Shakespeare at Pendleton

I had two meetings the last couple of days to discuss what we can do for Shakespeare at Pendleton during this pandemic. For now, we cannot plan to return to the Pendleton Correctional Facility until there is a reliable vaccination. So we will begin a kind of correspondence course on Shakespeare, not through the postal service, but via our volunteers coordinator, by email. We are going to send the men one play per month and some resources by which they may study the plays for themselves. These resources will come from notes I've created for Shakespeare Behind Bars in Kentucky, from worksheets created by the Detroit Public Theater for its prison programs, and from other notes Morgan and I are creating. The plays will be downloads from the Folger Shakespeare Library. We hope to collect and respond to the men's questions and responses about the plays.

We are beginning with Romeo and Juliet, to be followed by Much Ado about Nothing. My hope is that this will be something interesting for the men to work on and that this will keep us involved with the men.

The last time I posted here was on the morning of August 4th, 40 minutes before turning violently ill. It's strange to me to see that last post to this one.

Today is? would be? the seventh anniversary of Shakespeare at Pendleton. I still look forward to the day when we may resume. But, as recent news of a renewed outbreak of Covid-19 in the Indiana women's prison shows, it may still be a while. Here's a link to current outbreak records in Indiana's prisons:

IDOC Facility COVID-19 Statistics IDOC Facility COVID-19 Statistics IDOC About IDOC Current: IDOC Facility COVID-19 Statistics Information updated by 1:00 P.M. (EST) each business day. Last updated on October 16, 2020Columns for Staff and Offenders Positive for COVID-19 reflect the number of people who tested positive for the virus....