Your D.C. weekend: Shakespeare's birthday, Earth Day
The Folger Shakespeare Library is celebrating The Bard's birthday on Saturday for the first time in six years since their multimillion-dollar remodel.
Why it matters: The Folger is home to the largest Shakespeare collection in the world, so you know they're going full-on Falstaff with revels for all ages — all free.
State of play: Shakespeare might enjoy these party activities, 461 years and counting. Doors open at 11am (you can snag timed passes in advance).
Activities include printing press and sword fighting demos, a sonnet writing competition, a "Twelfth Night"-inspired puppet show, Elizabethan dancing and ruff collar making.
Don't miss singing and cupcakes at 2:45pm.
A 7pm lecture from The Folger's new director will explore how Shakespeare is relevant to modern life and this "challenging phase" of our democracy.
The bottom line:"With mirth and laughter, let old wrinkles come."
More weekend fun: Earth Day, 4/20, sparkling vino…
🇺🇿 Travel to Uzbekistan on Friday night (7–9:30pm) for a party at their embassy filled with traditional food, an Uzbek bar, dancing, an art tour and more (tickets $79).
🎭 Shake it like a Schuyler Sister at 9:30 Club's Broadway Rave, Friday at 10pm (tickets $25).
🌎 Earth Day is 4/22, but get a head start on Saturday at the Earth Day 5K Walk & Green Expo on the National Mall (10am–3pm, free)
Earth Day volunteer cleanups to support the Potomac River are also happening Saturday (and beyond) at multiple parks and locations in the DMV. Free registration required.
🥂 Pop Fizz Bar hosts a mix-and-mingle sparkling wine tasting Sunday (1–2:30pm) where you can try 25 kinds of rosé, white, red, and orange bubbles (tickets $40+).
🌿 The National Cannabis Festival is this summer, but the organizers' 420 Week kicks off Sunday. Check out a variety of events and experiences for every flavor, from movie screenings (with munchies) to workshops, a policy summit and parties.
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San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Inside the challenges — and successes — of staging Shakespeare at a California state prison
Kelon Williams as the King of Navarre took a beat-length pause, savoring the suspense. His character was introducing 'the Navarre model,' a scheme in which he and his buddies renounce women and indulgence to better themselves through study. Delivering the line with a triumphant grin, Williams made a choice a thoughtful actor might make in any production of Shakespeare's 'Love's Labour's Lost.' He conveyed not only how brilliant the king thinks the idea is but also how chuffed he is with himself for coming up with it. But in so many ways, this production at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center was unlike any other take on Shakespeare's early-career comedy. An alarm in the yard delayed it, so director Lesley Currier had to vamp for a bit, explaining its plot, before the show could start. Costumes, driven in and out of the facility each day, can't have any metal on them, necessitating a last-minute substitution of paper crowns for weightier ones. Actors officially rehearse with Marin Shakespeare Company's Currier and co-director Suraya Keating just once per week, and in two different groups, which means they might not get any time with their scene partners. They might also get disciplined or sent to another prison at any moment, so understudying is common. And we, the audience on Friday, May 23, had to submit our IDs weeks in advance of the performance and get cleared through multiple gates to enter. We couldn't wear any blue, orange, yellow, green or gray to avoid any confusion with incarcerated people or guards. Then after lining up outside the prison, we had to give verbal consent that we understood, as a guard put it, 'The State of California has a no-hostage policy' — meaning that if a prisoner grabs you and threatens your life, the state will not release him in order to save you. For all that preamble, when you finally make it through the final gate and enter the yard, some prisoners mill about freely on performance days, with the actors shaking your hand or fist-bumping you in welcome. When they hand you your program and a copy of the San Quentin News, they thank you for coming. California prisons made national news this year as yet another one of President Donald Trump's political pawns. When he posted on social media in May that he'd ordered law enforcement agencies to reopen Alcatraz as a prison for 'America's most ruthless and violent Offenders,' he wasn't just ignoring decades of understanding that the island was too expensive to operate in that capacity; he was exhuming an outdated notion of correctional facilities' purpose, in order to stoke fear and score easy points. But prisons aren't a black hole from which the incarcerated never return. 'Ninety-five percent of people who are incarcerated go home, and they will be our neighbors,' Currier told the Chronicle, citing 2016 data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. 