All posts by NewMexicoKid.

Tim is a founding member of the Journey, co-Municipal Liaison for the Naperville region of National Novel Writing Month, and the author of several short stories.

Shakespeare Reader’s Theatre – Midsummer Night’s Dream

March 5th, 1-4 pm in the beautiful upstairs space of the Glen Ellyn Public Library will be our first Shakespeare Reader’s Theatre event in 2016. The GEPL will have some printed books available for participants, but folks are also welcome to download a copy onto their tablets or kindles.

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What is Shakespeare Reader’s Theatre? The works of William Shakespeare are beautifully written, but many aren’t aware of how much fun they are to read and to act. Everyone old enough to read Shakespeare is welcome to join us—everyone present will have at least some part in the work (and maybe two or three 😉 ). No experience or preparation is needed (though it can be helpful to watch some free performances of the plays beforehand). We’re there to have fun, stretch ourselves a little, and enjoy the Bard’s great work.

I found a site that shows the characters by number of lines:

Character Gender Lines
BOTTOM Male 255
THESEUS Male 235
HELENA Female 230
OBERON Male 225
PUCK Male 206
LYSANDER Male 179
HERMIA Female 164
TITANIA Female 141
DEMETRIUS Male 136
QUINCE Male 121
FLUTE Male 57
EGEUS Male 41
HIPPOLYTA Female 35
FAIRY Male 28
PHILOSTRATE Male 24
SNOUT Male 22
CHORUS Male 14
SNUG Male 14
STARVELING Male 11
FIRST FAIRY Male 8
MUSTARDSEED Male 5
PEASEBLOSSOM Male 4
COBWEB Male 4
SECOND FAIRY Male 2
MOTH Male 2
ALL FAIRIES Male 1
ALL MECHANICALS Male 1

As you can see, there are many parts (and we will share some of them during the timespan). Come on out to have fun, do something creative, stretch your boundaries, and reinvigorate your creative writing core. You don’t have to commit to the whole three hours—come join us any time during this span.

Great kick-off meeting – January 23, 2016

With many thanks to Patti Naisbitt, Public Relations and Program Coordinator at Woodridge Public Library, the Writing Journey held its first meeting of 2016 in the beautifully renovated upstairs meeting room at the Woodridge Public Library. Twenty one people showed up and participated in the round table introduction and information sharing that took a bit more than the first hour.

I led, with help from Sam M. (samcadams), Sarah (anobi), Awnna (AwnnaMarie), Catherine (Cee-Bee), Ed (Fred Duck), and Jenny (Uniasus), the first workshop that defined the Journey, how it operated via member-led Paths, our shared internet resources, and the known Paths for 2016. These include:

  • a Writer’s Voice workshop, June 4th, at Woodridge Public Library
  • our 2016 short story and poetry anthology, themed to classic tales reimagined (edited by Awnna Marie Evans and Ellie Roth)
  • our fun-filled Shakespeare Reader’s Theatre event, March 5th, at Glen Ellyn Public Library’s beautiful upstairs space
  • monthly MiniWriMo events (write 10K words in 7 days), complete with small prizes (led by Sarah (anobi))
  • book swaps, led by Sarah (anobi)
  • Ed’s Japanesey and Asian paths that explore fine food and introduction to the cultures of Japan and Asia at unique restaurants, shops and other destinations around the area
  • an outing to go see Heathers the Musical
  • a writers workshop group, led by Catherine (Cee-Bee) (in-person critiquing of stories)
  • the return of the popular Accountability Path, led by Todd (writertodd07)
  • the 2016 Editing Path to help people edit a novel in a month (and perhaps beyond), led by Sam M.
  • monthly Story Walls
  • the Book-A-Month club, a book discussion Path led by Katherine (squiddish)

Thanks to our sponsors Woodridge Public Library and Glen Ellyn Public Library, all of our activities are free (beyond any costs people might incur themselves for meals or shows), as is membership in the Journey.

After this introductory presentation, Sam M. led a nice workshop on novel editing.

Afterwards, Sam M. went through his novel in the Story Wall process. Our talented Sam Brown illustrated this on the beautiful whiteboard:

Next month (February 27, 11:30 AM-3:30 PM at the Glen Ellyn Public Library), Jenny (Uniasus) will lead a workshop on querying and submitting work to magazines; and Sarah (anobi) will lead a workshop on character personalities (an aid to developing better characters). Sam B. and Ellie have volunteered for Story Walls (and we have room for 1-2 more).

The 2016 Writing Journey

The 2016 Writing Journey is shaping up. We have about fifty active members and the framework for a strong year in 2016, having gained in November two new sponsors: the Woodridge Public Library and the Glen Ellyn Public Library. They will provide us with room resources for our workshops and events, all of which continue to be free and open to the public.

Woodridge Name Logogepl191

Our general meetings:

Date Time Library What
January 23, 2016 Noon-4 pm Woodridge General meeting
February 27, 2016 11:30 am-3:30 pm Glen Ellyn General meeting
March 5, 2016 1-4 pm Glen Ellyn Shakespeare Reader’s  Theatre
March 19, 2016 Noon-4 pm Woodridge General meeting
April 23, 2016 Noon-4 pm Woodridge General meeting
May 21, 2016 11:30 am-3:30 pm Glen Ellyn General meeting
June 4, 2016 1:30-4:30 pm Woodridge Writer’s Voice Workshop (requires registration; limited to 18 participants)
June 18, 2016 11:30 am-3:30 pm Glen Ellyn General meeting
September 17, 2016 11:30 am-3:30 pm Glen Ellyn General meeting

It looks like we will do another short story anthology project (the Journey’s seventh) in 2016. Current front runner anthology themes are heroes and legends or fairy tales.

Sam McAdams will be leading our third annual Editing Path.