No Holds Bard: Difference between revisions

 

== Format ==

Before each regular episode, Dan chooses a Word of the Week. This is a [[Shakespearean]] word that may be confusing to an average listener. Dan defines the word, gives an example of it in a sentence and then uses it during the episode without Kevin realizing. At the end of the episode, Kevin attempts to guess what the Word of the Week was.

 

The regular episodes include a segment where Dan and Kevin answer three quick questions at the intersection of Shakespeare and the present day. These are usually listener-submitted questions, though they are occasionally submitted by Dan or Kevin. Episodes #34 and #60 were [[best of]] compilations of previous Duel questions.

 

For certain questions, a [[lightning round]] is triggered wherein Dan and Kevin give as many answers to the question as possible within a single minute (e.g. Shakespearean cocktails).<ref>[http://noholdsbard.podomatic.com/entry/2015-08-25T23_09_24-07_00 Episode #13 - The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strain'd] - No Holds Bard (August 25, 2015)</ref>

 

During the regular episodes, Dan and Kevin answer a Shakespearean homework question usually found on [[Yahoo! Answers]] or [[Reddit]], or submitted directly to them.

 

* In ''Julius Caesar'', how is Mark Antony's funeral speech more personal than Brutus' speech?<ref>[http://noholdsbard.podomatic.com/entry/2016-09-07T06_19_05-07_00 Episode #66 - I Have Drunk And Seen The Spider] - No Holds Bard (September 7, 2016)</ref>

 

The final segment of regular episodes is Everyday Shakes. Dan and Kevin select a Shakespearean quote, or a portion of a quote, and after reading it in context, examine how it can be used in contemporary conversations. The quote they choose is used for the episode's title.

 

Once a month, in place of a regular episode, they release a "So You're Going to See Shakespeare" feature. During the episode Dan and Kevin give a plot summary of the play, discussing where it falls in Shakespeare's personal timeline and what was happening in the world at that time. The breakdown includes identifying a prominent theme in the play, picking which non-title character they would most like to portray in a production, analyzing a quote from the play, and highlighting the biggest practical challenge for a director (usually a stage direction).

 

* ''[[Henry IV, Part 2]]'' (Episode #123)

 

On the last week of every month they release a "Wildcard" episode. Originally, the episode just had to "be better than nothing," which was then changed to be "but so so"<ref> [https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/noholdsbard/episodes/2016-06-21T23_35_18-07_00 Episode #55 - The Incomplete Histories Debrief] - No Holds Bard (June 22, 2016)</ref> (an allusion to Episode #52: "It is but so so"). A common theme among Wildcard episodes is drafting Shakespeare's characters into different [[fantasy sports]] within a fictional high school, Shakespeare High. Expanding on that idea, they also cast a fantasy production of [[1776 (musical)]].<ref>[http://noholdsbard.podomatic.com/entry/2016-06-28T21_21_28-07_00 Episode #56 - 177Shx] - No Holds Bard (June 28, 2016)</ref>