William Shakespeare may have died 300 years ago, but he is coming back to life in Williamsburg.
“The idea was to make it more accessible to the general public and shorter and just fun,” said Doroty Raskin, founder of Shakespeare Alive, a new nonprofit in Williamsburg that performs Shakespeare plays.
When Shakespeare Alive first started in April 2018, Raskin admitted it was tough to get it off the ground. But nine months later, the organization has gained nonprofit status and started doing live performances.
One of the group’s first performances was at the Second Sunday’s Arts and Music Festival in the spring. Raskin said the actors performed a scene from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which lasted about 22 minutes.
The actors engaged with the crowd and made the production as interactive as possible while keeping it short.
“With the (Virginia Shakespeare Festival) performances went on for three hours,” she said. “The idea here was to make it more accessible to the general public with a short, fun performance.”
Shakespeare Alive is the only Shakespeare performing group outside of William & Mary since the Virginia Shakespeare Festival ended in 2016.
Raskin was a volunteer with the festival and lifelong lover of the bard and she didn’t want to see Williamsburg become a community without Shakespeare.
“We need it in our community because I think that it universally speaks to humanity,” she said. “So that’s what we want to present to the community—the universality and art of this playwright.”
But Raskin said the group is still taking baby steps to form its foundation.
When Shakespeare Alive gained nonprofit status in July 2018, Raskin said that was the first step in making it grow because people could give tax deductible donations.
The organization is registered as an educational nonprofit and Raskin plans to bring that education to both young and old.
Currently, the members are planning a puppet show performance that they will present to elementary school students and in senior centers. The puppets are in the process of being made by hand and will help to not only perform the plays in an engaging way, but also help to teach the audience about Shakespeare and his work.
Raskin hopes to expand more of her performances as the organization continues to grow. One of the biggest aspects, though, is finding actors.
But not just any actor. Raskin is looking for people who love Shakespeare and want to breathe new life into his words.
“If the language is presented properly, with the pauses and commas in the right place, and there’s a proper emphasis on words, the language becomes a lot more accessible,” she said.
Currently, the organization does not have any scheduled performances but Raskin is planning new ideas all the time, she said.
The organization will gather for auditions and a free performance from musician Rich Follett on Feb. 3 at 3 p.m. at 7 Newman Court.
For more information, visit the Shakespeare Alive Facebook page.
