Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley announced that Friday, April 23, Shakespeare's 446th Birthday, will be Talk Like Shakespeare Day, an occasion for citizens to bring the spoken words of Shakespeare into their daily lives. "Chicago is recognized as the home not only of 'Da Bulls and 'Da Bears, but also 'Da Bard," said Mayor Daley in his formal city proclamation, issued this week. On April 23, Daley encourages citizens to "let boldness be thy friend and celebrate Shakespeare by vocal acclamation of his words."
Last year Mayor Daley inaugurated TALK LIKE SHAKESPEARE DAY in Chicago, a celebration which spread across the country and around the globe, thanks to national and international press coverage-with over one million hits to
www.TalkLikeShakespeare.org, the virtual home base for revelers.
TalkLikeShakespeare.org visitors can contribute stories, photos, videos, and quotes to the site's live tumblr feed. The web portal features instructions on how to talk like Shakespeare, activities for celebrating the Bard at school, at the office and at home, Shakespeare's Twitter (a live feed from the Bard who, magnanimously, has offered to help translate any visitor's request from contemporary English to Shakespeare), and a "best of the Bard on the web" collection (with cameos by The Beatles,
Abbott & Costello, Sesame Street, and others), among a variety of other resources.
In Chicago, Tony Award-winning
Chicago Shakespeare Theater will be honoring the occasion by sending Shakespeare look-alikes throughout the city to entreat Chicagoans to speak his speech "trippingly on their tongues". One lucky everyday thespian will win two round-trip flights to London courtesy of American Airlines and and complimentary tickets to a performance at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Chicago Shakespeare will also host Chicago Public School students and teachers for birthday cake and an exclusive Shakespearean hip-hop performance by Flocabulary artists Blake Harrison, Mervin Jenkins (a.k.a. Spectac) and Alex Rappaport, nationally recognized for their groundbreaking work with students, using rhyme and rhythm to crack open Shakespeare. Teachers and students will craft their own Shakespearean hip-hop masterpieces, a fitting tribute to the Bard on his birthday.
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