Last week we talked about letting the feel and sound of language guide us into meaning. We endeavored to revel in the visceral impact of language, specifically, the rough and raw words in the English language that come down from Old English or Anglo-Saxon, a language with no rhyme or reason. Silent Gs. H’s in odd places. Unlike Latin and the Romance Languages which sprung from its mathematical logic, Anglo-Saxon makes no sense in an intellectual way, but touches us with it’s chaos of guttural and evocative sounds. It’s easy to spot these words. They are unwieldy, often have mysterious spellings (“thought,” “phlegm,” “ghost”), and evoke emotions and images. Merriam Webster describes the Anglo-Saxon language as: “brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression; full of vigor, substance, or meaning; terse; forcible.” This week, we talk about crafting our own talks and presentations while inviting in…Read on.

Many years ago I studied Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art with a wise teacher, David Perry. My partner and I brought in the scene from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, where Titania and Oberon, the Queen and King of the Fairies, confront one another. We decided to play the scene with a sense of flirtation and provocation. I remember sprawling on a love seat backwards, legs in the air, while I fed myself long strands of red licorice. David watched the scene patiently. When we were done, he asked: “What makes you think Oberon and Titania …Read on.