St. John's College, with Programming Partner Annapolis Shakespeare Company, to Host Folio Exhibit

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Feb. 26, 2015 - PRLog -- The Folger Shakespeare Library announces 52 host sites across the country for a traveling exhibit to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. St. John’s College, along with its programming partner Annapolis Shakespeare Company, has been selected as the host site for the state of Maryland for “First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare,” a national traveling exhibition of the Shakespeare First Folio, one of the world’s most treasured books. The Folger Shakespeare Library, in partnership with Cincinnati Museum Center and the American Library Association, is touring a First Folio of Shakespeare in 2016 to all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

Annapolis Shakespeare Company first approached St. John’s College with the Folio Exhibit opportunity and the idea of creating a dynamic partnership to win this exhibit in June of last year.  “We are honored at the opportunity to help share the transformative work of William Shakespeare with the public and thrilled to present live, professional Shakespeare performances, educational workshops and a wide variety of public events in support of this tremendous exhibit.” said Annapolis Shakespeare Company Founding Artistic Director Sally Boyett.  "Our collaboration with St. John's College is an ongoing and exciting one as we will present an outdoor production of TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA on the campus in May and June of this year and will be offering the Shakespeare programming for SJC's Summer Academy in July."

The First Folio will be on view at the Mitchell Gallery at St. John’s College. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums in 2012 and dedicated to bringing art of world renown to Annapolis since it opened in 1989, the Mitchell Gallery attracts more than 10,000 visitors a year to its museum-quality exhibits which range in theme and diversity.

Many of Shakespeare’s plays, which were written to be performed, were not published during his lifetime. The First Folio is the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays. It was published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death. Two of Shakespeare’s fellow actors compiled 36 of his plays, hoping to preserve them for future generations. Without it, we would not have 18 of Shakespeare’s plays, including “Macbeth,” “Julius Caesar,” “Twelfth Night,” “The Tempest,” “Antony and Cleopatra,” “The Comedy of Errors,” and “As You Like It.” All 18 appear for the first time in print in the First Folio, and would otherwise have been lost.

“The First Folio is the book that gave us Shakespeare. Between its covers we discover his most famous characters—Hamlet, Desdemona, Cordelia, Macbeth, Romeo, Juliet and hundreds of others—speaking words that continue to move and inspire us,” said Michael Witmore, Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library. “Shakespeare tells the human story like no one else. He connects us to each other, to our history, and to themes and ideas that touch us every day. We are delighted that we can share this precious resource with people everywhere, from San Diego, California to Gurabo, Puerto Rico, from Eugene, Oregon to Duluth, Minnesota.”

The Folger Shakespeare Library holds 82 copies of the First Folio, by far the largest collection in the world and more than a third of the 233 known copies in the world today. It is believed that 750 copies were originally printed.

The Shakespeare First Folio is one of the most valuable printed books in the world; a First Folio sold for $6.2 million in 2001 at Christie’s and another one for $5.2 million in 2006 in London. It originally sold for one British pound (20 shillings)—about $200 today.

When the First Folio arrives at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, its pages will be opened to the most quoted line from Shakespeare and one of the most quoted lines in the world, “to be or not to be” from “Hamlet.” Accompanying the rare book will be a multi-panel exhibition exploring the significance of Shakespeare, then and now, with additional digital content and interactive activities. During the exhibition, St. John’s College and the Annapolis Shakespeare Company will host numerous public programs around the First Folio exhibition.

Final touring dates for “First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare” will be announced in April 2015.

“First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare” has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor, and by the generous support of Google.org and Vinton and Sigrid Cerf. Sponsorship opportunities of this major exhibition and the Folger’s other “Wonder of Will” programs commemorating the 400^th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death are available; learn more at www.folger.edu.

About Annapolis Shakespeare Company
The Annapolis Shakespeare Company (ASC) is a not-for-profit, professional theatre company engaging the community with bold, re-imagined, entertaining and accessible interpretations of Shakespeare and the classics. ASC is a proud member of Theatre Washington/Helen Hayes awards and the Shakespeare Theatre Association, an international association of theatres dedicated to producing Shakespeare’s work; learn more at www.annapolisshakespeare.org.

About St. John’s College
St. John’s College, a four-year liberal arts college, is located in the heart of historic Annapolis, Md. The college, which also has a campus in Santa Fe, N.M., is known for its distinctive curriculum that focuses on the foundational works of Western civilization. The college also offers a graduate-level program based on these same principles; learn more at www.sjc.edu.

About the Mitchell Art Gallery
Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums in 2012 and dedicated to bringing art of world renown to Annapolis since it opened in 1989, the Mitchell Gallery attracts more than 10,000 visitors a year to its museum-quality exhibits; learn more at www.sjc.edu/mitchellgallery

About Folger Shakespeare Library
Folger Shakespeare Library is a world-renowned center for scholarship, learning, culture, and the arts. It is home to the world’s largest Shakespeare collection and a primary repository for rare materials from the early modern period (1500-1750). The Folger is an internationally recognized research library offering advanced scholarly programs in the humanities; an innovator in the preservation of rare materials; a national leader in how Shakespeare is taught in grades K–12; and an award-winning producer of cultural and arts programs—theatre, music, poetry, exhibits, lectures and family programs. Learn more at www.folger.edu.