Messages 2007
Shakespeare - arrival in London.
August 14, 2007
Santa Cruz, California
Received by FAB
I am here, William Shakespeare.
I went to London in 1586 at the age of 22, just a year after the birth of my twins. When I first arrived there, I stayed with Tom Fawkes. He is unknown to history. He knew one of my neighbors, who was named Tom Smith. He assured Mr. Fawkes that I would be a good boarder and that I had a good character.
My first employment in the theater was as a stand-in actor. There was an informal audition, in which I could display my talent. My employer was very impressed, and determined that direct acting should be my very first job. This was the famous Queen’s Men, an acting troupe with great prestige. I later joined another troupe, Lord Strange’s Men.
The story that I held the horses of actors is just a silly, untrue myth.
The conditions of the theatrical world in London at that time were ripe for my emergence as an important personage in that profession.