SHAKE38 Kicks Off Blind Shake Readings Today

From truck beds and parking garages to coffee shops and rooftops, William Shakespeare's words will electrify the city with the fourth annual SHAKE38, today, April 19-23. This year's SHAKE38 will culminate on the Bard's 449th birthday.

New to this year's line-up will be a series of daily Blind Shakes in which members of the community are invited to a designated location and encouraged to participate in a reading of a play. The script to be read will be distributed on site.

Some highlights this year will include the Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble performing "Much Ado About Nothing" in the canoes at the Forest Park Grand Basin; the Blind Pigs (St. Louis' underground dining society) performing a scene from "Henry V" at Rung and Sprung (9739 Manchester Rd.); and alumni from Prison Performing Arts performing "Hamlet" at the Penthouse at Plush.

"SHAKE38 has proven an incredibly unique way of exposing more people to Shakespeare's work," said Rick Dildine, executive director of Shakespeare Festival St. Louis. "It doesn't mean that we are rewriting his stories or altering his work to the point they're unrecognizable, but programs like SHAKE38 and Shakespeare in the Streets allow us to explore stories passed down for hundreds of years and find relevance in our own lives. They demystify what is considered unapproachable."

In 2010, Dildine created the highly successful SHAKE38 as an around-the-clock urban experience highlighting Shakespeare's entire 38-play canon and every neighborhood in St. Louis in 38 hours. In 2012 the event expanded to five days, and this year, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Regional Arts Commission, SHAKE38.com will be launched. The new website will combine elements of Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram, and Vine, and will allow people from all over the world to upload Shakespeare-inspired art and ideas.

"It is our hope that SHAKE38.com will spur Shakespearean collaborations that transcend cultures and countries," Dildine said.

The citywide marathon reading/performance of Shakespeare's 38-play canon is limited only by one's imagination. Last year, more than 300 St. Louisans recreated Shakespeare's work in varying settings. They danced, painted, sketched, and sang their way through the Bard's repertoire in locations as varied as a downtown parking garage, a prison and a Steak 'n Shake restaurant, to name a few.

"SHAKE38 is one of the most amazing theatrical experiences I have ever been part of," Dildine said. "We set out to create a unique performance experience, drawing upon the depth of talent in St. Louis, and the creativity from all parts of the city is proof this is a vibrant, innovative community. We had thirty-eight groups, people of all experience, reading and performing Shakespeare all over the place."

The wildly popular Shakespeare in the Streets event returns Sept. 20-22, this time to The Grove /Forest Park Southeast neighborhood. Last year's inaugural event, "The New World," was based on Shakespeare's play, "The Tempest" and was performed on Cherokee Street in the Gravois Park/Benton Park West neighborhood, with shop owners and residents performing alongside professional actors in the show. Details on the cast and play for 2013 will be announced this summer. Once again, professional actors and community members will join a director in choosing and developing a Shakespeare play that speaks directly to the residents' hopes, dreams, and concerns. They will begin a month-long rehearsal process culminating in three free performances of the play on the streets of the neighborhood. As a result of its impact throughout the city, the Festival was awarded the 2012 Exemplary Community Achievement Award from the Missouri Humanities Council.

In the past 12 years, the Shakespeare Festival has attracted more than 550,000 people to the performances in Forest Park. The organization has reached an additional 250,000 students through its educational touring productions, school program, summer camps and community partnerships. For more information, visit www.sfstl.com or call 314/531-9800.

For a complete listing of SHAKE38 times and locations, visit: www.sfstl.com/whats-on/shake-38.

Some of the highlighted performances this year will include:

Fri., April 19 (11 a.m./1 p.m.)
The Black Rep Julius Caesar St. Louis Public Library (Central Library Auditorium)

Sat., April 20 (11 a.m.)
Blind Shake Public invited to read Henry VIII Starbucks, 2 North Central, Clayton

Sat., April 20 (4 p.m.)
Slightly Askew's Theatre Ensemble Much Ado About Nothing In canoes at the Forest Park Grand Basin

Sun., April 20 (12:30 p.m.)
Shakespeare Squadron Will of Fortune The Muny in Forest Park

Mon., April 22 (7 p.m.)
St. Louis Poetry Center Winter's Tale Downtown Kirkwood Train Station

Tues., April 23 (10 a.m.) Shakespeare's 449th Birthday -- Wreath Laying Ceremony
Bard Birthday Players Timon of Athens Shakespeare statue in Tower Grove Park

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