“In this corner, we have Williaaaammm Shaaaakespearrrreee!” These were my first words ever uttered as a referee. I know, weird, right? Since when did a 16th century playwright wrestle? Well, on October 1st and 2nd, 2016 he did! The Great Bard battled the author of Don Quixote, Cervantes, in a match which will live in infamy. Why did the two need to battle “mano a mano” you ask? Well, Cervantes wrote this crazy long book about this guy named Cardenio, but Shakespeare thought he could make this story better. However, very few people know about this particular play. Now, for a while, the fight was just with words, but eventually it broke out into a full out wrestling match! I’m ashamed to say I did not represent the ref stripes well and I too participated. I totally choked this one Cervantes fan, it was great. I mean not great, like I probably shouldn’t have hit him, but it was definitely entertaining! I’m sure you’re thinking, “Man, how could I have missed out on such a cool opportunity to see stage combat while learning about literature and theatre in such a cool bilingual, multicultural, historical environment?” Well, you are in luck! This year, May 12th and 13th to be exact, you can see the new and improved match between these two authors in Loco For Love at the Southern Shakespeare Festival in Cascades Park in Tallahassee, Florida. But wait, there’s more! This piece will tour all throughout the summer and fall, leading up to its 2nd annual performance at Mission San Luis in October of 2017. Now, unfortunately, I, myself will not be a part of this show. I got kicked of the Referee’s Alliance of America for disorderly conduct. However, you will be able to some fresh new talent, which will be composed of some FSU Theatre students and other Tallahassee community members. Please consider watching Theater with a Mission’s Loco For Love from the sidelines with me!