As U Like It: Teens are invited to reframe Shakespeare’s tales into their own interpretations of this tempest-tossed time

What would’ve become of Romeo and Juliet when the Twelfth Night they expected of quarantine turned into the Twelfth Month? Tredyffrin Public Library invites local teens to be captivated by Shakespeare and his amazing characters.

Students will reimagine a scene from the original plays using quarantine as a backdrop.

An introductory workshop will be held on Sunday, January 17, 2021 at 1 pm with UK theater director Nadia Papachronopoulou. Students will then have an opportunity to work on their own short film projects guided by teaching artists, Max Mooney and Sarah Boess.

More about Shakespeare in Isolation

Did you know that Shakespeare wrote King Lear during his own quarantine from the plague? This fact was not lost on UK theatre director Nadia Papachronopoulou, who created Shakespeare in Isolation which is a series of online dramas that reimagine Shakespeare’s characters in our modern-day quarantine. The project was featured in an article written by Chris Wiegand for The Guardian newspaper.

A description from the article included, “To make Shakespeare in Isolation, she assembled two dozen freelancers from theatre and television, including past colleagues and new collaborators. The four short films, directed by Papachronopoulou, have a playful “modern twist.”

Nadia is co-creator of Shakespeare in Isolation as well as the director of the films in addition to running workshops with the Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. She is excited to help students create their own versions of Shakespeare in Isolation.

About the Workshop

During our January 17th workshop, Nadia will explore: Shakespeare’s character, physicality, and writing monologues/soliloquies, “which will allow them to bring their own imagination and creativity to Shakespeare. She also plans to bring in sound, cinematography, and costume, “so they have things they can play with when making their own film.”

Joining us as coaches to help teens create their own films are:

Sarah Boess

Sarah Boess is based out of Brooklyn, NY where she works as the Artistic Director of Sanguine Theatre Company. She received her BFA from Boston University in Theatre Arts in 2019 and has gone on to work with various theatre companies, including Manhattan Theatre Club, The Civilians, Brown Box Theatre Project, and Boston Playwrights’ Theatre. Her favorite Shakespeare play is Twelfth Night!

Max Mooney

Max Mooney lives in New York City. He studies at NYU in the Playwrights Horizons Studio where he is concentrating mostly on directing, playwriting and dramaturgy/collaboration on new works. He spent some of last year facilitating theatre devising at a high school in the city through an internship program and has found a lot of passion in curating young creativity. His favorite Shakespeare is Measure for Measure for at least right now.

Laurie Doan

Laurie Doan is the librarian for teens at Tredyffrin Public Library. She looks forward to seeing your stories and being captivated by your interpretations of Shakespeare set in this year of storms and wonders. Space is limited. To enroll, e-mail Laurie Doan Ldoan@ccls.org or leave a message at 610-688-7092 x 200.