First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare - Vermont

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 Vermont.


Exhibition Location: Middlebury, VT

Exhibition Venue: Middlebury College

Exhibition Dates: February 1, 2016 – February 28, 2016


Partner Organizations:

  • Ilsley Public Library
  • Town Hall Theatre
  • Vermont Humanities Council


Complementary Exhibition:

  • January 11, 2016 – May 2016 Neither a Borrower Nor a Lender Be
In Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3, Polonius councils his son Laertes with this advice: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be / For loan oft loses both itself and friend.” In celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death and the exhibition of the First Folio at the Museum of Art, Special Collections & Archives will feature rare and unusual books related to Shakespeare that have been borrowed or lent over the centuries.


Event List:

  • January 5, 2016 - Romeo and Juliet Story Time for Babies and Toddlers
  • January 6, 2016 – Lecture by Emeritus Peter Saccio, Cymbeline, the First Folio, and the Rest of Shakespeare
  • January 6, 2016 – Lecture by Professor Timothy Billings, Not for an Age: Shakespeare's 400-Year Career
  • January 12, 2016 - Romeo and Juliet Story Time for Babies and Toddlers
  • January 19, 2016 - Romeo and Juliet Story Time for Babies and Toddlers
  • January 26, 2016 – Romeo and Juliet Story Time for Babies and Toddlers
  • February 2, 2016 - Romeo and Juliet Story Time for Babies and Toddlers
  • February 3, 2016 – Lecture by James Shapiro, Shakespeare in America
  • February 10, 2016 - Film screening, Gnomeo and Juliet
  • February 16 – February 19, 2016 Youth Media Lab Shakespeare Camp: “To Be, or Not to Be Stop-Motion”
  • February 18, 2016 – First Folio Festival
  • February 19, 2016 - Romeo and Juliet Story Time for Babies and Toddlers
  • February 20, 2016 – Shakespeare's Leading Lady: A conversation with Tina Packer
  • February 20, 2016 - Film screening, Much Ado About Nothing
  • February 20 – 21, 2016 – Tina Packer's Women of Will
  • February 23, 2016 - Romeo and Juliet Story Time for Babies and Toddlers
  • February 28, 2016 – Selected Scenes from Will, a New Play by Playwright Jon Glascoe '78 Performed by the Vermont Shakespeare Festival


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