The 2019 Shakespeare in the Arb play is Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s story of love and identity, mistaken and otherwise, brims with some of the bard’s most well-loved speeches and songs.
The performance dates and times: Thurs.-Sun., June 6-9; 13-16; 20-23, 6:30 pm.
Now in its 19th year, Shakespeare in the Arb is directed by Kate Mendeloff of the U-M Residential College, Carol Gray, and Graham Atkin, and performed by U-M students and community players. Matthaei-Nichols members receive a discount on tickets. Matthaei-Nichols members may reserve tickets through their online box office beginning in May, and reserve tickets for any performance up to 24 hours before show time and pick up at will call.
For member and non-member questions and information, visit mbgna.umich.edu
Shakespeare in the Arb came into existence in the summer of 2001, when Residential College Drama faculty member Kate Mendeloff was asked to direct an outdoor production as part of a three year Ford Motor Company grant for Arts in the Nichols Arboretum. She chose Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for its structure — the characters were transformed by the power of the natural world. The production was such a popular success that Mendeloff remounted it the following summer, and “Shakespeare in the Arb” became an Ann Arbor tradition!
The unique experience of Shakespeare in the Arb comes from the environmental staging of the plays. There is no fixed stage; instead, the audience follows the action through different locations in the Arboretum. The staging takes advantage of the vistas and valleys, the special arrangements of the natural settings.
The wide open space of the Arb becomes a panoramic stage, creating a more realistic setting than if every scene was played out directly in front of you. As one critic commented, “The actors used the vastness of its Arb stage to full advantage, making entrances from behind trees, appearing over rises and vanishing into the woods.”
Every year, many UM students, alumni, and faculty members gather to act in Shakespeare in the Arb. The RC offers Spring term class credit to students who participate. The experience blends community, student, and professional-style participation in a theatrical production with the delicate ecology and beautiful environment of the Arb, providing dynamic educational value for participating students.
Auditions occur every April, with rehearsals starting in the Spring term. Performances occur over 3 weekends in June. For information about participation, please contact founder Kate Mendeloff.
To find information about this year’s production of Shakespeare in the Arb, go to Matthei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum (MBGNA) , or like Shakespeare in the Arb on Facebook for updates on the production!
Open-mic storytelling competitions. Open to anyone with a five-minute story to share on the night’s theme. Come tell a story, or just enjoy the show!
6:30pm Doors Open | 7:30pm Stories Begin
*Tickets for this event are available one week before the show, at 3pm ET.
*Seating is not guaranteed and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes before the show. Admission is not guaranteed for late arrivals. All sales final.
Media Sponsor: Michigan Radio.
Open-mic storytelling competitions. Open to anyone with a five-minute story to share on the night’s theme. Come tell a story, or just enjoy the show!
6:30pm Doors Open | 7:30pm Stories Begin
*Tickets for this event are available one week before the show, at 3pm ET.
*Seating is not guaranteed and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes before the show. Admission is not guaranteed for late arrivals. All sales final.
Media Sponsor: Michigan Radio.
This free, family-friendly event will feature local authors, crafts, book-ish artisans, kids’ story hours and more. Additional details, vendors and schedule below!
9 am – 4pm Vendors open!
All day: Take a book, leave a book. Find a new friend and pass on an old favorite! Any leftover books will be donated to the Ypsilanti District Library.
9 am – 3:30pm Creative Reuse Bookmark Making Station with SCRAP Box (Great Hall)
10 am – 11am Kids’ Storytime with TBD (Cafe)
12 pm – 1pm Kids’ Storytime with Black Men Read (Cafe)
2 pm – 3pm Kids’ Spanish Storytime with Cristina Heredia (Cafe)
— 2019 Vendors —
Bookstores:
Black Stone Bookstore & Cultural Center
Nicola’s Books Ann Arbor
Bookbound Bookstore
Children’s authors:
Jordan J. Scavone – Children’s Author
Lisa Rose
Debbie Taylor (author, ‘Sweet Music in Harlem’)
Kristin & Brad Northrup (authors, ‘Akeina the Crocodile’)
Adult authors:
Ken MacGregor’s Stories / LVP Publications (local horror author and anthologist)
Fifth Avenue Press
Thomas Gregory
Crysta K. Coburn
Patti Smith
Charles Taylor (author, ‘Dark Rhythm’)
Geezer girl (Jeanne Adwani)
Linda Jeffries (author, ‘We Thought We Knew You’ & ‘Who You Might Be’)
Young adult authors:
Shannon McGee
Lori Alden Holuta
Artisans:
Bunny and Smooch
Typewriter Poems Bespoke by A. Probst
Woodland Caravan
Jesse Rubenfeld Illustrations
Ephemeral Books
Jen Talley Art & Design
Clever Creations by Amy
Non-profits and other friends:
Friends of the Ypsilanti District Library
Washtenaw Literacy
SCRAP Box
Trader Joe’s-Ann Arbor,MI
BookDay : Booker T. Washington Holiday
Open-mic storytelling competitions. Open to anyone with a five-minute story to share on the night’s theme. Come tell a story, or just enjoy the show!
