Kingsmen Shakespeare 400-20 Celebration

The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company is celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death and the 20th season of its annual festival with a 24-hour marathon of free activities including a sonnet marathon, a candlelight reading of Macbeth and Shakespeare yoga.

The Bard-day bash will begin with a welcome reception at 4 p.m. April 23, the date of Shakespeare’s death and also, according to tradition, his birth in 1564.

The April 23 events will continue with a game at 6:30 p.m., a panel discussion on setting plays in traditional and alternative settings at 7 p.m., and an interactive Shakespeare slam at 8 p.m. Macbeth will be read by candlelight at 9:30 p.m. and musical works inspired by the Bard will be played starting at midnight.

Bill Walthall, a former high school English and drama teacher in Oxnard who runs The Bill Shakespeare Project blog, will give a presentation on the concept of time in Romeo and Juliet at 5:30 p.m. The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company’s Shakespeare Educational Tour will give a workshop demonstration at 6 p.m.

April 24 will begin with yoga incorporating Shakespeare quotations at 8 a.m., continue with a sonnet brunch at 10:30 a.m. and a cabaret at 11:30 a.m., and conclude with a reception beginning at 3:30 p.m. A panel of actors will share their experiences portraying Hamlet at 9:30 a.m. Readings from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which will be featured at this year’s summer festival, will begin at 12:30 p.m.

Throughout the marathon, visitors can step into a video-recording booth to talk about their connections to Shakespeare and the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company. Snippets will be shared prior to the closing reception.

The Theatre Arts Department of Cal Lutheran launched the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival in 1997 in conjunction with the Santa Susana Repertory Theatre Company. The success of the first festival led to the establishment of the nonprofit Kingsmen Shakespeare Company. In 2009, the organization became the professional theater company of Cal Lutheran. This summer, the festival will present Henry V in addition to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The company also heads up an educational tour in local schools, an apprentice company and a theater camp. 

All of the events will be held in or around Overton Hall, which is located on the south side of Memorial Parkway near Regent Avenue. Free parking is available in the lots at the corner of Olsen Road and Mountclef Boulevard.

The marathon also will be streamed live at CalLutheran.edu/live.