Bard-to-Go, one of the highlights of Grand Valley's annual Shakespeare Festival, has given more than 4,000 Michigan schoolchildren an opportunity to experience Shakespeare's plays. Now it's our turn.
A free campus performance of the popular touring show will be held on November 6 at the Loosemore Auditorium, DeVos Center, on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus. The show begins at 2 p.m. Reservations are not required.
Bard-to-Go, now in its fourth year, is a 50-minute collage of scenes from some of Shakespeare's most famous works. Fully staged with sets and costumes, the play is designed to be performed in classrooms, on school stages, and in open-air environments. This year's company is comprised of six student actors and a student stage manager led by associate theatre professor Karen Libman.
The 2004 Bard-to-Go production, Lovestruck, features entertaining, recognizable characters in various scenes from Shakespearean plays on the theme of love, including A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, Taming of the Shrew, and Hamlet. The result is a rollicking and engaging introduction to Shakespeare for 21st century teenagers.
"We're taking off the kid gloves and jumping right in to the richness of the comedy, the fullness of the tragedy, the delight of the language, and the possibilities of the play," said Libman.
Students performed the play to more than 1,200 students at seven high schools this year.
