Host a Shakespeare Reading Party
and let the merriment begin!
By Hillevi Anne Peterson
Earlier this summer, a casting call went forth from the Anselm Society for a production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The emails and Facebook posts invited local Anselm creatives to participate in an evening of sustenance and Shakespeare — a dinner theater featuring the audience members as both actors and culinary artists.
The hosts, Brian and Christina Brown, offered up their porch as the stage and invited participants, who were also the audience members, to bring their lawn chairs and blankets for an evening of frivolity. Here's how the play opened.
“But with goodwill. To show our simple skill,
That is the true beginning of our end.”
— A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act V, Scene i
As the guests arrive, the playfully decorated buffet table becomes laden with a wide variety of savory nibbly-bits, summer fruits, garden treats, and luscious desserts. At the bar, wine glasses are filled with red or white, while other guests enjoy a glass of cool lemonade on the warm July evening.
The atmosphere smoothly transitions as party guests milling about with their drinkables begin disappearing from the room and re-emerging adorned in a wide array of playful pseudo-Shakespearean apparel and accouterments. Some are in full Renaissance festival garb; there are ladies in painted fairy faces, glitter, and wings, 1960s flower-power regalia, and good ol’ Goodwill finds of oversized tunics, cinched with belts, conveniently repurposed to hold a blade or saber. A collection of theatrical weapons appear, displacing wooden ones, and all the male characters take a few moments on a far corner of the lawn to practice their fencing skills.
Before the play begins, an announcement is made to refill beverages, pop the camp chairs, spread the blankets, and find a spot on the lawn in front of the “stage.” The porch had been transformed into a magical fairy forest by Christina, who created trees and trellises out of sticks and twigs and adorned them with Dollar Store flowers. She added pillows and props, and illuminated the stage by twinkle lights — all in superb HGTV-worthy fashion.
Those reading parts are encouraged to sit near an easy escape so as to access the stage when it is their turn to go on. The about-to-be actors hold scripts in hand, skimming through their parts — some for the very first time, while others have read and rehearsed their lines. But as with most of the Anselm Society’s social gatherings, there is more emphasis on merriment than mastery. After all, this is a Shakespeare Reading Party!
With audience and actors in place, casting director Jeremiah England takes center stage to present a summary of the play. And with that, A Midsummer Night’s Dream steps off the pages of a book and the mischievous fairy tale comes to life. William Shakespeare, known as the Bard of Avon, shall now be crowned as the Bard of the Backyard.
“Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.”
— Hamlet Act II Scene ii
Hosting a Shakespeare Reading Party (—a Bardy!—) has become an annual summer event for the Anselm Society, one that serves to entertain as well as demystify the Elizabethan English language of Shakespeare.
One does not have to have a degree in linguistics to enjoy and understand William Shakespeare’s poems and plays; after all, he was inventing the language as he wrote. In the late 1500s, when Shakespeare was writing, the English language was only about 100 years old. This period of writing is referred to as Early Modern English. Dictionaries had yet to be created and most formal documents were still written in Latin. A common language was needed, so Shakespeare invented it. The Oxford English Dictionary credits the Bard with 3,000 new words, not to mention the innumerable phrases and sayings he added to the English language.
So, put your fear of language behind you, strap on your scabbard, and let’s get this Bardy started.
“Fair thought and happy hours attend you.”
— Merchant of Venice. Act III, Scene iv.
Hosting your own Shakespeare Reading Party can be as simple or elaborate as you like it! No committee is needed, just one person with a desire to spread the beauty, wit, and wisdom of William Shakespeare.
Step One: Select a play.
I suggest you start with one of the more well-known comedic plays like A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It is a perfect introduction to Shakespeare.
The plot is a frivolous frolic where the human and fairy worlds collide and create total chaos. Nothing is taken seriously, therefore mistakes can be masked with laughter and no one knows the difference! It is a well-written ensemble play so even the most accomplished thespian may perform alongside a novice and all will still have a jolly evening. There are four plot lines within the play, one of which includes a group of amateur actors who are rehearsing a play within the play to present at the upcoming royal wedding. This troupe features an over-the-top actor who thinks he can play every part. It is comedic genius at its best and a perfect role for that friend who is always the life of every party.
