I’m beginning to wonder if I prefer guerilla art.  I’m into punk rock.  I enjoy untrained artist’s paintings – I like the stuff from my friend’s 6-year-old.  I think refrigerator poetry is cool, especially if it’s kinda dirty.  I often view well-played soccer, football, and baseball as art.  Maybe “rowdy” is what I’m after.  Let’s admit it – the fine arts are often too monopolized by people who don’t appreciate things like ninjas, water-balloon fights, zombie movies, talk like a pirate day, South Park, monkeys riding unicorns, and snickering at questionable uses of the word “cornhole”.

Although nowadays he’s mainly regarded as highfalutin, I think Shakespeare would have been into guerilla art.  And he probably would have made a good drinking buddy.  He wrote ghosts, witches, and fairies into his plays.  Lots of crossdressing.  Lots of bloody mayhem and murder.  A good bit of doin’ it (or implied doin’ it).  I’ll bet he and Sam Raimi would have a rip roarin’ good time in collaboration.  Or maybe a little more Robert Rodriguez.

In performing The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), the Park Players of Birmingham seem to understand this.  The Bard might have peed on his shoes.  Um, that’s a compliment.  Like, you know, from laughing so hard?  Shakespeare knew the principal secret of theatre – which is to be entertaining.  It’s all about making the groundlings love you.

The cast members (Stephen French, A. Clay Boyce, and D. Connor McVey) are each funny in different ways.  It’s a ticklish subject to write down for all interneternity why someone is funny, so you may just have to go see for yourself.  French is charismatic and quick on his feet, Boyce (possibly a doppelganger of federal judge David Proctor) is a football lovin’ goofball, and McVey makes a likable, if barfing, oaf.  They work well together.

Homewood Park is a perfect setting.  There is seating and a stage area built right into the park.  A perfect place to bring a picnic.  It’s satisfying to watch the puzzled walkers on the oval, circling round and round behind the stage during the play.  The production has got a distinct anti-establishment feel – which I approve of – like the Park Players sprinted in unannounced without a permit, set up, performed theatre, and then ran like hell to their cars before the Homewood police could catch ‘em.  More groups should think about putting together stuff like this – quick and dirty.

This show is free to anyone under 16, which means you really have no reason not to go.  It won’t rain, I promise.  My only warning is that it’s not entirely G-rated, but any un-Disney humor is often wordplay or Shakespearean and may go right over the heads of little kids.

Thanks to Clay Boyce and the Park Players for putting on this show.  I’m looking forward to their version of Taming of the Shrew in August.