Annapolis Shakespeare Company Partners with St. John’s College to Host Shakespeare’s First Folio

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Feb. 2, 2016 - PRLog -- The Folger Shakespeare Library announced 52 host sites across the country for a traveling exhibit to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. St. John’s College, along with programming partner Annapolis Shakespeare Company, has been selected as the host site for the state of Maryland for “First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare,” a national traveling exhibition of the Shakespeare First Folio, one of the world’s most treasured books. The Folger Shakespeare Library, in partnership with Cincinnati Museum Center and the American Library Association, is touring a First Folio of Shakespeare in 2016 to all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

Annapolis Shakespeare Company (ASC) first approached St. John’s College with the Folio Exhibit opportunity and the idea of creating a dynamic partnership to win this exhibit in June of 2014.  “We are honored to be the official programming partner of the Folio exhibit and share the transformative work of William Shakespeare with the public.  ASC is thrilled to present live, professional Shakespeare performances, educational workshops and a wide variety of public events in support of this tremendous exhibit.” said Founding Artistic Director Sally Boyett.  “We will present over thirty performances of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night to officially tie-in with the First Folio exhibit, offering students special daytime matinees and Folio tours as well as regularly scheduled weekend performances.”

In addition to four weeks of official First Folio educational programming and professional performances, ASC will produce the official Opening Ceremonies on Saturday, November 5, 2016 in St. John’s Key Auditorium.  The evening will be co-directed by Sally Boyett and Helen Hayes Award-winning director Donald Hicken.  Professional arts organizations from around the state will join actors from Annapolis Shakespeare Company and invited dignitaries in a special evening of Shakespeare-inspired performance culminating in the official ribbon cutting of the Folio Exhibit.

Annapolis Shakespeare Company, a professional regional theatre company, is the perfect performance and educational partner for St. John’s College and the Folio Exhibit.  ASC has quickly earned a reputation in the region as the premier professional theatre for Shakespeare and the classics and also holds the distinction as the largest arts provider in Anne Arundel County, serving thousands of public school students.  Inspired by the work of the Folger Shakespeare Library, ASC’s Artistic Director Sally Boyett has created a professional company which not only brings Broadway quality professional theatre to the region, but serves the educational needs of the community.  Michael LoMonico, Senior Consultant on National Education at the Folger Shakespeare Library, adds, “Annapolis Shakespeare Company and the Folger Shakespeare Library have been working together for some time and they are an important partner in our 2016 First Folio Tour.  The Company will be providing both teacher and community workshops and performances to go along with the Folio visit.”

The First Folio will be on view at the Mitchell Gallery at St. John’s College. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums in 2012 and dedicated to bringing art of world renown to Annapolis since it opened in 1989, the Mitchell Gallery attracts more than 10,000 visitors a year to its museum-quality exhibits which range in theme and diversity.

Many of Shakespeare’s plays, which were written to be performed, were not published during his lifetime. The First Folio is the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays. It was published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death. Two of Shakespeare’s fellow actors compiled 36 of his plays, hoping to preserve them for future generations.

The Folger Shakespeare Library holds 82 copies of the First Folio, by far the largest collection in the world and more than a third of the 233 known copies in the world today. It is believed that 750 copies were originally printed.

The Shakespeare First Folio is one of the most valuable printed books in the world; a First Folio sold for $6.2 million in 2001 at Christie’s and another one for $5.2 million in 2006 in London. It originally sold for one British pound (20 shillings)—about $200 today.

When the First Folio arrives at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, its pages will be opened to the most quoted line from Shakespeare and one of the most quoted lines in the world, “to be or not to be” from “Hamlet.” Accompanying the rare book will be a multi-panel exhibition exploring the significance of Shakespeare, then and now, with additional digital content and interactive activities. During the exhibition, St. John’s College and the Annapolis Shakespeare Company will host numerous public programs around the First Folio exhibition.

“First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare” has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and by the generous support of Google.org and Vinton and Sigrid Cerf. Learn more at www.folger.edu.

About Annapolis Shakespeare Company -
Annapolis Shakespeare Company (http://www.annapolisshakespeare.org/) (ASC) is the foremost professional theatre company in Annapolis, Maryland and the only theatre company dedicated to producing Shakespeare and the Classics. Founded by Artistic Director, Sally Boyett, ASC is a member of theatreWashington/Helen Hayes Awards and is a 501(c)3 nonprofit providing extensive educational outreach partnerships with local Performing and Visual Arts Programs and other public schools.

MEDIA CONTACT for Annapolis Shakespeare Company:
Sally Boyett: 410.703.1289, sally@AnnapolisShakespeare.org.
www.AnnapolisShakespeare.org

St. John’s College
www.sjc.edu.
Mitchell Art Gallery
www.sjc.edu/mitchellgallery
Maryland Humanities Council
www.mdhc.org
Folger Shakespeare Library
www.folger.edu.
Cincinnati Museum Center
www.cincymuseum.org.
American Library Association
www.ala.org/programming.
National Endowment for the Humanities
www.neh.gov.