By Edita McQuary & Joyce Mann
It is really quite amazing at the range of cultural activities available to us in Santa Cruz County! Who knew that there is a Saturday Shakespeare Group that meets three times a year to hear Shakespeare experts share their knowledge and that audience members volunteer to read his plays?
The club was formed in 1999 by Don Young, retiring Cabrillo College English instructor, as a way to continue to make Shakespeare known in the community. He asked Jeff Towle, a fellow English teacher at Cabrillo, to work with him. Initially, the plan was that the group would just read “Hamlet” but there was so much enthusiasm that they kept on with two or three plays per year. Bruce Barton, a local journalist, was heavily involved in publicity and in keeping the group going.
Following the unexpected death of Jeff Towle in 2009, Don carried on alone until his health made it too difficult to do so. The group was determined not to let the club die, so they formed a sort of cooperative of twenty hard-core members sharing the workload. In other words, it takes twenty people to do what Don and Jeff used to do.
Meetings are on Saturdays three times a year at 10 a.m. to noon at Christ Lutheran Church, 10707 Soquel Drive, Aptos, although they are not affiliated with the church. They will read “Much Ado About Nothing” starting Saturday, September 14. There are four Saturday meetings at the church and the fifth Saturday is a potluck with a film of the play at a member’s home. The schedule and the guest speakers are listed below.
2013 Fall Schedule
Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”
Sept. 14 – Act. I, Scenes 1-3 Michael Warren, PhD, Prof. Em. UCSC
Sept. 21 – Act I, Scenes 2-3 Speaker to be announced
Sept. 28 – Act III, Scenes 4-5 Andre Neu, Journalist and former Cabrillo College Instructor
Oct. 5 – Act V, Scenes 1-3 Conrad Scott-Curtis, PhD, Prof. Cabrillo
Oct. 12 – Film & Potluck At a member’s home
Although Shakespeare wrote in the 17th Century, his work is timeless. There is no human experience that he does not deal with in an enlightening and consoling way. You do not have to be an English major to read, act and discuss his works. Members have the opportunity to ham it up in reading the plays. All interested persons are welcome to join. Best of all, it is lots of fun and there is no grade!
Members of the Saturday Shakespeare Club were very saddened at the news that Shakespeare Santa Cruz is closing at the end of the year. They don’t intend to take the closure lying down and would like to mobilize action in the area to try and save the iconic group. Any and all support in this effort is greatly appreciated. Meanwhile, the Saturday Shakespeare Club intends to keep Shakespeare alive in Santa Cruz County with the Saturday morning meetings.