Interview with Pursued by a Bear.net - (part 2 of 3)

This is a continuation of Shakespeare for Kids of the interview with Pursued By a Bear, part 2. This interview is with Jessi Nowack, comedian, actress, and an all around fun person who loves Shakespeare.

Tell me a little something about who you are and what you do.

Jessi Nowack, internet voice actress and comedian. I do a show for Pursuedbyabear.net called “Reading is Dum”. It dissects high school required books and makes them fun.

How did you get into comedy? With a name like "no-wacking" I can come up with about six reasons on my own :)

My friends have always told me I was funny, so when I began my voice acting career, I decided to make parodies that I could voice act in. Killed two birds with one stone. Loved it so much, I stuck with it. I love entertaining people. And yes, when your last name is Nowack, you have to have a sense of humor. :P

So, can you give us an example(s) of what the other kids would interpret when they read, "It is the east..."

Mostly they would just stare blankly, but if they took a guess at what it meant and failed, it'd be pretty funny. For example, when we were reading Othello and our teacher asked us to explain what a "green eyed monster" is, one kid was like, "I don't think that's appropriate to talk about in school." I think I know what he thought it was.

I like your concept of "reading is dum", can you give me a brief summary of it's goal and a link to see it?

The goal of "Reading is Dum" is to help teens learn and understand high school required reading and actually enjoy it, whether it be by explaining the book more thoroughly or by putting it into more modern terms. I hate that students just look up Sparknotes, memorize something for a test, and then are done with the book forever. I want them to enjoy learning about the book and, as I'm a teenager myself, it'll be a relief to see me teach the material rather than a teacher who's mad at the world and talks too fast for you to write notes down. Not that I'm saying all teachers are like that; just saying we've all had that teacher at one point. As for a link, check out my stuff here.

Where can someone find out where you are doing your next comedy act or production?

I update my site, Wack Attack, as often as I can. There you can find my complete resume, my blog, (in which I talk about what recent parodies I've been in, update on what videos I'm working on, etc.) and lots of other stuff. I'll also post when I come out with a new "Reading is Dum" so that's the best place to visit to see when I have new videos out. You can visit the Wack Attack at http://nowacking.pursuedbyabear.net/

What’s your background with Shakespeare?

(In highschool) I could understand things other students couldn’t. They’d see, “It is the East, and Juliet is the sun” and not understand a word of it, but I did. I had particular attraction to Shakespearean literature.

What was the reason that started you doing Shakespeare videos?

I transferred to a public high school for my senior year and I was sick of students falling asleep in class or paying attention, but not understanding. I wanted to give them a way of tolerating, heck even “enjoying” literature.

How long have you been doing Shakespeare-related productions?

Technically haven’t done one, yet. Waiting for things to slow down.

Was it intimidating at all to approach Shakespeare through this type of format?

No, no, been doing comedy for years. It is a natural, familiar style for me to be writing in.

What are your long term goals for PursuedByABear.net?

Stupid cliché, but just want to help kids. If I can help one person, then that'll be cool.

What’s your one piece of advice for other educators trying to reach students with Shakespeare?

Don’t be a record. Whatever you have to say in a boring way about a book, they’ve already heard it. Gotta connect with kids or you’ll lose them before the lesson even begins. Connect events in book with modern day situations and such. Oh, and for God’s sake, PLEASE do not rap anything in the lesson plan. Ever. Don’t. Unless you wanna end up as a viral video on Youtube.

What’s your favorite Shakespeare play?

Only read two, “Othello” and “Romeo and Juliet”. Both were really good, really ironic twists. Preferred “Romeo and Juliet,” but bias: love “West Side Story”

Who is your favorite Shakespeare Character(s)?

Mercutio. Such a free spirit, punny, cool character Causes a lot of stuff to go down.

If you could spend an evening with the Bard, what would you do?

We’d probably find every copy of “Gnomeo and Juliet” and destroy them before the movie’s released. Then go have some pie.

Last Comments?

Stay in school, kids!

Check out the interview via video:

Part 1 of Pursued by a bear.net interview can be found here.