'We want those people to want to live their best lives, want to be contributing citizens, want to know how to ask for help when they need it, because they will face many, many challenges.' She also referred to an American Civil Liberties Union statistic noting that while the U.S. has just 5% of the world's population, it has 20% of the world's prisoners. In other words, we should be working to close more prisons, not reopen shuttered ones like Alcatraz. The tension among incarceration's various goals — punishment, deterrence and rehabilitation — is age old. But at San Quentin, the balance has recently swung toward rehabilitation. In 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a $239 million plan to renovate the facility into a rehab center in the mode of Scandinavian prisons, complete with farmers market, cafe and podcast recording studio. At the same time, Marin Shakespeare's Shakespeare in San Quentin program, which has been teaching theater at the prison since 2003, lost state funding this year. The grants, provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, included one from California Arts in Corrections (co-administered by the California Arts Council) and another for 'innovative programming.' But Currier ensured the program would continue, noting she'd raised alternate funds from private sources. At 'Love's Labour's Lost,' the program's effect on incarcerated men was staggering. As the silly Spaniard Don Adriano de Armado, Nythell Collins rolled his Rs long enough for a gargle. When Navion 'Smoove' Starks, as a parson so relaxed he appeared to be on quaaludes, started to read aloud a love letter for some country rubes, he amped up the moment's humor by getting so into another man's effusions that he started to get all hot and bothered himself. Meanwhile, Gabriel Moctezuma, as nobleman Biron, showed he already has the chops (honed from youth theater in Sacramento) to appear on any stage in the Bay Area. He activated each moment of stage time with intention, whether it was leaning in with raised eyebrows to flirt, recoiling at the smell of a member of a lower class, impersonating a 'decrepit, sick and bedrid father' or palpitating in swoony lust. Then, when he launched into a rendition of John Legend 's 'All of Me' (Currier and Keating interpolated lots of pop songs into the show), a golden voice beamed out. 'We're all trying to put forth the best part of ourselves,' he told the Chronicle after stepping offstage. 'This is a healing process for all of us.' Alums also sing the program's praises. John Neblett served a 30-year sentence, much of it at San Quentin, for second-degree murder. Now, he said he makes a six-figure salary as a non-union electrician, using skills he learned at the facility. He's also proud he can still recite from memory poetry he wrote while inside, inspired by Shakespeare, Philip Sidney and John Donne. Performing Shakespeare, he said, gave him the self-confidence to apply for his current job. If you can perform for a mass of people, he said, 'you know you're good.' Actors, he continued, 'have a wider experience of reality than a lot of people,' and that insight translates beyond the stage. 'You know what that character wants, and you come up with ways to get what that character wants with your scene partner.' Neblett still performs when he can via Marin Shakespeare's Returned Citizens Theatre Troupe. Stereotypes about life behind bars suggest that other prisoners might ridicule the ones who choose to do Shakespeare — especially those who, like Brady Godoy, Angie Gordon, Aaron Zendejas and Jooty Johnson, perform as a princess and her ladies in waiting in 'Love's Labour's Lost.' But the vibe in the audience during this recent show was supportive, even loving. Whoops resounded. Every song became a sing-along. During a brief postshow talkback, one prisoner named White said, 'I thought the teamwork was awesome.' Another named Max, who was wearing a 'peer support' uniform, said with a laugh, 'I'm going to need dance lessons from two of the cast members. We'll talk about that later!' Godoy admitted, 'Two years ago, I never would have imagined I would be playing the Princess of France.' He told the Chronicle he signed up for the program 'because it was out of my comfort zone, and I knew it was going to be just a vital piece of growth and strengthening.' The reason for prisoners to perform Shakespeare, as opposed to any other dramatist, isn't just that Currier's company is dedicated to him. 'Shakespeare gives us questions but not answers,' Currier explained. Among them: 'How do we think we should deal with the kind of violence that shows up in the world? When are we willing to give people a second chance? When are we willing to love people, despite whether or not they've learned how to heal?' She added that while she's met plenty of people who told her that prison saved their lives, 'I've also met plenty of people in prison who I would call rehabilitated and ready to go home who are kept in prison for years and sometimes decades.' Williams, who's served 27 years, told the Chronicle that doing Shakespeare gives him a small taste of freedom. 'The great thing I love about doing Shakespeare in prison is the fact that you get to claim your body,' he said. 'You get to have that ownership of something that you thought you lost.' It's also partly about the freedom to choose. 'Whether I'm playing a king or whether I am playing a servant, I get to choose what I get to be,' he explained. 'Having that choice is the greatest thing.' Often prisoners mask their humanity as a survival mechanism, he went on. With Shakespeare, 'Week after week after week, you get the opportunity to see somebody's mask come off their face.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
National Trust reveals range of outdoor activities for summer
