Shakespeare Reader’s Theatre is an open event (all are welcome; no previous experience is required) designed to give people the opportunity to read aloud the works of the great bard and to do some acting in a company of ones peers. This year, our Shakespeare Reader’s Theatre event will be Saturday, February 17th in the upstairs room at the Woodridge Public Library, 1-3 PM.

We’ll be reading/performing King Lear. If people have tablets or large phones, they are welcome to get the free e-book and use that; or there will be some copies of King Lear available in print.

From Wikipedia: King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It depicts the gradual descent into madness of the title character, after he disposes of his kingdom giving bequests to two of his three daughters based on their flattery of him, bringing tragic consequences for all.

The works of William Shakespeare are beautifully written but many aren’t aware of how much fun they are to read and to act. The Writing Journey, the writing group associated with the Naperville region of National Novel Writing Month, has scheduled two sessions:

• In the Glen Ellyn Public Library February 26, 2017 (“As you like it“)
• and one in the Woodridge Public Library March 19, 2017 (“Midsummer Night’s Dream“)

Folks can come out to read-through (no memorization required!) one of Shakespeare’s plays. 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 parts 😉 ). No experience or preparation is needed though it can be helpful to watch some of the free performances of the plays beforehand (As you like it; Midsummer Night’s Dream) . For more information, see writingjourney.org/events

What do you need to bring? A book or e-book (many are available online or free) of the Shakespeare play we will be performing. If you have a tablet or e-book reader, this works very well. The library also has many Shakespeare books that can be checked out.

What should you expect? Reading Shakespeare and acting out scenes is a lot of fun (and sometimes funny). This is a great way to spend an afternoon stretching your boundaries a little and making new friends. Recharge your creative batteries by trying something that Joss Whedon does with his friends.

This Saturday (2016-03-05) was our first Shakespeare Reader’s Theatre event. Fourteen people participated in reading through and acting Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.

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The Glen Ellyn Public Library changed the location of our play slightly. Instead of being in the general open space by the huge two story window, we had a cozy circle of chairs by a round window off to the side. This more intimate space was nice in its own way.

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Several of the participants had never done this before but everyone had fun and the experience was quite rewarding.

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