cast and crew bios
Jim Haines (Writer Performer)—The Crackpot Shakespeare Theories: Volume 1 is the first performance piece Jim has written. Jim graduated The School of Visual Arts with a BFA in Cartooning and worked as a graphic designer in news graphics, t-shirt design and publishing as an Art Director, while doing freelance illustrations and occasional animation. Jim has been a local actor for decades, and he decided to explore the possibilities in theater and film, studying Shakespeare under the tutelage of Deloss Brown and working with various theater groups throughout New York State. Jim’s roles in Shakespeare include Bottom in 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream', Claudius in ‘Hamlet’ and Falstaff in ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor.' He lives in Queens Village with his lovely and patient wife Daria, and is forever indebted to City Gate Productions for the faith, support and comradeship in this endeavor.
Erin Layton. THE CRACKPOT SHAKESPEARE THEORIES, VOLUME 1 is the second one-person play Erin has directed, co-developed, and premiered with City Gate Productions. Director credits: CROOKED SHADOWS, City Gate Productions. Writing/performance credits: MAGDALEN, Edinburgh Festival Fringe ‘15, SoHo Playhouse, 59e59 theatre, FringeNYC ‘12, and other regional venues in the U.S. and the UK. IMMIGRANT, Lyth Arts Centre (UK), The Center for Faith and Work, NYC. WOKE, developed in residency at Phantom Theatre, Vermont. Member of The Dramatists Guild. www.magdalentheplay.com
Julie Kline is a New York and New Jersey-based director, actor, and writer, whose productions include world premiere plays that have toured internationally, and community-based performances that theatricalize personal stories. Most recently, Julie directed the benefit reading of JANE starring Cynthia Nixon, Ana Gasteyer, Monique Coleman, and Kathy Najimy. Other directing credits include MAGDALEN (Edinburgh Festival Fringe and theaters across the US), THE IMMIGRANTS (Lyth Arts Centre, UK), DOUBT (Franklin Stage Company), RAISING JO (Theater Row), and BOMBSHELL OF RHYTHM (Soho Playhouse). Julie conceived, wrote, and directed SENIORS AND THE CITY with oral historian Liza Zapol - a series of original theater works performed by older adults in Manhattan based on their life stories. Julie was an inaugural grantee of the Charlene Victor and Ella J. Weiss Cultural Entrepreneur Fund, awarded by the Brooklyn Arts Council for outstanding women artists and arts leaders in the borough. She holds a BFA in Acting from The Theater School of DePaul University in Chicago. www.juliekline.com
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Shakespeare resources
films
Kenneth Branagh Classics Collection.
Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet—all vastly different in tone and look, but all contain sparkling performances. NOTE: Hamlet is the full text and four hours. A long ride, but that this film ever got made (and made well) is a singular achievement.
Throne of Blood by Akira Kurosawa
Macbeth set in feudal Japan, which is somehow way more true to the source. Shot in gorgeous black and white, each scene is a master class in composition. Toshiro Mifune is haunted and crazed. Kurosawa is a blessing.
Richard III by Richard Loncraine, adapted by & starring Ian McKellan
The War of the Roses set in England in the 1930’s. Richard Gloucester as Hitler. McKellan crushes it.
A Midwinter’s Tale by Kenneth Branagh
The British title is ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’ so don’t get confused. A group of knucklehead actors are putting on a truly ragtag production of Hamlet in a condemned church on Christmas Eve. Funny, poignant, and gets all the ‘theater folk’ stuff right. My favorite Shakespeare movie.
Shakespeare in Love by John Madden, written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard
I don’t care, I like this one. Truly Great ensemble. Tom Stoppard throws in SO many Shakes-jokes, I am still finding stuff in this. And Judi Dench plays Queen Elizabeth.
The Dresser by Peter Yates, written by Ronald Harwood
World War II London. Albert Finney plays the at-his-wit’s-end Head of an acting company (of elderly men and men not healthy enough for military service) traveling all over England performing Shakespeare amidst the Blitz, and Finney has a breakdown the morning before a sold out performance of ‘King Lear’. Tom Courtenay plays his dresser. Heart-breaking.
NOTE—This is the 1983 version. The 2015 Anthony Hopkins/Ian McKellan version stinks.
Looking for Richard by Al Pacino
I always considered Al as a resolutely modern actor. A native New Yorker, he became famous in the early Seventies, when Film was more about the oddballs and misfits, intense and imperfect creatures in look and attitude. But, go figure, he loves him some Shakes. In a weird and wonderful travelogue, half documentary and half performance in and about ‘Richard III', Al brings in Winona Ryder, Alec Baldwin, Estelle Parsons, Rosemary Harris and more, plus everybody British to talk the talk. A big influence.
Books
Modern Hamlets and Their Soliloquies by Mary Maher
It’s a deep-deep-DEEP-dive into various actors, both famous and obscure, and their process of portraying the most complicated man in all of Drama.
TYRANT: Shakespeare on Politics by Stephen Greenblatt
Invaluable insight for your homework into the matter of Power—why all the Kings in Shakespeare are flawed and toxic and how they think and why they do what they do and how they get enabled. Very current, and this depresses me.
Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies by Elizabeth Winkler
A book that asks the authorship questions that ought to be asked and examines the Stratford relics under the harsh light of skepticism. She’s kicking at the plinth of his legend, and you find that’s not such a bad thing. It’s a first person narrative, so at times it feels like dishing over glasses of wine.
Beginning by Kenneth Branagh
The book is decades old, as it ends with his making the film of Henry V. However, an honest actor telling tales of productions obscure, classic and awful with lots of Great British Actors making cameos. He spins a great yarn and there’s lots of Shakespeare in it. No kidding.
Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea
In conversation with actor & director Brendan O’Hea, Judi Dench tells the tale of the actor’s life and the work that you need to do to play the parts. She’s not short on opinions or criticism. A blast and a treasure.