Shakespeare for the Masses

I want to share my extracurricular life here a moment. My friend Chelsea McCarthy and I began a project this fall called “Shakespeare for the Masses” (I wanted to call it “The Free and Easy Shakespeare Company”). We take Shakespeare plays, edit them down to about 80 minutes, and add a rather sarcastic narrator (usually me). A core ensemble of actors associated with the Vineyard Playhouse then has 1 day to rehearse it (everyone donates their time), and we perform it for free, 2 nights only. It’s script-in-hand of course, but it’s not static: we had the duel in Hamlet, several battles in Macbeth, and this weekend, there will be a pile of bodies on stage by the end of Julius Caesar. (We don’t just do violent male-oriented plays, for the record.)
We live in a “summer resort,” so not much happens in the winter. We created this with the specific goal of performing ONLY in the off-season, for the year-rounders, who lack both time and money to participate in most “cultural events” here in the summer.
The reaction has been remarkable. Total strangers (who do not look like they would normally go to see Shakespeare) have come up to us on the street and in local shops to rave about how much they enjoy the performances. The chairman of the board of the Vineyard Playhouse (where we perform) has repeatedly thanked us for our work and the contribution we’ve made to the community.
I’m not telling you this to toot my own horn or to shine my halo. It’s just that I find it so exciting that a group of people, doing something we enjoy (so in a sense, being selfish!), can collectively move and touch and expand the lives of our neighbors. I bet you can touch your community in a similar way. Go try it.

(Sorry the graphic is cut off. I don’t know how to fix these things)