6:30pm Doors Open | 7:30pm Stories Begin
*Tickets for this event are available one week before the show, at 3pm ET.
*Seating is not guaranteed and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes before the show. Admission is not guaranteed for late arrivals. All sales final.
Media Sponsor: Michigan Radio.
What/Why:
3rd Annual Detroit Festival of Books (aka: Detroit Bookfest)! FREE!
Sunday, July 21, 2019
10am-4pm
Eastern Market
Shed3
2934 Russell Street
Detroit, Michigan
FREE entry for attendees!
Website
detroitbookfest.com
Questions
books at detroitbookfest dot com
200+ vendors
10,000+ attendees
BOOKS (ie: Used, Rare, Antiquarian, Unusual, Ephemera, Authors, etc)
Art
Comic Books
Maps
Vintage Board Games
Vinyl Records
And more!
Food
Beer
And…..FUNK MUSIC!
Official Bookfest Afterparty @ Eastern Market Brewing Company down the street!
Open-mic storytelling competitions. Open to anyone with a five-minute story to share on the night’s theme. Come tell a story, or just enjoy the show!
6:30pm Doors Open | 7:30pm Stories Begin
*Tickets for this event are available one week before the show, at 3pm ET.
*Seating is not guaranteed and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes before the show. Admission is not guaranteed for late arrivals. All sales final.
Media Sponsor: Michigan Radio.
Literati is pleased to be an official bookselling partner as Zingerman’s Community of Businesses presents acclaimed food activist and James Beard-award winning Chef Sean Sherman for a select dinner and presentation. Tickets are available through Zingerman’s, here. Proceeds from every ticket purchased will directly benefit The Sioux Chef team as they continue to work to educate and make indigenous foods more accessible through its nonprofit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS).
On Wednesday, August 7, 2019, at Zingerman’s Miss Kim restaurant, in Ann Arbor, acclaimed indigenous food activist and winner of two James Beard awards, Chef Sean Sherman will share both history, wisdom and foods directly from The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen cookbook for a select, ticketed group of diners.
Rooted in his passionate quest to rekindle and restore stolen traditions and preserve them in the present day, Chef Sean will educate and enlighten our hearts and palates. Diners will be graced with new translations of seasonal dishes by Chef Sean made with ingredients locally sourced in collaboration with Miss Kim’s Chef Ji Hye. The spirit of Chef Sean’s book joyfully reinforces Chef Ji Hye’s own integration of Korean food roots and ancestral traditions in her Michigan kitchen and she joins our community’s warm welcome of Chef Sean Sherman. The result is a rare and intimate evening with one of the most inspired social, political and culinary change agents of our time who is blazing a timely trail to honor and value tradition’s sacred connection to the fundamental human experience of community, land and food. See what you’ll be having!
Join storyteller La’Ron Williams for a captivating and interactive performance. For over thirty years, La’Ron Williams has been an award winning and nationally acclaimed storyteller. He draws in listeners with his playful and malleable voice and inspires audiences with powerful tales.
La’Ron Williams is also a singer and instrumentalist. He uses many traditional instruments, including Cajon Drum from Peru, Caxixi Rattles from Brazil, and Mbira from Africa!
For Grades K-5.
Open-mic storytelling competitions. Open to anyone with a five-minute story to share on the night’s theme. Come tell a story, or just enjoy the show!
6:30pm Doors Open | 7:30pm Stories Begin
*Tickets for this event are available one week before the show, at 3pm ET.
*Seating is not guaranteed and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes before the show. Admission is not guaranteed for late arrivals. All sales final.
Media Sponsor: Michigan Radio.