Residents are being encouraged to enjoy the outdoors this summer with the National Trust. The trust has announced a range of activities across Dorset, including bushcraft workshops and outdoor theatre performances. These activities are part of the trust's effort to promote outdoor engagement and support the upkeep of its locations. Brownsea Island will host a 'Summer of Play' from Thursday, July 24 to Sunday, August 31. This will include a crayon rubbing trail and a natural play area. View of the Jurassic Coast from Golden Cap, Dorset (Image: John Millar/National Trust) The island will also offer bushcraft taster sessions every Friday throughout August. Visitors can learn survival skills with an expert bushcraft specialist. For those interested in history, Brownsea will have historical guided walks with cream tea in Brownsea Castle on select dates in June, July and September. There will also be a guided wetland bird walk on Saturday, June 28 and an evening bird and bat safari on Thursday, June 5 and Thursday, June 19. On Thursday, June 12 and Friday, June 13, the HandleBards will perform Shakespeare's 'Much Ado About Nothing' in an open-air theatre setting on the island. A summer solstice yoga session will be held on Saturday, June 21, celebrating the longest day of the year with a picnic dinner and nightjar walk. Corfe Castle will also host a range of events. Visitors take a stroll in the garden in summer at Hardy's Cottage, Dorset (Image: James Beck/National Trust) From June to August, there will be free artisan craft displays every Friday, showcasing heritage crafts such as stone carving and wood carving. A food and drink festival will be held at the castle on Saturday, July 12 and Sunday, July 13, celebrating food and drink produce from the area. A 'Summer of Play' will run from Saturday, July 19 to Sunday, August 31, featuring a variety of games and activities throughout the castle ruins. Visitors can also join storytelling tours to learn about the castle's history. The castle will host several outdoor theatre performances in August, including 'Pride and Prejudice', 'The Most Perilous Comedie of Elizabeth I' and 'The Merry Wives of Windsor'. There will also be outdoor cinema screenings of 'Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets' and 'Paddington in Peru' on Friday, August 22 and Saturday, August 23.
CBS News
2 days ago
- CBS News
Cast of "& Juliet" shares love for show's music and theme ahead of Denver Center for Performing Arts shows
On Wednesday evening, the cast and crew of "& Juliet" will open their upbeat production for audiences at the Buell Theatre, but only CBS News Colorado's Dillon Thomas was given advanced access to the production. The show, which plays the Denver Center for the Performing Arts through June 15, is a modern twist on a classic Shakespeare tale. & Juliet DCPA While read or seen Shakespeare before, this musical flips the script. Set to pop anthems, & Juliet's cast promised to bring witty and contemporary takes to the story of Romeo and Juliet. "I saw it and just fell in love with it," said Teal Wicks, the actress who portrays Anne Hathaway in the production. The musical explores the idea of what would have happened to Juliet if she had not died alongside Romeo in the classic tale. The new ending to the story is told through some of the greatest pop hits from the last 30 years, including hits from Brittany Spears, the Backstreet Boys, Kesha, Katy Perry, and more. Kathryn Allison, who portrays Angélique, said the music is one of the biggest draws of being part of the production any given night. "Of course, there is the music which I grew up listening to, which I adore," Allison said. "The fact that I get to sing 'Oops, I did it again' every night is the cherry on top." & Juliet DCPA Though the plot revives and rethinks a tale nearly 500 years old, the cast told Thomas they think it is always fun to see and hear audience reactions when some of their favorite hits suddenly drop perfectly into the storyline. "It is so fun for the audience to recognize the song," Wicks said. "And then, when they hear the song and it is completely different and it is a storytelling song, you can hear them get quiet, lean forward,d and then just go crazy at the end." Allison said the songs not only make ticket holders want to dance and sing along, but they may also bring out emotions in them that were rooted in their upbringing. "These songs came out at a very specific time in everyone's life. So, not only are they in the moment recognizing the song, but they are thinking about where they were and relating to the story at the same time," Allison said. Of course, what would Romeo and Juliet be without the iconic Shakespeare? Though the show predominantly follows the journey of Juliet's life after Romeo, actor Corey Mach portrays the playwright on stage. "It is super nostalgic for me, not just as an actor but as a human being," Mach said. Mach said the show is not only comical, upbeat, and fun. But it is also intelligently woven together to blend the lyrics of the pop hits with the storyline. & Juliet DCPA "The way they chose to meld a scene into a song is so smart," Mach said. While the storyline of the original Romeo and Juliet continues to age with every minute that passes, the cast said they felt the writers of the show found a great way to make it appeal to everyone. "It appeals to a wide range of ages," Allison said. "Yes, Shakespeare was famous a long time ago. But, he is also very clever, hip, and relevant because we are still referencing his storylines all the time," Wicks said. While having a background or general understanding of the original tale is not required in order to enjoy the show, some of the cast said they hoped their production would spark some curiosity in Shakespeare's writing. "My hope is that they studied the text of the original piece and came to the show and saw how it was interwoven throughout," Allison said. In the end, Mach said he hoped the show would bring people joy in both the music and the theme. "Being your own person. Not letting another person's opinion inform how you live your life, there is joy in that aspect as well," Mach said. Tickets to see & Juliet are available online. CBS Colorado is a proud partner of the DCPA.
