Let's take a moment and think about all things Shakespeare.  Anyone who's ever read or seen a play, watched a movie, quoted a famous line, or just enjoyed an introspective moment caused by the simple act of being entertained can thank William Shakespeare and others like him.  We've all been touched at one time by the writing or acting of another.  We've been thrilled by the thought that someone out there feels the same way we feel, thinks as we think, and views the world in just the same manner.  On this page we the Band of Brothers would like to share our thoughts.  We will ask that members of the Band write articles, post links, share games or just random thoughts about Shakespeare, acting, poetry, literature or anything that crosses our minds about our craft.  We would like to get things started with an article by our founder and Artistic Director, Laura Gordon. We also have a little quiz to test your Shakespearean knowledge.  The answers will appear at the bottom of this page so try not to cheat.  This especially goes for the actors! After you've taken the quiz, click the link for our Elizabethan insults, mix and match and come up with a brand new way to tell someone off.  And please feel free to send us links, games, trivia or anything of interest to fellow Shakespeare lovers.  Enjoy!

"Touch Shakespeare for Me."  Emily Dickinson 

Recently, Bradford and I were walking the streets of Pittsburgh, when I was startled by a very familiar face.  It was Will, Will Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon, sitting in front of Carnegie Museum thinking.  Why was he there?  Was he thinking of Hamlet's, "to be or not to be" dilemma?  We stood and gazed at this imposing figure with awe in our hearts.  We know him.  What an honor to make him live and speak in the Laurel Mountains, and what an awesome responsibility to him and to our audience to do it right. 

            We strolled across the street and wandered into Heinz Chapel. The stain glass windows preached the virtues of the soul -tolerance, courage, temperance, and truth.

As the sun illuminated the west windows, there he was again.  William Shakespeare as a depiction of truth, surrounded by characters from The Tempest; Ariel, Caliban, Prospero who whispered "we are such stuff as dreams are made of".  I touched the glass softly and let the deep ruby light fall on my hand.  Shakespeare was touching me again in this sacred Globe. 

            Walking toward the Cathedral of Learning, I remembered the Pittsburgh Shakespeare Festival which is now no more.  Brad and I opened the familiar doors to the theatre.  There he was again, Billy, in stained glass.  Within one block, Shakespeare was memorialized in glass, bronze, and marble.  The city knows the value of such wisdom, but the festival is no longer breathing Billy breath. 

            Band of Brothers is "speaking the speech" here in our Johnstown, while our city gasps for cultural  breath.  The arts keep us human, making us feel more valuable than the world wants us remember. While our wooden Shakespeare totem stands in the forest through all four seasons, his voice travels through actors and audience year round.  Shakespeare's wisdom is for all times and all worlds. "Tis the cause."  

            Thank you to the many iambic heartbeats that have brought us to the Bard.  The Band of Brothers invites you to join us in membership, Britain, Canada, Washington, D.C.,  summers in the park,  workshops with children and adults, Novembers with Picasso, Decembers with Jacob Marley and Naughty Reindeer, Abridged Shakespeares and Histories of the World: and in all the quiet times you recall our words touching Shakespeare. 

Laura Gordon

Artistic Director