In an effort to promote literacy and the
arts, Room In The Inn has partnered with the Nashville Shakespeare Festival,
the nonprofit responsible for bringing many local theater traditions including
Shakespeare in the Park, to offer Shakespeare Allowed!, a twice-weekly
class where
people come together to read through the works of William Shakespeare
round-robin style and to share their experiences and insights with the plays
and their many adventures.
The first play the group read through was the Shakesperean comedy, "As You Like It." The play is full of many lighthearted moments, but somewhat surprisingly to the class instructor Nettie Kraft, the play gave the participants the chance to process through a lot of the struggles they have or are facing. The play focuses on a family torn apart by pettiness and people who are left to live in the forest when the people in the royal court reject them. According to Kraft, many of the students in her class felt a connection with some of these characters.
"As You Like It" will be the play performed during this year's Shakespeare in the Park, held in August and September in Centennial Park. Room In The Inn students who participated in all or nearly all the Shakespeare Allowed! classes for this play will be given the opportunity to go watch the play for free one evening and stay in the Guest House--as most Nashville overnight shelters require check-in prior to when the play would end.
After a short break, Shakespeare Allowed!
returned and is currently reading through the classic tragedy, Macbeth, at
student request. Classes are held on Tuesdays and Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
