The Ultimate Shakespeare Smackdown! (Fundraiser)

Name: The Ultimate Shakespeare Smackdown! (Fundraiser)
Start: 2025-04-24T19:30:00-04:00
Location: Newnan Historical Train Depot

Schedule

Thu, 24 Apr, 2025 at 07:30 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Newnan Historical Train Depot | Newnan, GA

The Newnan-Coweta History Center and the Lacuna Group theatre collaborative are teaming up to revive the former’s FUNDRAISER, the Ultimate SHAKESPEARE SMACKDOWN, a rowdy evening of individuals and teams competing in a rowdy night of artistic achievement and bardolatry, complete with cheers and jeers from the crowd.
The Ultimate Shakespeare Smackdown will be on Thursday, April 24, at 7:30 pm in the Historic Train Depot on E. Broad Street. It bills itself as celebrating the 409th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death on April 23, 1616, but since his birthday is also April 23, they might as well be celebrating his 461st birthday. TICKETS GO LIVE IN FEBRUARY. Audience members will also want to bring a couple of dollars to award to their favorite team’s tip jars in the lobby — every dollar counts towards points for the competition.
On the evening, the audience will vote on what order to see the performances: either in order the plays were written (as far as we know); in order of the length of the plays; in order of popularity in productions over the past year; or in alphabetical order. After that we plunge into the stream of Shakespeare’s words, still spoken every minute of every hour of every day. (It’s always showtime somewhere on the globe.)
Judges will score performances based on clarity, theatricality/creativity, and audience response. Teams can gain additional points through several games the emcee will host during the evening.
Lacuna director Dale Lyles, “It’s been a while since we’ve had the Smackdown. They were always fun evenings with some really entertaining performances of everyone’s favorite dead playwright. I look forward to this year’s games!”
Lyles is offering two free workshops in connection with the Smackdown: “How to do Shakespeare,” on Sunday, March 30, 2:00–4:00 pm, for anyone who might be hesitant to dip their toe into the ocean; and “Coaching Sessions,” on Monday, April 14, 7:00–9:00 pm, for any of the registered performers who would like some personal attention to their scene. Both sessions will be at the NCHC’s McRitchie-Hollis Museum on Jackson Street.

NCHC and Lacuna Group invite individuals or teams to sign up to compete in the Smackdown for what they describe vaguely as “fabulous prizes.” Rules, registration forms, and FAQ’s can be found on the Lacuna Group’s website, lacunagroup.org TICKETS GO LIVE ON THE NCHC EVENTBRITE PAGE IN FEBRUARY. Paper tickets at the museum. Refreshments!