Shakespeare Theatre Company

U.S. Botanic Garden Plays Arden in Tour

In conjunction with its upcoming production of William Shakespeare's As You Like It, Washington, D.C.'s Shakespeare Theatre Company, in partnership with the U.S.  Botanic Garden, is presenting An Escape to the Forest of Arden, a podcast thattakes participants on a journey through the U.S. Botanic Garden using Shakespeare's poetry performed by some of D.C.'s finest actors.

Through the podcast, participants can hear Romeo call to his love from between the greenhouse's branches, journey through a fern-filled primeval forest with the fairies of A Midsummer Night's Dream, remember Ophelia's watery reflection amidst the flowers she adored, and challenge their imagination without leaving the boundaries of the National Mall.

The program is available through four different media:

• Stream or download the podcast to either an Android or iPhone, download or print out the map, then stroll through the U.S. Botanic Garden with uninterrupted poetry. Each new passage correlates with a number on the map, but the user can walk at his or her own pace to extend the experience.
  
  
• Join the mobile tour and use a cell phone to access all of the poetry from the podcast. Users may hang up and redial the tour at any time and use their keypads to pause, rewind the recording, or skip ahead.
  
  
• Read the tour script. "We want this Escape to be available to anyone who wishes to participate regardless of whether they can listen to a podcast or not," says the STC brochure for this project. A PDF of the full script is available for download.
  
  
• Map your own course, explore a new neighborhood, and discover the natural world that is around you. Participants can report where they took their Escape by tagging @ShakespeareinDC on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and they will be entered into a contest for a chance to win a two-seat 2014–2015 season subscription.

To access An Escape to the Forest of Arden, click here.

October 20, 2014

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