Bard Unbound Llc

The purpose of playing, as 'twere, is to hold the mirror up to nature" Bard Unbound illuminates the fire of Shakespeare by getting it off the page and off the stage, through education and performance in nontraditional spaces. In Shakespeare's day, people from all walks of life flocked to hear Shakespeare. It was raw, it was rough, and it was in your face - sometimes literally. With the advent of technology and modern stage configuration, Shakespeare has become removed from us - literally and figuratively. Mention Shakespeare and all sorts of preconceived notions arise - not the least of which is that it is difficult to understand, that it is boring and stiff, and only for high brow audiences. To that end, we are aiming our performances for today's playhouses - pubs, wineries and breweries in Virginia. We are creating theme-based scene collections, and small cast performances of plays to be enjoyed by a fun filled audience. We are also educating in a more interactive instead of traditional style. We are getting students to explore on their feet with Shakespeare's words in their mouth, rather than treating it as literature on the page. We encourage discovery of Shakespeare's characters through "being". And in the end, by performance or education, we hope the audience members will also discover something about themselves.