Folger Shakespeare Library's Season Of Wonder Commemorates The 400th Anniversary of The Bard's Passing

As reported by BroadwayWorld, Washington D.C.'s Folger Shakespeare Library, which boasts the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, will be commemorating 2016 as the 400th anniversary of The Bard's death with an unprecedented touring exhibition, FIRST FOLIO! THE BOOK THAT GAVE US SHAKESPEARE.

Historic copies of the 1623 publication that was assembled to include 36 of Shakespeare's plays, including eighteen previous unpublished works like JULIUS CAESAR, MACBETH, AS YOU LIKE IT and THE TEMPEST, will visit all fifty states, plus , Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico in an touring 23 museums, 20 universities, five public libraries, three historical societies, and one theatre. Visit folger.edu/first-folio-tour for FIRST FOLIO!'s complete touring schedule.

Each venue will create exhibits to accompany the First Folio tour. In Washington, DC, at the Folger, three exhibitions will explore different aspects of Shakespeare's life and legacy.

• "Shakespeare, Life of an Icon" brings together some of the most important manuscripts and printed books related to Shakespeare's life and career, giving us a firsthand look at the most famous author in the world. (January 20 - March 27)
• "America's Shakespeare" reveals how Americans have made Shakespeare our own. Using a fascinating selection of rare letters, costumes, books, and more, it shows how his words and ideas weave through our national story from print to radio, television, film, and digital media. (At the Folger from April 7 - July 24; on tour at the Los Angeles Public Library beginning November 10, 2016 through February 2017)
• Merchandising, parodies, and spinoffs through the centuries have put William Shakespeare and Jane Austen on a first-name basis with the world. Explore the stories of these two great authors in "Will & Jane: Shakespeare, Austen, and the Cult of Celebrity." (August 6 - November 6)

In addition, The Folger Theatre will open its "Season of Wonder" with A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM on January 26. In April, the Reduced Shakespeare Company performs the East Coast premiere of WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S LONG LOST FIRST PLAY (ABRIDGED), followed by the May 31st world premiere of DISTRICT MERCHANTS, a new variation on Shakespeare's THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, written by four-time Helen Hayes Award-winner Aaron Posner.

A special touring production, GRAVEDIGGER'S TALE, will accompany the FIRST FOLIO! exhibition to selected sites. The Gravedigger, a minor character in HAMLET, appears in this short performance with a trunk and a book to answer audience "questions" using the text from HAMLET.

The Folger's early music ensemble-in-residence, Folger Consort, is performing three concerts of early and new music celebrating Shakespeare: "The Wonder of Will,' at the Washington National Cathedral January 22 - 23, followed by 'Playing with Fire: Virtuoso Instrumental Music of the Renaissance" (March 18 - 20) and 'Shakespeare and Purcell: Music of The Fairy Queen and Other Works" (April 8 - 10).

Noted scholars Tiffany Stern (March 17), Stephen Greenblatt (April 25), Kim Hall (June 27), and Joseph Roach (October 4) will deliver talks on performance, literary celebrity, and other topics for this Shakespeare Anniversary Lecture Series, sponsored by the Folger Institute's Center for Shakespeare Studies. Folger Fridays, a free series of short talks on Fridays at 6pm, is presenting more than 40 conversations in honor of the anniversary year.

Online, the Folger is creating new resources and experiences for users around the world.

The digital Share Your Shakespeare Story project is inviting people of all ages and backgrounds to record their personal experiences and connections with Shakespeare and his work, and then to share these videos on social media using the hashtag #MySHX400. Responding to such questions as "What does Shakespeare mean to you?" or "When did you first read or see Shakespeare?", these videos together represent a digital collage of stories celebrating Shakespeare's legacy.

Anyone curious about the life of the man from Stratford-upon-Avon will be able to turn to a new website, www.shakespearedocumented.org, launching January 20. Featuring documents from more than 30 institutions in the United States and the United Kingdom, including the British Library, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, The National Archives (UK), and the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, it is the largest and most authoritative resource for learning about primary sources that document the life and career of William Shakespeare. The website includes images, descriptions, and transcriptions of more than 500 manuscripts and printed works that contain references and allusions to Shakespeare and his works, during his lifetime and shortly after his death.

Folger Education is on the road, in partnership with FIRST FOLIO! tour stops and also with the English Speaking Union, with professional learning days for middle and high school teachers. Online, live-streamed Master Classes on teaching HAMLET and OTHELLO bring content expertise and classroom strategies to teachers everywhere. In July, 25 teachers, selected from applicants across the country, will be at the Folger for the four-week Teaching Shakespeare 2016, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Working with scholars, theater professionals, and mentor teachers, participants will take a deep dive into America's Shakespeare through the study of OTHELLO, THE TEMPEST and THE MERCHANT OF VENICE.

The Folger is also piloting a Theater Partnership Program in collaboration with theaters from around the United States to create and share Shakespeare-related content and experiences that enhance audiences' engagement with his plays.

Folger Shakespeare Library is the world's largest Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. The Folger welcomes millions of visitors online and in person. We provide unparalleled access to a huge array of resources, from original sources to modern interpretations. With the Folger, you can experience the power of performance, the wonder of exhibitions, and the excitement of groundbreaking research. The Folger offers the opportunity to see and even work with early modern sources, driving discovery and transforming education for students of all ages.

Programs of The Wonder of Will: 400 Years of Shakespeare are made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: the Human Endeavor, and by the generous support of the British Council, Vinton and Sigrid Cerf, Neal and Florence Cohen, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Google.org, National Endowment for the Arts, Stuart and Mimi Rose, Share Fund, and Winton and Carolyn Blount Exhibition Fund of the Folger Shakespeare Library. Additional support comes from the Wonder of Will Century Club, Honorary Committee, and 2016 Folger Gala sponsors.