Meetup summary

We had a bunch of new faces join us - thanks to everyone for coming.  We now have a mighty group of kids! - 12 in all

Harper and Campbell
Kylie
Kyra, Maya, Joey and Tom
Ben and Leya
Kaela
Olivia and Maddie

Our 1st meeting with a script will be Thursday, Nov 2, at 306 Quincy Street in Fairfield.  Use a GPS to navigate to 300 Quincy or you may end up on teh other side of a pedestrian cut through. 

Things we discussed:

• Those who did Penny Lane would love to come up with a name for our group.  Bring ideas to the first meeting!
• We are listening to the Arkangel Shakespeare production of the entire play - it can be found through Audible and sometimes through Hoopla
• Kids are excited to maybe take the play to another location/time period - that would be fun!

Meetup this Friday (10/27) - Cranbury Park in Norwalk

We are doing a final meetup this Friday 10/27 before we get started next week (Nov 2).

10/27 at 1:30, we will be meeting up at the picnic table pavilion at Cranbury Park in Norwalk.  My son is meeting some buddies there for a playgroup later in the afternoon so I am hoping we can use the same meeting spot.

We will do some introductions, talk about our goals for the group, and introduce briefly the play.  I will bring scripts to the Nov 2 meeting.  Then the kids can hang out and get to know each other.  I will bring some frisbees and other fun stuff.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir//300+Grumman+Ave,+Norwalk,+CT+06851/@41.160825,-73.4030943,16.2z/data=!4m8!4m7!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x89e81cc26642a9e9:0x7bd8ed0a355fa7c!2m2!1d-73.404951!2d41.163833

Here are the directions for how to find the pavilion:

<<Tell them to go past the gatehouse, drive around the mansion (since there is a small parking lot before the mansion too) and look for the Pavilion which is easily visible from the bigger parking lot.>>

I will have my phone with me - 475-225-7506.'

I found this book at the library (Leon Garfield's Shakespeare Stories) and he does a great job retelling the play in compelling prose.  https://www.nyrb.com/products/leon-garfield-s-shakespeare-stories?variant=2464236225 . I scanned the first few pages so you could get a flavor and will bring it to our meetup this Friday.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6WUvdorAuSRNU1Ubk1TcWNmMUU/view?usp=sharing

Thursday, Nov 2, we will be meeting at 1:30 at my home (306 Quincy Street in Fairfield).

Our fantastic group!

Here is our list of interested families with the names of the children who will be participating.  I don't know everyone's name and spellings, so message me and I will update this document.  If you are no longer interested, let me know.

Hadassah ( Ben and Leya )
Nikki ( Harper - 13 and Campbell - 11 )
Lisa ( 
Melissa (
Angela
Melody
Christina 
Lani  

Greetings and introduction

Greetings!  I am excited to start this Shakespeare club.  My goal for this group is for us to have fun, dive into a Shakespeare play, learn some lines, and perform all or part of it in whatever forum we decide to do it.  I believe the process is important - learning and loving the play together is way more important than the actual performance.  I would love to see the kids take ownership - if they want to make costumes, adapt the play, etc, I am all for it!

The play we have decided to do first is Henry IV, Part 1.  I have an adapted version (I actually have 2) for kids that preserves much of the Shakespearean language but simplifies and shortens the play.  I will bring that to our 1st meeting.

My kids and I were part of a group that performed 2 plays last year in my living room - King Lear and Twelfth Night.  The kids picked their costumes, decided how much of the play to stage, modified their lines when inspired, and had a blast.  What we lack in skill, we hopefully make up for with enthusiasm (and a deep dressup closet).

Our first meet and greet will be Friday, Oct 27, 1:30.  Location TBD.  Our first meeting where we will begin work on the play will be the following week, Nov 2.  At least 1 of the families can't make the meet and greet date (10/27), so I will be scheduling a second meet and greet sometime in October.

Here's the meeting schedule through 2017.  Meetings will be at my house, 306 Quincy Street, in Fairfield.

Nov 2 1:30 - 3:30
Nov 9 1-3
Nov 30 1:30 - 3:30
Dec 14 1:30 - 3:30


Links:

About the historical Henry IV http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/henry_iv_king.shtml
About the play https://www.rsc.org.uk/henry-iv-part-i/the-plot