This one is about a visit I made to a Shakespeare Festival

I just got back from the Cedar City, Utah Shakespeare Festival where I had a fantastic time seeing professional theater. The downside was that I only got to see two plays: Fiddler on the Roof and Taming of the Shrew. Fiddler was a good production. The acting was good. The costumes were good. The set was good. The only trouble was that it was a typical production of that play. The only innovative thing in the play was the actor who played Lazer Wolf. He injected life into his part and was definitely not like the movie. The other production, however, was fantastic. They took the original Sheakespeare play of Taming of the Shrew and set it in 1946 Italy. The father with the two daughters is pretty well off with his restaurant and land. Petrucchio, who tames the shrew, was a U.S. Army captain who is a con artist. One of the suitors for Bianca, the younger daughter, is the son of an American mob boss who has come back to Italy to visit "the family." They played Frank Sinatra music and did a lot of other period things with the fantastic set and the way cool costumes. The freshness of this version of a play hundreds of years old also allowed the actors to throw themselves into their parts, with delightful results. The audience was on its feet cheering and clapping as soon as the play was finished.

So, how is seeing these plays inspiration for writing? For one thing, it is a demonstration of a principle of good writing--giving your characters enough fresh quirkiness so that they can really shine and then that energy moves your story along with zing that engages the reader. It is often said that there are only so many stories in the world and I suppose that is true to a point. However, the way those stories are presented can always be innovative and full of personality.