Comical Characters in Shakespeare

What IS comedy? Let's look at some masterful work in the art of comic writing by the greatest wordsmith. Shakespeare has given us some enduring and endearing comic characters.  We'll investigate and define comedy through some of his funniest characters: Dogberry of “Much Ado about Nothing,” Holofernes of “Love's Labour’s Lost,” Sir Andrew Aguecheek of “12th Night,” Nurse of “Romeo and Juliet” and others. We'll compare some film versions of these characters and unpack comic measures and puns of Elizabethan theatre.

Patsy Finlay is a theater professional, teacher and voice over artist. Patsy taught for 21 years as senior artist in residence in the department of theater and dance at Union College in Schenectady, New York, as a performance studies expert and director in the college theatre season. For 12 years, she was also a member of the Acting Company with Saratoga Shakespeare, a professional outdoor summer festival in upstate New York, appearing in numerous roles over the years and teaching classes as well as coordinating professional workshops for the intern company. In Patsy’s work as a professional director or voice coach, she has been associated with professional companies in Albany and Boston. Currently, Patsy is a walking tour guide for the Newport Historical Society.