First Folio will be on display Monday, March 7 through Saturday, April 2 next to instruments from that era at the museum on the campus of the University of South Dakota, the only stop in the state for the exhibition marking the 400th anniversary of his death. The Folger Shakespeare Library, in partnership with the Cincinnati Museum Center and the American Library Association, is sponsoring the “First Folio! The Book that Gave us Shakespeare” tour to all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

The free exhibition, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, gives groups of school children from the region, actors of all ages and anyone else interested in Shakespeare the chance to see one of the world’s most treasured books, said Darlene Farabee, project director and chair of the USD Department of English who initiated the effort to bring the folio to the museum.

Details of each event, video interviews with Farabee on the significance of Shakespeare and the folio, and other information can be found at www.usd.edu/shakespeare.

The schedule of events on the USD campus and in Vermillion, all of which are free, open to the public and held at the National Music Museum unless otherwise noted:


  • Kenneth Be “Music for the Plucked Instruments of the Elizabethan Era” concert: 12:05 p.m., Friday, Feb. 26.
  • Kenneth Be, “The Elizabethan Lute” concert: 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 26.
  • Darlene Farabee “Shakespeare Illustrated” lecture highlighting Shakespeare-related items from USD’s I.D. Weeks Library collections: 4 p.m., Tuesday, March 1, Neuharth Conference Room.
  • Media availability to book: Monday, March 7, and Tuesday, March 8. A media advisory with details will be sent the week before.
  • “Shakespeare Illustrated” Exhibition with items that illustrate Shakespeare’s plays or offer ways of thinking about what the plays illustrate: Monday, March 7-Saturday, April 2, I.D. Weeks Library.
  • Opening reception and welcome from Lee Ann Roripaugh, South Dakota’s poet laureate: 1 p.m., Wednesday, March 9.
  • Dakota Writing Project “Teaching Shakespeare” Workshop offering teachers new ways to approach Shakespeare in the classroom: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, March 12, Old Main. Space for the workshop, which includes free continental breakfast, lunch and tour of the folio, is limited. Register by emailing English@usd.edu.
  • “Shakespeare in South Dakota” Symposium, a series of short talks on how Shakespeare has been presented in the state, including uses in 19th century newspaper ads, difficulties and possibilities of translating “to be or not to be” in Lakota and ways settler communities and Native Americans interacted with Shakespeare: 2-5 p.m. Friday, March 18 and 1-5 p.m. Saturday, March 19, Farber Auditorium, Old Main.
  • Ayreheart performing Renaissance music for children: 1 p.m., Friday, March 18, Vermillion public library.
  • Ayreheart “Will You Walk the Woods so Wild” concert by the Renaissance music group featuring Grammy-nominated lute player Ronn McFarlane: 7 p.m., Friday, March 18, Farber Auditorium, Old Main.
  • Screening of “Shakespeare in Love,” Academy Award-winning movie from 1998 about Romeo and Juliet (Rated R): 10 a.m., Saturday, March 19, Coyote Twin Theater. Tickets are $5; free admission for USD students and NMM members.
  • Closing reception: 2 p.m., Saturday, April 2.
  • Concert by Sigiswald Kuijken with the Bach Society of Minnesota: 7 p.m., Thursday, April 7. Tickets are $7; $4 for seniors and youth; free to USD and NMM members.

“First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare” has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor, and by the generous support of Google.org and Vinton and Sigrid Cerf. Learn more at www.folger.edu.
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