Shakespeare's Julius Caesar Remixed: Homeschool Review

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Shakespeare's Julius Caesar Remixed

by Goldspike Audio Productions
Reviewed by Kathy Davis on October 30 2009 19:52:58

At some point, Julius Caesar is one of those plays you probably would like your highschooler to read. But what if you just can't seem to find the time to add another book to the list or maybe your student can't get past the Shakespearean language and stumbles through it. Then you may want to try the hilarious musical from Goldspike Audio: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar remixed. Made up of 20 tracks (with 9 original songs) with a running time of over 50 minutes, JC remixed is an exciting, novel way to hear this classic tale. Complete with sound effects, a full dramatic cast, and orchestral music this production is both original and fun. Impressive work from a homeschooled, high school

Senior - 17 year old Forrest Brazeal serves as director, producer, and co-writer. I had the chance to chat with Forrest regarding this ambitious project. Here's what he had to say.

HSB: Forrest, tell us how Julius Caesar remixed came about?

My sister Elizabeth and I have been recording musical audio productions for years now. We knew we wanted to record a “remix” of a subject from literature, and in October of 2007 we decided on Julius Caesar, because the majority of students, whether of history or literature, study Julius Caesar before they graduate from high school. And there’s very little material out there that gives a fun, kid-friendly introduction to the play.

HSB: It's quite an endeavor, how much time would you say you devoted to it?

Scriptwriting for the project began in fall 2007; the finished CD was released in July 2009. During the arduous 21-odd intervening months, I personally managed to devote around 1,000 hours to the production. A great learning experience!

HSB: What was the most challenging aspect of the production?

Due to the limits of a basement recording studio and the conflicting schedules of the actors, nearly all the dialogue lines for the CD were recorded "wild" (individually) and edited together in post production, which necessitated large amounts of time and seemingly endless adjustments to preserve uniform quality. Really, the surprising thing in retrospect is that, despite the crazy recording situations, the finished CD turned out to be very technically respectable.

4. Do you have a favorite song from the remix?

Wow. "Brutus Is An Honorable Man," the song version of Mark Antony's speech, is kind of a landmark moment in the CD, but I had a great time sampling the ping-pong sounds for "Life Is Just A Game of Ping-Pong," too. I also love the harmonic construction and zany lyrics (creations of my genius older sister) in "I'll Never Leave You", and then there's "Beware The Ides of March"...

5. What words of advice do you have for your peers who may have a dream to accomplish something big but just aren't sure they can do it.

Stop dreaming - start working! To be honest, I had no idea what I was getting into when I first proposed to create a full-length audio musical (if I'd known, I might never have tried) and I became pretty discouraged at times along the way, but with some perseverance I was able to complete the endeavor. I think I learned that sometimes you have to stop hesitating about your ability to reach a goal and just start working at it - you may get better results than you expect!

6. Do you have any plans to remix any other classic works?

My next project will be similar in style, but quite different in subject. I'm not saying too much about it yet, but look for a very unique musical take on the creation/evolution debate!

Thanks to Forrest Brazeal and Goldspike Audio for providing Homeschoolbuzz.com with a complimentary copy of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar remixed for this review. Want to hear a sample from the CD? Scoot over to http://goldspikeaudiohh.com/ to hear a clip.

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