On Sunday, June 14 at 2:30 p.m., the Actors/Playwrights Workshop will present the first public-staged reading of selections from the plays in the Library’s Community Room.

Now in its 17th year, the Actors/Playwrights Workshop offers local and regional playwrights and actors the opportunity to work together to produce original theatrical works in a supportive and creative environment. Co-founded by the late Catherine Lindsey and her husband Robert, the goal of the workshops is to encourage collaborative efforts in developing new plays, culminating in staged readings of scenes from full-length, one-act plays, musicals, and monologues before an audience. Catherine Lindsey was a beloved friend of Darien Library and director of the Darien Library Theater for over 25 years.  

Featuring:

Reverend Lisa Brown by Robert Lindsey

Final Copy by Mary C. Charest

A Little Nudge by Bridget Cusack

In Memory Of… by Kathleen Rinaldi

Reunion by Mary Ellen Murphy

A New Beginning by Empress Makeda 

On Thursday, June 4 at 7 p.m., Mark Schenker of Yale University will lead a discussion of A Midsummer Night’s Dream here at the Library. A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be the summer production of Shakespeare on the Sound, now in its 14^th year. Mr. Schenker will discuss the play both as an individual work and with respect to its place in the Shakespeare canon.  Long considered one of Shakespeare’s finest comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream presents a world capable of being transformed by magic, by love and by art. The play combines elements of music, dance, and pageantry with the comic misadventures of two pairs of star-crossed lovers and the comic prose of the “rude mechanicals,” common tradesmen who labor to create and perform a drama that serves as counterpoint to the sophistication and formality of the larger comedy that encompasses it. 

Mark J. Schenker has been at Yale College since 1990.  He is currently an associate dean of the College and dean of academic affairs.  Born and raised in New York City, he received his Ph.D. in English Literature from Columbia University and has taught at Columbia, New York University, and Trinity College (Hartford).  He has led book discussion series in public libraries in Connecticut for over twenty years through programs sponsored by the Connecticut Humanities Council and lectures frequently on literary topics for public audiences. He was the recipient of the 2001 Wilbur Cross Award for Outstanding Humanities Scholar, presented by the Connecticut Humanities Council. (Pictured above: Mark Schenker)

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

A 17-year-old girl living in West Virginia and her disabled younger brother. What stories lie trapped in the boy's head and how did all of the layers of their past combine to create their present? Jayne Anne Phillips slowly reveals long-kept secrets as new forces threaten to separate the brother and sister in this stunnning novel...a work of fiction that defies easy description but remains absolutely engrossing at every level.

We'll be discussing Lark & Termite on Sunday afternoon, May 17 at 2:30, and welcome your comments, insights, discoveries...anything you'd like to share about this book (even if you don't get to finish it in time!). Our Sunday afternoon book discussions are open to all and full of ideas for similar reads and great new authors. The facilitator is Jordon Pecile, who has taught at numerous colleges and universities, most recently the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He's been a favorite here for many years and always sparks lively conversations! This is our final spring session and promises to be a special one. Please join us!
 

Now that we're moved in, and you've attended some children's programs...what do you think? 

Which programs would you like to continue?

In the new Library, what has your program experience been for children in their First Five Years?