麻豆影院

On the 400th anniversary of the Bard鈥檚 death this year, the campus is staging two significant Shakespearean events and edges closer to completing the canon for the second time

There鈥檚 much ado about William Shakespeare at CU-麻豆影院. To mark the the 400^th anniversary of the Bard鈥檚 death this year, the campus is staging two significant Shakespearean events.

In its 59^th season, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival (CSF) will move closer to performing all of Shakespeare鈥檚 canon for the second time鈥攁 feat most companies have yet to achieve once. And the published edition of Shakespeare鈥檚 collected plays, printed in 1623, will be exhibited on campus.

The festival鈥檚 mission and culture embrace the whole canon of 38 plays, not just the top six or seven, said Tim Orr, CSF鈥檚 producing artistic director.

鈥淎 lot of the titles that people come to see are those they read in high school or college,鈥� Orr said.

Those plays are popular because they鈥檙e familiar, he added. However, 鈥�Trolius and Cressida is hugely entertaining. It鈥檚 just as exciting as Macbeth and Richard III, so that鈥檚 why we鈥檙e bringing it out. It鈥檚 important to produce these lesser-knowns that are no less great, to get them back into the awareness of audiences so that we can expand the category of well-known popular titles.鈥�

This season, the festival will continue its progress toward completing the canon next year, during its 60^th season. CSF first became one of a handful of American companies to complete the canon in 1975.

Completing the canon a second time will propel CSF into rarefied ranks of accomplished theater companies, but the initiative means producing lesser-known plays. Audiences are familiar with 鈥済reatest hits鈥� such as Hamlet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night鈥檚 Dream and Romeo and Juliet. They are less likely to know other plays.

The festival鈥檚 2016 season will feature productions of Comedy of Errors, Troilus and Cressida and Cymbeline, as well as Henry VI Part 2. The festival will also premiere Equivocation, by contemporary playwright Bill Cain.

鈥淧eople are extremely curious about this season, and that鈥檚 showing in ticket sales,鈥� said Orr. 鈥淭his season to date is selling 14 percent better than last year.鈥�

Meanwhile, the 麻豆影院 is Colorado鈥檚 only host for the First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare, an exhibition on national tour from the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. The exhibition tour, which commemorates the 400^th anniversary of Shakespeare鈥檚 death, will be open to the public at the CU Art Museum Aug. 9-31.

The casualties would include Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, The Tempest and Antony and Cleopatra, along with famous phrases including 鈥渟ound and fury鈥� and 鈥渢he ides of March.鈥�

When it is displayed in the CU Art Museum, First Folio will be opened to the page featuring Hamlet鈥檚 鈥渢o be or not to be鈥� soliloquy. An exhibition exploring Shakespeare鈥檚 impact, then and now, will be accompanied by digital content and interactive activities.

A companion exhibition to First Folio will also be on view at the CU Art Museum, related to the idea of a cabinet of curiosities, showing the role that wonder and curiosity played during the Elizabethan era.

A range of activities for all ages will coincide with the First Folio exhibition. Topics include comic books, Elizabethan food, and the music, art and science of Shakespeare鈥檚 time. A campus website listing the activities is scheduled to launch in late April.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about a historic book,鈥� said Sandra Firmin, director and chief curator at the CU Art Museum.

鈥淲e鈥檙e utilizing the First Folio to think about how arts and culture crossed disciplines鈥攍iterature, arts, medicine, science and intellectual pursuits鈥攖hinking holistically about society during Shakespeare鈥檚 time to the present day. It will be a snapshot of culture during that time period.鈥�

Kenna Bruner is an editor at the .

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