Stage Fright on a Summer Night - Mary Pope Osborne [10]
There is no historical evidence that Queen Elizabeth I ever visited the Globe Theater. It is believed, though, that she liked Shakespeare’s plays very much and that A Midsummer Night’s Dream was performed at her palace for her and her court.
Today, the place where theaters sell tickets is called a “box office.” That’s because in Shakespeare’s time, people dropped their admission money into a box held at the door.
The reason actors’ parts are now called “roles” is because in Shakespeare’s time, actors were given scrolls, or rolls of paper, with only their own lines written on them.
For over 400 years, people have been quoting lines written by Shakespeare. Some of the lines quoted in this book are:
“I’ll note you in my book of memory.”—from Henry the Sixth
“All the world’s a stage.”—from As You Like It
“Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow.”—from Romeo and Juliet
“Thy life’s a miracle.”—from King Lear
“I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream past the wit of man to say what dream it was.”—from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
It is believed that William Shakespeare invented over 2,000 words and expressions, many of which we still use. Some of Shakespeare’s words in this story are:
blushing hush
bump lonely
downstairs long-legged
excitement shooting star
for goodness’ sakes sorry sight
forward swift as a shadow
gloomy tut, tut
good riddance upstairs
howled
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Excerpt copyright © 2002 by Mary Pope Osborne.
Published by Random House Children’s Books,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Tap-tap-tap.
Jack sat up in bed. Rain tapped against his window. His clock said 5 A.M. It was still dark outside.
Annie peeked into his room.
“Are you awake?” she whispered.
“Yep,” said Jack.
“Ready to find some special magic?” she asked.
“Maybe we should wait,” said Jack. “It’s so dark and rainy.”
“No waiting,” said Annie. “I’ll get an umbrella. You bring a flashlight. Meet you downstairs.”
“Okay, okay,” said Jack.
He jumped out of bed. He pulled on his clothes and put on a jacket. Then he grabbed his backpack and flashlight.
Jack slipped downstairs and out the front door. Annie stood on the porch in jeans and a T-shirt. The air was chilly and breezy.
“Don’t you need a sweater or something?” said Jack.
“I’m okay,” she said. “Let’s go.”
Annie raised the umbrella. Jack turned on the flashlight. They followed a circle of rainy light down their street into the woods.
They headed through the Frog Creek woods. The flashlight lit up the trees—the wet leaves and dark branches. Then it shined on a dangling rope ladder.
Jack raised the flashlight beam.
“There it is,” he said.
A circle of light lit the magic tree house.
“Morgan’s not there,” said Annie. “I can tell.”
“Maybe she left us a message,” said Jack.
Jack grabbed the rope ladder and started up. Annie put the umbrella down and followed. When they climbed inside, Jack shined the flashlight around the tree house.
Morgan le Fay wasn’t there. But the scrolls from their trip to old England were.
“Here’s proof we found a special magic yesterday,” she said.
“Yeah,” said Jack, smiling. “Theater magic.” He had great memories of acting in a play by their friend William Shakespeare.
“Did Morgan leave us a new secret rhyme?” asked Jack.
He shined the flashlight on a book lying under the window. A piece of paper was sticking out of the book.
“Yes!” said Annie. She picked up the book and pulled out the paper.
Jack shined his light on the paper while Annie read aloud:
Dear Annie and Jack,
Good luck on your second journey to find a special magic. This secret rhyme will guide you:
To find a special kind of magic
in worlds so far apart,
speak a special language,
talk with your hands