The Shakespeare Project of Chicago

Fourth Library Added to Readings Itinerary

The Friends of the Niles Public Library will sponsor the 18th theatrical reading season of the Shakespeare Project of Chicago at the Niles Public Library, beginning in October 2012. Four plays will be presented in a theatrical reading format by professional actors (members of Actors' Equity Association) and will be offered free to the public on Friday evenings at 7 p.m. Pre-registration to the performances will be required. 

“The Friends of the Niles Public Library are thrilled to bring professional classic theater to our district,” Chris Hanusiak, president of the Friends of the Niles Public Library District, said in a press release. “Not only will these performances provide a free evening of great entertainment to our community, they will also give our young people an opportunity to enjoy live quality performances right in their backyard.” 

The Shakespeare Project's Artistic Director, Peter Garino, added, “We are delighted to be bringing our performances to the Niles Public Library and reaching this new audience.”

The 2012–13 season will open at the Niles Public Library on Oct. 26 with Othello. As part of the Project's Shakespeare's Contemporariesseries, Thomas Heywood's A Woman Killed with Kindness will be presented on Jan. 18, 2013.  Twelfth Night follows on Feb. 22, and the season concludes on April 19 with the rarely seen history play, The Reign of King Edward III, attributed to Shakespeare and Thomas Kyd. 

In addition to offerings at the Niles Public Library, the Shakespeare Project continues to provide its free theatrical reading season at the Newberry Library (Chicago), the Wilmette Public Library, and the Highland Park Public Library.

The Shakespeare Project of Chicago is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council and has been providing free theatrical readings of the works of William Shakespeare and other great dramatists to Chicago-area audiences since 1995. The Project places an artistic emphasis on the language of the plays and leverages the talents of professional actors. The company's Education Outreach program brings abridged adaptations of Shakespeare's plays (“50-Minute Romeo and Juliet,” “50-Minute Hamlet”) to middle schools, high schools, and universities throughout the Chicago area.

June 27, 2012

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