kids to the great author. Here is historical fiction at its ingenious best.

There's a really nice preview on the illustrator's website HERE.

And finally here is a slightly older book, published 2006, titled Once Upon Charles Dickens by Laura Jennifer Szkutak, pictured on the right.

From the authors website HERE:

At the heart of Charles Dickens' creative vision in his works is the formative influence of fairy tales that entered Dickens' imagination from his early childhood and later gave shape to his fiction. Dickens' exposure to and awareness of fairy tale literature gave him a basis for the various formulas his books follow, many of which run parallel to basic fairy tale plots. 

The book traces through Dickens' childhood and adult life focusing on three of the novels that helped shape his career:Oliver Twist, Hard Times, and Great Expectations.  The book tells of Dickens' early obsession with fairy tale literature, and shows the connection between the original fairy tales of Charles Perrault and Madame D'Aulnoy and later, the Brothers Grimm, to the themes of Dickensian literature.  Hans Christian Anderson, a close friend and guest of the Dickens' family was of particular interest to Charles' work in defending the value of fairy tales, which, at one time, were actually banned from England.  The book delves into the well-publicized split between Dickens and one of his illustrators George Cruikshank, when, in 1853, as Elaine Ostry states, "The fairy tale drove the last nail into a longstanding friendship." 

Once Upon Charles Dickens also contains a psychoanalytic analysis of the methodology of the common fairy tale in relieving the subconscious manifestations of societal fears.  The reader will see how Dickens used fairy tales themes in his novels in much the same respect, by taking everyday people and telling their story in a way that makes them extraordinary.

And now go read Heidi Anne Heiner's SurLaLune entries HERE. She's really pulled out all the stops today! They're not yet tagged with "Dickens" so if the link fails you type "Dickens" in the search window and they should all come up, with today's 200th birthday ones being at the top.)

Happy 200th Mr. Dickens!