The Reading Room (2023)

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The company of Our Verse in Time to Come. Photo by Peggy Ryan.

The Reading Room (2023)

The Reading Room celebrated new theater in the New Year, featuring works inspired by and in conversation with Shakespeare. The Reading Room 2023 plays included:

A Room in the Castle by Lauren Gunderson, directed by Eddie DeHais, Michele Osherow, dramaturg.

How does a woman survive the court of Denmark? A Room in the Castle re the stories of the women of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Julius X by Al Letson, directed by Nicole Brewer, John Proctor III, dramaturg.

Set in 1965, Julius X intermixes the lives of Julius Caesar and slain civil rights leader Malcolm X, re-envisioning Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar with a new perspective.

Our Verse in Time to Come by Malik Work and Karen Ann Daniels, in collaboration with and directed by Devin E. Haqq, John Proctor III, dramaturg.
World premiere Folger Theatre commission.
Inspired by the works and words of Shakespeare, Our Verse in Time to Come bridges the past with the present and asks whose stories should remain and who’s responsible for their survival?

Hamlet bilingual adaption by Reynaldo Piniella and Emily Lyon, translation by Christin Eve Cato, directed by Tatiana Pandiani.

Hamlet is a Black, Latinx prince in this radical bilingual reimagining of Shakespeare’s tragedy, with text infused by the Spanish spoken in present-day New York City.

Each reading was followed by a conversation with the playwrights, directors, members of the press and scholars.

Production

Entertainment unions represented in Folger Theatre productions include The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (**), United Scenic Artists (***), and the Actors' Equity Association (*), which includes members of the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.

Cast

A Room in the Castle

• Chani Wereley: Ophelia
• Erika Rose: Gertrude
• Tamieka Chavis: Tatiana
• Sabrina Lynn Sawyer: Stage Directions, Ophelia standby

Julius X

• Troy D. Wallace: Julius
• Greg Reid: Brutus
• Jay Frisby: Cassius
• Jonathan Del Palmer: Marc Anthony
• Renee Elizabeth Wilson: Calpurnia
• Fatima Quander: Portia
• Lilli Hokama: Addara
• Crystal Marie Stewart: Cinna/Black Soothsayer
• Gavin Whitt: Casca

Our Verse in Time to Come

• Adesola Osakalumi: SOS
• Kalen Robinson: Sprite
• Renea Brown: Vi Waters
• John Floyd: Will Waters
• Christopher Michael Richardson: Jimmy
• Regina Aquino: Joan Chen
• JaBen Early: Black

Hamlet

• Raghad Makhlouf: Guildenstern
• Reynaldo Peniella: Hamlet
• Christin Eve Cato: Horatio
• Theodore Sapp: Claudius
• Monuaze Mason: Laertes
• Yvonne Paretzky: Polonia/Osric
• Annie Henk: Gertrude
• Yesenia Iglesias: Ophelia
• Dylan Arredondo: Rosencrantz

Creative Teams

A Room in the Castle

• Eddie DeHais: Director
• Lauren Gunderson: Playwright and Composer
• Michele Osherow: Dramaturg
• Shawanna Hall: Production Stage Manager
• Kaja Dunn: Intimacy Director
• Rhiannon Sanders: Production Assistant

Julius X

• Nicole Brewer: Director
• Al Letson: Playwright
• John Proctor III: Dramaturg
• John Keith Hall: Production Stage Manager
• Kaja Dunn: Intimacy Director
• Rhiannon Sanders: Production Assistant

Our Verse in Time to Come

• Devin E. Haqq: Director and Collaborator
• Karen Ann Daniels: Playwright
• Malik Work: Playwright
• Vernice Miller: Director of Mobile Production
• Danica Rodriquez: Casting Director
• John Proctor III: Dramaturg
• Maddie Friedman: Production Stage Manager
• Kaja Dunn: Intimacy Director
• Rhiannon Sanders: Production Assistant

Hamlet

• Tatiana Pandiani: Director
• Reynaldo Piniella: Playwright
• Emily Lyon: Playwright
• Cynthia Santos-Decure: Vocal and Text Coordinator
• Hope Villanueva: Production Stage Manager
• Kaja Dunn: Intimacy Director
• Rhiannon Sanders: Production Assistant

Standbys

• Edward Daniels
• Kiana Johnson

Folger Theatre

• Karen Ann Daniels, Artistic Director
• Beth Emelson, Director of Producing
• David Polk, General Manager
• Charles Flye, Production Manager
• Rebekah Sheffer, Assistant Technical Director
• Chanel Johnson, Company Manager
• Cidney Forkpah, Wardrobe Manager
• Heather Newhouse, Patron Services Manager
• Danica Zielinski-Natter, Lead House Manager
• Brittany Brown, Lead Box Office Associate

Image Gallery

Photos by: Peggy Ryan

Reviews

• Read DC Theater Arts Folger Theatre’s ‘Reading Room’ makes space for new voices
• Read Washington City Paper Reading Room Series Celebrates Process for the Sake of Progress