A.R.T. and OBERON Will Present BEOWULF Reading, 4/25

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, and OBERON will host an epic reading of Beowulf in the original Old English - beginning at 12 noon, and preceding the evening performance of the Banana Bag & Bodice SongPlay Beowulf - A Thousand Years of Baggage, text by Jason Craig, music by Dave Malloy, co-directed by Rod Hipskind & Mallory Catlett.

Under the leadership of Harvard English Department Fellow Steven Rozenski and Wellesley College English professor Matthew Sergi, scholars, students, and fans of medieval literature will be able to participate in a live reading of the epic poem Beowulf - over drinks, as it was meant to be done. Over a thousand years before Beowulf - A Thousand Years of Baggage, Anglo-Saxon poets (called scops) composed and performed this four-hour epic poem orally, performing it for their lords and friends in mead halls much like Beowulf's Heorot, in the earliest form of English:

"Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum, þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon."

The reading is free and open to the general public. Participants are welcome to attend for as long as they wish, or stay for the whole epic, or, if familiar with Old English, sign up to read a passage. Volunteer guest readers already include an array of accomplished medieval scholars, including Beowulf specialist Dan Donoghue (Harvard). Translations will be made available for newer readers; on breaks, our scholars will field questions about the poem and about the medieval history and culture behind Beowulf. To sign up for your favorite passage in advance, email Matthew Sergi at msergi@wellesley.edu, or sign up at OBERON at the event. Doors open at 11:45am for the 12pm start, event runs from 12pm to 5pm. Audience should feel free to come and go as needed throughout the event.

Steven Rozenski, a scholar of late-medieval English, German, and Dutch mysticism and devotional literature, earned his Ph.D. in English from Harvard in 2012; hereceived a B.A. from Northwestern in 2002 and an M.Th. from the University of Glasgow in 2003. He has studied in Germany as a Fulbright scholar and conducted research in Italy, England, and Belgium. Currently a Harvard College Fellow, teaching early English poetry and drama, he is at work on a book entitled Wisdom's Journey: Continental Mysticism and Devotional Mobility in Trans-ReformationEngland.

Matthew Sergi specializes in medieval English performance, with a growing interest in the History of the English Language. His research toward his current book project, Play Texts and Public Practice in the Chester Cycle: c. 1421-1607, was awarded the Medieval Academy's 2008 Schallek Grant and a number of other honors. He has published in the US and UK, where his first article, "Festive Piety: Food and Drink at Chester," earned him the 2012 Barbara D. Palmer Award for Best New Essay in Early Drama Archives Research. Currently an Assistant Professor ofEnglish at Wellesley College, Matt will move north this fall to become an Assistant Professor of Early English Drama at the University of Toronto. Matt is also an actor: you may recognize him from A.R.T.'s production of The Lily's Revenge last fall.

First seen in Cambridge at OBERON in 2010 and later as part of the 2011 Emerging America Festival, Beowulf - A Thousand Years of Baggage went on to win the Edinburg Festival Fringe Herald Angel Award. Digging into the roots of the original epic poem, this club-style "SongPlay" harkens back to the raw and rowdy style of storytelling in the old Scandinavian mead halls - with a passion for fierce poetry and a pint of thick beer. Monsters and professors collide in a blood-soaked frenzy as the epic poem is transformed into a defiantly raucous dissertation on art and violence.
Featuring a 7-piece band, including dueling trombones, bass clarinet, accordion and saw, with music composed by Dave Malloy, from last season's sold-out Three Pianos.

Beowulf - A Thousand Years of Baggage received its World Premiere with The Shotgun Players, Berkeley, CA in May, 2008; Patrick Dooley, Artistic Director / Elizabeth Lisle, Managing Director

Tickets for Beowulf - A Thousand Years of Baggage start at $25 and are on sale now by calling 617-547-8300 or by visiting americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/beowulf-thousand-years-baggage.

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