Reading Shakespeare

Co-Facilitators: Brigitte Dempsey, 970-222-5071, gitabvd@gmail.com and Frances Johnson, 970-493-4480, fran@ntuf.org Dates: Tuesdays, September 9 — October 28, 2025 Time: 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM Text: Othello by Shakespeare, additional plays as chosen. We suggest two Penguin Classic William Shakespeare books: Four Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, and Four Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night. As an alternative, we will provide PDF files of the complete texts that can be printed on a personal printer, or free up to 200 pages/month at the library for Poudre Library members. Presentations: None, but be prepared to read rotating parts Location: Foxtail 2, Senior Center, Class limit: 15

Join us as we each read Othello aloud and discuss unfolding themes. You will be given a chance to read a different part each time the scene changes.

The first play we will read and discuss together is Othello. It is rich with complex themes that explore human nature, society, and power, including: jealousy, appearance vs. reality, race and otherness, manipulation and power, love and destruction, and the role of women.

During the discussions at the end of each scene, we will have a chance to explore these themes as they become pertinent and finally relate them to parallels in today’s events.