him my Preceptor, and myself his Scholar

Last time, I answered a question I'm sure you were all thinking, so I'm going to do the same this time.

"Who on earth are William, Wolfgang, and August? I thought your roommates were Hotlips, Indiana-Jane, and Flowerchild."

Well, William, Wolfgang, and August are three different  playwrights, from three different eras who have all influenced my interest in theatre history greatly; William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and August Wilson. So, since these three fine gentleman will be my inspiration through this journey, I thought I'd give you a quick bio on how these three men did the transition into adulthood.

"Age, I do abhor thee, Youth, I do adore thee."

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon to a glover. As children do, he attended school. Not much else is known about his childhood.

Shakespeare got married at the age of 18, to an (gasp!) older woman. The process that was required of people before they got married was shortened for them, making it a rush wedding, and 6 months later their first child was born. Ahem. Basically, Will made some poor decisions, which caused him to grow up real fast.

He wrote his first play at the age of 25.

Here are some of Shakespeare's wise words about growing up:


"I would there were no age between ten and three-and-twenty, or that youth would sleep out the rest; for there is nothing in the between but getting wenches with child, wronging the ancientry, stealing, fighting."

As much as he complained old age, apparently he felt youth was best spent sleeping. Maybe a little regret about being a teenage father?

"They probably think because I am so small and young, nothing of greatness and class can come out of me; but they shall soon find out."

Mozart began piano lessons at the age of 4 and by 5 was writing small compositions. I guess that's what happens when you're born to a music genius. His sister was also a brilliant musician and the two of them toured with their father in Von Trapp style. (Guess it must be something in the Austrian water?)

Mozart wrote his first opera at 11, was hired for his first official position at the age of 17, and married at 26. I guess, unlike Shakespeare, he decided to get famous first and find love later. He was known for maturing rapidly as a composer and not so rapidly in, well, anything else. He was known to be impish, joking, and immature for his entire life. To be fair, he was a child celebrity and died at the age of 35, so I doubt he got a lot of adulting experience anyway. 

A thought from Mozart on growing up:  

“What annoys me most is that these stupid Frenchmen think I am still just seven years old - because that was my age when they first saw me.”

It really is hard to get people to accept you as an adult when they've known you as a child. 

"That shadow wasn't nothing but you growing into yourself."

August Wilson was born in a very poor neighborhood, with five brothers and sisters and a single mother. She remarried when he was still a child and they moved to a nice town where they were the only black family and proceeded to deal with racism on a regular basis, even having bricks thrown at them. Eventually they had to move again for their own safety. 

Wilson began high school as one of only 14 black students at his Catholic school.  After a year, he was so bored that he decided that wasn't the school for him and he transferred to a public school. This public school also was not challenging enough for him. Finally, he wrote a 20 page paper about Napoleon that was so good that his teacher refused to accept it, claiming it must be plagiarized. Wilson dropped out of school without telling his parents and spent the time he was supposed to be at school working odd jobs or reading at the library. 

At the age of 18, he informed his mother that he wanted to be a writer, but she didn't see this as a viable career option and encouraged to pursue law instead. When he refused, she kicked him out of her house and he joined the military. He hated that, so he quit and went back to working odd jobs until he was 20, when he bought a typewriter and decided to be a poet, submitting his writing to different magazines and publishers. 

At the age of 24, he co-founded a theatre for African American artists, and needing a play to perform, he wrote his first.  

Here's a beautiful piece of wisdom from Wilson's Fences: 

That shadow wasn't nothing but you growing into yourself. You either got to grow into it or cut it down to fit you. But that's all you got to make life with. 

These are my muses, and I think they demonstrate an important fact; Whether regretting youthful mistakes, wishing to be recognized as an adult, or feeling like adulthood is a shadow of expectations looming over you, even the geniuses of history went through growing pains, and now it's my turn.