Folger Announces New Plays, New Programs, And New Voices In The New Year

The Folger Shakespeare Library today announced a series of new projects and programs centered around the theme, What's Your Story?. As a world-renowned source for stories and how they are told, the Folger is amplifying new voices in these inaugural programs.

Folger Theatre is starting the new year with The Reading Room, a new play festival featuring works inspired by, in response to, or in conversation with the plays of William Shakespeare. Each reading will be followed by a moderated conversation with the playwrights and directors and questions from the audience. The festival takes place at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation on Capitol Hill directly across the street from the Folger, and runs January 19 - 21, 2023.

The Reading Room features world premiere works from Lauren Gunderson (The Book of Will), Al Letson (NPR's Reveal), Reynaldo Piniella, and Emily Lyon (Hedgepig Ensemble), and a Folger commission by Malik Work and Karen Ann Daniels in collaboration with Devin E. Haqq. Kicking off Folger's What's Your Story? season, the plays all have unique approaches, identities, languages and cultures. Public readings will be hosted January 19 - 21, 2023. In addition to the staged readings, there are conversations with scholars and theater artists throughout the week.

On the heels of The Reading Room, the Folger is producing Works in Progress, a week-long series of workshops and talks, inviting aspiring artists in the fields of playwriting, poetry, and songwriting to develop their own personal projects under the mentorship of established artists. The workshop culminates in an opportunity for participants to share their work with others. Works in Progress is hosted in partnership with and at the Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, January 24 - 29, 2023.

The Folger continues to host and produce projects in venues across the District, as it prepares to re-open its historic building to the public in late 2023 following a multi-year Renovation Project.

"The Folger Shakespeare Library is a center for curiosity, connection and creativity," says Folger Director of Programming and Folger Theatre Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels. "Open or closed,

we're inviting our neighbors and friends to explore our culture, identity, language, ideologies, and dreams as the makers and receivers of great stories. We'll take our inspiration from Shakespeare and then build upon narratives we stored up in ourselves over these past few years. This is at the heart of our What's Your Story? season of programs. Everyone has a story worth telling."

The Reading Room - Plays:

Hamlet

By William Shakespeare

Bilingual adaptation by Reynaldo Piniella and Emily Lyon

Translation by Christin Eve Cato

Directed by Tatiana Pandiani

Thursday, January 19, 2023 at 7:30pm

Hamlet is a Black, Latinx prince, whose identity has been fractured by the loss of his Black father. Tempted once again to continue the cycle of revenge, Hamlet must confront healing in the face of tragedy. This radical bilingual reimagining of Shakespeare's Hamlet created by Reynaldo Piniella and Emily Lyon-with translation by Christin Eve Cato-takes us to the streets of El Barrio with Shakespeare's text infused by the Spanish spoken in present-day New York City.

Our Verse in Time to Come

Commissioned by Folger Shakespeare Library to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of the printing of Shakespeare's First Folio

By Malik Work and Karen Ann Daniels, in collaboration with Devin E. Haqq

Directed by Devin E. Haqq

Friday, January 20, 2023 at 7:30pm

An aging emcee diagnosed with early-onset dementia looks to reconnect with his estranged

children before it's too late. Reunited to sort out their father's inheritance, the siblings take a journey with the storytellers who hold the pieces of the puzzle of their father's life and legacy. Inspired by the works and words of Shakespeare, Our Verse in Time to Come bridges the past with the present and interrogates whose stories should remain and who's responsible for their survival.

Julius X

By Al Letson

Directed by Nicole Brewer

Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 2pm

Set in 1965, Julius X intermixes the lives of Julius Caesar and slain civil rights leader Malcolm X, re-envisioning Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar with a new perspective on the assassinated leader and his enemies, while weaving African mythology and performance poetry into Shakespeare's text.

A Room in the Castle

By Lauren Gunderson

Directed by Eddie DeHais

Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 7:30pm

How does a woman survive the court of Denmark? A Room in the Castle rebrands the stories of the women of Shakespeare's Hamlet into a mediation on women helping women, what mothering a madman could mean, and what responsibility generations of feminists have to one another, with music and a defiant hope for the future.

The Reading Room Programs:

Post Reading Conversations: all four readings are followed by a conversation with the playwrights, directors, and scholars at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation.

Morning Coffee with Lauren Gunderson and Al Letson

Saturday, January 21 at 11:00am

Please check the Folger website at www.folger.edu/events/the-reading-room information and schedule.

The Reading Room Tickets:

The Reading Room series takes place at The Lutheran Church of the Reformation at 212 East Capitol Street, NE, Washington, DC.

A pass to see all four readings: $25.

Additional conversations and special events: $15.

An All-Access Pass, which includes admission to all four readings and all special events: $50.

Students: admitted free one-half hour before readings, with a valid ID.

Tickets available for purchase from the Folger Box Office: www.folger.edu/theatre or
(202) 544-7077.

Check the Folger website at www.folger.edu/events/the-reading-room for schedule and additional information.

Works in Progress:

Following the Reading Room festival of new theatrical works, the Folger is convening a panel of artists to explore how Shakespeare inspires new generations of creators and the importance of welcoming new voices into the canon. A panel discussion and series of workshops in three disciplines-playwriting, poetry, and songwriting-invite aspiring artists to create their own personal works under the mentorship of teaching artists.

Workshop registration is open to the public. Visit www.folger.edu/talks-screenings-more or contact the Folger Box Office at (202) 544-7077.

A panel discussion on Shakespeare as a Starting Point, exploring the ways in which Shakespeare's works can serve as springboards for new expression, is Tuesday, January 24 at 7pm at the Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC. Panelists include Teri Ellen Cross Davis, Erin Frisby, Caleen Sinnette Jennings, and

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