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Honoring the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s Death

by Amy Ludwigsen, Executive Director, Door Shakespeare

April 23, 2016 will be a day of global celebration as we honor the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s passing. April 23rd, largely considered Shakespeare’s birthday, though the only document reflecting this date is actually his death certificate, will commemorate Shakespeare’s lasting legacy on pages and stages across the world. And with the continuing advancement of technology, we can join these celebrations both near and far! There are several events taking place on Saturday, April 23rd that will be made available to audiences via live-stream.

Door Shakespeare is proud to serve as a co-host for the Folger Shakespeare Library’s Wonder of Will live-stream broadcast. To commemorate the day of Shakespeare’s birth, and death, April 23, the Folger will host an international live streaming event from the historic Gail Kern Paster Reading Room in Washington, D.C. A diverse array of actors, community leaders, artists and scholars will share their connections to Shakespeare through compelling performances and personal stories. Watch the broadcast live on C-SPAN2 Book TV on April 23, noon – 1 pm ET. A national call-in show with Book TV’s Peter Slen follows.

A bit closer to home, American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin will host “A Celebration of Shakespearean Proportions.” This 24-hour vigil will allow company members, patrons, community members, students and friends of the theater to speak the text of William Shakespeare on their wonderful stage in the woods. This event will begin at 7 am on Saturday, April 23 and end at 7 am on Sunday, April 24 and those who attend are free to come and go as they please. Visit the theater’s website (americanplayers.org) for up-to-date information and consider attending if you are in the Madison area.

As an affiliate partner of the Shakespeare in Wisconsin 2016 initiative, Door Shakespeare will continue to inform our audience of events taking place in the region that celebrate Shakespeare during this legacy year. We have also created, in partnership with the Folger Shakespeare Library, several in-season educational events appropriate for all ages.

The Will-In-The-Woods program has been completely redesigned to highlight the continuing significance of Shakespeare’s plays and to inform our audience about the First Folio, the book that gave us Shakespeare. These inviting and informal events will take place before select performances Door Shakespeare’s summer season, which features A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Julius Caesar. A copy of the First Folio will arrive in Madison this coming November and the Will-In-The-Woods program will be a great preview for that occasion!

Personally, I will be celebrating William Shakespeare’s birthday/deathday in Scotland and attending the NEW DREAMS: a Shakespeare 400 Celebration involving performances and exhibits from BBC Scotland, the Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Glasgow School of Art, and the Royal Conservatoire from Scotland. I am visiting the Royal Conservatoire, where I received my graduate degree, as a visiting lecturer for the week and can’t wait to celebrate the Bard abroad.

As you can see from this brief preview, this is a busy year for William Shakespeare. Four hundred years after his passing, Shakespeare is still the most performed and taught playwright in the English language. His exploration and portrayal of the human condition has remained ever entertaining and constantly relevant. I hope you will join us at a performance this summer or search out the events dedicated to Shakespeare in your area. There will be celebrations across music, theater, literary, and visual art disciplines that all acknowledge the lasting impact of Shakespeare’s work. Stay tuned to our website, doorshakespeare.com, for more ways you can celebrate Shakespeare!

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