Yesterday evening, Heather and Rob Beschizza and I (Richard) performed a surprise read-through of “Elfquest à la Shakespeare” for Wendy. The metamorphosis from issue #1’s original script into iambic pentameter was masterfully crafted by Rob and Heather. It opens:
CHORUS
At breaking dawn the crack of taut-skinned drums,
Bear throbbing witness to our deeper fears.
From human beasts a wailing murmur comes,
The courage to surveil ten thousand years.
As angry tints of ev’ning sky arise,
Their dreaming words recall a distant age,
The nameless world upon which we surprised,
Calm visitors ill-met by mankind’s rage.
Among other parts, Rob read the chorus and Pike, Heather read Cutter and Nightfall, and I got Skywise and Picknose (typecasting much?). Herewith, the audience reaction…
