Genesius Guild To Present “Shakespeare’s Life in His Works”
The Genesius Guild’s 2021 season continues with a joint Don Wooten and William Shakespeare production, Shakespeare’s Life in His Works, with performances at 7 p.m. on July 3, 4, 10, and 11. All performances are held at the Don Wooten Stage in Lincoln Park, Rock Island,
and admission is free.
Originally developed by Don Wooten (who founded Genesius Guild in 1956) as a readers’ theater production many years ago, Shakespeare’s Life in His Works has been adapted to fit the stage. The show explores Shakespeare’s life and his tremendous impact on the English language through the lens of his plays. He regularly had trouble finding the right words or phrases to convey his desired meaning; to compensate, he created his own words and phrases that have become commonplace parts of the English lexicon, according to a Genesius release. Also
showcased is the historical knowledge of Shakespeare’s experiences growing up, and how they are referenced in his later works.
Shakespeare’s Life in His Works highlights these literary parallels from his life, while featuring scenes from the plays where they first appear. The show includes bits from a wide variety of Shakespeare’s works, including Othello, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, and Merry Wives of Windsor (among many others).
The Genesius Guild is a Q-C community theatre organization specializing in free classical drama. The group performs Greek drama, Greek comedy, the works of Shakespeare (1564-1616), and other classical authors every weekend throughout the summer. This summer, the season has been abridged to just three productions.
For more information, please visit www.genesius.org.