First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare - Oregon

First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare was a touring exhibition from the Folger Shakespeare Library that visited one location in all 50 United States, Puerto Rico, and Washington DC in 2016 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.


This article provides highlights from the exhibition’s visit to Oregon.



Exhibition Location: Eugene, Oregon

Exhibition Venue: The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon

Exhibition Dates: January 6, 2016 – February 7, 2016


Partner Organizations:

  • Oregon Shakespeare Festival
  • Eugene Public Library
  • Oregon Humanities Center


Complementary Exhibition:

  • January 4 – March 28, 2016 – Time's Pencil: Shakespeare After the Folio
This installation explores changes in how Shakespeare's works were understood, published, and performed and in how the historical figure of Shakespeare himself was thought about in the centuries after the First Folio's publication in 1623. Learn about Shakespeare's methods of composition, the many changes to his plays that became standard at the very height of his popularity, the stories and fictions written about him from the 19th century on, and his importance in Eugene over the last 100 years.


Event List:

  • January 9, 2016 – Gala Performance and Reception- Sweetly Writ: Oregon Shakespeare Festival Celebrates Shakespeare's First Folio
  • January 10, 2016 – Documentary Film Screening: Shakespeare Behind Bars
  • January 13, 2016 – Teacher Workshop: Seeking Shakespeare: Integration of Visual Arts, Theatre, and Writing
  • January 15, 2016 – Lecture by Ben Saunders, Folio vs. Quarto: Conflicting Readings and the Critical Tradition
  • January 16, 2016 – Celebrating Shakespeare’s First Folio, a talk with Professor Lara Bovilsky
  • January 19, 2016 – Oregon Humanities Center Tzedek Lecture: We Know Who We Are But Not Who We May Be by Curt Tofteland, founder and director, Shakespeare Behind Bars
  • January 21 – 31, 2016 – South Eugene High School Theater presents Hamlet
  • January 27, 2016 – Performance: Scenes from Shakespeare by the University of Oregon Department of Theatre Arts
  • January 28, 2016 – Singing Shakespeare, a performance by the University of Oregon School of Music
  • January 29, 2016 – Lecture: Creating Shakespeares: The First Folio and its Afterlives, by Professor Lara Bovilsky
  • February 5, 2016 – First Friday Concert: The Food of Love - Shakespeare’s Music performed by The Oregon Bach Collegium
  • February 6, 2016 – Family Day - Art activities incorporating Shakespeare and Japanese playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon to celebrate the Lunar New Year
  • February 6, 2016 - Naked Shakespeare - Director, teacher, and actor Judith “Sparky” Roberts spoke about the art of artifice in Shakespeare’s plays, in a presentation illustrated with performances by professional actors


Click here to learn about the First Folio that visited Oregon.