
A Season of Enrichment
2020-2021 Virtual Presentations
Due to the global pandemic, The Shakespeare Project of Chicago will produce a series of virtual programs in lieu of in-venue performances for the upcoming season. Each program will be delivered over the Zoom platform, run 45-50 minutes, with 10 minutes Q&A at the end. Attendees should register for each event via the respective library’s website. You can download and print the complete listing here.
October 2020 – A Conversation with J.R. Sullivan, director (presented Oct. 9-16, 2020)
Peter Garino will interview acclaimed director J.R. Sullivan and discuss, among other things, his approach to directing Shakespeare, why Shakespeare is still relevant to audiences today, and touch on highlights from Mr. Sullivan’s more than 20-year career directing Shakespeare, including his work for The Shakespeare Project of Chicago.
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January 2021 – Middleton & Dekker’s Plague Pamphlets of 1603 (presented Jan. 15-23, 2021)
Shakespeare scholar Regina Buccola will present on the works of playwrights Thomas Middleton & Thomas Dekker, who collaborated on a series of pamphlets when the plague closed the London theaters in 1603. Their work focused not so much on the disease itself but on the behavior of the ruling classes in response to it. Actors from The Shakespeare Project will read from the playwrights’ works.
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February 2021 – Macbeth and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605
An in-depth look at why modern performances of Macbeth seem lost on 21st century theatergoers. With the help of Garry Wills’ book Witches and Jesuits, and James Shapiro’s book 1606: The Year of Lear, Erin Sloan explores how the real life events of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 wove their way into Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy.
Register for one of the performances below. You will receive a Zoom link.
Streaming:
Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, 7:00PM – Niles-Maine District Library via Zoom
https://nmdl.libnet.info/event/4136670
Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, 7:00PM – Des Plaines Public Library via Zoom
https://calendar.dppl.org/event/4747947
Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, 4:00PM – Newberry Library via Zoom
https://www.newberry.org/02232021-macbeth-and-gunpowder-plot-1605
Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, 7:00PM – Elmhurst Public Library and Lemont Public Library via Zoom
https://elmhurstpubliclibrary.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=34286&df=calendar&ag=765,755,761,772,762,726,763,856,764&backTo=Calendar&startDate=2021/02/01
Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021, 2:00PM – Wilmette Public Library via Zoom
http://wilmette.libnet.info/event/4786351
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April 2021 – By Help of Devils
The Shakespeare Project of Chicago is proud to present its new film, By Help of Devils, which looks at a collection of Shakespeare’s villains and their motivations for doing terrible things. Includes performances from Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Richard III, The Rape of Lucrece, and more. Directed by Helene Augustyniak and Peter Garino with music by Leica Wilde.
Streaming:
Friday, April 9, 2021, 7:00PM – Niles-Maine District Library via Zoom
Wednesday, April 14, 2021, 7:00PM – Des Plaines Public Library via Zoom
Thursday, April 15, 2021, 7:00PM – Elmhurst Public Library and Lemont Public Library via Zoom
Saturday, April 17, 2021, 2:00PM – Wilmette Public Library via Zoom
Wednesday, April 28, 2021, 4:00PM – Newberry Library via Zoom
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April - May 2021 – Reimagining Shakespeare
Michelle Shupe and Corliss Preston explore the topic of Shakespeare’s relevance for today’s audiences. How do we open up his works to see and hear them through a fresher lens allowing the resilience of these works to resonate in our rapidly changing world?
Streaming:
Friday, April 30, 2021, 7:00PM – Niles-Maine District Library via Zoom
Sunday, May 2, 2021, 2:00PM – Highland Park Public Library via Zoom
Thursday, May 6, 2021, 7:00PM – Elmhurst Public Library and Lemont Public Library via Zoom
Monday, May 10, 2021, 7:00PM - Vernon Area Public Library via Zoom
Saturday, May 8, 2021, 2:00PM – Wilmette Public Library via Zoom
Additional Special Performances:
This Above All: Why Hamlet is Shakespeare’s Greatest Play. Artistic director Peter Garino makes the case why “Hamlet” deserves to be called Shakespeare’s greatest play.
Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, 2:00PM – Highland Park Public Library via Zoom
Register here:
https://www.hplibrary.org/event/4879806
So You Think You Know Shakespeare. Based on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," online contestants test their knowledge of Shakespeare through a series of questions of increasing difficulty. Don't worry, though. You have three lifelines: 50/50 (which removes two incorrect answers), ask the audience (Zoom poll of attendees) and ask an actor - special guest from The Shakespeare Project.
Wednesday, March 24, 2021, 7:00PM - Champaign Public Library via Zoom
Register here:
https://champaign.org/event/so-you-think-you-know-shakespeare-4753843
PLEASE NOTE: OUR IN-LIBRARY THEATRICAL READINGS ARE CURRENTLY SUSPENDED DUE TO THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC. WE HOPE TO RESUME PERFORMANCES WHEN CONDITIONS ARE ACCEPTABLE.
We believe that the key to creating a transformative experience of Shakespeare is through making Shakespeare’s words understandable and impactful for our audiences. Story telling that is truthful, simple, fantastical, poetic, lyrical, sometimes challenging, but always universal. Our gifted artists deliver performances that are intimate and emotionally engaging – Shakespeare at its best. The theatrical reading: not less, but so much more.
The Shakespeare Project of Chicago presents free theatrical readings (October through May) of William Shakespeare and his contemporaries at our Chicago and suburban venues. Click the Performances link above for performance dates and times. We give performances at:
Des Plaines Public Library
Elmhurst Public Library
Highland Park Public Library
Mount Prospect Public Library
Newberry Library, Chicago
Niles-Maine District Library
Vernon Area Public Library (Lincolnshire, IL)
Wilmette Public Library
Complete the form at the bottom of this page to join our email list and receive updates on our FREE performances in our theatrical reading season. Be sure to "Like" our Facebook page, too. facebook.com/shakespeareprojectchicago
Our fee-based Education Outrreach program includes custom-designed workshops that explore Shakespeare's language and abridged performances of his plays. Contact outreach@shakespeareprojectchicago.org for pricing and availability.
Our theatrical readings and education outreach productions are presented by professional actors who are members of Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors.
The Shakespeare Project of Chicago is primarily funded by our venue sponsors and individual donors who support our mission of making Shakespeare accessible to all. Additional funding is provided by the Illinois Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Shakespeare Project of Chicago is a not-for-profit 501c3 organization. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. To make a donation, click on the Benefactors link above.
What is a theatrical reading?
What can you expect when you come to one of our theatrical readings? The first thing you may notice is that the actors are performing book-in-hand. However, as our audiences have told us many times over the past 24 years, the scripts become invisible after the first few minutes as you listen to Shakespeare's language come alive as it is acted by some of the best professional actors in Chicago.
I often explain to people that have not seen our work before that their experience of the play won’t be less, but more because by placing our focus exclusively on Shakespeare’s text we allow the play to emerge in an unencumbered setting that reveals new insights into the play's characters and themes. Many have told us that after seeing a theatrical reading from The Shakespeare Project they truly “get” the play for the first time.
Our performance is completely staged – meaning that actors make entrances and exits and move across the stage as they would in a full production. You won’t see elaborate sets, props or costumes. You will hear some music and sound from time to time which is only there to augment your experience and add to your understanding of the play.
We provide a 360 degree experience of the play. Our dramaturge will introduce the play to you in a brief prologue to give you some background on the play’s history and point out things to watch and listen for during the performance. After the reading, we hope you stay for our post-show discussion to interact with the actors and creative team and further enrich your experience.
We look forward to seeing you at our next show. And, if you like what you see, please tell a friend.
Peter Garino
Artistic Director
The Shakespeare Project of Chicago
THE SHAKESPEARE PROJECT OF CHICAGO
P.O. BOX 25126
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60625
(773) 710-2718
Email: peter@shakespeareprojectchicago.org


