Andrew Manley: Words and Phrases coined by Shakespeare

By Sylvie Scowcroft ’14

Upon entering the Cornerstone Arts Center, one is confronted with a nearly 20-foot high chalkboard wall filled words and phrases commonly used today. The hand-written chalk installation features many of the more than 1,700 words and phrases coined by Shakespeare. Many of the words on the board were already in existence; Shakespeare just used them in a new way. CC Associate Drama Professor Andrew Manley, who is responsible for this installation, has a theory that since Shakespeare wrote purely in iambic pentameter, he often had to get creative with his phrasing.

Manley has filled smaller chalkboards with Shakespeare before and was looking for an opportunity to do it again because in his eyes the words of Shakespeare are the perfect thing to fill the space. “It is a big board and therefore needs something big to fill it. The sheer size of the chalkboards reflects Shakespeare’s monumental contribution to the English language. His words are such a strong foundation to drama and language that it seems only fitting to place them in the front of our performing arts center,” Manley said.

Cornerstone is largely a drama building, so Manley likes the image of Shakespeare’s words going right up the core into the building. Toward the end of last year there seemed to be a lull in the use of the boards, so he decided the time was ripe. One side of the wall features words; the other side features phrases.

The process of installing this project was a pleasant one for Manley. The most difficult part of using the chalkboards is always cleaning off whatever was there beforehand. It him took a good deal of time and at least two washes to completely erase any trace of previous chalk. Once that was completed he got up on his big orange scissor lift and just started writing. It took three hours, but once he got going he entered into a meditative state. According to Manley, there was a peacefulness and state of Zen that came from all of that writing. It “took [him] into a world of words,” which he rather enjoyed.

Before starting the actual writing process, Manley did very little prep work. He found a list of words and phrases on the Internet and edited out the more obscure, less interesting ones. He didn’t do anything special to ensure that the lines were straight or count how many words/phrases were going to fit on the wall. As soon as the wall was ready, he just stared writing. Luckily, he got all the way through the alphabet by the end.

Manley loves what this project does for the people entering the building. Whether they see it everyday or just once, there is always some sort of reaction. For those who come in everyday, they often like to look for a new word or phrase. There is no way to grasp the entire wall without standing still and meticulously reading. This is a perfect exhibit for a variety of people engaging the building in a variety of ways.  

Why I Was Late to Class: Too Much Volcanic Ash

Andrew ManleyColorado College’s drama in London class is experiencing more drama than might be indicated by the syllabus.
CC has 18 students enrolled in Andrew Manley’s Drama 330 course titled “Drama Away – London,” which runs April 19 through May 12. Many students, however, were late for the start of class, stranded across the United States and Europe by the volcanic ash that disrupted air traffic throughout northern Europe.
Manley says the students are scheduled to see 20 performances – mostly plays, but some dance – while studying in London. He arrived a week before the students, and has been busy trying to exchange tickets for later performances, in hopes that the students will eventually make it to class.
And it looks as though they will. By Monday, April 26, all the students but one were expected to be in London, with the last student arriving on April 27, and only one student dropping the course.
“It isn’t the end of the world,” Manley said via cell phone from London. “There are worse things than cramming in a lot of great theater.”
One of his biggest concerns was that some students may not arrive in time to see “Jerusalem,” a new comic play that is billed as “wildly original.” Their playbill also includes the “Pirates of Penzance,” “Enron,” “Spymonkey’s Moby Dick,” and several Shakespeare plays.
“People have been really, really good about working with me, and have been willing to exchange the tickets we have for other days. They realize this is a natural disaster,” Manley said.
Manley’s hope that all the students would arrive in London by the second week of the Block seems to have been granted. And it looks like most of the students will have had plenty of experience in drama by then.