Of course, there are other wonderful comedies to choose from; texts like As You Like It, All's Well That Ends Well, or The Comedy of Errors, any of which may play well for your first event.
Once you get your troupe together and have gotten your feet wet, you might want to theme a well-known tragedy like Macbeth or Hamlet for an All Saint’s Day Eve gathering when you can serve your beverages in a caldron or issue knives to guests as their only utensil of the evening. The festive possibilities are endless.
Step two: Decide where and how to stage the play.
If you want to act the scenes out (rather than just reading them outloud), make certain you set aside a space big enough to be a stage with room for an audience. This could be in a backyard, family room, a party room at your apartment complex, just think outside the box. Or you may want to keep it simple and just round up chairs in your living room and read out loud.
Step Three: Set the date and send out a casting call.
Keep in mind that a Bardy will take from three to four hours, depending on the play and on how much time is spent socializing. Your choice of date should allow that chunk of time.
As for your players, consider inviting friends from church, school, book club, neighborhood, or work. Mix it up! This is a great way to expand face-to-face social time in our faceless social media-driven world. Send out emails, texts, or even (gasp) snail mail invitations. In the RSVP ask them to include if they want a big or small part or if they just want to attend and bring food.
Step Four: Cast the roles.
Ask a friend who is familiar with the play to help you with casting. It’s always best to have someone to bounce ideas off of. Consider doubling people up on the minor roles for smaller gatherings.
Step Five: Distribute the cast list and share the script.
Let the actors know that they don’t have to buy a script, rather they can download the selected play from the Project Gutenberg website directly onto their iPad, Kindle, or phone. However, if you want the touch and feel of script, I recommend the Folger Shakespeare Library or the Cambridge School Editions. Both are complete unedited texts, but the latter edition features an easier to read print with script on the right page and on the left page a synopsis with extended glossaries are aligned with the text on the right.
Step Six: (Optional.) Rehearse.
You and your knowledgeable casting assistant may want to host a Zoom call for those who desire a little help with their character development ahead of the reading. Then, if rehearsing is your choice, organize a gathering of your cast and have fun!
“I almost die for food, and let me have it.”
— As You Like It Act 2, scene 7
Step Seven: Plan the feast for the evening.
Organization is key for any potluck, or you may end up with five bags of chips, three variations on tuna salad, and two buckets of KFC. A party sign-up sheet is handy here, or you could assign a category of food when casting the show! Create a list of food groupings, such as hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, fruits, vegetables, salads, and desserts to cover all the desired items. Oh, and don’t forget the beverages!
Keep in mind that guests will be popping up during planned intermissions to fill their plates and return to their seats, so small bites are highly recommended. There may be guests with dietary restrictions so ask ahead of time and include this information when you send out the sign-up sheet. And because you don’t expect everyone to create their culinary masterpiece with a restriction in mind, have small table tents ready for guests to write on, indicating if the item is gluten-free, dairy-free, or includes nuts, etc.
Step Eight: Let the merriment begin!
Remember that first and foremost, this is a party. It’s not to be taken too seriously! Shakespeare gave us the gift of theater and created a world around jokes, puns, mistaken identity, confusion, insults, madness, mayhem, murder, and most of all, the human experience. Never forget:
“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely Players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,”
— As You Like It Act II Scene vii
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Hillevi Anne Peterson, a member of the Anselm Society, celebrates the Christ-ordained creative life. She has worked professionally as an actress, musician, writer, director, and teacher. Hillevi holds a M.A. in teaching, literature and communications from Bethel University, St. Paul, MN. She has undergraduate degrees in media studies, music, and visual communications technologies. She’s a contributor to The Cultivating Project, and a staff volunteer for the C. S. Lewis Foundation. While currently teaching speech and theater for Merit Classical Academy in Woodland Park, CO, Hillevi and her husband Derry own an AirBnB, Narnia on Pikes Peak, in Green Mountain Falls, CO. They have five children and four grandchildren.