This. Is. Veronathon.

strangeNilikeit is blogging her summer at Shakespeare Camp, and it seems like there's not shortage of Romeos to go around. —Sparkitors

Sparklers, I’ve been craaaaazy busy.

Doing what, you ask? Oh, you know, camping in the woods, memorizing lines, and organizing a colossal 24-hour Romeo and Juliet movie marathon/co-ed sleepover. The usual.

Have you ever had to convince your parents to let you invite 13 people of varying gender to a sleepover? It is difficult.

My optimistic BFF Sunny and I had been planning this unprecedented event, which we call Veronathon, since January. That left me 5 months to reassure my parents that no, we would not be robotripping or candyflipping to toad-licking or making out, just watching Shakespeare like good little thespians. Finally, my parents decided the co-ed thing was okay as long as the boys slept upstairs. I knew from experience that that wasn’t happening. At these Shakespearean Shindigs, it is traditional to stay up until at least 3 am, then collapse and fall asleep wherever you are. And this is exactly what happened. Through some phenomenon of quantum physics, all fourteen of us were able to fit on my basement floor.

Veronathon was a resounding success, if I do say so myself. My family happens to own a [smallish] chocolate fountain, and the menu included not only chocolate-dipped stuff but also crepes and dinosaur oatmeal. (You know, that oatmeal where the sugary eggs melt and then you eat the sugary dinosaurs?) We watched roughly 8 hours of seven different Romeo and Juliet adaptations and then decorated T-shirts. Throughout the evening, everyone had to answer “scavenger hunt” questions based on the movies. These ranged from the serious (“Name one line not included in this version”) to the crazy. (“Name two characters whose hats look ridiculous.”)

It was a fabulous bonding experience, and it didn’t even include trust falls or jumping on each others’ feet. At one point, I was sitting next to Andy—the guy I went to Catholic school prom with—when Sunny slyly pointed out to him that one’s arm is infinitely more comfortable when it’s around the person next to them. (I knew there was a reason I hang out with that girl.) Andy took her advice.

So what’s next at Shakespeare Camp? Tomorrow is the annual Bus Song Contest. In a nutshell, it’s a contest that pits the four purple buses (Virginia, Washington DC, and Upper and Lower Maryland) against each other, and it involves dressing up in crazy costumes, bribing the judges and singing humorous song parodies.

I ride the Upper Maryland bus (even though I live in Virginia), and we are the reigning champions of the Bus Song Contest. We plan on winning again this year.

Well, Sparklers, I’m off to dress up as a sparkly narwhal and sing about the majesty and brilliance of purple transportation. Wish me luck.

Do you think Alex likes strangeNilikeit? What should she do?

Related Posts: Blogging Shakespeare Camp