Denver Sonnets Project, No. 98: Maggy Stacy

By John Moore

CultureWest.Org is endeavoring to make short films out of all 154 of Shakespeare’s sonnets, each featuring actors with Colorado connections. The artistic intent is primarily to further CultureWest’s mission to spotlight the local theatre community and their current or upcoming productions. It’s also an attempt to promote Shakespeare education in a fun way. This is an entirely volunteer, DIY project with a proud budget of … zero dollars.

We are rolling out new Sonnet videos … well, as soon as they are completed and turned in. Here’s a link to the YouTube playlist that hosts the entire series.

For Sonnet 98, Henry Award-winner actor Maggy Stacy teamed with Director Sheryl Glubok, cinematographer Thomas Jaeger, actors Matt Block and Nicholas Bode, Editor Wesley Matheny, the band Sunboy and many more from 7andCo Productions to produce an amazingly well-crafted tale of a woman (appropriately named Miranda) who is locked in winter, even in the spring, and lamenting her separation from her beloved. In this evocative interpretation, Miranda’s lover may be being cuckolded – or is he there all along, separated by another kind of distance?

Maggy Stacy was nominated for her performances in both Vintage Theatre’s “Rabbit Hole” and The Edge Theatre’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” – and won for “Rabbit Hole.” She just opened “Suddenly Last Summer” for Spotlight Theatre, running through Sept. 24 at the John Hand Theatre. (720-530-4596). Stacy is a graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver and Chatfield Senior High School. Running time: 5 minutes.

Special thanks to Syntax: Physic Opera, Justin Renaud, Tommy Freed, Clay Cornelius, Brady Wlyer and Tommy Venter of Sunboy

The Denver Sonnets Project is an ongoing public art project, open to a variety of actors and filmmakers. Each new short sonnet film is posted here first. The project is an endeavor to call attention to the work of the Colorado acting community and the Denver Actors Fund. Learn more at www.DenverActorsFund.Org.

Video series by John Moore. For those of you who have signed up for a sonnet, please keep them coming!

The Denver Sonnets Project is a volunteer collaboration, with limited eligibility requirements for participation. For information on how to register for a future episode, email your interest to John Moore at culturewestjohn@gmail.com.

From you have I been absent in the spring,
When proud-pied April dressed in all his trim
Hath put a spirit of youth in every thing,
That heavy Saturn laugh’d and leap’d with him.
Yet nor the lays of birds nor the sweet smell
Of different flowers in odour and in hue
Could make me any summer’s story tell,
Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew;
Nor did I wonder at the lily’s white,
Nor praise the deep vermilion in the rose;
They were but sweet, but figures of delight,
Drawn after you, you pattern of all those.
Yet seemed it winter still, and, you away,
As with your shadow I with these did play.

Completed episodes to date (in numeric order):

Sonnet 1: Cast of “Cult Following”: “From fairest creatures we desire increase …”

Sonnet 2: Josh Robinson, “See thy blood warm …”

Sonnet 6, Joe Von Bokern: “Make worms thine heir!”

Sonnet 10, Augustus Truhn: “Thou art so possessed with murd’rous hate …”

Sonnet 11: Crystal Verdon Eisel: “Thou shouldst print more, not let that copy die.”

Sonnet 17: Anne Sandoe: “If I could write the beauty of your eyes …”

Sonnet 23: Gabra Zackman, “As an unperfect actor on a stage …”

Sonnet 31: Sean Scrutchins and Devon James: “Thou art the grave where buried love doth live …”

Sonnet 36: Rachel Fowler, “I may not evermore acknowledge thee …”

Sonnet 44: John Carroll Lynch, “Thought kills me that I am not thought …”

Sonnet 47: Adrian Egolf, “Thyself away are present still with me …”