Over the years, we at Shakespeare For Our Children have seen the Holiday Season through a dramatic lens. Our bands of young actors have done readings from A Winter’s Tale on frosty December evenings and staged Twelfth Night to celebrate the 6th of January (the Feast of the Epiphany — a time to have fun!) . . . and instead of singing Christmas carols door-to-door, we have recited from the Sonnets.
What we hope to create with these activities is a sense of shared joy in the season. Families and friends come together for festive parties, and lights are lit in the early winter nights on Christmas trees and menorahs. Shakespeare’s words are another light guiding us from one season to the next — bringing together the speaker of those words and the listener. After all, inasmuch as a theatrical performance can create a bond between the actor and an audience at any point . . . how especially meaningful that bond is at this time, as we reflect on the past and celebrate the new year to come.
And so, we wish you all a blessed and happy Holiday Season — or to quote from A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “Joy, gentle friends! Joy and fresh days of love accompany your hearts!”