Julius Caesar drinking game??

So yesterday we went to Shakespeare's birthplace: Stratford-upon-Avon.

I've been there before so, to be honest, I wasn't too thrilled to go. It's just a little old town with a grave and some old houses. I know, I know, I'm being difficult/taking this for granted. Sorry. Either way, I never thought such excitement could come from a small town way out in the middle of nowhere that celebrates a dead poet. I know, right? It's a long shot. WRONG.

We did see Shakespeare's grave, I'll give us that. But instead of going to his house and the museums and stuff, we decided to rent a rowboat for a little while. I know how to row, obviously, and my friends thought it would be very easy. Wrong again.

I started rowing first and we were going along smoothly. Then my friends wanted to try so we switched (only one person can row at once). We weren't too smart about shifting our weight around in the boat, so after almost flipping our boat a few times, we were finally settled. Amid screams of terror that we were all going in, I assured them that our boat would not flip. No I wasn't 100% positive we were going to stay afloat, but it worked in calming them down. And no, we did not flip. And, yes, sorry to say it, but they're not too good at rowing....





Then we tried to find a place to eat dinner before we saw the play Julius Caesar. Well, everyone and their mom and their mom's dog was out trying to find a place to eat, so we went from place to place for about 45 minutes just trying to find some FOOD. We finally settled on one and it was delicious. When we saw our professors walk in, we knew we had hit the jackpot in picking a place to eat. They've been doing this for 30 years so if they ate at that place, it must have been the best place in town. And it was super good.

We get to the theatre. I have a terrible stomach ache. I can't walk, stand, sit down, or anything. So, yes, the only thing I can do is lay down. So as the show begins, I'm lying down in the aisle. I lay there for about the first 2 acts (there's only 5) until I have to go to the bathroom so bad! I drank waaaaay too much water at dinner. And I'm starting to second-guess our restaraunt selection. Luckily we were in the balcony and my aisle was at the very end so no one noticed me lying down or leaving. It was only until I was drying my hands in the bathroom when I saw a sign that read: "If you have left the theatre for any reason, you will not be readmitted until an appropriate time." Great. So now I'm locked out of the play I not only missed the first 2 acts of, but one that I'm supposed to be writing a paper on for class. Super.

So I go back out to the lobby and wait for about 30 minutes to be readmitted into the play. I find my way back to my seat and watch it for another 30 minutes (3 hour play...ugh) when a HUGE CRASH sounds from across the theatre. My friend turns to me and goes, "Did someone fall off the balcony?!" We see some scrambling on the other side of the theatre, but no one fell off. It sounded like they did though.

Later, I find out that a frat boy was playing a "game" where he took a swig from his flask every time someone in Julius Caesar died. Julius Caesare is a Shakespearean tragedy. And in Shakespearean tragedies, the stage is literally filled with dead bodies by the end. Well, it was near the end of the play when the boy decided that he wanted to stand up. Not for any reason, no, he just wanted to stand up and stretch. In the front row. Of the balcony. Totally disrespecting the actors on the stage and distracting all the people behind him trying to enjoy the show, he stands up and (surprise surprise) can't hold his balance. He falls on a boy from SMU who...ahem...isn't the friendliest guy and thus pushes him off. Well....the drunk boy can't control his body or recover from the shove, so he almost falls over the balcony railing and onto the stage. Someone else grabs his shirt and pulls him back before he goes overboard and ups the dead body count by 1. The security guards come over and try to help him out of the theatre, but he insists on staying for "just ten more minutes, lads." They insist he leaves.

You know, I would be disappointed in the boy--because honestly that is very disrespectful and stupid--but I'm actually impressed that he came up with such a clever drinking game to Julius Caesar. You gotta admit: that takes some creativity.

Some advice, however: don't play a drinking game to a Shakespearean tragedy where you drink every time someone dies. You will be wasted by the end.